No, I do not work for BestMark. I just do some mystery shopping and merchandising as an IC. I try to be efficient, and give the job a chance to be a success.

Actually the post sounds real enough to me. This member has been registerd for months now, even if this is her first post. It certainly wasn't a gushy, glowing recommendation. She admitted the first one was difficult and that she learned for future audits.

Also, the store employees explained all the equipment, and were there to help me with any equipment problems. They were right there for all the sections where I had to work with an employee. This really made a difference.

I found that there were a few factors which could have a major impact on the difficulty and length of the audit. Obviously, the size of the store, the level of compliance and the attitude of the management and employees. I had stores which were small to moderately sized, generally compliant, management that was available, and employees that were courteous and helpful.

I did the homework, passed the qualification test and tried out the system by doing one of the 4 visits. This was after the vendor had dropped its interview process for new auditors, the background check requirement and the need to buy a shirt. It was demanding, time-consuming and frustrating. It might be worth the money if you return regularly to the same store. Now, however,it seems like either the client or the vendor is rethinking the system because none of these audits are being posted. The vendor may have bitten off more than it can chew.

Just completed 8 visits (2 stores) with Bestmark. Initially they were hard, and I felt like just walking out. But once I complete the visit the first time, the next time was much easier. I enjoyed doing the work, and even bought a little mobile "table" so I could put my notebook and price scanner on it to move around with me. The shopping cart they suggested was too big. The employees were nice. I had to ask a lot of questions, and everyone was helpful.

I'm hoping the audits come back around since I have my mobil workstation ready to go, LOl!

I am a new shopper. I registered and took an assignment I wanted to have dinner with an old friend so it was like a free dinner. When I read the Dispatch, Quality Control stuff. It mentioned 5 times various amounts of money would be deducted if you did certain things or didn't do certain things. I read the print out of the report. It was so long and at times contradictory. I decided to send an email and decline and at the same time removed myself from this company. Fortunately, my friend and I are just going dutch. I have only done a few shops in the last week with different companies and none were as long as this one 15 pages. Have a nice day!

I did that shop - at a casual dining restaurant. It was a great dinner and hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves interacting at the bar with the bartender/server. She got a good tip, which helped run the tab $14 over the reimbursement amount. I did the shop last night and when I went to enter the shop online, it wasn't on my page. After writing the company, BM, they informed me that they sent me an email over a week ago stating the need to re-schedule. They said they also sent an email on July 30 cancelling the shop since I didn't re-schedule. I DID NOT GET EITHER OF THE EMAILS. I double-checked all my folders, including spam...did not get them. I DID, however, receive a "3-day reminder" email on July 30. I had printed out the paperwork when I was assigned the shop initially and did not go back and double check "MY SHOPS" page before leaving yesterday to do my 3 shops of the day. The MSC employee today told me that I wasn't the only shopper that performed the shop like I did.

I told him that when the MSC company makes the scheduling error, they should have some sort of "double-check" that the shopper actually got the word that the shop was cancelled. My thought was a "Confirmation" link the shopper can click on that lets the MSC know the shopper knows the shop was cancelled. Then if there are some shoppers that don't "Confirm", the MSC could make phone calls to those shoppers.

If we have an emergency as shoppers and can't perform the shop, they require us to make a phone call to let them know ...

We work too hard to schedule multiple shops during a day to end up having to forfeit our profit for the day to a "cancelled" shop that we still performed ...

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Best mark has done the exact same thing before and you will have a hard time getting money. Fair no....

I won't get paid for that shop - have to remember, have to remember, HAVE TO REMEMBER to check "My Shops" every night for shops the next day! Lesson learned.....

The next flight of merchandising audits for BM were posted last week and so far no one in my area has touched them. BM actually lowered the fee for one of the visits. I hope BM realizes that these audits are hard work that requires a number of skills and that the auditors have invested many hours of preparation.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2012 08:33AM by emccded.

Thanks for all this information! I am so glad I read this before I finished the auditor training.

This is what makes this forum AWESOME!