Has anyone here any experience with Truss Communications?
Are they the same as CheckUp Marketing?

I received an email regarding available assignments, however I have never heard of this company before and am hesitant to even file an application with them (NOT giving a SSN anywhere unless they are a proven and trustworty business).

Here is the info from the email:
Truss Communications
www.trusscom.com
email: scheduler@trusscom.com
phone: 888.423.4050

PeninaD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Has anyone here any experience with Truss
> Communications?
> Are they the same as CheckUp Marketing?
>
> I received an email regarding available
> assignments, however I have never heard of this
> company before and am hesitant to even file an
> application with them (NOT giving a SSN anywhere
> unless they are a proven and trustworty
> business).
>
> Here is the info from the email:
> Truss Communications
> www.trusscom.com
> email: scheduler@trusscom.com
> phone: 888.423.4050

Hi Peni,

I don't know anything about Truss, other than I'm looking at their website and, while they claim to have a contract with Subway (they're vocal about it), I don't find any kind of research when I look for other articles about Subway doing sandwich shops with them or anything resembling a press release. That doesn't mean anything, I suppose, I would just expect that if a major, major food chain was okay with a tiny company like Truss putting the information out there, they might have issued something for their shareholders or something. Something that we could find, that is...

What concerns me, or at least gets me to take pause is-- well, there's two things, really. They mention a company called Checkup Marketing. Again, I don't know much about them, so what I first look for is any mention from the Better Business Bureau. It looks like, if it's the same company, it seems hard to tell (but logical to draw the conclusion) that Checkup Marketing is this company (http://www.bbb.org/raleigh-durham/business-reviews/marketing-agencies/checkup-marketing-in-morrisville-nc-90156499). A D... not a good grade. Not a company I'd feel comfortable working with, anyway.

Then, to add insult to injury (IMHO), they seem really, really, really eager to let you know how fast they'll pay you, how excited they are about cutting you a check, how super desperate Subway is to get these shops completed so they can reward their employees (https://trusscom.com/shoppers.html). Something just seems off about that to me. It could be a case of them needing shoppers, trying to seem appealing. To me, however, they just seem desperate. Which means they need your information for some reason... which could mean it's not legit.

What I would do, if I was more interested, is contact Subway headquarters and just ask if they're working with this company to complete mystery shops. If they are, I doubt Subway will have trouble confirming it. If not, you might have unearthed a big fat scam. =P

Hope it works out for the best!

Jen

The Truss Communications website was first registered with GoDaddy in July 2011.

There were CheckUp Marketing payment issues in May 2011, though eventually I think everybody got paid. CheckUp's website of checkupmarketing.com is no longer functional but they stopped posting jobs about the time folks were not getting paid.

The timing here could well be a re-emergence under a new name and I note that the Truss website gives no hint of who is involved or where they are located.

check up marketing login information works on the site... thats what they said when i entered my information to sign up..

they say they obtained it from check up but that could be just mumbo jumbo...

logged in... nothing in my area...

When I logged in, it was nothing more or less than the old Checkup site with a new color scheme, right down to the bug of the states appearing on the dropdown menu multiple times based on the mileage of available shop from my home zip code. ALL of my Checkup information was there, including the full list of shops I've done in the past for Checkup.

I found an address on the "Contact Us" screen and checked that address on whitepages.com. It's Mike Yarborough's home address in a Greensboro NC suburb, about an hour west of where Checkup's office used to be. He was the scheduler for Checkup for the past several years.

Yarborough's predeccesor was among the fastest payers I've encountered in mystery shopping and Yarborough was not, although I didn't suffer the delays that I've read about in various forums from others. IMO, these shops are among the easiest in all of mystery shopping, and I like the product, so I'd be likely to go to there anyway. I'm not sure what my decision will be when shops come up in my area. The fact that the pay is lower for the shops currently posted will be a factor too.

Mike

MikeBHR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I logged in, it was nothing more or less than
> the old Checkup site with a new color scheme,
> right down to the bug of the states appearing on
> the dropdown menu multiple times based on the
> mileage of available shop from my home zip code.
> ALL of my Checkup information was there, including
> the full list of shops I've done in the past for
> Checkup.
>
> I found an address on the "Contact Us" screen and
> checked that address on whitepages.com. It's Mike
> Yarborough's home address in a Greensboro NC
> suburb, about an hour west of where Checkup's
> office used to be. He was the scheduler for
> Checkup for the past several years.
>
> Yarborough's predeccesor was among the fastest
> payers I've encountered in mystery shopping and
> Yarborough was not, although I didn't suffer the
> delays that I've read about in various forums from
> others. IMO, these shops are among the easiest in
> all of mystery shopping, and I like the product,
> so I'd be likely to go to there anyway. I'm not
> sure what my decision will be when shops come up
> in my area. The fact that the pay is lower for the
> shops currently posted will be a factor too.
>
> Mike


Wow, Mike. This is... explicitly detailed.

I will pass on this one.

I used to do CheckUp shops all the time and LOVED them. I agree with Mike that they were simple and gotta love the product. I just went there and tried my old CheckUp login info and it works for Truss. It does appear to look like CheckUp with a new color scheme but same old software.

While I'm not worried about this company being a "scam" in the least, I am curious if anyone has worked with them and how the pay has gone recently. Were you paid in a timely manner? I used to get paid like clockwork but reading bits of the forum, it appears that they had some issues with payments. TIA!

I worked for them doing sub shops last year and the PAID within two months. Have done about twenty jobs in north VA recently and hopefully will be paid the same. Anyone else doing jobs for Truss this year?

I did a number of shops for them in August. The shops were very easy, however I have yet to get paid. Calls to their company go straight to voicemail. Emails I've sent have gone unanswered. Will hold on a little longer before I get concerned.

Hopefully they haven't gone the way of Freeman. They were a solid company when I shopped with them before. I still haven't taken any shops for them lately but only because I keep forgetting about them.

I got an email this morning that they had not receive the receipts for the 9 sub shops I did a month ago.

I uploaded the receipts with the reports last month.

I spent an hour finding the 9 receipts and sending them again. I guess these shops were not as easy as I first thought.

I received a conformation on 10/26/12 that they had received my receipts.

I am still waiting on the check for these shops. I did another route of 4 by 11/4 and just received an email that they have my receipts.

I checked their web site and the payment terms say they pay within 60 days after they receive everything.

So, will I not get payment for the 9 (completed by 9/26), until 12/26/12 because they confirmed receipt of my receipts on 10/26/12 and did not acknowledge that I uploaded the receipts.

They just sent out an email with some more sub shops with bonus. Waiting 90+ days to get paid means I will pass on these easy sub shops.

I did 7 sub shops 3 months ago and they paid in about 6 weeks. Anne

annelehman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did 7 sub shops 3 months ago and they paid in
> about 6 weeks. Anne


You're lucky!! I did 4 shops 3 months ago and I am yet to be paid!! No emails are replied to and no calls answered. Hope I get paid!

Update:

I am still waiting on payment for all of my sub shops. I sent an email two days ago asking about payment and I have not received a response as of today.

Their site still has jobs listed with pass due dates.

It would be nice to get paid by Christmas.

I completed more than 100 shops for this company. Initially I was paid and in a timely manner. Most recently, I completed shops in October and November and have yet to be paid. My calls and emails remain unanswered. While the product is great, the company appears to be seedy. There were also instances where [edited for ICA violation] employees confronted me about not receiving their Reward Checks when I completed additional shops at previously assessed locations. Too many inquiries about non-payment for shops completed and the fact they are not responding to calls or emails suggest something seedy here. I wonder what recourse is available when companies behave in this manner?

Anyone have any updated information regarding payment issues? I am still owed for several shops that I completed in October and November. I have sent e-mails and have left a voice-mail but have yet to receive any kind of response.

Thanks!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2013 12:32PM by quietshell.

Well,
12/26/12 came and went and I have not received payment for my sub shops that I completed in September and November. They owe me $158.

What are the typical next steps that you guys take when a company does not pay? Is this an issue for the Federal Trade Commission or the Better Business Bureau? Just wondering.

Same here. Wondering what do we do next?

Like others, I have been waiting for payment of $102 since the end of September. During the visits to sub shops, I was told by 2 or 3 employees that they never received their rewards checks from June. I called Truss then and was advised that the reward checks were going out that day.
I've called and left messages three times. Two messages were sent to the scheduler over the past two months. No response whatsoever.
Perhaps if we, as a group, bombard Truss with threats of reporting them to the BBB, etc. we may some actions.

I am all for that. If they are going to resurface under another name they need to know that we will be stalking them. With all the people they have screwed over, they should not be permitted to open another company.

I did a bunch of shops (14) for them in July 2012 and got paid in September 2012. Never had any issues with them though would have preferred an earlier payout.

Will work for them. Not much in my area.

I did a set of shops for them in July and they paid those in about four weeks. That was timely enough, so I took another set of shops in August. Now, I'm waiting for payment too. I've gotten one "I'll look into it" reply to four emails sent.

Truss Communications
1521 Bowmore Place
McLeansville, NC 27301
(P) 888.423.4050
(F) 877.759.8931
"N 36° 02.993 W 079° 39.728 (TrussComm)"

I'm going to paste their contact info from their website here in this forum, just in case they edit it out of their website. I checked the county GIS and the Yarboroughs are still listed as the owners at that address.

Yes, I am going to pursue this since I am still owed $600! I would not be foolish enough to work for them again.

Yep, I ended up here to see if there was any other reports of Truss not paying. They owe me for 9 shops from Sept 2012. They used to be fine paying. I too experieced the decline in response time from Mike and Kelly and also received complaints of the [client] workers not recieving their prize money. These is the same folks as Checkup Marketing.
Now all calls go right to voice mail regardless of which extension is entered. Emails are unanswered.

Not happy with Truss.

Thank You All for this information, I was looking to add a few more MSC's and will avoid this company for now.

Their CheckUpMarketing website is still up and running but only has links that direct you to other websites, some I know are legitimate but others look to be spam sites. Not sure if they are but I would be very careful and not use this website at all.

The Truss Communications website is worrisome in that you can still sign up to be a shopper with them. I would not want to provide my personal information to a company that may be going belly-up.

Any updates on Truss?

Thanks, Steve