I have probably done 40 shops for Bestmark and never had even a slight issue with their website. Most of their shops are due at 10 am the next day which does give you time to finish even if you complete it in the evening. Better than a 6 or 8 hour window.

Now someone did post a midnight deadline. That is not reasonable for an evening shop.

I've been doing a lot of shops for them lately and I had an email stating that I didn't make the report deadline and it was cancelled. I made the report within an hour after I completed the shop. I emailed to inquire and never got a response. I have seen on the site that I'm showing a 40% cancellation rate. Problem is... I've never cancelled a shop, ever! Hummmm... Can their ratings effect me with other companies? I've just started this year so I'm still learning the ropes. ArizonaShopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I have been doing mystery shopping for
> nearly a year now and I got my first stiff. I
> repect rules and if someone agrees to the rules
> then they should play by the rules. At the same
> time, good business practices demand that there be
> fair play even if it means bending a rule
> occassionally...occassionally being the key word
> here.
>
> I did a shop for Best Mark, I got a check for the
> "wrong" amount in the mail. I looked at the
> payment history on thier site and it popped up
> that there was a $4.00 dock against the shop. I
> immediately emailed the correct person, and
> queried it.
>
> I got a phone call from some guy that said my shop
> had been late by two hours. I told him I would
> not dispute that (how am I going to prove
> otherwise?) but that I also would not do any
> further shops for them. I explained my reasoning,
> that I had done many many shops for them, they
> were always good reports, and that if in fact I
> was late one time, and they were not able to bend
> the rules for a good, reliable shopper, then I
> would not work for them any longer. He said fine,
> I can take you off our list (I went in and checked
> adn he must have removed me right then!)
>
> What I didn't tell him is that I will be taking 4
> other shoppers with me. I hope losing 5 shoppers
> is worth their 4 dollars!
>
> No fuss, just no shopping for them....no problem,
> there are many other shops who pay better, and I
> have been doing this long enough now to know
> that.
>
> Will welcome all comments from my brother and
> sister shoppers.

I am sorry I have not posted in a while. I did manage to get the check cashed yesterday. It was a week from the experation date of the check. I do not have a bank and that is why I did not cash it at a bank. Price Chopper cashed it for me free of charge.

LOL. I just saw this. We have horses, so "handler" to me would mean I'm an animal. And sometimes an MSC can make you feel that way! But if it makes you feel like a secret agent, then by all means, deal with your handlers!

PizzaPizza Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------
> ----- My regional coordinator/scheduler (I
> prefer the term "handler" because it makes me feel
> like a secret agent or something!)

ArizonaShopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I have been doing mystery shopping for
> nearly a year now and I got my first stiff. I
> repect rules and if someone agrees to the rules
> then they should play by the rules. At the same
> time, good business practices demand that there be
> fair play even if it means bending a rule
> occassionally...occassionally being the key word
> here.
>
> I did a shop for Best Mark, I got a check for the
> "wrong" amount in the mail. I looked at the
> payment history on thier site and it popped up
> that there was a $4.00 dock against the shop. I
> immediately emailed the correct person, and
> queried it.
>
> I got a phone call from some guy that said my shop
> had been late by two hours. I told him I would
> not dispute that (how am I going to prove
> otherwise?) but that I also would not do any
> further shops for them. I explained my reasoning,
> that I had done many many shops for them, they
> were always good reports, and that if in fact I
> was late one time, and they were not able to bend
> the rules for a good, reliable shopper, then I
> would not work for them any longer. He said fine,
> I can take you off our list (I went in and checked
> adn he must have removed me right then!)
>
> What I didn't tell him is that I will be taking 4
> other shoppers with me. I hope losing 5 shoppers
> is worth their 4 dollars!
>
> No fuss, just no shopping for them....no problem,
> there are many other shops who pay better, and I
> have been doing this long enough now to know
> that.
>
> Will welcome all comments from my brother and
> sister shoppers.


I love Best Mark. Only one time did I get irritated with them. I was scheduled to do a car maint shop. They know that I do not own a chevy and would be borrowing my daughters car. Well, that morning, she was involved in a car accident and the car was not drivable. Right away, I call Best Mark but could only reach a voice mail. I left a detailed message and apologized. The next day I receive a call asking me if I had completed the shop. I explained that I had called and could only reach a voice mail and that I had left a detailed message. I then explained what happened and how the car was not drivable. She said, "So, are you going to do the shop"? I was taken aback and I repeated that my daughter was involved in a car accident and the car was not drivable. She said again, "So, are you going to do the shop"? Not once did she ask me if my daughter was ok. A few days later I received another call from another scheduler telling me she has available an oil change. I explained to her what happened and the first thing she said was, "Is your daughter ok"? I thanked her for asking and told her when the car was fixed, I would let her know.

Just curious @ArizonaShopper, when you knew that you were going to be late, were you able to call or email the scheduler, indicating a problem with turning in the report prior to the deadline?

I faced this on one of my very first shops with Bestmark, and they worked with me, understood and didn't dock pay. I sort of see your point a little bit when it comes to bending the rules just a little, yet I think that compromises integrity more when a shopper doesn't meet them halfway on this.

I would have called or emailed just to CYA. Bestmark is one of the more reliable shops around that offers reasonable to easy work, quick turnaround on pay, and no hassles, in my opinion.

I had to stop doing evals for them. They are fine folfs and all, but they stretched too much into one eval. Call, shop 2 people, etc. With the economy, it is hard to find employees on the sales floor to help you and then sometimes they know nothing about the department. The phone rings off the hook, while you you can be doing business elsewhere. It's a shame that they try to cram so much into a single eval.

Hmmm. Good pay for retail evaluation $15 x 2 is $30, add on $5 for a phone call and you're at $35. Bestmark saves $25.

I'm actually a little annoyed right now that the fee for the auto dealership with the 7 page shop report (with narrative boxes after every 2 or 3 questions) pays the same as their one page auto dealership shop.

I don't think they understand that with limited staff, it is hard to get 2 separate salespeople to help you, especially when the 2 departments you are shopping are next to each other and the same guy works them. He is a little puzzled why you are wanting a laptop one minute, turning him down for the sale, then looking at high end cameras and turning him down. Kinda makes you feel like an idiot and the fee is so low.

Wow guys.... I'm new here and have only done bank shops which have been fine... Thanks for the headsup on Best Mark!!!

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hmmm. Good pay for retail evaluation $15 x 2 is
> $30, add on $5 for a phone call and you're at $35.
> Bestmark saves $25.


richraynor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't think they understand that with limited
> staff, it is hard to get 2 separate salespeople to
> help you, especially when the 2 departments you
> are shopping are next to each other and the same
> guy works them. He is a little puzzled why you are
> wanting a laptop one minute, turning him down for
> the sale, then looking at high end cameras and
> turning him down. Kinda makes you feel like an
> idiot and the fee is so low.


Are y'all talking about the higher end department stores? I saw one near me and was considering it but I know when I used to shop frequently BestMark had some good, some not so much shops. Loved their bullseye ones from way back. How complicated are the higher end department store shops?

We were talking about the major electronics retailer.

Wonder what a 2 department shop on Black Friday would be like in one of these big box electronic stores? That would probably constitute combat pay as you would become wolf bait. After tazzering a salesperson to help you, perhaps you could ask him as he is laying on the carpet coming to, "which screen do you think looks the clearest from your viewpoint?" (as you scroll thru the remote.)

All I've got to say is too bad we can't turn the tables and dock MSCs for paying us late. If that were the case, I'd be wealthy indeed.

I used to shop for BestMark but once they lost their "best" client, I lost interest. Guess I was forced to do the "Big Box Electronic Store" just a few too many times. My scheduler also got uber upset at me for saying I didn't enjoy the Big Box Electronic Store reports. ...but, c'mon - who did?

I performed an automotive shop for BestMark this past Monday. I completed about half of the report the same day but I had to wait a mandatory 48 hours for follow-up. The report was not due until Thursday @ 10am which happened to be Thanksgiving Day. I called the scheduler and asked if I could submit the report a bit early since I was going out of town for Thanksgiving and I could send an e-mail if I received the follow-up or not after Thanksgiving. The scheduler said no and to submit it by Thursday morning.

When I got to my relatives' house, I discovered that they had no Internet service at their "Snowbird" home (aka winter home) and no landline phone for a dial-up connection. I called and left a voicemail message on Thanksgiving Day and followed up with another call on Black Friday. None of the automotive schedulers were working that day but another employee totally understood the situation and extended my deadline until Saturday @ 10am since I would be back home and connected to the Internet again.

I got everything in with the new deadline but when I place my mouse over my work history, a "-$4.50" is showing three times. Does that mean they are deducting $4.50 three times? If a scheduler gives an extension, wouldn't that prevent a deduction? I am really getting aggravated with these automatic computer adjustments when a real live person has told me something different.

So, there's my dilemma folks. Let the comments flow. :-)

According to them a scheduler giving you an extension only prevents the job from being cancelled. I had the same issue during an ice storm and power outage. It's unbelievable they will not reverse a deduction for a legitimate issue. The fact you tried to submit early and were met with that attitude is disgusting as well. Maybe you would have been better off to say the associate didn't ask for contact information so you could submit it the same day! I'm being facetious, but such inflexibility during a holiday when they are all off work is crazy.

I say boycott them, I have years ago after trying to deal with them over and over. They won't change to accomadate shoppers, so, why continue working for them...are their jobs that geat, or there pay standard.

I did like working with them, but found when there was an issue that they were completely inflexible. While I do admit that I had a share in the responsibility for the problem, their unwillingness to compromise really made me rethink working with them.

I had a shop due at 10 am Thursday. I completed the report and forgot to submit the receipt. I was totally at fault for that. I went back in to try and submit the receipt and could not find a way to upload the receipt. I sent an e-mail late in the day on Friday, as soon as I recognized my error, to the help desk or whatever they call it there.

First contact back was Monday was because of the weekend. I was told they would reopen it and I could submit. I still could not locate it and was told to wait and someone would get to it soon. Tuesday rolls around and then I am told that because I waited 5 days to try and fix the problem they could not accept it. In reality, I had waited about 30 hours, but because of the weekend no one saw it until Monday. Then they stalled all day Monday with reopening and told me on Tuesday that it was my fault because I was slow.

Yes, I should have submitted the receipt. I know that and was willing to accept the penalty, but to penalize shoppers because weekends happen and they don't respond just ticks me off.

Of course the final e-mail is something to the effect that they are sorry, but hope this interaction won't change the wonderful working relationship we have because I am such a terrific shopper. YEAH RIGHT!

They ended up begging and begging and heavily bonusing the shop in order to get it finished. They actually called me 3 times in the 2 days following refusing my report to get it done.

I'm still signed up as a shopper for Bestmark, but I seldom do a shop for them. One reason is that some shops require you to speak to a salesperson in different departments. Sometimes it is impossible to find separate sales people as the sales people often cover several departments. I have never found a way to tell a sales person that I want to talk to someone else (mostly if he/she had done a great job).
I was caught by the 10 A.M. deadline when my receipt just wouldn't upload to my report. I sent a message to tech support and my scheduler with the problem. I went down to FedEx office to upload the receipt which cost me about the same as my pay. I was also penalized for a late report.
I know I was about 30 minutes late, but I took the initiative to upload my receipt elsewhere. It would have been better to be a day late than to be only 30 minutes late. (This was the first time I was late.)
As I have advised other MS's, there is more than one MSC to contract with.

And the saga continues...I submitted my ITEMIZED receipt and the final total which was on a second page along with my credit card slip and the employee's business card. They sent me an e-mail a little while ago that they are refusing my receipt because it is not itemized! Doesn't every single line of service along with the price for that service including a line for taxes count as an itemized bill?

I think these people are still in a food coma or they OD'ed on tryptophan from eating too much turkey!

I just had an upload problem with Qams receipt, and they worked with me, telling me to email to scheduler or owner...receipt was two days late, no deduction, no whipping me with a wet noodle, acccepted it and sent out job for next month with a nice sorry, thanks for your work. Compare the two.

lsamson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've been doing a lot of shops for them lately and
> I had an email stating that I didn't make the
> report deadline and it was cancelled. I made the
> report within an hour after I completed the shop.
> I emailed to inquire and never got a response. I
> have seen on the site that I'm showing a 40%
> cancellation rate. Problem is... I've never
> cancelled a shop, ever! Hummmm... Can their
> ratings effect me with other companies? I've just
> started this year so I'm still learning the ropes.
> ArizonaShopper Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well, I have been doing mystery shopping for
> > nearly a year now and I got my first stiff. I
> > repect rules and if someone agrees to the rules
> > then they should play by the rules. At the
> same
> > time, good business practices demand that there
> be
> > fair play even if it means bending a rule
> > occassionally...occassionally being the key
> word
> > here.
> >
> > I did a shop for Best Mark, I got a check for
> the
> > "wrong" amount in the mail. I looked at the
> > payment history on thier site and it popped up
> > that there was a $4.00 dock against the shop.
> I
> > immediately emailed the correct person, and
> > queried it.
> >
> > I got a phone call from some guy that said my
> shop
> > had been late by two hours. I told him I would
> > not dispute that (how am I going to prove
> > otherwise?) but that I also would not do any
> > further shops for them. I explained my
> reasoning,
> > that I had done many many shops for them, they
> > were always good reports, and that if in fact I
> > was late one time, and they were not able to
> bend
> > the rules for a good, reliable shopper, then I
> > would not work for them any longer. He said
> fine,
> > I can take you off our list (I went in and
> checked
> > adn he must have removed me right then!)
> >
> > What I didn't tell him is that I will be taking
> 4
> > other shoppers with me. I hope losing 5
> shoppers
> > is worth their 4 dollars!
> >
> > No fuss, just no shopping for them....no
> problem,
> > there are many other shops who pay better, and
> I
> > have been doing this long enough now to know
> > that.
> >
> > Will welcome all comments from my brother and
> > sister shoppers.
=-+ozoooooooooooo

Arizonashopper:
My exact sentiments! When I was about 30 minutes late because my receipt would not upload (I took the initiative to go to Fedex Office to upload) and I had left messages with the scheduler and tech support, I ended up losing a few dollars on the shop. I still think that Bestmark had a computer glitch that day and to this day, tech support has never responded.

I did not deactivate them, but will not do any shops at regular price. I got a bonus for a job that took me about 40 minutes in an out of the way location that worked great for me because I was visiting someone blocks away.

I will not do a regular shop at regular fee for them again. Especially since they no longer shop my favorite restaurant. I was willing to play nice for the $50 reimbursement twice a year.

Voting with your wallet applies to MSCs.

Shop2Live ~ After doing a number of auto shops, I noticed a real difference when dealing with the auto shop people at BestMark (as compared with retail shop people -- they are separate). As a result, I haven't accepted another BestMark auto shop in quite some time.

When I had an incident similar to the one you described, I copied and pasted the BestMark policy regarding deductions (which was slightly different than what they'd deducted from me), and I emailed it (to the auto scheduler AND to the general auto shop email address AND to my regional scheduler) asking for clarification. They couldn't explain why the amount they'd deducted was different than what their policy stated, and they paid me the full amount after all.

Don't give up on BestMark overall, but you might want to give up on their auto shops for a while like I have.

No, I haven't given up on them as I know personnel changes frequently in this profession.



PizzaPizza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Shop2Live ~ After doing a number of auto shops, I
> noticed a real difference when dealing with the
> auto shop people at BestMark (as compared with
> retail shop people -- they are separate). As a
> result, I haven't accepted another BestMark auto
> shop in quite some time.
>
> When I had an incident similar to the one you
> described, I copied and pasted the BestMark policy
> regarding deductions (which was slightly different
> than what they'd deducted from me), and I emailed
> it (to the auto scheduler AND to the general auto
> shop email address AND to my regional scheduler)
> asking for clarification. They couldn't explain
> why the amount they'd deducted was different than
> what their policy stated, and they paid me the
> full amount after all.
>
> Don't give up on BestMark overall, but you might
> want to give up on their auto shops for a while
> like I have.

anakin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BestMark doesn't pay well, but they are fast and
> have been liniment with me. For those big
> e-store, the instructions says you must interact
> with the associate wearing 'blue' shirt. In my
> shop the floor manager helped me. He was not in
> uniform (how can I say I don;t want you, I want
> the guy in blue), but BestMark let it slide.

Your lucky. Q proof reader could have missed that you were only to interact with an associate in a blue shirt. It is agonizing at times to find a sales person. Ugh!

PizzaPizza ~ Thanks for the suggestion. I will try to contact them on Monday. I will keep you updated if you want.

I just started taking auto shops because I am actually car shopping for myself. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone.

I haven't had an issue with their auto shops as of yet. I've only done the online one and though it was only a few bucks, it only took a few minutes to complete, so I was fine with that.

I don't do the big box shops because I've done them in the past and hated them...though every once in a while I start to consider it. Then I remind myself what a pain it was and manage not to click on the accept button. LOL

The other jobs I've done are fair pay but I don't do many of their clients. Since they apparently lost the one favorite, high reimbursement store, I don't have to worry about having to do the lesser paying ones to get the cushy ones.