Bestmark Clients

December 29, 2013 03:27PM

Does it bother anyone else that Bestmark does not reveal the client or address of a shop until after you have accepted the shop? I accepted a restaurant shop for this week more than two weeks ago. It was for New Year's Day and I thought it might be fun to go out to lunch with my husband.

I just read the paperwork and will have to decline the shop. I happen to know the manager of this location. If I had know this, I would have saved us all time and not accepted.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2013 03:28PM by gigishopper.

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December 30, 2013 12:24AM

Yeah, that used to be irritating. lol.

December 30, 2013 01:06AM

It happens. They aren't really hardcore about having to un-assign a shop. If you cancel too many they will take away your ability to self assign, but if it's for a legitimate reason they are usually cool with it.

************************
Some times you just have to turn around, give a little smile, toss the match, set the bridge ablaze, and walk away.

Silver Certified on the Carolina Coast. You want fries with that?

December 30, 2013 05:35AM

gigishopper - That happened to me also. They are really good about canceling the shop, if you email them. I applied knowing only the zip code of a large metro city. Of course I knew one of the servers. I was not dinged for them to cancel that shop. I suggested they list an address and not just the zip code.

Not my circus - Not my monkeys @(*.*)@

~Polish Proverb~

December 30, 2013 06:47AM

Bestmark is not the only MSC which does not reveal the client or address and it is very annoying at the very least. To play safe, I just don't apply for the shop if my google search does not provide a sure answer.

December 30, 2013 01:01PM

The odd thing with them not revealing addresses for physical shops, they do for the phone call only shops. Just got an email with 5 phone call only shops, with complete names of business and address.

January 10, 2014 01:18AM

If you know the customers they have, it is pretty easy to figure out the exact address based on zip code. How many pharmacy shops or car shops for a specific chain would they be located on an individual zip code? Usually the problem is if the client has multiple restaurants in the same block/building but the reimbursement is an indicator which one of the location corresponds to which shop.

January 10, 2014 01:26AM

That's the problem....there is a first for everything. I did not know the particular restaurant. They beg for referrals. How would a referral know?

KateH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you know the customers they have, it is pretty
> easy to figure out the exact address based on zip
> code. How many pharmacy shops or car shops for a
> specific chain would they be located on an
> individual zip code? Usually the problem is if the
> client has multiple restaurants in the same
> block/building but the reimbursement is an
> indicator which one of the location corresponds to
> which shop.

January 10, 2014 01:41AM

Gigi, if you put the zip code and "restaurants" in google, it will bring all the restaurants in the specific zip code. As long as you know the chains they shop (some are just high end food groups with different names at each of their restaurant so you need to have a general knowledge of who owns what, or restaurant groups with multi-brand restaurants, like Darden -not a Bestmark client, just used as an example- that owns from BBW to Red Lobster and Olive Garden, you can figure out the restaurant.) They rarely, if ever, have a single location client.

January 10, 2014 01:48AM

KateH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gigi, if you put the zip code and "restaurants" in
> google, it will bring all the restaurants in the
> specific zip code. As long as you know the chains
> they shop (some are just high end food groups with
> different names at each of their restaurant so you
> need to have a general knowledge of who owns what,
> or restaurant groups with multi-brand restaurants,
> like Darden -not a Bestmark client, just used as
> an example- that owns from BBW to Red Lobster and
> Olive Garden, you can figure out the restaurant.)
> They rarely, if ever, have a single location
> client.

This would be useless to me. When I originally signed up for a restarurant shop, I could only come up with two possible restaurants (they put quotes in the description of other customers.) And I ended up being wrong. There are probably 100+ chain places where I shop them.

January 10, 2014 01:53PM

The zip code I was assigned to had over 100 restaurants in that zip code. Again, I am not sure how I would be able to determine.

I only knew of one restaurant they shopped. This one was a new one for me. I had never heard of it being shopped. Period.

I am glad you are able to do such investigative work based upon zip codes in your area. You must not live in a major city.

KateH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gigi, if you put the zip code and "restaurants" in
> google, it will bring all the restaurants in the
> specific zip code. As long as you know the chains
> they shop (some are just high end food groups with
> different names at each of their restaurant so you
> need to have a general knowledge of who owns what,
> or restaurant groups with multi-brand restaurants,
> like Darden -not a Bestmark client, just used as
> an example- that owns from BBW to Red Lobster and
> Olive Garden, you can figure out the restaurant.)
> They rarely, if ever, have a single location
> client.

January 10, 2014 04:56PM

How are their car sales shops?

January 11, 2014 01:44AM

This irks me no end. I think it is condescending to the shopper that we couldn't possibly keep our mouths shut about who the clients are. At least give us an address so we can make up our minds whether we even like the restaurant or whatever.

Kona Kathie

January 11, 2014 02:51AM

While it may be condescending, how many times a week do we see an who shops X client or someone posting both bits of info making the moderator step in. I can follow the rules, but there appears so be many people who can't.

January 12, 2014 12:03AM

I have had good experience with Bestmark schedulers who will identify the shop location if you give them a reason. I shop car dealers for several MSCs and don't want to go back to a place I recently shopped. The schedulers will work with me. It is annoying, however.

No fee, no shop.

January 12, 2014 12:08AM

LindaM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How are their car sales shops?

The car shops aren't terrible, but they don't pay enough unless they are bonused, which doesn't happen a lot. There is one on the board for $17. Sorry, two hours with a dealer and another hour writing the report could be made a LOT faster in other ways.

January 12, 2014 12:09AM

This post is not about violating IC. This is about being a shopper for Bestmark and not knowing where I am shopping until I have accepted the shop. "Great lunch shop, $20 reimbursement...." No clue where I'm going and if I do accept and find out I know the manager, have a fish allergy, etc...I can't immediately cancel. I have to email them and feel like a terrible shopper.

Shelly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> While it may be condescending, how many times a
> week do we see an who shops X client or someone
> posting both bits of info making the moderator
> step in. I can follow the rules, but there
> appears so be many people who can't.

January 12, 2014 01:09AM

I was responding directly to kathie's post and had not gone back to the beginning of the thread again.

January 28, 2014 06:14AM

Gigi,
I stopped shopping for Bestmark for that very reason. I like to plan a route and can't do that without an address. Also, who wants to accept a restaurant shop if you don't know the restaurant??

January 28, 2014 12:53PM

I agree with the above about the MSC not identifying its clients to its shoppers when the shop is offered. I have been registered with Bestmark since 2008 and they continue to e-mail me about jobs. I have yet to request an assignment so I have never worked for them. Most of the assignments don't interest me and it's easy to ignore them. The restaurant shops - that's what I shop for - FOOD - have never identified the restaurant. While I'm a pretty experienced Google-er, I haven't been able to identify the client in most of their potential assignments - we have a huge number of restaurants here in close proximity - and the zip codes can cover very large areas. Without knowing the restaurant, the assignments are not attractive to me at all. I *almost* requested my first assignment a couple of years ago. I e-mailed the scheduler about a restaurant job I was interested in, thinking she would reveal in an e-mail prior to scheduling, but no - I got the "if you accept the assignment, we'll reveal the restaurant and location." So I figure they have plenty of shoppers and don't need me.

January 28, 2014 06:29PM

Bestmark's pay is not very good for restaurants, either. I always consider the time it takes prior to accepting the assignment and reading all of the guidlines, and I figure that if I need to spend time on Google to try to figure out what and where the assignment is, it's not worth it unless there is pay AND decent reimbursement. However, I do like the auto dealership shops with Bestmark, because they are one of the only ones I have found that do not require a test drive (which can take up to an hour). The same problem exists with not knowing where they are, but auto dealerships are typically grouped together, so if you accept 2 or three in the same zip code, chances are they will be within a few blocks of each other.

January 29, 2014 03:33AM

I shopped for Bestmark when I first started. I am still registered with them but never find any shops in which the pay is worth my time and effort.

January 29, 2014 04:48AM

I started out very heavy with Best Mark as well. I did a ton of shops for them in the first three months. I had one that really ticked me off when I accepted a car sales assignment in a certain town. What I didn't find out until late is that technically it has an address in that town but is actually WAY outside of town. I ended up driving way further than I should have for $17. Then I figured out $17 wasn't enough even if it was a block away. I still do an occasional oil change because the dealership oil changes pay much better than all the others I have seen. Free oil change plus $25. I have to do it anyway, so...........................

January 29, 2014 02:23PM

I'm still signed up with Bestmark despite never taking a shop with them. The only thing I see here are a bunch of car dealership and car service shops. Conveniently, the service shops want a 2002 or newer vehicle. The main vehicle I have access to is a 2001. :-/

January 31, 2014 02:50AM

In my area they post the address, so I just google the address. That way, I have an idea at least.

April 25, 2014 05:55PM

Yes, I fully agree. The fact that Best Mark does that sucks!

April 25, 2014 07:13PM

I think it's stupid the don't tell you who the client is.

You could have a friend/family member working at one of them. You accept the assignment, then only have to cancel it. Or, like in MY case, I knew my name was at a dealership and could not go back ever!

What a waste of time IMO.

May 04, 2014 04:26PM

Does anyone know if their upscale hotels are really upscale and how much is involved in their hotel evaluations? They have some hotels, but it has to be a weeknight, and I'm not sure I would be able to get everything done.

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Thanks to all the forum members!

May 04, 2014 06:40PM

I have done one for them. The hotel was definitely nicer than you average big chain hotel, but not what I would think of as really extraordinary mainly due to aging and feeling really dated. I did have to stay on the club level to evaluate the extra services and private lounge.

I thought it was very extensive and was one of only a handful of shops I have been asked for extra clarification on during my five years as a shopper. That said I did it early in my MS career and believe it was the first hotel I did.

May 04, 2014 10:31PM

:perks up:

Bestmark has hotels? Well I seriously need to start looking at their job board more often. They only have cars in my area and when I travel I rarely remember to check their job board, since I don't work for them often.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

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