but three lefts do

a la RK

Am I the only one that thinks a certain gas station test for this company is not right!! I keep putting the right answers and it still says its wrong.

Its been a while since I took it but my usual goof is that I miss a negative in a sentence "Which of the following is not correct?" a) is correct, b) is incorrect, c) is correct d) is a and c are correct. I fall for that one too many times and mark d.

Before you go crazy taking the test over and over, email them for help and give them the answers you have for each of the questions (1-b; 2-b; 3-d; 4-c etc) They will help you out.

For those of you who have been reading this thread for a while, I am still waiting to hear from the viewing of "The Video"! The head of the scheduling department has contacted me twice and informed me they have contacted the company requesting the video that disqualified me. I am certain (not) that they still have it after all this time.


“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.”
~Arnold H. Glasgow

My poor wife got so disenchanted with them the other day. She got signed up and was ready to go. She did about a 8 page course to do a shop at well known national retailer only to find out it paid $4. Why don't just tell you up front what the pay is? My theory is they think once you go through all the trouble to take the course you'll take the low paying shop just to get something out of the deal.

ces1948, get wifey to email them before testing. In advance, she can ask not only pay$ for the shop, but also requirements. Imagine how burned she would feel going through the rigmarole only to find she didn't meet the age requirement.

Shockingly, for me in this market, I have done 20 shops for them this year at an average of $20 per. I seem to be in some weird time warp on one store where the scheduler likes me. Nothing else here goes up very high, even when it sits a long time.

I have done shops for this company. I will not do one again. I spent 4 hours on one just to have it rejected for shopper error. Did I make an error? I don't know. The only way I knew it was rejected was because I checked my shopper history. CRI still has not had the courtesy in the last 2 weeks to send me an email about this. The low pay, the fee I am charged so they pay me and the overall general disdain displayed for shoppers... Why work for CRI when there are plenty of customers who actually value us?

EmmaKat Wrote:
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> I have done shops for this company. I will not do
> one again. I spent 4 hours on one just to have it
> rejected for shopper error. Did I make an error?
> I don't know. The only way I knew it was rejected
> was because I checked my shopper history. CRI
> still has not had the courtesy in the last 2 weeks
> to send me an email about this. The low pay, the
> fee I am charged so they pay me and the overall
> general disdain displayed for shoppers... Why
> work for CRI when there are plenty of customers
> who actually value us?


So sorry to hear that, EmmaKat. And welcome to the forum.

blessedbridget Wrote:
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> Corporate Research International
> I detest this company, the pay is truly too, too,
> low and the time you spend, trying to pass there
> stupid little test, you have already spent at
> least 2 hours researching the shop it is NOT worth
> it. I did the pizza shop and they rejected it (Of
> course) because my slice of pizza was not cut in
> half. The payment was 13.50 for a sausage pizza
> that cost 21.50 and, at the time the had a special
> for a large meatlovers for 11.99 I wish I would
> have gotten that!! My suggestion is that no one do
> there shops so they can go out of business!!!!!!!!


I do not like this company either. That pizza thing was gross. And those tests are ridiculous for an 8 or 10 job. I do like the fact that they pay promptly by direct deposit.

This company is the worst i have ever dealt with. Their pay is so low that one has to be a complete idiot to do any work for them.

I usually wait until the end of the month, when the commissions go up to do shops for them

I have found that it is best to wait with this company until the end of the month when they are desperate and the commissions really go up. I do real estate shops with them routinely and get paid in a timely manner between $50 and $100 every time. I do agree that the starting commissions are horrible, but just don't take those shops. Search for shops near the end of the month within 50 - 100 miles of your zip code and you will find some high paying shops available.

ripper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This company is the worst i have ever dealt with.
> Their pay is so low that one has to be a complete
> idiot to do any work for them.

Count me as one of the idiots who does work for this company. It seems to be the same refrain from shoppers about this company. Low pay; test required; this that and the other. Here are several things to consider about Corporate Research.
1)The job start out low, but go up over time. I just got paid S38.88 shopper's pay + $7.26 reimbursement to do a dine in pizza shop for them. I think it started out at $2.00 + reimbursement. If I had not taken the test, then I would not have gotten that shop. It's simple. You have to take the test to get the job, but you don't have to take the low paying job.
2)People complained about thier low paying mangled pizza jobs. Well another company took over and they pay $5 pay plus reimbursement. I was so sad when I said goodbye to CoRI's $25-$35 mangled pizza shops. I don't do pizza shops anymore. The new company does not raise their prices as the month goes on; they simply send out more emails imploring you to "Get a Free Pizza for Dinner". You take the free pizza, give me the $25.
3)Cori pays EVERY WEEK. Not twice a month; not the 15th or 25th of the following month.; not the end of the next month following this month, but every stinking week if you have done any jobs.
So my advice to you is this:
Quit complaining and get to work. If they don't suit you, don't work for them. That just makes the fees go higher so I can get more jobs at my price. No one is holding a gun to your head. Grow up and realize an opportunity when you see one. I may be an idiiot, but I know a good deal when I see one and this company is one of the best. Check to see if you have all these payment issues and the like. People who were putting them down 6-9 months ago are now doing work for them and enjoying it. Be careful who you listen to. Look at each opportunity rationally and make your own decisions. Read the old forums and see what people said a year ago and what they are saying now. You will be suprised. I have been saying the same thing for the last year and will continue, unless I have a major falling out and that would be over my pay. Not the jobs. If they pay me for what I do, then no problems. There are a few companies better than CoRI, but not many. See for yourself and compare. You may be suprised at what you find. Out!

All I ask is they state the fee BEFORE I have to take tests. Is that too much to ask?

ces1948 Wrote:
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> All I ask is they state the fee BEFORE I have to
> take tests. Is that too much to ask?


No. That is a reasonable request, but if you know that is the way they operate then make your choices from there. If enough people speak out against it, maybe they will change it and maybe they won't. But to do business with them at this point; you got to take the test. I read a post where someone stated that they will give you the information if you ask. Maybe that would be an alternative, but the point is moot. The job may start a $2, in 3 weeks it could be up to $25 or it could be up to $3.17, who knows what their formula is. The point being that if you don't take the test,then you won't have a chance at either. As for me and my busineess, I want that chance. I may not take it, but I want to be in position to take advantage of it if I so desire.

I love doing the phone shops for them, if you become a preferred shopper. you get $1-$1.75 a call, but you can do a ton of them a day.

It is a pain to take the tests. I have found the best thing to do is go to their testing center when you have some spare time and take all the tests for shops in your area, in other words, get prequalified, then when one of the shops you are prequalified for gets it's commission hiked, you can be the first to grab it.

I do love that they pay weekly and I have done some shops that started out at embarrassingly low rates and turned into fine payments as I watched them go up.

After reading all the posts here, I decided to take a chance with this company and I'm glad I did.

I don't know how much the shops were originally going for but I took them at the end of the month when they were highly bonused. Very easy shops with easy reports, given a rating of 5 on all of them. When I first saw that, I panicked because I'm so used to other MSCs giving ratings out of 10. Even though I couldn't think of anything I may have done wrong, the warnings from here were ringing bells in my head. Eventually figured out that 5 is the best rating they give so I'm a happy camper.

I just did the shops at the end of last week and beginning of this week so I haven't received payment yet. Hopefully, it will be smooth sailing

You'll be paid on time, montreal. They never miss a payment. And for shoppers with great skills from more demanding companies, it is next to impossible to not score a 5/5. I don't like their low pay nor their practices of trying to get the jobs done for such insulting fees, but every once in a while, I do work for them. I wait for them to contact me with a huge bonus (except when they had the gourmet burger with fair reimbursement and then I just went for it.) This year, 20 times. Last year, zero! :-)

I've only been shopping since June and I've shopped with Strategic Reflections, Intellishop and CORI.
The majority of shops I've done are for CORI because they pay weekly. I usually wait for the shops to go up before I take them and they do always go up, except for those video rental shops. I've done some Gym shops for CORI that paid 25-30.00 plus reimbursement, most GAs shops I've done are over 10.00 +reimbursements, and some retail shops I've done for as much as 22.00 + reimbursements. Maybe I just live in a good area. Got to love NYC. LOL

NO but I just love the fact they pay weekly. I wish more MSCs would do that. I mean, both Intelli and Strategic take FOREVER to pay,more specifically at least a couple of months. That is one thing that needs to change in this industry.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2010 07:07PM by kleefton.

I love the fact that they pay weekly, respond quickly with a rating, which as someone said, is hard to get less than a 5 if you did it reasonably well. The shops are so low to start with that it is embarrassing, but hang on and watch them rise. I am mad at Maritz this morning.

I love their shops when "properly bonused"

I've done a number of diffeent shops for them. But I never accept them when they first come out. I wait until thy're desperate and get the pay up to a realistic level. They don't have the pizza shops in my area, thankfully. But I've done Exxon, if I wait till it gets above the $4 start. Never do KMart unless it gets above $20 -it's a long detailed shop and even longer report. Same with Lowe's, Bd, Bat & Beyond and JoAnne's Fabrics. Mak sure you ge over $15 before ou tink about doing it.
One good thing is that they pay quickly - within 3 weeks.
I have had 1 report refused for a stupid technicality. Thakfully it wasn't that much money and I learned something.
The tests are a pain but I skim them and still do fine. And once you've done them you can get more shops.
Just be careful and thorough when working with them.

Hi, pineysue. You should edit your post and remove the names of the clients. The Independent Contractor agreements that we sign prohibit us revealing this information, and doing so is a violation of our agreement.

Yes, I just noticed that as well.

CRI used to pay me pretty well for doing some shops, mostly traveling to the rural locations. They have greatly reduced that and it has always been a negotiation to get a decent shop fee. I now only do shops if they post a good amount and I already happen to be in that area (meaning rural). They do pay pretty quickly, never had a problem with that. They are fussy on receipts being clear and need to be uploaded before doing the report. Most of the shops now have too low of a fee for me to be interested. A few months back I asked for a higher fee for a remote area I was going to anyway and was told they couldn't offer what I wanted, so I passed on their shop.

I recently signed up with them. I think it is insulting that they offer $2 fee for a gas station shop, with $1/$1 reimb. They require photos, that means more time uploading. What are they thinking?

Be careful with these people. I was called by a Heather on their staff and asked to visit a Great Outdoors store. They offered a commision osf about 26.00. I completed the shop as directed and they refused to pay me because the salespeople were very busy there on a Saturday I was unable to talk to a person in the kitchen show room because theywere understaffed. I visited 4 departments besides that one and they refused to pay.
They are dishonest. If you notice their commissions are a joke and they expect you to take a test on top of it!!