So I signed up with them about three months ago, and just never did anything with them. Honestly, it was two AM, and their website was a little confusing, and I didn't even bother to bookmark it.

Day before yesterday I get an email from them with shops in my area. I actually open it instead of hitting delete like I do with all the GFK emails I get every hour. What's this? $67 for a 15 minute smart phone shop? The kids wanted to go to the mall to the movies anyways, so what did I have to loose, right? I take the test really quick, print out the paperwork, load the kids in the car, drop the kids off at the movies, and head to the other end of the mall for my shop. 15 minutes later I'm back in my car on my tablet completing the report (expressing it?) online, and done. What else they got? What's this? Another identical shop at the main store four minutes up the road? Yes, please. I'm in, I'm out, report is done, kids will be out of the movie in 10 minutes, and I just made over a hundred bux after popcorn and drinks.

Home later, checking to see if there are updates. Don't know how Gapbuster works, if they have a scoring system, or if they just don't tell you anything, but notice that there is another one of these shops for $70 about 60 miles up the road for Monday. Don't mind if I do!

11'oclock last night my phone rings. Private number. I have to answer it because some of my family have their numbers blocked, and something could be wrong. Some guy with a VERY heavy foreign accent says, "Is this mr jon?" I'm like, yeah, okay? And then he starts talking, and I honestly can't understand a word he is saying. All I can make out is "Smart Phone" and "Do it", maybe a "need to know" in there somewhere. The rest is just some lost in accent translation garble that reminds me of the people trying to give me a free $10k grant from the US Government. Alarm bells are going off all over my head, and I'm thinking somehow my information was compromised. Wouldn't be the first time. The state of South Carolina gave away my Social Security number (along with everyone who had ever filed taxes here) last year. So I email Gapbuster and say, look, was this you? Did you call me? Beyond the inconsideration of calling me at 11pm on a school night, blocking your number, and not speaking anything close to English, I just need to know if this is you or if my information was compromised?

I get an email back about 1230am written with a very foreign accent (you know what I'm talking about) saying it was them, apologizing for the new employee who is just training, and assuring me that nothing was compromised. Pretty sure that's what it said. Their written English was as bad as their talkin' English. Anyways, it was signed something about the Asia Pacific Rim group of Gapbusters. Now THAT'S enlightening. I knew that the "target smart phone" was made over there somewhere, but am a little shocked to see that they are doing market research from there. Kinda thought that would fall to apple, but what do I know. I'm just a shopper that doesn't speak Chiwaneese.

Gapbuster is an international company so calls come from different places. I have regularly spoken to reps in Australia and one either in the UK or Canada. They do seem to be time zone challenged at times. Luckily, the latest they have ever called me was 9 or 9:30 pm. Since the calls always include a generous bonus, I answer.

Gapbuster used to do the famous FF shops for one part of the company. I LOVED doing them for that company. The calls were sometimes difficult to understand but when it comes down to it I could definitely understand the huge bonuses!

Liz

Yeah, the bonuses I got in the last two days from them may lead me to ultimately forgive them for one late night drunk-dial.

Saturday night 11PM, private number, last week of the month? Good chance it is them, usually a heavily accented South east Indian young man calling from Australia.

The one of these I did that was heavily bonused ($40) turned out to be a closed location that just let their phone ring and ring.
I submitted all of the information they requested, talked to their helpdesk and they assured me that everything was submitted as it should be.

However, that was September 1 and still no payment.

So I am not doing another shop for them (no matter how highly bonused) until that is paid.
A lot of money listed on a website is nothing if there is no payment to go with it.

FYI...I have submitted three enquiries into this issue and no answer to those either.

$90 inquiry shops available in some remote areas

It took me over a year to get paid for a closed location and that may only have been because they wanted me to do another shop for them. I had given up on the $75 fee from last April, but they did come through with it finally a few months ago.

If the location is close they just won't pay. Last December a fast food location closed early for there x-mass staff party. No shop, no pay.

If the location is closed as in shut down and out of business, they have paid me.