Does anyone else have issues with this company? First off, they send tons of email for shops (mostly inspections) that are in the middle of nowhere, yet don't seem interested in paying PAD to cover the gas costs. I apply frequently to their emails that almost beg someone to do it, yet I don't get the shops. I instead get another 5 or 6 emails begging someone to do the shop. Do they really expect someone to travel 100 miles round trip for $12-$15? Not me. If I were already going that way, that would be different.

Enough of that. My issue with them is they refuse to honor a bonus fee that was clearly stated in an email.

I received the email for an urgent shop. The fee was raised to try to get the shop done in the last couple of days. The email stated to request PAD if it was needed, so I did. I was approved for the shop. "Wow, great!" I thought, as I was picking that shop as part of a route for another company. I only requested the additional PAD because it was still a few miles out of the way. Regardless, I then take a closer look at the shop and notice the bonus fee is not there. Instead it was just the PAD I had requested. I e-mailed them and received a response that didn't make much sense. I decided to email them again to clarify my first email to them. This was this morning before I left on my route. The entire day goes by. Of course I didn't do the shop since I could not get clarification on the fee. I then received an email late tonight stating the PAD is the extra fee. Woah, buddy, that is not what the e-mail stated. I even forwarded the e-mail to them. Does anyone have a phone number for them? I would rather talk to someone on the phone instead of messages back and forth.

Thanks!

I have had trouble with Trendsource, too. I was assigned two shops for the same client, two different times and locations. I asked a question about scheduling one of the shops. They never answered my question, they just cancelled both shops. I do not trust their schedulers at all.

On the other hand, the shops I did for them were accepted and I got paid on time with no issues.

I have done 10 assignments for them and have never had a problem. They also pay very fast.

I've completed dozens of shops with them and never had a problem.

Trendsource number 619-718-7467 press 0 and ask for onsite inspection department. They will ask for your ID number it is located at the top of login page hope this helps. I have completed 14 projects and have had no problems.

Yeah, they do pay quickly but they don't pay well...except for those rare bonuses and PAD granted. Sorry you had a problem. Be persistent and keep your email documentation, and you will get your money I am sure.

I've probably done a 100 shops for them... I've never been assigned a shop where I requested a PAD. They have called and offered a PAD because it is on deadline and due today, which I usually don't have that flexibility to put someone in on late notice.

They are slow to update shop information (dates available), they are slow to assign, but they pay on the 5th and 20th of the month.

Never had a problem with them.Quick pay on PayPal. No problem with PAD either. Just wish they had more client in my area.

I just signed up with them to add another company to my list. First, they're asking for a photo ID. I shop for almost 40 companies, and I've never been asked for a photo ID. Second, are those fees for real? Grocery store price audits of 25 items for a $3 fee and $4 reimbursement? Are they like CORI, where I should wait for the price to go up?

They're hardly the only company that asks for photo ID. I know I've sent mine to several. Maritz is the only other one I can think of off the top of my head but I know I've uploaded it to 4-5 of the ~150 I'm signed up for.

As for their fees, the only things they have in my area are pizzas and office supply audits. I like them for the free pizza once a month or so, haven't done anything else for them.

Their fees never go up but you can request PAD which is like a bonus.

I had a really rocky start with Trendsource and gave up after my first two shops were removed before they were due. But I kept getting emails AND I really wanted to shop for them because of several of their clients. So I emailed the scheduler and told him what happened. He called me and we talked it out.

I've done three jobs for them now and pay was lightening fast. They did not wait until the 5th or 20th to send the checks. They offered PAD on one and I requested it on one. It was not a lot but considering these were all food shops, with the PAD they paid more than most.

My only issue is the "12 hours or by midnight, whichever comes first." I am rarely home by midnight all of my shops have been dinner shops. So far they have not docked me. I just try to keep them informed.

comewithmeyesterday Wrote:
" Do they really expect someone to travel 100 miles round trip for $12-$15?"


Yes, and evidently there are people willing do it.

Sent me on a shop 2 hours from home which paid well. I checked email before I left and had no new messages from them. No calls, either. When I got home from completing the distant shop, I had a new message from them telling me that they did not need the shop after all. Half a tank of gas and a completed shop down the drain.

Can someone who has done one of the business verify jobs explain what it's like? How long does it normally take? Are they difficult or fairly easy
I must get 3 requests a day for these.

I was kind of wondering the same thing mleighb, I've seen a lot of them that are either really close to me or really close to somewhere I'm going to be.

They're my favorite shops, right next to revealed audits.

Depending on the requesting client, they can be very, very detailed or not so much. They all require taking digital pictures and being very thorough in asking questions and recording responses.

The reason I like them is because the hoping-to-be-approved client is very helpful, there's no "pretending" and I always learn so much.

On-site, it usually takes about 40 minutes to an hour plus and the report normally takes me the same amount of time.

Easy? No. Difficult? Just the first one.

(heart)

2 hours? That makes the ones in my area be worth less than minimum wage not including drive time and wear and tear. Guess I won't be doing any of those!

I've done a few business verifications for them, and another that no longer does them. But it is getting the background check that I don't want to pay for. If it wasn't for that I'd grab them because I also get a few emails a day asking to do them.

I got the background check. I'm sure glad I did, because I found someone using my SSN. Had to get that cleared up....

I generally only take the business eval's if they're in an area where I think I'll be able to pick up a few other shops and only with at least $8 PAD. Since the timing of the actual visit is conditioned upon the availability of the business contact, if I can't get any other shops in that area at that unknown time, I need to at least be willing to do that shop alone and cover visit and report time (30-60 minutes + 60 minutes) and drive time.
It becomes a helpful self-limiting standard in the face of the large volume of opportunities, since most seem to get snatched up with no PAD requests.
I find them to be quite interesting and have genuinely enjoyed most of them.

bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 2 hours? That makes the ones in my area be worth
> less than minimum wage not including drive time
> and wear and tear. Guess I won't be doing any of
> those!


It has never taken me more than 30 minutes onsite. Same for reporting.

@comewithme...I have never known Trendsource to offer a bonus. If they are desperate to get a shop done, they offer pad and a lot of times they offer a certain amount and tell you to make an offer if its not enough.

I sent my photo ID to at least a dozen companies, and TS has no jobs for 3 dollars. They pay 14.00 + 5 for their
grocery stores and there is one interaction on the floor, then the Cashier. I think you (CWMY) have them mixed up with another company. They are a stand up MSC and one of the few that pay twice a month. Bad mouthing a good company,
you need to get your facts straight...just saying.....

They are branching out to using an app for shops. Pennys in pay but they are thinking they will get shoppers that way.

WINPUT is the app.

I have done quite a few VBs, there are many in my area. I do enjoy doing them and for the most part it is quick, easy work. I should have thought twice before taking on the huge casino in my town. That was a nightmare getting through security to take pictures of the file cabinets and such, and I had to go back three times to get it completed.

All of mine have paid $17. The reason I don't do them much anymore is because it is virtually impossible to schedule the rest of your day when you don't know when you can schedule the appt. You may only have a couple of hours open on Weds, but the guy in charge is off that day. If it was a set time already scheduled I would do them all the time. The $8 you have to pay for the background check is well worth it in my opinion.

For the most part, the other shops they have in my area aren't worth it. When I was new, I did several of the large office supply stores for certain printers and computers. They paid $7 and had some of the longest reports I have ever seen. I can't imagine anybody would do those more than once for that kind of pay.

I rarely shop for them anymore...pay is WAY too low and when I request PAD I don't want to wait til the day bef or day of to be called or emailed to do it. I've sent a few emails when I was going to a certain area and was willing to do THAT weekend and received not "all the friendly" emails that pretty much said "don't call us we will call you"......soooooooo when they did I wasn't going to that area and had to turn them down.....

I do shops for them mostly ones that require pictures. I've never had an issue with payments. In my experience, they issue a pretty decent PAD fee if they are desperate. I actually appreciate the fact they pay 2x a month instead of every 30-45 days like others. The only minor issue with them I have noticed is that their reviewers can be too picky about things. Its a little frustrating when you think you took the perfect picture like they directed and they come back and tell you it wasn't 100% correct.

I like the ones with pictures as it is a easy, cheap way to make my teenage son happy. All I do is do the shop, get the food, then give it to him. He takes it and goes to the hangout area in the garage with his friends. It feeds them, I get money for taking the pics. I know where he is and what he is doing. The deal is that they have to throw their trash away when they are done with it.

Done a lot of either price verifications, and the business verifications. They pay fast, and reliably. Think about how much time you have spent checking other companies, and how long "45 days after the last day of the month your shop took place..." can get.
The $4 and $3 are for each 25 items - and you have the option of checking 50, 75, 100 or even 200 items. I have been happy with these. I have gotten good at finding the items, and have "taken home" $100 or more in a month for buying groceries.

The business verifications - I find these very simple and clear cut. I won't travel for these, but $17 or $19 is just about what I want from a work day....

I want to make enough money to buy a new lap top or tablet every year in my retirement.

If I don't schedule a mystery shop for each day the week, I will allow myself to sit on the couch and drool - not healthy.