While I'm at it, have any of you worked for Harland Clark? I did five new auto shops for them, the first was paid quickly. The last 4 are still hanging out there. It's only been 3 weeks, but the first was paid chop chop. Anyone?

You need to contact them asap. They tend to forget...:p

Yes, once you submit your invoice the scheduler usually puts it in the queue for payment in the next round. So generally you are paid quite promptly or the invoice never made it to accounting. Do contact your scheduler. I have never found them trying to beat me out of anything, but their system leaves holes for things to go astray.

They are my favorite! Sadly I moved to an area where they don't have any shops. I miss them.

what is normal wait time for them. I did a couple of shops last month and have not been paid yet. I am so used to MSCs paying at the end of the month FOLLOWING the month of the shop, I haven't given them a second thought. I was told by Alex that my shops were "great" but they don't have a Sassie or Prophet site on which to look up status, etc. And they don't give ratings (as far as I know). Any thoughts?

Email your scheduler. Most frequently I had shops paid in 2-3 weeks. Checks are usually processed every other Tuesday if I recall correctly so they usually made it to my mailbox the Monday or Tuesday after that. I'm sure they must have some rating of shoppers but I have never seen a grade. If there is something I'm doing that may be interfering with the best results, I usually get a phone call.

I've emailed Alex, who is great. He gave me the check schedule which is every Tuesday if I'm not mistaken. So I should have been paid by now. I'll give it another week before I call. Thanks all.

I have don e several banks shops for them and to get them done, they even paid mileage.
They are listed again but it has been to soon for me to go back.

Much about their foray into mystery shopping is clumsy and archaic. Smooth and seamless are not adjectives I would use for them. Having said that, they are a reputable company and are not shysters. Contact the scheduler. I gotta say that I have done that, with no result. If the same happens to you, escalate your level of contact. That is what I once had to do to get paid.

I have done several banks shops for them and am completely satisfied with the company and the pay period. Usually get paid within 3 weeks.

I agree with everything Mert just said....hey are clumsy and archaic....and a delight to deal with. very warm, friendly, fair Haven't been paid yet, but it's all apologies on their end. No BS.

Happy Chanukah &
Merry Christmas!

I've been paid, and I agree that the personal touch means everything. Great company to work for. Merry Christmas to all.

eastcoastsuzy Wrote:
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> I've emailed Alex, who is great. He gave me the
> check schedule which is every Tuesday if I'm not
> mistaken. So I should have been paid by now. I'll
> give it another week before I call. Thanks all.


He sure is! I got paid $160 for 4 bank shops..I think it worked out $35 each plus a $5 bonus each shop...

That's the most ($35) that I have gotten for a bank shop....most other MSC I have worked for pay $12 on average..($14 from a regular company who cannot be mentioned

Harland Clarke wit an 'e' at the end are makers of checks that one would order for their checking account. Is there any resemblance, or just a co-winky-dink?

It is one and the same and it is spelled with a final 'e'. Shops are one of the services available.

They called me and asked me to do a bank for the second time and I had to explain that the bank was a small branch run by only 2 ladies and that they know all of the people that come in there.
I didn't want to but had to turn down the job as they might have figured out what I was doing and called the main branch.

Great company to work for. I received payment within 2 weeks of completion of the shops.

Thanks for the reminder. I have only done three shops for HC. They lost my W-9 twice. Then I got paid for one of the shops. When I called, they didn't have an invoice for the 2nd and 3rd. I got that straightened out, I think. Normally, I would wait, but I am a bit gun shy at this point.


wanted to update: I did get paid. hoping now that I am in their system, payments will be smoother.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2012 03:52AM by jersey07032.

I would appreciate any recent feedback on this company. I've not shopped for them, but am considering doing so. All other banks have been out of driving range, but there's one offered close to me. Thanks!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2012 04:04PM by sun&fun.

What type of banks shops do they offer?

Do you just have to ask a few questions of the banker OR does Harland Clarke expect you to have to do a credit check in order to do the shop?

I find them professional and very comfortable to work with. The reports primarily focus on narrative, which these days is reported on a truly clunky website. A sample shop is offered on their website at [www.harlandeducation.com] by a link at the bottom of the first paragraph. You would be generating the information shown on pages 28-33. Generally I supply more detail than their narratives in the sample would indicate. They do want at least 3 months of experience doing bank shops and fairly recently started stating they want MSPA certification, though I know that was not required for me when I started working with them.

I have opened accounts on some shops to expedite future shops. Many banks these days use an experience checking within the banking industry software rather than going to credit checks. My credit union account I opened did do a credit check.

Someone just PM'd me and asked how I was going cause I haven't posted in a while. I told him I really had nothing to say. I just wanted to chime in about Harland Clarke. Although they are not perfect they are fair and easy to deal with. I do find their reports are often a PITA but I love them, love them, love them. My only regret is they only have a few shops in my area and I have done almost all of them.

I've only done one shop for them. They paid me the $5.00 "bonus" for having a complete correct shop before the deadline even though they sent the report back to me because I didn't write about every single question in the narrative sections for two out of the three reports I had for the one bank that I did. I thought for sure that $5.00 wasn't going to happen. I wish they had more banks in my area, the report took forever to write, but I was sitting at home comfy on my couch. I got paid in about three weeks maybe less.

Well, I stuck my foot in it and took some Harland shops. I have never done one of these. It appears it will be greeter, teller, exterior and finance person. Can anyone offer any tips?

I've looked at the sample and it appears that they want a more story-like narrative which I'm not used to doing.

PLMCUT

HC shops do ask for a lot of detail and narrative; that much is certain. But, considering the generous fees (not to mention bonuses), how quickly payment is made, and ESPECIALLY, how kind and helpful the staff is. these shops are well worth the time and effort. There are usually a few questions for each section and yes, a narrative.You must pay attention to detail, but the staff is very forgiving. I have never had a shop rejected, although once I was asked for some clarification. Some of what the scheduler was asking for was already in the narrative. I answered his questions as best I could and then wrote him a note, asking him to tell me what I was missing because the information was already there. I called him and he apologized, saying he didn't read the report carefully. A couple of times one of the people I was supposed to see was not available. I was paid half the amount for the shop. Considering some companies don't pay you at all when that happens, I think they go out of their way to be fair. On one occasion, one of the people I was supposed to see was at a meeting. The teller offered to set up an appointment for me. When I spoke to the HC staff, he told me--without my having to ask--he would pay me for mileage if I had to return. Many of the shops I do for them are submitted as word documents, which is a PITA. But they are creating on-line reports, which is nice. They sometimes forget to pay, but they always make it right. Finally, they are always willing to answer questions. I think after you do a couple of these you will be complaining that there just aren't enough of them. Good luck! And let us know how it goes.



plmccut Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I stuck my foot in it and took some Harland
> shops. I have never done one of these. It
> appears it will be greeter, teller, exterior and
> finance person. Can anyone offer any tips?
>
> I've looked at the sample and it appears that they
> want a more story-like narrative which I'm not
> used to doing.

I absolutely agree with jersey07032. Give yourself plenty of time to write up the report because the first one(s) will take a long time. Do them as 3 separate 'stories'. Follow the questions almost as if they were an outline for your narrative and add detail and observations. It is an opportunity to score something a 'yes' and still mention minor things that you as a customer noted. Eg. the parking lot was in good condition though the parking space lines were light. The finance officer part is always the hardest to remember everything, and I often whip out my pen and put stars by things they are emphasizing or scribbling current rates mentioned just as I would if I were a real customer. It helps me reconstruct the conversation later. I find it easiest to write the narrative in Word before I even open the report to start filling in the check boxes on line. You were probably sent a copy of what the report form looks like or you can go print yourself a copy before writing up your narrative.

And don't forget to send in your invoice. You will not be paid until you do. Don't assume because your shop was submitted and accepted....you need the invoice. And ditto to what Flash just wrote. You can take minor notes, just like you would if you were a real customer. Don't go overboard. Because there is so much to take in, I always write up the reports as soon as possible. I do as much of the facility evaluation as I can before I step into the bank. If I can, I get to Starbucks to write my report.If not, I drive away and pull over as soon as possible. I use an iPad, which really makes life so much easier. I have done as many as 4 shops for them in one day, but I always fill out the reports in between shops. I wouldn't suggest doing more than one the first time. Call them if you have any questions. They really want to be helpful. This is not your typical MSC. Again, good luck.

I have downloaded much of the info. and printed out material because I would really like to do these shops as they become available. This is my first shot at one even though I signed up with them months and months ago so I definitely want to do a good job.
So far it looks like I have 4 shops and I have no idea what they are paying since their initial email said $5-$35 and I'm assuming the $5 ones are for telephone calls.
I guess what intimidated me was opening my email last night and seeing about 20 emails from them.

They increase the pay as they get close to the end of the month. In my area they usually start at $35, Sometimes they offer the $5 bonus immediately. And sometimes they offer mileage. You get paid at what ever rate you were originally offered.

Not sure I follow....what's the story with the 20 emails?

It looks like I got an email for each portion, i.e. facility evaluation, financial services rep, teller/recept., greeter evaluation. There are 4 shops here and it looks like another shopper is doing some, too.