Bestmark auto shops are really poorly paid anyway. Consider yourself lucky!

I am glad to see both side of the story.

BirdyC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> AustinMom Wrote:

> I just don't happen to think the detail posted
> here by BestMark was appropriate. No, the post
> didn't contain threats and yes, it was well
> written. But, in my own personal opinion, this
> could have been handled here on this forum much
> more professionally.



I think you and others are taking a beautiful thing here and trying to paint it up to look bad. Whats so bad about what has taken place here. We have a shopper calling out a Mystery Shopping company and then we have the Mystery Shopping Company telling its side of the story. At no time did the Mystery Shopping Company give out the shoppers name. This is a good example of this forum providing a venue for shoppers and MSC's to get to know each other and strengthen the lines of communication. Now the ball is in the origional posters court. If the origional poster does not come up with some good answers I am leaning towards Best Marks side of the story. I really don't think there is going to be a good explanation or reason for the shopper to threaten to trash Best Mark all over the net or anywhere else just becasue Best Mark fired them. You don't start throwing threats around just because you got fired from a little mystery shopping job!

Some of you here are pretty incisive, and frankly, I'm duly impressed. You should be proud of yourselves, in my opinion. I've the privilege of being on both sides of the fence, shopper representing company and shopper for my own clients.

In my experience, clients of MS companies want good news. My clients are informed up front that I will provide the truth, the whole truth inasmuch as can be determined(1) and nothing but the truth, unless they want additional skills applied(2).

Shopping companies I work for as an independent contractor generally find out pretty quick I've got my own business to run. I offer them additional service if they want or need it(2). If they do not want or need it, no problem, I can handle the metric they provide, with one caveat. I will not compromise my integrity as a provider of service to any client, mine, nor the client of another MS company. Shopping companies that I contract with will find this out promptly when necessary.

(1) Depending on my arrangements with my client, I provide various levels of sophistication in gathering evidence.

(2) I have skills far beyond observing and reporting, and have many ways to provide support. My clients always know more than they pay for. I call that added service value. If I see a situation that falls outside my scope as an independent contractor for another MS company, I will NOT ever communicate with the MS client, the client belongs to the MS company I contract with. I will communicate additional information to the MS scheduler or management as I deem necessary and or prudent. I have been successful at providing above and beyond service numerous times, helping the MS company provide as rich a service experience as possible to their client, just as I do for my own. I have also been told by MS companies that they neither need nor want additional support to provide utmost service to their client. That decision belongs to the MS company and their client.

Now for the brass tacks. A Bestmark editor edited information I provided in good faith to them for their client. I questioned the ethics on the part of the editor who slaughtered information that was clearly relevant, and reasonably could be considered useful to their client. The editor was rude and condescending. I went into an articulate "I know what I'm talking about here" mode, and reamed the editor for damaging the product I'd provided, and, in my opinion, providing substandard service to their client. See note (1), and yes, maybe the client did not care, maybe Bestmark did not care. I, however, did care.

The brass tacks thus stated are, I will not be shopping very long for a MS company the cannot or will not provide a level of service that meets MY standards as a service provider. If you are my client, you're getting the best. If I contract with you as a shopper for your client, you will get the same level of service for your client as I would provide if they were my client.

I have clients that get lighter levels of service, I have clients that depend on me for rather formidable levels service. Regardless, if I'm involved, it will be self evident that I'm committed to the task, and that above and beyond doesn't belong only to the Air Force, or to a Naval Air Wing, or even to Angels or whatever.

I like those responses that indicate we have people here who have good heads on their shoulders and commitment to quality. Am I over committed? Sure, depending on perspective. Bestmark and I decided that it took them too long to dumb down those long, detailed, and fact filled reports I was submitting, not to mention the occasional reference to applicable legal, management, or performance related observations I saw fit to provide.

I do not shop to make a living, that's a done deal already. I helps a lot to keep my mind sharp and my arse in gear. That's a character flaw that is appreciated by some, hated by others, and simply not understood by most. When one of my client's son or daughter gives me a hug, and I know the family business is safer and runs better because of what I do, I have a better reason for doing than practically any shopper out there.

And yes, I tend to keep clients that want full featured service. I'm not very good at bringing a B game when the A game is the only one I have packaged and ready to go.

Every company that gets dragged through the muck here should get to respond as they see fit.

wow. I think Bestmark was justified. They did not name the shopper and we still do not know who the shopper actually is. New shoppers reading the OP might decide never to shop with Bestmark. They had a right to defend themselves, particularly if the OP had in fact threatened to trash them on every forum they knew. If the OP did in fact do what Bestmark say then it reflects badly on all of us. I've shopped for Bestmark for years and really don't have much of an issue with them. Their fee deductions for mistakes are annoying and sometimes frustrating but you take that as part of the package when you do a Bestmark shop.

They surely are justified in clarifying this situation for all of us who read the OP's post, and have a most definite right to defend themselves. I think everyone (well, almost everyone) is in agreement on that.

I simply don't feel that all of us here really needed the extremely detailed specifics of the situation in order to clearly understand that the OP was being dishonest! I think the "short-form" version would have sufficed for BestMark to both have given us the truth and to have kept their reputation intact. I'm guessing we would all have "gotten it" without all the specific details....

I do appreciate their very clear explanations of their policies and decision making regarding their standards and reasons for termination. I'm very uncomfortable with the airing of all the specifics. Both personally and as a communications consultant. I don't think it's good business strategy.

Other MSC's have posted similar things on this forum in rebuttal to a shopper's comments, some quite a bit less professionally, and I feel the same way about those. I have no experience with BestMark or any opinion on shopping with them, so it's nothing personal.... I just have issues in general with business professionals giving this amount of detail out to third parties, which was above and beyond what they needed to do to make the point.

Obviously, I'm appalled that the OP would come on this board and lie! There's no excuse or justification for that!

I *kind* of agree with Birdy. I don't fault them for handling it the way they did, I don't think they reacted unprofessionally, and I won't say they *should* have done it differently. It's just not the way I would have handled it.

Birdy, I understand what you're saying but I just don't agree. If we're going to accept the kind of trash post the OP put on here in the first place without censure at the time, I don't think we should criticize whatever response the MSP cares to make. It's often obvious we're dealing with vicious and vindictive shoppers who are out to get a company and do all the damage they can because they've had a disagreement and didn't get their way.

As far as to whether the MSP should have addressed this privately, the OP gave up that option when he came on the board and made the issue public. What are we saying here? That we think trashing and bashing a company in public is OK, but if the company wants to respond we don't want to hear it? Is that what we're saying when we say the company shouldn't put these details out there? Details are exactly what I want in a case like this. I want to know the other side of what happened.

We put up with far too much in the way of sniping and snarking around and then get our knickers in a twist when an MSP answers back. I don't want to hear about ANY of these personal problems but if I hear about ONE side I want to hear the OTHER side. Allowing statements by shoppers and not welcoming rebuttals from MSPs is totally one sided. Nobody tells the shopper what they can post within the guidelines and nobody should tell the MSP what they can post within the guidelines. If we want that kind of monitoring, we can get it on Volition.

I understand what you're saying, MDavis, and I'm not disagreeing with much of what you say. I want to hear the other side, too, but for me, this crossed the line between being helpful and informative to just being "TMI" for comfort.

BestMark has the right to reply in any way they see fit, of course. I really, really think the level of detail wasn't necessary to make the point. From my POV, it wasn't the utmost in professionalism. In looking at this strictly based on what I used to do for a living, I don't think it was in their own best business interests. It could be perceived as being vindictive in a passive agressive way. I'm not saying it is, but sombody might get that impression. They're not my client, they can do what they want, and nobody can agree with me. But I'd cringe if one of my clients did this.... I'm sure this could have been written in a way that was just as effective but not as detailed.

But, disagreements and debate are what make this type of venue interesting and informative. Everybody's got an opinion and it's nice that we can share those without petty arguing! Unlike some forums I've been on.... It seems like people can disagree here and not trash one another--at least most of the time! LOL....

Birdy, thanks for reasonably expressing a minority opinion. I appreciate any discomfort anyone might feel regarding the depth and breadth of details exposed in BestMark's rebuttal. I also agree that BestMark did not need to offer more details than necessary in their rebuttal.
For me, however, the force and content of the rebuttal were relevant, proportionate, and restrained vis a vis the depth, breadth, force, and content of the OP's attack.
I do not feel they aired more dirty laundry than was necessary, and for me it was just enough. I am ashamed to say that I had given up on BestMark after the OP's post and seethed at the injustice. The rebuttal was just enough for me to open my mind back up, and led me to check the OP's other rants, firings, quitting, cropping of photos to save shops, and admitted bending of guidelines for self-serving purposes.
BestMark, I'm sorry that I believed for several days that you aren't the company you've proven yourself to be during the occasions when we've worked together over the past several years.
To future starters of threads who begin with a nuclear opening salvo against an MSC, on the off chance that I read any further than the title, I'll be sure to take a look at what else you've said before I believe anything you say.

Yeah..I believe that poster too in the beginning and then edited my post after I read BM's post.

Unbelievable what people will do. Dishonest!

BirdyC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Frankly, I'm appalled by shopping companies that
> feel the need to reply on this forum in such
> excruciating detail, rather than contact the
> individual shopper privately to get into this.
>
> If the MSC finds it necessary to defend itself
> from false or misleading statements from shoppers
> that are made here, I understand that, and it
> appears to be warranted in this case.
>
> BUT a few sentences providing the overall facts of
> the matter should suffice. For example: "We would
> like to clarify this situation by explaining that
> this shopper did not provide accurate information,
> verified by the business owners, and/or provided
> false information. He (she) has admitted to us
> that uploaded images were duplicates of previous
> images, or faked. We will be contacting this
> shopper privately to provide details." That's all
> any of us here need to know to "get" the fact that
> the OP was not truthful.
>
> It is unnecessary for all of us to know the exact
> details, and unprofessional for the MSC to provide
> them. It was, of course, unprofessional for the OP
> to give us misleading information--but that
> doesn't make an excuse for the kind of
> embarrassing (to the entire community) public
> airing of all the dirty laundry.
>
> This specific communication should have been
> privately made, IMHO.
>
> Why individuals and companies feel that everything
> about everything should be made public is beyond
> me. Especially when it comes to businesses that
> are supposed to be professional entities employing
> professional staff. I'm truly appalled by the
> posts I've read on this board that have been made
> by employees of MSC's. As individual shoppers who
> have a forum in which to discuss issues and who do
> not represent anyone other than ourselves, if our
> posts are lacking in professionalism, it reflects
> only on us. On the other hand, posts such as the
> one above reflect on an entire organization. And
> not well.


I have shopped with this company and I have found them to be fair and they have treated me well. I think that most of us that have shopped with them would say the same. I have never found them to be difficult to work with, but I agree with your comment TMI.

I cannot speak to Bestmark because i've only done one shop for them, which I was expecting issues over due to the fact that not one employee in the store I evaluated did what they were supposed to do and two customers got angry and walked out. I wrote a highly negative report and got no push back from BM whatsoever. They paid quickly and I haven't been removed as a shopper so I guess everything is ok.

That being said, the detail of BM's response made me uncomfortable. But if it was my company being slammed, I probably would have been even harsher on the OP under the circumstances described by BM. It is this type of behavior by shoppers that cause us all to be questioned and gives mystery shopping in general a bad reputation.

And crickets from eandcconsulting ever since Bestmark posted their side.

In addition, this is why the MSC's make us jump through hoops to prove we were at the location.

whiterosie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> It is this type of behavior by shoppers that
> cause us all to be questioned and gives mystery
> shopping in general a bad reputation.

I see he has not returned and good riddance. I did not have to read the message from Bestmark to know we were dealing with someone that, shall we be kind, would not know the truth if it hit him in the face. If I knew who it was I would spread the word to all MSC's I know.

He says he did 12 in 5 days and drove 1500 miles.

I am good but drive 300 miles a day. Do 4 shops for Bestmark. Do reports and sleep.

IMPOSSIBLE.

To set the record straight, the OP said he did 12 shops in 6 weeks. The 12 shops and 1500 miles was pulled from my post and actually the week with 12 new car shops was a 2400 mile drive.

I applaud Bestmark for their professional and thorough response. I don't quite understand why so people consider it TMI, when everything BM said responded directly to the OP's (wherever he is) ongoing accusations. What they said, and how they presented it, made a believer out of me (and apparently the OP, as well.)

I respect them for their evenhanded reply, when I'm sure there was so much more they would have liked to say!

(heart)

PS
Having said that, ever since I learned BM deducts money for report errors, I made the decision not to do any more shops for them. You can only dodge the bullet so long....

I have noticed that there are kind of a lot of folks on this site that want to publish a one sided narrative outlining all the different ways they have been taken advantage of by one MSC or another. Kind of puts you off the site when you read stuff like that and have personal experience to the contrary.

For my part....I think any MSC is entitled to put any amount of detail they choose to out there to protect themselves...so long as they are logical, non inflammatory, factual statements. I think more MSC's should do the same in response to many of the illogical, inflammatory, non factual posts from shoppers that I've seen here.

It would be great if folks would:
1-Read the directions.
2-Follow the directions.
3-Not take shortcuts that cause the rest of us more work.
4-Communicate clearly and often through all channels to pursue a resolution for problems.
5-Take accountability for mistakes, small or otherwise, that result in a shop not being accepted.

I would find it much more helpful if folks who had experienced issues with an MSC would simply share what they did wrong, and what they would have done differently if they had known better than if they shared a 'they suck' post about that same MSC. I could use that information, and I would be happy to share that information to assist others.

I have made a couple of mistakes here and there. I called and did a mea culpa. In all but 1 case they were understanding and assisted me in finding a solution so that I got paid and they got their shop done.

The one MSC what was not accommodating had their own reasons that I am not privy to for their decision. It is their choice, just like it was my choice to do, or not do, this type of work to begin with. End of story.

Bestmark is a fraud. They always make up excuses as to not pay. They cancel your account for no reason. Having encountered many problems with them they are not worth shopping for. There pay is also vary poor also.

Again??????

Stones, did Bestmark encounter any problems with you? Did you make up excuses for not following guidelines and not getting reports in on time? Did you do some creative shopping for them that wasn't what they wanted? I wonder if you missed a time window or maybe even missed an entire date. Did you go to the right store? Exactly what kind of excuses did they make up and what were those excuses about and exactly what did they say? Did you tell them they're a fraud? That may be why they cancelled your account. You just never can tell, sometimes the things you say to people go down the wrong way and they cut your rope and don't look back. Think that may be what happened? Why are you whining about the pay? Didn't you know what the pay was when you took the job? Not enough? So why take the shop and whine about it later? I am currently not a Bestmark shopper and I am not a huge fan, but these baseless attacks on reputable companies are getting sicker and sicker. Just exactly what are your credentials that qualify you to call this company a fraud on a public forum?

Whoa...somebody tried to con a MS company? Then got all hurt when they were caught, and decided to give false information to the forum?

WHAT A SLEEZE! That is terrible! The poor misguided individual. LOL

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2013 08:17AM by Mary Smith xoxoxo.

This post is more entertaining than Facebook. If you look at all the OP's other posts, most of them involve complaints about various msc. I think the OP has some anger issues.

He's certainly been fired before and likes to tell us about it. But this is the first time we've heard the "rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say.

BirdyC, you've clearly made your point, and shared your detailed opinion, more than once.

The OP opened the can of worms himself. Several members had read, commiserated, and believed him. BestMark's response was detailed, to such an extent that there could be no doubt in our minds. I did not see it as too-detailed, inappropriate or unprofessional. Their reply was warranted, and I appreciated it.

Well I am currently not a shopper for any company but am looking into getting into the business as a side job. I stumbled upon this forum while doing some research and trying to figure out which MSC (as you guys call it ) was credible and would be a good fit for me. I will say that the title "Bestmark, YOU'RE FIRED!" caught my IMMEDIATE attention and after reading eandcconsulting's post, my first thought was ok next! I certainly would not even consider working for a company who behaved in a manner that was described in this person's post. But then I remembered that my mother always said there are three sides to every story...and my fifth grade teacher always told me believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see so I decided to keep reading and not just take eandcconsulting's word as bible. And boy am I glad that I did because although there are some complaints about the underwhelming pay, otherwise it sounds like BestMark may be a pretty decent company to work for and I may have overlooked them because of the misleading comments of one person.

I have a gift of being able to see things from every angle so Birdyc I definitely see where you're coming from and I respect your opinion as what it is. However, as someone new to this industry and not really knowing who to trust and what to expect, I have a high level of respect for BestMark as a company for defending themselves the way that they did and doing so with such finesse! Being nicesty is what I like to call it! =)

Honestly, it's not worth all the time and effort that some of you you are putting in to these $17 BestMark auto shops. They're Chicken Little pay. Move on. If enough of us did this, and refused to do the cheap shops, Bestmark would be forced to raise their pay. Driving 300 miles to do 4 or 5 of these? That's nuts. You should be looking to net $1.00/mile as a new shopper to make this somewhat profitable.

Alternative #2:

I know of 3 different MSCs that pay $30-35 for auto dealership visits. And, in two of the three, their narrative blocks are cleaner, simpler and make more sense than BestMark's. They are all on this forum, listed in the "Mystery Shopping Companies" link. Go, move on, expand your horizons.

I doubt seriously the people driving 300 miles to do 4 or 5 of these are doing them for $17. I've never worked for Bestmark but I'm thinking of picking up one of these about an hour away for $45 to go along with some other shops.

Also, different people have different needs, your blanket statement of $1 a mile to make it worthwhile might be true for you, but that doesn't make it true for everyone else. I would guess almost no one gets $1 per mile. For me that would equate to $75 an hour, even crazy bonused shops don't go that high.