I can't even consider doing jobs for this company unless they call me and pay me $15-20 to do the job. It's just not worth all the work!

My first experience with CRI involved doing a digital photo pizza shop. They didn't like one of my pictures because my kitchen curtain could be slightly seen in the background. However, when I contacted them about why I wasn't receiving a completed shop rating, etc., they responded immediately. It took a few weeks for the Quality Assurance dept. to decide what to do. They called me up and told me that my payment would be in my account by the following Friday and asked if I would do the shop over again. I was informed that I would be paid for both the original shop and the re-shop. And, I was paid for both shops. I am a satisfied shopper who, since that first experience, have completed several problem-free shops.

Rudy at the bottom of each job is the exxon schedular for eat state. If you call the scheduler she will up your grade back to a 5 I have done over 500 jobs for them rambles

I signed up with them 2 yrs ago but I never shopped for them. Their pay is like $6. Who in the right mind will do this nowadays.

Rudy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Let me share one that recently happened to me. I
> was doing a "favor" for Corporate Research. They
> needed an Exxon gas station evaluated. I
> reluctantly accepted the shop. I went way out of
> my way to carry it out, took the pictures (yes,
> including the toilet stalls) and submitted the
> report.
>
> I got a note the next day saying that I had been
> "unassigned". It really freaked me out and I sent
> them an e-mail asking what was wrong. It took
> them another week to respond and they told me that
> it was my fault because (and read closely)....
>
> I HAD REPORTED THAT I HAD PUMPED GAS FROM PUMP 4,
> BUT SENT THEM A PICTURE FROM PUMP 7!!!!
>
> I asked them why hadn't they contacted me...I took
> plenty of pictures of all the surrounding pumps
> and they answered that it was there policy NOT TO
> CONTACT THE SHOPPERS AFTER THE REPORT WAS
> SUBMITTED.
>
> In summary...
>
> - I was requested by then to do the shop ("Please,
> do us a favor."
> - I went out of my way to complete it
> - Took all the pictures (including of the
> embarrasing pictures of the toilet stalls)
> - AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, MY REPORT WAS
> REJECTED, DIDN'T GET PAID AND GOT IN
> RETURN...SCOLDED!!!
>
> END OF STORY...I learned my lesson!!! (you can
> make your own on conclusions)
>
> Comments?

Staciem, that same experience has happened to many people - including myself - when conducting fuel shops for CRI.

Let me explain how it happens. You must go inside and collect a receipt from the cashier. The cashier prints you a receipt with the WRONG pump # on it.

I discovered this when I had gotten home. The picture in the pump was not the same # on the receipt. So, before I scanned the receipt, I changed the pump # by writing the CORRECT pump # by hand on top of the incorrect printed one.

I even documented this in the report & explained that this kind of thing is happening all the time to many shoppers. I was paid for the report but was never contacted back.

I believe that CRI are still using the reports and know that is a fairly common mistake (on the cashiers end) but just refuses to pay the shopper. As with any shop at any MS company, the slightest discrepancy and the whole shop becomes "invalid."

The biggest fuel client for CRI (you cannot name the company and the client for confidentiality reasons, but you can name one or the other) is also one of the richest corporations in the world with ground breaking profits for every quarter this year. And yet, they have the absolute lowest pay.

There are other MS companies that pay double to triple for their fuel shops compared to CRI. For example, BP shops pay much higher. This has frustrated many, many people and a lot of people, including myself, will no longer perform the $5 shops for CRI.

On a positive note for CRI, their schedulers are actually nice and very easy to deal with. If you have an issue, they always get back to you within a decent amount of time and are truly helpful. Some other MS companies - EPMS, in particular, have horrible schedulers and treat their mystery shoppers with absolutely no respect.

I recently did a couple of the gas station jobs for CRI because I wanted the photo experience and both were within 5 miles of home. I did the jobs and there were no issues with CRI. But I won't do them again. By the time you do the shops, reports and upload photos, a lot of time is spent for the $5. But as I said, I wanted the photo experience and felt this was a way to get it. I am now more confident about accepting photo jobs in the future...for better pay of course

That is certainly a reasonable approach to them ToriMA. While it might be nice for everybody to boycott cheap jobs, overall I do think they have a place in the "learning curve". While their gas jobs do fall in the too cheap category, there are a number of jobs that pay better but the requirements eventually make them "cheaper" than a $5 job.

They're $4 here, but sometimes $12 at month's end. Haven't done one. I do much better with Ritter.

I had to reshop Bath Bath & Beyond twice because the scheduler and I had a difference in the date. I submitted the second shop and was told I was unassigned becasue I had submitted the wrong receipt. I doubt that I did, I jsut had done the same shop two days in a row. They said they would be happy to reschedule this shop again. THIS IS A $5 SHOP! I asked why I just could not resubmitt my receipt. NO answer!

I have to admit that Corporate Research is one of my favorites. The jobs I do for them are usually places I go to anyway and I've never had a problem with payment. So far, I've done 27 jobs for them and they usually deposit the money within a week or two. I'm truly sorry about some of the nasty experiences some of you have had.

(Crossing my fingers and hoping I didn't just jinx myself.)

I don't shop for them,too cheap, despite fast pay. They expect too much for too little for jobs here. :-(

Indeed that is my reaction as well, Dee Shops. Their shops only have something equivalent to fair pay when they bonus them. In my market, this year, typically everything is getting grabbed at below slave wages. It does not pay to sign up as a backup on a job because the fees are frozen at the price you sign on for. This company knows there are enough desperate people out there who are willing to work at or near a loss just to be "working" and that these shoppers will somehow find ways to justify doing so. So they keep doing cheap jobs and that is what the company keeps offering.

Typically all jobs in my shopping area are snagged except a $4 godforsaken gas station about 18 miles from anywhere and two medical jobs at $20. Back when I was still age eligible for the medical, I used to do them when they got to $50 which was still no bargain as they could take anywhere between 3 and 5 hours just in wait time and the place was not one where you would want to hang around. Yet folks still are grabbing them this year at $25 and I suppose think they got a plum. The gas station in the middle of nowhere generally gets snagged at $8-10.

This shopping is a job! You signed a contract.
All those things mentioned that CRI has done to you....
If you worked a 9-5 job,how would your boss react?
Next thing you'd hear is pack your S*** and get out!
These shopping companies are the same way. follow the guides/instructions they give you to the letter and your problems are gone,mess up and your job is gone.
These companies are told by the client what they want and the company in turn tell you what the client wants, the client won't accept less. If you give them information, not following their instruction, it makes the report useless so they do what they have to with it, kick it back or unassign it and get some one who will do it right.

It's not a job, it's self-employment, your own business. In this case, the MSP is YOUR client. You don't have to take any client you don't want. The worst problem is when an MSP misrepresents what the job involves. If you can see IN ADVANCE that the job is unappealing, just avoid it.

Jeannie E and sticking to her story!
If you were working at a 9-5 job, would you just walk off the job without telling some one what was going on and approx. how long you would be gone?
I sure hope not, cause I'd drop you too!
The job you were supposed to do for CRI, is just that, you made an obligation to do those jobs, that is your 9-5 job even if it takes 15 minutes to do.
It is your responsibility to inform your scheduler of your situtation and ask to have your shops removed.
you are what the industry calls a "Flake" and those type of people are not tolerated. Hell, the are not tolerated in a regular 9-5 job.

This is not a 9-5 job. We are self-employed, like a carpenter or an electrician. If the job is awful, you do it correctly, but you might not want to work for that customer again. I've been self-employed in my own business for 26 years, and that's a perfectly normal policy.

However, there are plenty shops in which the instructions are unclear, or schedulers don't answer emails, or the report page doesn't work. In such cases, the MSP is actually breaking the contract. Some MSP's allow for error, others always conclude the fault is yours. There are also MSP's who understand we're human, and sometimes err, and allow us to fix mistakes. Choosing your customers comes with experience.

Creole,

I have been a director in HR in the Silicon Valley before returning to get my grad degree and doing work I love for much less pay and needing to supplement my income with MSing. In the world of mine, your standards do not hold to the employment laws, and certainly not to contract law, which IS the world of MSing.
Maybe you live in a state that is not employee friendly. There are many. But to take the corporate stance against mystery shoppers who have years of exp. and apply it as if it were equal is not to apply apples to apples.

I disagree with most of your posts, and hope you will consider rethinking your stance on most of these issues.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2008 11:09PM by dee shops.

I think Creole should take all the CORI and Bestmark shops s/he can get. I think s/he is perfectly suited to their way of thinking.

Creole = This user doesn't exist or has been deactivated.

bugspost Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Creole = This user doesn't exist or has been
> deactivated.


YAY!
:-)

Here is the latest. The unassigned me from a shop that I had completed and
submitted for lack of a photo of the store. The photo requirement became
part of the shop AFTER I had booked it. The earlier instructions were that
if you could not get a business card, take a photo of the store. The new
ones require a photo regardless. I got a business card and they agree that
it was sent. I griped, I lost, I quit. I finally woke up that their inadequate
pay scale is not worth the trouble when you have to pay for the phone calls
when they screw up. Go screw other shoppers, this perfect 5 rated shopper
can't take it anymore.

Who's Creole??

Hi Everyone I am sure glad that I read this because I will never work for this company either it sounds like they are not very organized and very very Cheap.

take care

Once again, it's so nice to read every one's comments. This forum is awesome. So glad when they called me, I told them it wasn't worth my while, even if it's down the street. I point blank asked if they were offering me a bonus to do it and they replied, "No'! I merely explained that when they are in a jam and need a rush assignment, that I'd be happy to help them for a fair price. After reading the above, I'm reassured that I did the correct thing. If all of us stick to our guns, then they'll up the prices. Be patient! I know it sounds easier said than done, but it does work. Hang in there!!

I could stand the low pay because I only did shops for them when there was something I could pick up near other shops. Why not spend 10 minutes
in a store that you are passing within 100 yards and make $5, What caused
me to finally give up was the "we are perfect and you time and expense does
not matter" attitude. They do not have an 800 number so when they screw up
and it takes a phone call to get fair treatment, it is at your expense.
When they went to Pay Pal they even deduct the fee from your commission, the
only company that does that. If you want to lose money on almost every shop,
go ahead and work for them. The shops I will no longer do are available.

I just re-read everything and I can't even believe the "creole" person can write the things that are posted. It's as though someone died and put this person in charge. Hello! I thought we were all on the same team and this forum is for mystery shoppers sharing and asking questions or advice from those more experienced. There are some of us that have years of experience in some things and need input, support, and encouragement about other things. I'm able to admit easily that I don't know everything. Constructive criticism or positive direction is welcomed

I definitely don't agree with "creole's" posts and actually think them to be unfair, unpleasant, and totally unnecessary. I'm thankful to read we don't have to be subjected to further disrespectfulness.

Whoever/whatever Creole was, there was an inability to take a hint to lighten up and so yes, the person has needed to be bounced from the forum. That is almost always a hard decision for a forum administrator, but mindless bashing other members who have merely posed a question or stated frustration is as unacceptable in a forum as it is in the 'real' world.

Well then, my hat is off to the Forum Administrator for a job well done. I just noticed that posts made on other issues as late as 10-29-08. I didn't bother to go and read them, but did see the now dreaded "creole" name. Guess what I'm wondering is when this person was bounced.

Everyone up to this point has made my experience very enlightening and wonderful. I'm now wondering why in the world I didn't go searching this place out before now.

Didn't I read somewhere that you were being teased for being kicked out the pretzel shop and it got compared to flunking kindergarten? That was cute and done with class. I'm beginning to see it to be quite embarrassing for being bounced out the forum for not playing nice!

It was Sneakers who had the ill-fated pretzel shop. But yes, good natured teasing is part of the whole forum experience, as is venting frustration with companies or shops and passing along 'heads ups' with companies that seem to be having 'issues' such as irregular payments that could foretell their demise as companies. No point in having YOUR fees and reimbursements in their pocket when they go bankrupt.