I have two issues with Intelli-shop. First, they have that comment on their guidelines about how if you are nice to them they will be nice to you. I have bent over backwards for them trying to accomodate urgent shops yet I think they have the rudest reviewers in the business.

Second, I find my scores are lower if I write something negative about certain companies such as their client in the shower comparisons. Also, the golden place.

I was asked to elaborate on one paragraph a while back and warned not to change anything else. The reviewer had changed my responses to reflect the opposite answer. I was really upset because what he/she wrote did not happen.

I don't like that I got asked to do a bonus shop and the bonus is not reflected online. I don't want to be a victim of bait and switch

I had the same issue and sent them an email when a bonus didn't show (before the shop) and they emailed me right back and said it was updated. Maybe it would have showed in the paycheck, but why take the chance? I like their really detailed feeback...

In general, if a bonus doesn't appear on a Sassie shop in your log, you won't receive the bonus. Always get promised of bonuses in writing.

Thankfully most MSC communicate in writing so that is covered. I will inquire about it on Monday when the scheduler returns

Just don't stress over those ratings as I scho what others have already said. When I get a certain proofreader I know I will not get the rating I feel is deserved. I worked on a group of specific shops for them that the scheduler was having such difficulty on so I took 4 of those awful shops. I was held up by a Law Enforcement Officer who was directing traffic around a huge crane and was 3 minutes late to an appointment for tire rotation and got docked 1 point. Some things are just not within our power to control. I think this was very unfair (the same proofreader). Oh well, they are what they are the rates and we cannot change them. We are human and do the best we can. I wrote it off to experience. Guesss I should have lied and not even said I had an appointment. But being the honest shopper I am I told the facts. Win some and lose some.

But I did get 2 Hero Citations out of it and can use those to get a 10 on any report in the future. So there are perks.

Again, I echo ~ don't stress over the little things!



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shopping Central Florida and into eternity ~ soon to be in Tennessee!


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you open up your job log of all shops you have done for them , the hero citation should have been entered by your scheduler in the area where where profile agenda is located. That area where it gives the total shops, MSPA status, etc., I worked with a particular scheduler and basically held her feet to the fire on this one as the shops NO ONE would touch. It was a comparison study shop....then the proofreader would change your percentages allotted to suit the narrative. Never mind YOU were the one front and center having the experience and being there in person. What gall. But, keep this in mind ~ it was only 1 proofreader that did this consistently. No matter the shop ~ this proofer got it your 10 was gone!

Basically I have found Intelli to be fair...but these shops were done in late June and early July ~ still awaiting payment. Think they missed the deadline. I am moving from Central Florida in early October for Tennessee. Don't know what MS may be there ~ we will see.

I wish you well.

whiterosie Wrote:
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> I was asked to elaborate on one paragraph a while
> back and warned not to change anything else. The
> reviewer had changed my responses to reflect the
> opposite answer. I was really upset because what
> he/she wrote did not happen.


This is the statement that the proofreader now attaches....

"You must not adjust the report beyond the areas of clarification we ask for. Any changes to the report outside of the areas listed will jeopardize your score and reimbursement for this report. Thank you."


I took that as a threat and I deactivated my account with Intellishop. I am an independent contractor. THAT is not in the original contract between me and the company which calls itself Intellishop..... it is added as the overzealous proofreader feels powerful enough to do. THAT voids any contract... Intellishop hasn't figured that out yet that an overzealous proofreader is not an asset to their company, but a detriment.

If shoppers want to be bullied beyond their contract.... you can have all the work I used to do for them...

THAT ISN'T RESPECT.... All caps intentional....

Just got paid through Paypal...looong wait, but it came..

Ironically, I just submitted an email about those responses. I have been getting the same identical response for over one year: I score an 8 because of grammatical errors. The report is very good but they never tell me how to improve the grammar. It's the only company that mentions my grammar and it bugs me to think I can't make a change until I know exactly what printing that is in incorrect grammar.

I sent the email to my scheduler and she replied that I should be getting that information. She told me that she would mention the problem and I should get something in my next report. Sigh, I do not believe it. Oh well, "I am buying coffee for everyone! Come on over."


Phoebe70 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did an assignment for them recently. Received a 9
> out of 10. The only comments I received were:
>
> "Your report has been finalized. Thank you for
> submitting it with all the required information.
> It was well written with good supporting comments.
> Keep up the nice work!"
>
> So why the heck did I get a 9 instead of a 10?
> I'm convinced these editors are worried about job
> security or something and refuse to give 10s.

These scores do affect whether you can self-assign and also whether you are deemed eligible at all for certain shops.

The comments are notoriously random. For example, giving a lower score "for having to contact you" when there was no contact and no problem. They love to give lower scores for "grammatical errors" that do not exist. I had two separate English professors double check the same reports. No errors were found. I sent their findings along with copies of the reports to the schedulers. Let's just say scores were changed to "10" on all of them.

If we are to improve future reports we need to know what their peeves are. Also, how authentic are the complaints when they are copy and pasted verbatim month to month? Curious.

So many shoppers won't work for this company anymore because of the snitty editors. This makes it hard on the schedulers and it is bad for the company as a whole. If they are smart they will rectify this situation.

One of my chief beefs with this company is the e-mails that cite "Simple". Good grief! Even "Easy" would be better than "Simple". Inference is I'm too stupid to do a "Difficult" shop. This MSC doesn't have a clue about the meaning of "Respect".

Their ratings appear to be arbitrary...similar to when a consumer is asked to rate their experience at a business.

Many people will never choose a 10, even if they had no issues, simply because they think that a 10 would mean perfect with absolutetly no room for improvement.

I would not sweat it. If you look at their job postings, most of them require an average rating of 5 or more. 9 is well above 5 in my book.

Is it possible they are under cutting the market to get some jobs and then expect shoppers to do them at lower rates.

$17 auto shops that another MSC pays $35.

$20 shops for a motorcycle company that a different MSC used to pay $30-$40 for.

That is exactly what they are doing. However, Intellishop will bonus their auto shops if no one takes them. In my area they are almost always bonused.

SAVS Wrote:
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> Is it possible they are under cutting the market
> to get some jobs and then expect shoppers to do
> them at lower rates.
>
> $17 auto shops that another MSC pays $35.
>
> $20 shops for a motorcycle company that a
> different MSC used to pay $30-$40 for.

My area dealerships are NEVER bonused and range between 17 and 19 bucks and are gone by the end of the month.
The FF shops are difficult and always stay on the boards, I don't do them...two FF meals are two 2 much for me.

My July video shops were paid in full and on time to the day, today.

I have completed 10 auto dealerships for Intellishop this year. The smallest pay was $35 and the largest was $45.

I had a "problem" like that with a mystery shop. I like to know exactly what my mistakes were & I got 10 on 2 following instructions but a 9 on grammer. what did I do wrong lol. I wish they would send backmy report graded & the notes in red ink like they did in school lol. you cant improve if you dont know how (keep in mind that I do actually use more puncuation in my reports lol)

Head on over for the new HIGH price shoes....... $5 yes $5 shop fee. Even with the $3 purchase a whole FIVE bucks!

"They love to give lower scores for "grammatical errors" that do not exist. I had two separate English professors double check the same reports. No errors were found."

Unfortunately, the problem is that I've found that many editors do not themselves know proper grammar! I got dinged on a report recently (not for grammar, but for other things), and the editor's comments were full of grammatical errors! How can an editor mark someone else down on grammar if he/she doesn't know proper grammar to begin with?

I question whether or not most MSC's hire professional writers to at least write copy for their websites and shop instructions. They may not need to hire professional editors--since there's more to editing a shop than grammar, and they need people familiar with client requirements--but surely their websites and shop instructions should be correctly written! If I were a client looking for a company to do shops for me, I would never in a million years hire one if I went to that firm's website and saw poorly written, error-filled copy! Why would I trust a company that doesn't know correct from incorrect grammar and usage? It's not professional!

(And, btw, if I've made mistakes in my post, don't blast me--I don't proofread forum posts the way I proof things I'm being paid to do--and I'm not gettin' paid for writing this! LOL....)

I only complete bonused shops for Intelli-shop. It seems that most of their shops require extensive commentary and details .

I am doing <fast food> for another company but can't do Intellishop because you have to score perfect in only two tries. Doesn't make sense.



Please remember not to name the client once the MSC has been named (it's in the subject line) or vice-versa. Thanks!

Since the name of the MSC is in the subject line and your post, you need to delete the client name. This is what the Posting Guidelines for the forum say,

"Do not reveal the clients of mystery shopping companies."

I received an 8/10 on a shop I completed two months ago, I was also told it was finalized. Just last week I receive a message that it could not be accepted and I would not be paid for the shop. It was a dealership shop, I did this very same dealership shop as a favor for a scheduler who called begging me to please take it. I was extremely busy that day, yet I did that one as a nice gesture. My first 3 shops all received a 8/10, 9/10, 9/10, then I do these two assignments, and both are now not being paid. I spent hours at least 6-7 total on both shops and the very long reports for a very small fee. Now I am not being paid for one of them. Any advice on how to handle this. I have already told the scheduler that it made no sense why I would not be paid for a shop I did everything right on. I was told the client rejected my report.

Has anyone else experienced this with this company? I witnessed things when I did the assignment that would have made any customer run off quickly and head to competitor. I was completely honest in my report with everything. The only thing I can think of is that the client or manager was upset that it would make their company look bad, or that this MSC did not want to upset the client with what had actually taken place that day.

Any advice or has anyone else experienced this with them? Almost two months after my shop was finalized it stayed there with an 8/10 rating. I just do not understand this and now will never perform another shop for this company again. I wasted so much time and effort on making sure everything was done correctly.

Sometimes the truth will set your fee free. Most of the instructions I read say BE POSITIVE. OK. I get the picture.

The wino in the doorway, pan handling, becomes -" People from the neighborhood feel very comfortable and welcome at the location. One habitué was in the front of the building, greeting customers as they came in."

The food looked like the cat got at it?- The chef has a very singular concept of food styling.

Server looked like a hooker?- The wait staff exuded friendliness, the uniforms were very form fitting.

It's all about the spin, the unvarnished truth isn't what they want to hear. Shoot the messenger.

Hope you recover from your wounds soon.

Whenever an MSC does that, it is generally an accidental oversight. Email right away so that they can update the shop log. It's happened to me before and I always make sure to get them to "fix" it.

dixiewhiskey Wrote:
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> I don't like that I got asked to do a bonus shop
> and the bonus is not reflected online. I don't
> want to be a victim of bait and switch

It is always nice to get a high score. I average in the 9's but I think more importantly to me is that I trust I will get paid by them.

I shop for a lot of companies. I also edit for one (not Intelli-shop). I'm not sure if this will help but the scores that we give are not based on volume. You will definitely get a lower score if you give single sentence answers but that doesn't sound like your issue.

The content is the most important part. For example:

"John ignored me while I stood next to his kiosk. He continued his conversation with a 5'2", approximately 20 year old Latino. After waiting two minutes, I excused myself for interrupting and asked if they had the XYZ in stock."

This is definitely different than "The guy ignored me until I asked about the product."

The client is always looking for details. Sometimes it's so he can match it up with his security footage. Sometimes it's so she can properly approach the employee. Either way, we score depending on the actual content. Also, grammar and punctuation count. If I have to spend time correcting it, that lowers your score, too.

And, in fact, some companies never give a ten. It's kind of like the teacher who never gave a 100 because no one could actually know everything. It's demoralizing, but editors are people and people have their own issues.

Finally, like several previous shoppers have said. as long as they keep hiring you and you keep banking their money, don't stress about the score. Anything 8 or over is considered very good.

I hope I've helped.

ces1948 Wrote:
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> I stopped shopping for them when I became
> convinced they wanted aspiring novelists as their
> shoppers. Well that and the coffee grounds shop.


Haha that's the conclusion I'm coing to.