EPMS ripoff - shoppers beware!

Devil's advocate here.

The OP was on October 27. She did not state when other shops were completed. Ellis terms are to pay on the 23rd for everything completed through the 6th of the current month. If those shops were all in October they would not be due until 11/23. Unless I missed it, the OP didn't say Ellis told her she would be not paid for those shops, just there would be a $75 deduction per her video agreement. Deactivating her may or may not have been warranted, but just because she cannot log in to the website is not proof she won't be paid the remaining $105 when it is due.

While $75 sounds harsh on the surface, put yourself into the shoes of the company. They are loaning out equipment valued at between $400 and $800. Ellis technically does not charge a rental fee, instead it is a small $10 bonus for shoppers with their own equipment. Weigh that against how many shops one would have to complete to purchase a camera, Ellis' cost of shipping the camera back and forth, their risk if a shopper would choose to abscond with the equipment and the lost time while the camera was in her possession.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

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More Discussions About Ellis Property Management Services / EPMS (All Companies)

I'm not sure there was a non payment of six shops. I'm not clear on whether Paula sent them a check for the $75 fee on backing out of the video shop or whether they took their money out of shop fees that had not yet been paid. If she sent them a check for what she owed them and they still did not pay her for accepted reports, that was wrong. But I don't think she ever said the reports were accepted. She said she had some shops that weren't paid, or at least that's the way I understand it. I have some shops that weren't paid, too, from another company. I did the shops and got in a car wreck that night on the way home and wasn't able to report that night. Through a misunderstanding they took the shops off the board before I could report them. I can honestly say I did the shops and they didn't pay me, but I can't honestly say they owe me money. See how that can work?

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2014 01:16PM by MDavisnowell.

Paula Wolf Wrote:
I did not have
> any formal record other than their website of my
> efforts

Paula, you should always keep a record of your efforts. Use the shopper job organizer at Mystery Shopping Solutions (www.mystshopsol.com).

"Evolve thyself and lose all hate...." Orphaned Land

decided to make a new thread:

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2014 05:54AM by scanman1.

I have always found the schedulers to be very professional and super nice. I do take issue with their editors though. My regular pay shops were accepted but when I got into the bonused shops then the editor always found something wrong and deducted dollars from my pay. As a result the bonus went "poof." I have not deactivated myself in the hope that sooner or later they will update their form and make life a little easier for the shopper.

Lol I don't even know where to begin comprehending OPs post let alone some of the comments here....

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

CANADAMOMMY Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> You folks have way more time than I do over
> analyze a question.

You posted a snarky post and got responses. I don't see anyone over thinking that at all.. I really would like to debate whether you have more time than we do but I really do not have time for that. Your posts always make me chuckle though so do keep it up.

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

alannajm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Paula Wolf Wrote:
> I did not have
> > any formal record other than their website of
> my
> > efforts
>
> Paula, you should always keep a record of your
> efforts. Use the shopper job organizer at Mystery
> Shopping Solutions (www.mystshopsol.com).

Great tip!

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

Ethics, deleted profile, lost payments, fees and whatnot aside...couldn't one just use their own modified shirt with the video equipment? Asking because I'm considering doing a video shop for this company and I'm a plus size woman and I doubt that their shirt would fit me, especially in the chest area.

~niteflytes

"Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink."

@nitefytes I would certainly ask the EPMS video manager, Robert A. to take into consideration that you are a plus size. In fact, its recommended that you wear a shirt a size larger than what you usually wear as it is. I prefer an XL shirt, even though I usually wear size L shirts so that I allow greater flexibility for the camera setup.

I have done many shops for Ellis. I have never had a problem. Anytime a company sends out recording/video equipment it tells you that you will be charged for certain things if you fail to hold up to your part. Maybe shoppers should read what they agree to??

The shirts are not very pretty I must say but are also very obvious as you have to wear the same shirt for every shop. To successfully video shop, you have to be willing to purchase your own equipment. You get bonuses for having your own equipment that eventually pay for the equipment purchase. Then you can wear your own designer shirt, as long as you can conceal the button cam.

Cat

Ellis is a wonderful company to work for. I have almost 5 years with them and am very satisfied with our professional relationship. I always recommend Ellis to any new or seasoned shopper. I began video shopping through Ellis and am glad I did. Robert helped me figure out my camera. I purchased my video equipment just so I could do video shopping for Ellis. I am still searching for other companies that do video shopping in my area.

Cat

Cat,
For more video work, head on over to
[www.videoshoppingnetwork.org]
VSN is run by a group of six big video shopping companies.
My advice is to sign up with all of them and be sure to let them know that you have your own equipment.
Enjoy!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Paula Wolf Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not because I did not like the shirt. Because I
> thought it was incredibly obvious and when I
> discussed with a friend who is a law ethics
> professional I found it to be sketchy ethically. I
> understood the fee but removing my profile is not
> fair.

Four sentences into your original post you wrote:

Paula Wolf Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have a serious complaint with EPMS. I have
> shopped hundreds of their recorded call shops for
> years (your dialing system sucks). Then I decide
> to try a recorded video shop, actually two of
> them. They sent me their super secret spy SHIRT,
> that is so ugly and obvious that I decided to
> cancel and send it back.

You were whining about the ugly shirt way before you whined about other issues. You actually whined about their dialing system first so maybe you got deactivated for multiple whining incidents

And your law ethics professional needs to study the laws on one-party vs. two-party states and audio recording vs. video recording. Maybe they are an amateur also. First year law student?

I never noticed before it was law ethics "professional." Legal ethics is defined as "the rules governing the conduct of lawyers and judges that are adopted by each state." We are not lawyers or judges.

Give them your measurement in inches, or just ask for larger than you think you need. I have done one video shop for EPMS. I would love to be offered more, as I don't want to buy video equipment yet, until I am sure it would pay for itself ( plus a profit). My lone video shop went so well I was amazed! Signed, Night Owl

sisterstrollin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Boy you said it. This company is not a business
> orientated one. The schedulers are rude and if
> they mess up then you have to pay for it. Stay
> away for sure!

I have to ask, does your username mean Sister Strollin' or Sister's Trollin'? LOL

TechSavvy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sisterstrollin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Boy you said it. This company is not a
> business
> > orientated one. The schedulers are rude and if
> > they mess up then you have to pay for it. Stay
> > away for sure!
>
> I have to ask, does your username mean Sister
> Strollin' or Sister's Trollin'? LOL

I honestly thought it was the latter when I first seen it lol...

I haven't seen the shirt, but couldn't you figure something out with a sweater or vest over it?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2014 12:06AM by Mary Smith xoxoxo.

I think some of the posters are being a bit harsh in their comments to this poster. I know the first time I did a video shop for Ellis, I was overwhelmed when I opened the package. Let's be honest here, Ellis isn't putting much thought into these shirts; it's merely a mechanism to hide the camera. As a shopper, however, you're concerned with not looking obvious and making this work. I had one shirt that was acceptable, it fit ok and was more feminine. Another shirt was a huge, boxy, short-sleeve man's dress shirt w/ a pocket. The shirt was so big on me that the camera was shooting too low. I spent a great deal of extra time adding shoulder pads, foam & belts, trying to get it to work for me. If I had gotten this shirt for my first video shop, I might have panicked & been tempted to return it too. I can't recall if I knew that Ellis charged you $75 for not completing a shop.

I stopped shopping for Ellis a few years back b/c I was more concerned about being tracked as a shopper. The apartment management companies use computer databases, you use your real name and then Ellis sends them the reports w/ your name on them. Unless you're only hitting these shops one time, you're going to be flagged.

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EPMS ripoff - shoppers beware!

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