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Not sure why everybody has such problems with this MSC. Not only did I receive the payment I inquired about, (a little late with an apology, which was fine) the scheduler also emailed me to make sure the shop had been paid. Yes, they make mistakes but overall my problems with their communication are minimal.

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More Discussions About Intellishop (All Companies)

I hadn't had any problems with Intellishop until I accepted an oil change shop. The shop paperwork states you can't use a coupon, but if the employee uses one when ringing you up, that's ok. And that's what happened - I didn't use a coupon, but the receipt shows 10% off. I didn't notice this when submitting the shop so didn't include a note about it, and they rejected the shop. My replies to the notice that the shop was rejected are bouncing, and when I emailed the scheduler he said he'd make a note and resubmit, but further attempts to contact him have been ignored. I'm frustrated that I drove outside my usual range because of the higher shop fee, and I can't get an answer back.

We are the people our parents warned us about ~ Jimmy Buffett

I have a auto dealership report from December 17 that hasn't even been looked at. It is still in received status!

I just received a grade for a car shop from about that time. I'm more curious if it will be paid this month or if the delay will be an excuse to pay out in February.

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.

I have a shop from 11/17 that is still showing received. I better received payment for it this month or they're gonna received a po'd shopper.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

@LisaSTL wrote:

I just received a grade for a car shop from about that time. I'm more curious if it will be paid this month or if the delay will be an excuse to pay out in February.

I submitted my autosales shop on 12/11 and it still shows up as "received" with no grade, so I guess they're slowly making their way through their backlog. I obviously didn't get the "quick pay before Christmas"...

Amazingly enough i sent an email right after I posted this requesting an update. Just like their shopper advocate says they read and respond to every email. Oh wait. No they don't as I still have not received a reply!

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I see they picked up a few clients from service excellence. The fees were already low before, intellishop managed to drop them far further down. smh... not a fan of this company.

Many MSC's list auto shops for $15-20, luxury auto shops can go for as little as $30 and often up to $75. This company lists a luxury car shop for $18. So you have to act like someone who can afford a $35000-50000 car for $18.... maybe they should raise the shop fee?

Finally LisaSTL, LOL! I still have not received any responses to my inquiries. Since I have shopped every dealer in the county and bought a new car last month, I have no use for this company anymore with $7 convenience store shops. My time is valuable and they are not worth the aggravation.

This is the MSC I have done the most work for and I have found them to be very good. I too find it difficult at times to get an answer to a question by talking to a live person so I go to their website and find a company phone number and most always I find someone to help me. They're basically a very good company to work for.

I put a message here about my last pay period and that I got paid on Dec. 20th. However, now I have a shop that has been over a month and not edited. I guess it makes a difference what car it is, or that this is a busy time of year. Usually, they have been grading my shops at least before the pay period. It looks as if other people are having the same problem.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2016 01:17AM by breestjon.

I am surprised with all the issues I see here, I have completed 62 shops for this company (I only do about 1-2 shops a month total with all companies). In the 10 years I have helped them, never an issue. The pay may not always be the best but that is the nature of the business. MSO's have to be the cheapest bid to get the accounts and that means less pay- a horrible cycle but realty. If anyone at Intellishop is reading this, does Amy still work for you? Amy is one of my favorite schedulers (thanks to her QSR study she lead with TeamTopGun).

This company is a sinking ship, as I've been saying for awhile. When you never reply to e-mails and think it is ok to pay whenever you feel like it, you are no longer a reputable company. Even if you mostly pay on time, it is not ok to simply not pay whatever shops you don't get approved, when that is your end of the deal. Your problem, not ours. To not pay and to not contact shoppers or respond to complaints of nonpayment is a horrendous way to do business. Contacting the BBB is the only way I have been able to get someone to respond, ever, and that is because the BBB notes if the company does not respond and they know that looks bad. I contacted them yet again today about nonpayment and I am sure no one will get back to me. It is clear that the company is poorly run and has no real management, as a good manager would hold them accountable for getting back to people. Whoever is on this forum as an employee saying they read and reply to everything is a blatant liar. They need a lesson from Trendsource, asap. Done with them.

Midwest shopper. Former New England shopper.

I finally got paid yesterday for one of my shops in December. So waiting for the other 4.

My shop got graded yesterday.

Jessi,
I am sorry to hear about the problems you're having with IS. I assure you I am not an employee of IS and have never been their employee and never will be their employee. In regard to the shops I have done for IS, and they are many, I have always had relatively quick responses to questions and concerns and I have always been paid on time. To me IS is a good and reputable company.

My car dealership shop from 12/17/15 was just reviewed!

They pay on the 20th of the month, but did not review my shops from December until the 21st. I worked my butt off Christmas week since they begged for shoppers to make their deadlines. Now I have to wait another month to get paid. That's bull and I would rather do gas station shops that pay more and pay every two weeks. I broke my monthly $$ record for January without doing one shop for Intellishop.

May I ask which companies you shop?

There is a shopper hotline phone number you can call for intellishop. 1.866.234.1423. You have the choice of attempting to speak to your particular scheduler, or wait for the next person to answer. If I need someone right away for answers, I do this. Emails and help contact forms can take too long.

They are the worse. Slow to grade and slow to pay. Still waiting, today 2/6/16, for shops completed in November 2015. Fail to respond to emails. Did get a general response about payments having a special pay period to get this out but still waiting. (Client named removed) needs to grade them instead of using them.

(Mod note: Since the MSC is named in the thread title, naming its clientele in a post links the two and is therefore a violation of Forum rules and probably also a breach of your ICA)

@jchris10mystery wrote:

Many MSC's list auto shops for $15-20, luxury auto shops can go for as little as $30 and often up to $75. This company lists a luxury car shop for $18. So you have to act like someone who can afford a $35000-50000 car for $18.... maybe they should raise the shop fee?

I couldn't believe the drop in pay after the Holidays. I was getting paid really well from October-end of December. I figure eventually the pay will go up again, and by then my rotation turn will be back for the nearby locations. Practically speaking, if MSC's could come up with a decent pay consistently, I think it would be beneficial all around.

The only shops that I have done for them are computer store shops. I accepted one that said that I needed to purchase and return an item from the department that I was to shop, which was Mac products. Since I go 2-3 times per month to a location across the road from the client, I had no problem with the 30 minute wait to return some small item, and have done dozens of similar shops there over about 10 years. I have never had a problem with these shops, the scheduler, editor, or the fee in all of that time, but I accept and respect the issues that others have reported!

This morning I read the detailed guidelines which were not available until I accepted the shop, of course. Turns out that the new guidelines state that the purchase and return must be for the computer that I am expressing an interest in, not, as in the past, any item up to about $100. The new requirement would mean charging at least $500 (probably more) and then waiting 14-30 days for the credit card company to credit the same day return! I just emailed the scheduler and declined the shop, with some terse comments about the stark difference between the "come-o" for the shop and the actual requirements.

Unless they change this shop, I have done my last shop for them.

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.

@walesmaven wrote:

The only shops that I have done for them are computer store shops. I accepted one that said that I needed to purchase and return an item from the department that I was to shop, which was Mac products. Since I go 2-3 times per month to a location across the road from the client, I had no problem with the 30 minute wait to return some small item, and have done dozens of similar shops there over about 10 years. I have never had a problem with these shops, the scheduler, editor, or the fee in all of that time, but I accept and respect the issues that others have reported!

This morning I read the detailed guidelines which were not available until I accepted the shop, of course. Turns out that the new guidelines state that the purchase and return must be for the computer that I am expressing an interest in, not, as in the past, any item up to about $100. The new requirement would mean charging at least $500 (probably more) and then waiting 14-30 days for the credit card company to credit the same day return! I just emailed the scheduler and declined the shop, with some terse comments about the stark difference between the "come-o" for the shop and the actual requirements.

Unless they change this shop, I have done my last shop for them.

There seems to be a REAL PROBLEM with MSC's (not just this one) not revealing the guidelines until it's assigned to you. And if, after you get assigned, and are able to read the guidelines, you decide it's not for you, THEN they DING you for cancelling. I tried multiple times to get the real scoop with my scheduler about a nursing home facility shop which was advertised as, "call the location, get an appointment to tour, and record the shop." This seemed to easy to be true, so I asked through emails, voicemails, etc. please call me because i want to know if that's all you have to do. Were there narratives, rules, etc.?? I NEVER got an answer.

I do believe they'd have LESS cancellations if they'd just be up front with what is truly needed for the shop.

My shops are reviewed quickly. My beef is that the auditors always take off points, always. No matter how hard you work on a report, they will still take off the same amount of points, whether you work on it for one hour or four. I guess they have a set point grade just for turning in a completed report and that is it. No matter how good or bad the grammar, punctuation and spelling, same grade, every time. For the low pay, it sure does not pay to try hard. Guess they will be getting only what they PAY for, which is not much. Same grade anyway. Same low pay anyway. Message received; "Stop trying so hard. We don't want you to." No offers of better shops for better reports either. No reward for trying hard. Just the minimum from this MSC. They need to know how generous the other MSC's are to their valuable shoppers who they can count on a great report from. These are the MSC's I drop everything for and will travel the extra mile for. Not for ones like IS who value no shoppers and pay so very low for such intensified shops and reports.

@MAINLAND And yes, they also surprise you with the requirements of their narrative-intensive reports until after accepted. It all seems so simple and fun until you commit. Please, Intellishop, GIVE US A REASON TO WANT TO SHOP FOR YOU. You ask for so much and pay so little. Don't you do market research? I get paid twice, or more, what you pay for easier shops from other MSC's. I guess you just don't want the quality the others pay for. I am starting to understand this process. You just need to calculate how much time to invest in a shop based on pay and your set minimum wage and mileage costs. Then, do your shop in that time and cost space. Do not go over, Do not try harder. It will be a futile exercise in wasted efforts that will never be recognized. Just two months shopping and I have learned so much. I love this forum.

Has anyone else had these issues with other MSC's or is this type of work ethic specific to Intellishop? I do not mind working hard for a company. What MSC's appreciate hard work? Who offers better shops when you prove yourself? Help weed out the time wasters.

Sometimes I get good shops. Be patient.

There are plenty of companies that are willing to low ball you for the amount of work a shop takes, not unique. I will do some lower fee stuff, if it can be done quickly, and only for the companies that pay quickly. It can take quite a while to learn what companies you do and don't like to work for. I could do without the grades. Intellishop is one of my only companies that gives number grades. It is very subjective. You can get mostly 10's and then you will get one editor that will just tear you apart with a ridiculous grade, and no real specific feedback as to why. Shoppers should be able to write decent, but I imagine most of us are not professional writers.

Midwest shopper. Former New England shopper.

Yes, Intellishop has a couple of editors that come back to you and want more information which often is ridiculous. Very often they ask for information that is in the report but they apparently skipped over it. In any event, I think Intellishop is a great company to shop for. They have always been very fair and professional with me and I applaud them. I enjoy shopping for intellishop.

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