Why do MSC take so long to pay ?

I did shops in July I'm still waiting to get paid for and here we are in the middle of September ! This is reduculas to make people wait so long for there money. It doesn't have to take this long. I work with Front Row as well and they pay the next week but most others wait 2 freaking months later.

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Yes. Each IC agreement that you signed has a unique payment structure. Can you do more with Front Row? Ipsos sometimes pays soon after work is completed.

Other shoppers have more details about other companies that might help you to select jobs for which you will be paid closer to the date of each job.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Why? There are several reasons.

Many MSCs are under capitalized and are either too cheap or otherwise unable to secure a commercial line of credit to help with cash flow issues.

Many firms are unwilling to take the risk that they will be paid by their client for the work the shopper has completed.

Some MSCs are so disorganized that they cannot manage to pay bills quickly.

Because it is a buyer's market and MSCs can get away with it.

I will agree with Rousseau and add one more reason:
Because in 49 of the 50 states, there is no statute prohibiting the mystery shopping companies from taking longer than 2 weeks to pay.

I have to agree with Russeau's first comment. Many companies are under capitalized. They don't have enough money in the bank to pay the bills until the client pays them. Since most ms clients work on a net 30 payment schedule, it can be quite a while until a shopper gets paid. Example, Shopper does a shop on May 3. MS company can't bill the client until all shops for that client are completed, through the editing process. This means they are likely not sending out the bill until the first few days in June, at best. Client has net 30 terms, meaning they will pay the bill within 30 days of the date of the bill, likely in the first half of July. MS company would get the money from the client sometime in July. If they pay on a set date, say the 20th of the month, we are now looking at shoppers getting paid no sooner than the end of July, using the money that the client paid for shops done in May. It is a dangerous way to do business, and I've seen ms companies go under when they had issues and a client didn't pay. Rolling stone situation, as they did not have money to pay the shoppers who did the work, so the shoppers would not work for them anymore.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2019 04:35PM by Sandy Shopper.

That makes total sense. I signed up on Gig Spot and did a job for Stratigic Reflections the begining of July and still nothing. I have emailed them 3 times asking about my pay and no reply back... But boy are they right there to deduct money from you're pay if you sneeze the wrong way. Front Row pays weekly and on time . They are just disorgonized . Can't win them all I suppose.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2019 05:55AM by Leah Kortz.

Other shoppers have posted that Observa pays quickly, sometimes within hours of task completion. I have the app but I have not completed any assignments for them yet. This might be an option for you to receive payment sooner rather than later.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

@Leah Kortz wrote:

That makes total sense. I signed up on Gig Spot and did a job for Stratigic Reflections the begining of July and still nothing. I have emailed them 3 times asking about my pay and no reply back... But boy are they right there to deduct money from you're pay if you sneeze the wrong way. Front Row pays weekly and on time . They are just disorgonized . Can't win them all I suppose.

I do jobs periodically for Strategic Reflections. They DO pay, and according to their pay schedule. It's just that their pay schedule shows that pay will go out the middle of the month AFTER the month in which you do your shop. I did a shop for them in July....I will be paid the middle of this month (Sept). It's just the way it is with them. As Shop posted above, if waiting that long doesn't work for you, you might want to try Observa, or Field Agent, both phone apps. They pay quickly.

HI! Jake from Observa here. If you haven't seen it on any of our marketing materials I'll say it again here. We almost always pay for completed Observations within 2 hours! Even at times when we are extremely swamped with submissions we pay out within a few days. We have many reviews saying that payment was received before they even left the parking lot. Download the app and give it a try!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2019 07:41PM by Observa.

As the reasons stated by Rousseau were both concise and candid, I am unable to add to that post. I will comment, though, as to Strategic Reflection's manner of payment.

I came aboard with SR shortly after it was formed a decade + ago, just down the road from me in Cincinnati. To date, I have completed approx. 550 shops for nine clients. As an independent contractor, I apply for the jobs that suit me and pass on those for which I have little to no desire. The office is the epitome of accessibility, employing a toll free number during business hours and I have never encountered a scheduler that was even a tad short of very accommodating. Judy, the head of editing, is, simply put, "top shelf." Which brings us to pay; it arrives and I either bank or spend it. Finally, as it applies to reports, I have never had a hitch and the guidelines have always been crystal clear. I am satisfied.

Does SR still have sandwich shops?

I personally know of three MSCs that were started in the last decade on credit cards... credit cards(!!!)

There are no generally accepted operating principles in this industry. Many MSCs are run by small organizations, underfunded, and perpetually scrambling to pay their ICs.

My best advice is to search the forums, and if 5 or more shoppers are complaining about a companies’ late pay... beware.

@JASFLALMT

I've done SR sandwich shops outside of Cincy as of a month ago. Those with the option of something to the effect of an olive tapenade on one of their signatures. Yum.

I can't type on my phone, apparently.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2019 01:38AM by nslinhar.

Please also remember that unfortunately there are fraudulent shoppers. If payment was made immediately and the shop was fraudulent then the MSC would be taking a loss, that loss could be HUGE depending on reimbursement & pay.

The clients do not always review the reports ASAP and will come back days, weeks, even months later to dispute a report. The delay in payment protects the MSC if a client decides to dispute a shop.

Then that's the client's fault and the MSC's fault, not the shopper's.

How long are we supposed to wait for the client to review our work? One month? Two? Three? A year? A decade?

Give me a break.

I've worked on projects where I've been paid IN ADVANCE, sometimes thousands of dollars for a luxury car route. At the other end, there are apps like Observa and FieldAgent where you are paid within hours of completing a shop. Don't be surprised when the apps take over the field, especially when you're holding back our payments for weeks, months too long....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2019 01:34AM by ColoKate63.

The best thing to do is mix up your shops between many different MSC's. That way the different pay rates won't affect you as much since you will always have money coming in.

Yes, never have your eggs all in one basket...

Do shops for DJC. NO ONE pays faster than Jeff does. You do a shop for him and almost all of the time you are reimbursed within 7 days. Not business days. DAYS! That is why I do stuff for him I won't do for almost anyone else. I have been doing this for 20+ years and NO ONE pays faster than DJC. NO ONE!

JASFLALMT inquires--Does SR still have sandwich shops?

Bob's response--Yes, I complete all that are reasonable in distance. The sandwiches, to my taste, are superb and the report is a snap. As a veteran, I am accorded a 10% discount, which allows me an extra bit.

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Why do MSC take so long to pay ?

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