Ath Power has been giving me the same ole script about "putting the check in mail" for 2 weeks now... I performed the audit for them back in April and I am still waiting on the check.. This is disturbing me because as we all know, you take the time away from your busy day to drive to and complete the audit, complete a detailed report and not to mention gas spent up front and then when it's time to pay up, they tell you the check is in the mail? I'm thinking what comapny still sends checks in the mail and blaming the post office for slow delivery? It is the equivelant of the lady writing out a check at the grocery store holding up the line. 6-8 weeks is now at 10 weeks? I deactivated my account because of this issue. I don't want to spend any time I could be making more money asking about money I've already made... It's almost as if the company is buying time...hoping I forget about it..Really Ath Power? No thanks. There is no substitute for a well ran company that delivers on time just as they ask of us.

I did a shop for them at the end of April and just recieved a check from them.....

Pretty slow but I did get paid.


1savvylady Wrote:
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> Ath Power has been giving me the same ole script
> about "putting the check in mail" for 2 weeks
> now... I performed the audit for them back in
> April and I am still waiting on the check.. This
> is disturbing me because as we all know, you take
> the time away from your busy day to drive to and
> complete the audit, complete a detailed report and
> not to mention gas spent up front and then when
> it's time to pay up, they tell you the check is in
> the mail? I'm thinking what comapny still sends
> checks in the mail and blaming the post office for
> slow delivery? It is the equivelant of the lady
> writing out a check at the grocery store holding
> up the line. 6-8 weeks is now at 10 weeks? I
> deactivated my account because of this issue. I
> don't want to spend any time I could be making
> more money asking about money I've already made...
> It's almost as if the company is buying
> time...hoping I forget about it..Really Ath Power?
> No thanks. There is no substitute for a well ran
> company that delivers on time just as they ask of
> us.

I receive my checks according to the Shopper Pay Policy statement on the Shopper's Page:

"Shop pay is cut once a month - on the last day of the month for all shops completed the previous month. Example: All shops completed in July, checks are cut on the last day of August and will be mailed out within 7-10 business days (processing time). Processing time consists of signing, sealing, stuffing, metering and mailing through the U.S. post office."

If you did one shop for them and it was at the beginning of a particular month, it will be close to 60 days by the time the check is cut, and then it will be several more days to receive it. So far I have had not problems with them paying.

I have never had an issue receiving payment from ATH. I have not received payment for shops I performed in April yet, but I am not expecting payment yet, per their Payment Policy.

I enjoy performing their shops!

Wow.. You can remember all of that information? I'm amazed at your knowledge of the Ath Power payment policy.. I read it and I know what the policy states, the thing is we have moved beyond that at this point. I know that I'll get it eventually but I am a business minded individual that thinks numbers. I look at the cash value of a dollar and don't appreciate mistakes like the one I am experiencing that cost me extra time to research and or call or send an email reminder about. If you take a look at how long you have to wait to get paid from Ath Power it's really a waste of time. You could have re-invested that same money five times and been able to keep more of your cash in your pocket using only what you make profit to keep the ball moving. My time is money. The snail mail and check process is nothing more than a way for the company to hold on to your money as long as they can, possibly accruing interest that we could be getting. Even with the long wait I was willing to do a few shops for Ath Power but when they take longer than the already long wait time..... That's just ridiculous. It's not the money it's the principle. I run a business just like Ath Power and an extra minute out of my day to research a payment which should have came is an extra minute. I have spent enough on gas, time and everything else that it takes to complete a detailed and professional report on time. When It comes to pay the little money be as professional as you would like the shoppers to be.

I wonder if there are any "Damage Control" members on this forum? They are people who actually work for the company and may post into forums posing as a shopper in order to help protect the company's image. People who seem to have all the expert in's and out's about a particular company always seem as though they have a personal attachment.

The facts are:
1.Ath Power uses out-dated processes for no good reason.
2.Ath Power takes forever in the day to pay you money that you earn with them.
3. Ath Power is not even close to one of the best companies to do business with.
So while some may experience a issue today and others tomorrow.. Shoppers must be advised to be surprised when you receive your payment from Ath Power. That's not good business no matter how you sum it up.


shops4aliving Wrote:
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> I receive my checks according to the Shopper Pay
> Policy statement on the Shopper's Page:
>
> "Shop pay is cut once a month - on the last day of
> the month for all shops completed the previous
> month. Example: All shops completed in July,
> checks are cut on the last day of August and will
> be mailed out within 7-10 business days
> (processing time). Processing time consists of
> signing, sealing, stuffing, metering and mailing
> through the U.S. post office."
>
> If you did one shop for them and it was at the
> beginning of a particular month, it will be close
> to 60 days by the time the check is cut, and then
> it will be several more days to receive it. So far
> I have had not problems with them paying.

I have never, ever had an issue with getting paid by ath and have never had to run after them for my money. I really don't know why you suspect people who take the time to copy and paste the policy or who may have worked for the company long enough to know how they function. That is really an unfair assessment because you don't agree with people who say they've had no problem with the MSC.

I have an update which I am more than willing to add to the comment I made about Ath Power. First, Let me say that this is not my first time at the rodeo show. I have been doing mysetery shopping for a long time and understand pay policies and why they exist. With that being said, Ath Power has contacted me and found why I have not received a check. It was an address problem which has now been corrected and the checks have been reissued. I am the type of individual that will admit when something was not what I was led to beleive. The point of my post was the slow process that Ath Power uses to pay out invoices and how that contributes to issues like this being possible and taking longer to fix. I never called the company a scam because I know that they are not. I complained about the amount of time that it takes to get paid for the work that you do for them. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and indeed that is exactly what these message boards and forums exist for. In my opinion, Ath Power could use an upgrade. If there are others who feel that the process is adequate and enjoy performing audits for the company.. good for them. I myself, like to be paid as quickly as the job was performed to satisfaction, but that's just me. I did not directly accuse anyone of anything. I stated a few facts and pondered a damage control situation. Ironically, the issue was pin pointed and fixed within an hour of that post.
For the record... Ath Power has found a discrepancy in the address that was on file for my (now self deactivated) account. They have sent communication stating the issue and how they are working to resolve the issue. I appreciate the insight of others who may have been in the business much longer than I. This is not my career it's something I do for extra money and thus may not be aware of absolutely everything about the business, but I do know an outdated process when I see it, which is what my comment focused on. I want to clarify this and ensure that I have updated my post to reflect the most accurate information. Just as I reported the slow pay issue, I quickly came back to report that there was an issue with the address on file which caused a delay and is now being corrected. I do not mind admitting when I may have mis-spoken but my comment about the out-dated process is a valid statement.

Ok Well we all like to get paid quickly, but this is their stated policy and you know up front if they pay by check or otherwise. Probably you forgot to update your address, which I did once. If you do not want to work for a co, that pays by check that is your call. I personally like getting little surprises in my mailbox.(: They are a long term reputable MSC.

They do not nitpick reports and do not do the rating thing. I suggest that you save your anger for those MSCs that pay nada and mess with shoppers without cause. Again, just a suggestion.

FWIW, I am not a "Damage Control" person for MSCs! I'm simply a mystery shopper, just like you, and I like getting paid too. When you asked if you should be concerned about not receiving your check for an April shop I responded because I had just received my own check from them for April. The shop I did was at the beginning of April so getting it around the 10th of June WAS about a 60 day wait. It was a quick thing to go to their website so I could copy/paste the pay schedule for you. Just trying to help...

I am glad that it worked out and that you came back to tell us about it.

It's the beauty of being an IC - we can deactivate them in the same way that we can be deactivated. Pick and choose - we don't have to work for anybody we don't want to work for. Read their stated terms of payment and if their payment is not fast enough, don't accept jobs for them. I'm generally OK with a long wait for payment as long as it doesn't exceed THEIR STATED PAYMENT TERMS. BUT if a MSC doesn't live up to its own stated terms, I stop accepting jobs - I've already earned the money when I did the shop and I don't want to spend additional begging for my payment.

I have never had an issue with Ath Power. I expect that I get paid, generally the second month after I completed the shop. They have always been nice and accommodating when I have spoken to them regarding any assignments, by email and phone. I do know that their is at least two locations with schedulers in different states. Both of them are always honest and upfront.

Agreed.

It's not just ATH. I've made it a point on my spreadsheet details to count each month's income as "60 Days In The Future". I now know exactly how much "extra income" I'll have for a specific month.

Example:

Jan. 2012 Jobs = Mar. 2012 Income
Feb. 2012 Jobs = Apr. 2012 Income
Mar. 2012 Jobs = May 2012 Income
Apr. 2012 Jobs = Jun. 2012 Income
May 2012 Jobs = Jul. 2012 Income
Jun. 2012 Jobs = Aug. 2012 Income

I also have a separate bank account strictly for Mystery Shopping (set up when I first became a shopper). I set up Bill Pay with this account to pay the CC that I use for reimbursements so it doesn't come out of our household account.

As far as Paypal deposits? Those get transferred to this bank account ONE time a month. I'll transfer all of my June Deposits on July 1st.

Granted, it doesn't always work out with my pay schedule above. Some MSC's will pay in 14 days, others in 30 days - but for the majority of the shops I perform, this "60 Days Future Income" works perfectly for my budgeting.




traceypowdi Wrote:
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> I have never had an issue with Ath Power. I expect
> that I get paid, generally the second month after
> I completed the shop. They have always been nice
> and accommodating when I have spoken to them
> regarding any assignments, by email and phone. I
> do know that their is at least two locations with
> schedulers in different states. Both of them are
> always honest and upfront.

I do a lot of work for this company. I get my checks regularly and it is always about the 15 of the month for all shops done 2 months ago. For example, shops I did in July I got my check on September 14th. August shops will be paid about October 15th.

I agree that getting checks is a little inconvenient sometimes but there are other companies I work for that send a check every week. Even though their shops don't pay great I make sure to do a few so I have a little extra gas money coming in between the monthly payers....

I received a message from Ath Power's controller asking if I would like to have my pay directly deposited into my account.
I believe they have joined the rest of the world with offering DD.