I don't work with intelli-shop because I find them poor-paying and frustrating. However, as long as I get paid I really don't care about my score. Only if the score drops to where it's difficult to get work am I concerned (and that is never happened). I really think a lot of people get overly concerned about scores.

Don't scores have some kind of influence over whether you get picked for a shop over someone else?

I don't care about scores myself but I wonder if there is a reason why MSC use them. Maybe that's why some folks are really caught up on getting a 9 or 10 because they want to be picked first?

jwolpert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "grammer and spelling" seems to be the catch all
> when they want to deduct points and don't have any
> other reason.
>
> iamloved1 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >I got a 7 on a shop that I poured a
> > huge amount of details into and had points
> > deducted for "grammar and spelling."

Bread & Butter for the editors.

This reminded me of that TV show, "Whose Line is it, Anyway?" That's the show where...


"Everything is made up, and the points don't matter!"

I just visited a very tall building for them in NY. I had to make note of every employee I encountered and about a dozen checkpoints and security procedures. They expected the completed report in 12 hours. I tried but didn't complete it for 48. I expected a phone call for revisions and verifications, but I got a pleasant email this morning with a score of 9 with deductions for grammatical errors. Worked for me. Got a great view of NY that I haven't done in 40 years.

MilessMum Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't think this lower fee higher score theory
> is true. I did a comic book store shop and
> received a 9. The comic book store assignments pay
> less than $10.


Ha. I wonder if you did the same shop I just did. Kind of made me feel abused. The way the posting is worded it is $6 and up to $15 if they have the comics you ask for in stock. I figured I would get a couple comic books for my kids unless they just happened to not have ordered enough. Then when I was assigned the shop the guidelines that you asking for them a day before the books are supposed to be released. So it turns out you only get them if the store is doing something wrong.

Worse, I let my kids talk me into making almost $40 in purchases... Fail.

I too have ill feelings about the editorial scores. I have not done nearly as many as some of you in this forum. My shops always get an 8 after deductions for grammar and spelling. Every single report has this same message. Since I am Obsessive Compulsive (OCD) with my work, I would love the opportunity to improve my scores. Not just for the sake of a score; but, good reporting skills are vital to my advancement in MS work and reputation.

So the scores are important to me. Now, my real complaint: I can't get anyone to tell me details or give examples of my errors in grammar. I have made several requests for the information and I have never received a single response. I am considering contact by telephone to push for a response. It's as though the topic is taboo and that is frustrating to me. The fact that they ignore my request is more irritating. Professionalism is an ongoing process and I need detailed feedback from the source of my evaluations to improve.

Ironically, their general one-click responses get a deduction of two points. The deductions are for lack of supporting information/examples. Unlike them, I have provided detailed information in my comment to improve their score. I would appreciate the same from them in my shop reports.

Can anyone please tell me if it is Proofreader 5? This editor has been trashing my work rather harshly on reimbursement only pizza shops. The harder I try to correct my errors from the last shop, the lower my grade goes. Here are just a few of the criticisms with MY REASONING for answering the way I did

WEEK 1. Thank you for your report; it has been processed and scored 8/10!

MINIMAL COMMENTS: Although the basic shop details were followed for this report, only the minimum requirements were met. In the future, please provide more detail, including more detailed narratives that would give the reader a vivid image in their mind of your experience.

OPINION: Please make sure not to include opinion or biased comments. Only factual statements are relevant, unless the question specifically asks for your opinion. Personal comments and extraneous comments were removed.

Otherwise, the report was completed correctly. We appreciate your time and help with this. Thanks again, and have a good day!

I emailed this back in response:
I submitted the report and realized I did not paste in the description. The comment regarding the shorts is not my opinion, it was an observation, I observed a customers face and that of her son, age 9-11. In the guidelines it states "Employees are not to wear sport shorts

WEEK 2. It was a Grade 7.
POINT DEDUCTION JUSTIFICATION: In the future, please be sure to justify all the point deductions you make in reports with explanatory comments.

REFERENCES PAST SHO/VISIT: Please confine your comments to the experience that you had at the shop during this visit only. References to past shops and personal visits to the location should not be included in your shop comments UNLESS a question specifically asks for this information.

I was to compare with competitors, in detail with examples and names. I mentioned that I have known for many years that <Pizza Place> does not use fresh mushrooms where the two competitors use fresh mushrooms and are closer to me than the nearest <Pizza Place>, out of delivery range.

GUIDELINES: The guidelines in the report instruct you to check the items as soon as you get in the car, which you did not do. In the future, please be sure to do so to avoid any issues with the report.
Hello! The heat index is and they want me to take the time to look at a blasted salad. I mentioned in the report that I was not sure if the cheese on salad was off to one side, possibly from carrying to the car or into the house. Extra information, probably did not need to be mentioned in report and I get marked down for it.

We appreciate your time and help with completing this shop. It contained the necessary information for processing. Have a great day, and thanks again! HA! HA ! HA!

WEEK 3 Grade 7
A male with no shirt, wearing plaid shorts came in, walked to the back and said to cashier, "I forgot my shirt," I exited the restaurant before he did. There were at least two unauthorized people in the back of the kitchen, a female wearing a purple shirt and a male toddler, who wore a blue tee-shirt and possibly one other unauthorized person. While I waited, I noticed that the woman answered the telephone once and the child waved to me. Later, a male wearing no shirt and plaid shorts entered, as he walked to the back, he said to cashier, "I forgot my shirt." I exited the restaurant before he did however, I sat in my car and waited for a few minutes to see how immediately he left, I still did not see him leave.

These are the most recent and final shop, at least for pizza anyway.
WEEK 4. August 16: Comments: Thank you for your report. Before it can be sent through to the client so we can process your payment, we must have additional information. Please review the details below and update your report as soon as possible.

Please upload the correct photograph of the 2nd item your received into the report as soon as possible. The image provided was of the 1st item you received. If you cannot upload the image directly, you may email your scheduler or you may fax the image to xxx-xxx-xxxx.

For Food Quality/Order Accuracy Comments and Interior Cleanliness Comments:. These are the same comments please fix this contradiction.

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.

Comments: ~ Your report has been finalized. You have receive a score of 6/10.

Two points were deducted because we had to contact you for more information. --One point was deducted because you never uploaded the proper documentation. **Please upload the correct photograph of the 2nd item your received into the report as soon as possible. The image provided was of the 1st item you received. If you cannot upload the image directly, you may email your scheduler or you may fax the image to xxx-xxx-xxxx. ** I emailed it to my scheduler....

--Okay, it was late at night, I was tired and accidentally copied the same paragraph into two different sections (did not hit copy before I pasted into the next section) I will take fault for that one!! I accidentally emailed myself two different photos of the pizza and uploaded both.

One last point was deducted because of minor spelling/grammar issues.

Thank you for your report.



Moderator note: You forgot and left the client name in one paragraph... please be more careful in the future! Thanks.

shopperbob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I completely disagree with Elcarv. In business,
> one's self-esteem and attitude are far more
> important for success than a paltry fee. My
> experiences with the editors of this MSC are
> mostly negative. I no longer will accept a phone
> shop through them due to being pestered after
> completion. Ditto for auto, video and senior
> facility assignments. Such is the prerogative of
> an independent contractor.


I am of the same mindset, Bob. I calculated the time and headache and decided against the same assignments. It's perfectly ok to separate from a company that does you harm and a good service to the shoppers here to talk about it.

There were a lot of complaints about the reviewers on one of the scheduler's Facebook accounts. According to her they use college interns. I guess there is a very large staff.

Until I heard that, I took it personally. I have never been accused of all of the kinds of spelling and grammar errors that I have been accused of by Intelli-Shop. I write for a newspaper and I don't get the kind of criticism these college students put on my reviews.

I've never received less than an 8 and most are 9s or 10s but it is still frustrating. And some of them are downright rude. And sometimes they are just plain wrong.

They probably don't let us see what we did wrong because they know there are those of us who would quote page, section and line of the Chicago Manaul of Style to show them they do not know what they are writing about.

I got told the other day on a truck stop shower comparison shop that my report was "highly opinionated." Of course, the section said I could give my opinion and I did. When an employee is rude, condescending and talks to me like I'm a prostitute, I am going to report that. And when the showers are so dirty they look like something from a flop house, I'm going to report that too. The reviewer didn't like that.

Oh well, I got an 8. I also got $55 for an hour's worth of work. So I kept my mouth (or fingers) shut. I bet it is more than the reviewer made.

Just to chime in quickly...I have done tons of shops with Intellishop over the past couple of years. I never have reason to get angry with reviewers in any other mystery shopping companies. But some who work for Intellishop are a different breed. I've had to write steaming mad letters following quite a few of my shop reviews. I rarely get any response, which just adds fuel to my fire. I now only schedule shops with Intellishop after they've tacked on nice generous bonuses. I won't let an unfair rating go un-answered. And I feel that if I'm going to have to waste my time scolding some reviewer after I've already put in my time on the shop and report, then I'm going to get paid for it.

No, I have 10's and my shop average score is a 10, even though I have gotten some 9's and 8's over the years with Intelli-shop. I used to take it personally and get irritated with the lower scores but as long as my average is up I am okay. I just won't do the low paying shops at all.

I am pretty sure I remember that they use people taking college English courses at their local college for the editing positions. I was interested in becoming an editor for them at one time and was told this (I think), as they do not hire editors who work in other cities (many other companies use editors who work from home). Perrysburg, OH is the city where they are? Anyway, anyone taking college English and dealing with harsh professors might be a bit overly critical, but who knows what the reasoning is behind the poor scoring! And, they may have a big turnover with editors if people are moving on into careers after a few short years of editing while attending school.

I know when I was taking college English I did have a professor who would not give 100's for term papers because he said that no one is perfect. I generally got a 98 or lower, no matter how hard I tried I could not get a 100!

MilessMum Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Perhaps the real perfect is a 9 at this company.
> Maybe they start at 9 instead of 10, and dock
> points from 9. After all, nobody is perfect.

I received low gradings at the start, but have steadily improved! I find Intellishop challenging, and have only developed my writing and mystery shopping skills with their company. It hurts whenever I get a reprimand from work, but I know that I am no saint.

Working with car dealerships is too sad for me; it is too stressful on those poor car salesmen who are giving 100% to make a living during this recession. I just don't have it in me to do that to someone else, and I feel that any mystery shopping company should pay dearly to a shopper for putting in those reports.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2013 09:37PM by Mary Smith xoxoxo.

Maybe. I think more often companies won't allow you to shop for certain clients if you have a shop average of less than 7. And yes, some schedulers may look at scores. I do think schedulers just recognize emails addresses after awhile and schedule accordingly without looking at scores. I am unsure.

dixiewhiskey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't scores have some kind of influence over
> whether you get picked for a shop over someone
> else?
>
> I don't care about scores myself but I wonder if
> there is a reason why MSC use them. Maybe that's
> why some folks are really caught up on getting a 9
> or 10 because they want to be picked first?

I have my own issues with Intellishop. I also take issue with the editors but so far, I have been fairly lucky. My lowest score has been a 9. I took Business English in college and I do all my narratives in MS Word and use the spell check. If the MSC's report has its own spell check, I will also use it to check my spelling. I feel confident that my reports are well worded, correctly spelled and punctuated correctly. I would like to be told what I punctuated incorrectly so I can see for myself where I went wrong if in fact, I did go wrong. As we all know, they never let us know. I find that very strange because if they want great reports, how is anyone going to learn without being told where they went wrong?

I am also not happy with their shop log since I have no idea how to use it. I have tried to figure it out with no luck so I gave up. I guess I will have to wait for the emails.

I was doing the odd comic book shop until they dropped the fee down $2.00. When I asked if this was a permanent drop in the fee, the scheduler told me he did not know. The original fee was low enough but now that it has dropped a whole $2.00, I will not be doing any more shops until Intellishop posts something else.

sroth415 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did anybody get paid by Intelli-shop today for
> July shops completed and accepted?

Yes, I get paid at 20th for July shops.

elcarev68 Wrote:
-----------------------------------------------------------

>I prefer the smell of an MSC's pay even with the stink of occasional unjust scores,
>than the odor-removing surgery of deactivation.


elcarev68, I just want to let you know that I am not cutting off my nose to spite my face. As a shopper, I take pride in my work and keep busy with my mystery shopping. My point is that I really don't need Intelli-shop. There are way too many MSCs out there who treat their shoppers with fairness and dignity to take this kind of crap from one MSC. My nose and my career will both be fine, and in fact better, without this MSC. It is good to let other shoppers know what they can expect from a particular MSC in this and other situations. This is why it is good to have a forum like this one, even if it does nothing more than allow me to let off some steam.

Has anyone had a report "rejected" because "you shopped the wrong location"? This happened recently. I was furious with the Intellishop reviewer who sent me that email. They did not ask me for any information or confirmation. They simply "rejected" my report. What made me so angry was that they were dead wrong, but now I had to spend the extra time trying to make sure that some responsible person at Intellishop knew this. I needed to make sure that my report was accepted before the shop got re-assigned to another shopper, and that I would be paid for my efforts. The location was in a small town that had changed the addresses of all of the businesses in this one section. The address change had taken place years prior. Intellishop shopped this location on a regular basis. They just never made the change on their records. I had even written them once, letting them know to make a correction to the address on their forms. Nothing happened. That same shop is available on the job board today. And guess what? The same old incorrect address is what appears on the assignment sheet.

I have learned to be very selective when selecting jobs with intellishop. The report forms for the auto dealerships are long and comprehensive. I wait until the pay goes up before selecting those.

Then recently, I self assigned some phone shops. The due date had already passed when I self assigned them. When I went online to do the shops, to make a long story short, I found that I had been issued three flake citations (there were three shops) for missing the due date! I contacted the scheduler through my email and through the contact link on the sassieshop website. She ignored both of my messages. I am no longer excepting shops from this scheduler even when she emails me desperately asking for help.

And here's something else that really "takes the cake." In twelve years of mystery shopping I have never had this happen before. On August 5th of 2013, I got an email from someone at Intellishop with a question about a shop that I had completed in December of 2012! The person who wrote to me told me the name of the client, but then did not specify to which shop he was referring (I had done three shops for this client that month). I had to write back and tell him that because of the amount of time that had passed, I was unable to answer his question.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2013 04:01AM by CAscotch.

I received a deduction once (Not from Intelli-shop) because they emailed me a couple of questions after 6 PM to my work email. The next day around 10 AM, I checked my mail and saw the questions. I responded immediately. I got a deduction because I didn't respond in a "timely manner."

PennyRobert Wrote:
> My nose and my career will both be fine, and in fact better, without this MSC. It is
> good to let other shoppers know what they can expect from a particular MSC in this and other
> situations. This is why it is good to have a forum like this one, even if it does nothing more
> than allow me to let off some steam.


PennyRobert –
Yes, it's great to have a Forum like this one. You are absolutely right in wanting to warn other shoppers concerning the irrational and unjust scoring system of Intellishop. It is quite bad. I appreciate that you and I each invest our best into our reports, and I can see how it could sting to have such effort seemingly undervalued or unfairly evaluated. Please, keep warning others, for it was such criticism that helped me to understand that nearly everyone who shops for them will sometimes get an 8 for a 10-caliber report, that it wasn’t just me, and it won’t make sense. The conclusion I drew was that I could keep shopping for them, ignore the scores, and just get paid. If others conclude that it is an insult to receive unjust scores, a personal affront sufficient to deactivate after $1K worth of shops, sacrificing the next $1K to avoid the stress of bad scoring, I respect that. I shop to make money, and the money I make permits me not only to make ends meet, but to be generous and charitable. For me to lose income by deactivating over an unfair score would definitely be cutting off my nose to spite my face.
For others, however, if inconsistent, sometimes unfairly low, and often unjustified scoring is going to bring a shopper down, then this is definitely an MSC to avoid.

It is interesting that others have had some of the same problems as I have had. Most of my scores for Intelli-shops jobs have gotten 8s and 9s. I did two car shops for a certain make of car. One score was a 5 and the other a 7. Miffed doesn't even come close to what I felt. Most of my scores from other companies and 9s and 10s. I was crushed when I got the 5. When I got another job at the same dealership I thought I would give them another shot. That's when I got the 7. From Intelli-shop and a couple of other companies I always get points off for spelling (in spite of using THEIR spell check) and grammar. I would love to see the actually mistakes I made so I don't make the same mistakes again. It is frustrating to keep getting the same comments. I guess some proofreaders are more picky than others. BTW- I have not been paid for a July shop. It is still pending.

PennyRobert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am a very patient shopper, who has been mystery
> shopping for over eight years now. I have had a
> few problems with Intelli-shop over the past
> several years, but was able to get them worked
> out. One incident was when they refused to pay me
> for an auto dealership shop because they couldn't
> confirm that a salesperson worked at the
> dealership. I called the dealership back myself
> and asked for the salesperson with whom I
> interacted, and was told that he no longer worked
> there. I had to contact a supervisor to get it
> straightened out, explaining that I had no
> responsibility if a salesperson quits his/her job.
> The supervisor did finally agree with me and I
> was paid for the shop.
>
> I have completed 115 shops for Intelli-shop and
> have an average grade of "10." I have read many
> posts regarding the proofreaders at Intelli-shop,
> and have posted items myself regarding this. This
> last shop has made me decide to sever my
> relationship with them. I completed an overnight
> hotel stay shop, and followed the guidelines
> exactly. The proofreader, who obviously didn't
> read the guidelines, contacted me and asked me how
> I knew the names of the employees that I
> interacted with. I explained that I followed the
> shop guidelines, which state, "Names are required
> for ALL employees you evaluate." The guidelines
> further state, "If they are not wearing a nametag,
> ask them for their name in casual conversation."
>
> The proofreader deducted two points from my grade
> because I had to be contacted for this
> information! So it appears that I have to train
> the proofreaders to read the shop guidelines, and
> then receive a deduction on my grade to explain
> the shop guidelines to them. I have concluded
> that it is just not worth the hassle any more. It
> is really frustrating to do the hard work of
> completing an excellent report and then to get
> degraded because a proofreader has to justify
> their position by finding something (anything) to
> use to deduct points from your score.

I have noticed this issue many times. It does not matter if it is the salesperson's fault, the dealer's fault, or the inability of the editor to understand the guidelines I got dinged.
Who cares if I do not have a 10 average. As you state there is no one to go to as the editor will remember you on the next shop if you complain too loudly.
I only do Intellishop when they are on route and I need a stepping stone to get from one shop to another profitably. I would not deliberately start with Intellishop and attempt to build a route.

My big issue with this company is the brake inspection shop I did on an emergency basis for a "hero" citation. The mechanic found a serious problem with my right front wheel bearing. Of course, I had it replaced then and there. Because I purchased something, I was downgraded by the editor to a low rating and messaged a reprimand for doing so.

I responded not only to the editor but my scheduler that, had I not had the work done, it was likely that my wheel bearing would have frozen and created an accident, in which case they never would have gotten the report, so how could they disparage the emergency work I needed to do and had done?

About 10 days later my rating was upped to a 9, thanks to my scheduler, but no thanks to anyone else in the firm. I never even got a response from either the editor or other supervisory staff.

Okay, I got paid as scheduled, but the taste in my emotional mouth puts the brakes to doing work for them. I feel sorry for my scheduler, as she was very nice and extremely helpful.

Mr. Roberts, I am in agreement with you. The names were submitted, there was no reason for the editor to contact you. It was their error to pick up the phone and call you. Thus, points should not have been deducted. This would be a point that I would argue.

I have found this MS company very frustrating at times because the have such a high turn over in proof readers. Any time I have had a problem, I have been told that it was because the proof reader was either new or in training. I too had an average rating of 10, until one of these "newbies" gave me a 7 on a $3 shop...It is not worth ruining my rating over $3, so I just make sure that I only take shops $40+ with this MS company.

I like Intellishop but I noticed they just took a shop from another well known MSC. The other MSC (who are a pleasure to work with) paid 50% more than Intellishop for the same exact job at the same exact location.

Been done with them for a year or so, but still keep getting emails. In fact, this company requires $100 deposit in order to shop one of our major league teams, with the promise that it would be refunded with completion of the shop. Really? I pay them? I don't think so.

After 147 shops with Intellishop, I deactivated because of their particularly zealous proofreader who knew more about the location than I did, and..... and... that ridiculous threat at the end of the request for information. Don't threaten me, Intellishop!!!!!