Best Mark Blew It!

I did quite a few shops for BestMark over the last three years. A recent death of a family member in a DUI left me with two shops that I was unable to complete. I emailed the scheduler and then was deactivated. The good news, now I found three other companies to work for because it pissed me off so much. $10 shops for 40 minutes of work (30 minutes in the store and 10 minute report) not including drive time=not the best choice for a shop.

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I had a similar problem with another company (second to something or other) They promised me bonuses for shops in NYC. I always had to chase them for the bonuses afther receiving just the base pay. The schedular called me to tell me that she hadn't promised me any bonus.

I use a spreadsheet called the mystery shoppers bible, or something like that and I document all fees and bonuses.

She paid me and blocked me from the site. This was several years ago.

Tony DeOliveira
Portamer Marketing
[www.portamer.com]

I'm a big believer in getting written confirmation of a bonus and don't complete a job until I have it. If a company is shady it won't really matter, but if they are legitimate they won't argue further.

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.

Zildjyn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had a similar problem with another company
> (second to something or other) They promised me
> bonuses for shops in NYC. I always had to chase
> them for the bonuses afther receiving just the
> base pay. The schedular called me to tell me that
> she hadn't promised me any bonus.
>
> I use a spreadsheet called the mystery shoppers
> bible, or something like that and I document all
> fees and bonuses.
>
> She paid me and blocked me from the site. This was
> several years ago.

+++
This same MSC terminated me about six months, but I still get offers from the schedulers. I emailed this MSC a couple of times as I don't want to be contacted if I can't work. I cant get access to my account as I have been "deactivated."

EXACTLY!

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are a bunch of companies that seem to take
> that same approach. My preference is to work WITH
> companies rather than FOR them. Hope springs
> eternal that some of them will grow up and realize
> shoppers are neither the enemy nor sheep. So far
> very few have changed for the better.

That's when you tell them you're shopping THEIR client. You are not responsible for whether THEIR client itemizes or not. Regardless of what MSCs say re: itemization, how in the hell are you supposed to change a POS (point of sale) system that's not built for itemization? I mean-- what are the options?

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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!

That's really reprehensible. I can't imagine what you must be going through, and I'm so sorry that in the midst of it, you had to deal with BestMark, too. Peace to you and your family.

crowtocrone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did quite a few shops for BestMark over the last
> three years. A recent death of a family member in
> a DUI left me with two shops that I was unable to
> complete. I emailed the scheduler and then was
> deactivated. The good news, now I found three
> other companies to work for because it pissed me
> off so much. $10 shops for 40 minutes of work (30
> minutes in the store and 10 minute report) not
> including drive time=not the best choice for a
> shop.

Late shop entry is an issue with a couple of ms firms. I took the time to download and e-mail a company with the non connection notice from both explorer and firefox and they still charged me with late entry.
Their site was down, and it is still my failure to enter!
PLEASE!

A lot of the deductions that happen with these MSC are automated. I'm sure if you called to have it removed they would do so for you. If there is truly a problem with the wedbiste and you provide proof, it shouldn't be an issue to get this resolved. This happened to me and when I called in to have the deduction removed they let me know their automated system puts the deduction on no matter if the scheduler holds the shop or not. Also whatever you do GET IT IN WRITING. Ask the scheduler to confirm they will be removing the deduction. Even if you speak with them on the phone ask them to send you an email to confirm. I mean they are human too, they can forget. As long as you have a confirmation, there's no way they can tell you otherwise!

kddidit2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Late shop entry is an issue with a couple of ms
> firms. I took the time to download and e-mail a
> company with the non connection notice from both
> explorer and firefox and they still charged me
> with late entry.
> Their site was down, and it is still my failure to
> enter!
> PLEASE!

I was going to ask the same thing about contacting them. They are real sticklers and will penalize you for other things out of your control, but I'm sure they would reverse that if it was their own website malfunctioning. What other option did you have, carrier pigeon?

cooldude581 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ha... Had a lot on my plate so I blew off bestmark
> shop... No worries they calculate shops loss per
> month... Perhaps I will go back perhaps not... But
> I agree it is important to leave communication
> open... Never know what can happen...

They deactive people for canceling shops

As I keep writing, if you are unsatisfied with one MSC, there are dozens of other MSC's that would be happy to have you.
Once burned by a MSC, I'm history with it.

jentodd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's really reprehensible. I can't imagine what
> you must be going through, and I'm so sorry that
> in the midst of it, you had to deal with BestMark,
> too. Peace to you and your family.
>
> crowtocrone Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I did quite a few shops for BestMark over the
> last
> > three years. A recent death of a family member
> in
> > a DUI left me with two shops that I was unable
> to
> > complete. I emailed the scheduler and then was
> > deactivated. The good news, now I found three
> > other companies to work for because it pissed
> me
> > off so much. $10 shops for 40 minutes of work
> (30
> > minutes in the store and 10 minute report) not
> > including drive time=not the best choice for a
> > shop.

I agree with carolynsmystery that there is definitely a double standard at work here as shoppers are expected to abide by their deadlines for submitting shop reports but that Best Mark's proofreader's can take their time in reviewing these reports with no apparent penalty imposed upon them. I just completed a shop and was docked $2.00 for submitting it a couple of hours late. The most ridiculous part of this whole thing is that the shop report was due by 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and will very likely not be read by a proofreader until Monday as the office is closed for the weekend. None of the other mystery shopping companies that I have worked for have ever deducted anything from the shop fee for a late report and most companies will give you additional time if you have a good reason for not being able to submit the report on time.

POSITIVE UPDATE: BESTMARK REDEEMS ITSELF IN MY EYES! Read my previous posts from the end of November/early December regarding $4.50 being deducted from my shopper fee three times for being late on Thanksgiving Day even though I had a verbal extension from one of the schedulers.

I called this morning and spoke to Benjamin who was in charge of my automotive shop. He was very understanding about the situation and agreed that the money should not have been deducted, especially three times! He said that he would talk to his supervisor to see if he could get some of the deductions removed.

I talked in an even tone and stayed calm throughout the phone call. I thanked Benjamin for hearing "my case" and I appreciated whatever he could do for me.

Well, I came home tonight to submit my "big box" shop and checked to make sure my receipt was uploaded properly. When I scrolled over the current job, a little box saying "BONUS: refund prior deduction $13.50" popped up. BestMark came through and credited me back ALL the deductions. Maybe they are in the holiday spirit. Benjamin is the man!

This concludes this saga. I am sure there will be future injustices to deal with. Should I be wearing a red cape? ;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

no.. but you should keep benjamins name handy... as good people are worth their weight in... uh... in... something more valuable than... gold?... uranium? awe... whatever...

i believe i did have a shop that i was promised a $20 bonus... they didnt give it to me... called them up... "Oh ... whoops... sorry, we will send the check in the next batch." and it came...

shopping north west PA and south west ny

JS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree with carolynsmystery that there is
> definitely a double standard at work here as
> shoppers are expected to abide by their deadlines
> for submitting shop reports but that Best Mark's
> proofreader's can take their time in reviewing
> these reports with no apparent penalty imposed
> upon them. I just completed a shop and was docked
> $2.00 for submitting it a couple of hours late.
> The most ridiculous part of this whole thing is
> that the shop report was due by 10:00 a.m. on
> Saturday and will very likely not be read by a
> proofreader until Monday as the office is closed
> for the weekend. None of the other mystery
> shopping companies that I have worked for have
> ever deducted anything from the shop fee for a
> late report and most companies will give you
> additional time if you have a good reason for not
> being able to submit the report on time.

Bestmark offices are open from 9am-1pm both Saturday and Sunday. It' says so on the site.....You can call between those times if you need more time for your survey. They are usually pretty flexible if you call before your survey is due.

Eric in Tampa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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.

There were a couple of comments made like this...thing is I wasn't late! And then when they docked me for being 2 minutes late making it a double dock, I just said forget it! I wasn't going to argue with them for $4.00.
I of course would have contacted them if I were going to be late, I have learned that the MSC's are usually very helpful when you let them know what is going on.

thanks for the comment!

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