Sentry Marketing has the worst schedulers and site ever. The schedulers don't give you enough info to complete a shop and there is error page on site so you can't get guidelines. They have you pay all out of pocket and then reject your shop. I bet they send report anyways to client and you have no recourse. They purchased Feedback Plus which is also a terrible company. Had to report them to Better Business Bureau to receive payment after 3 months. Don't shop either one of these companies. You will be out a lot of your own money and you won't ever get paid.
PLEASE READ MY FOLLOW UP RESPONSE ON HERE - I SENT THIS MESSAGE IN HASTE AND WAS VENTING OUT OF FRUSTRATION. IT WAS NOT A NICE THING FOR ME TO DO.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2014 06:46PM by deafsigner.

I can't speak to Sentry, but Feedback paid me on time for every shop over the course of five of six years. What was the problem with each of them?

Dave is going to ban you for talking bad about
his pride and joy on here

I'm guessing if the OP complained to the BBB that banning has already been done.

There is no record of a BBB complaint being filed against Feedback Plus.

In the event that an assignment is not completed properly because the assignment guidelines contained erroneous information, we would pay the shopper for the completed assignment.

We have the same expectations as every other company in the industry with regard to shopper preparation for an assignment. It is our responsiblity to ensure that the assignment guidelines are accessible, understandable and thorough. It is also our responsiblity to be sure that we are available to answer any questions that shoppers may have before they complete their assignment.

We expect shoppers to review the assignment guidelines, the shop form and any other related material before completing the assignment and to request clarification for anything that is not clear prior to starting the mystery shop.

As you would expect, not every situation is black and white. In these circumstances we have usually been able to work out a compromise. Of course, disparaging our company in a public forum definitely has an impact on the situation.

Lastly, if a shop report is released to the client, the shopper is paid. Any statement that claims otherwise is simply untrue.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2014 08:33PM by Sentry Marketing.

Hello, Deaf. I see you're a new member here; are you also a new shopper? I haven't had a problem accessing Sentry guidelines, which are among the best available in the business. Perhaps you don't understand how the Sentry and Feedback websites work. Do you think this could be the problem; that the sites are okay but you're having a problem with navigation? Most of the time if you're having difficulty and you come here with a question, we can help you.

Of course it's undesirable to spend money on a shop and have the shop rejected, but we always take that chance. It's a good idea not to spend your money on anything you don't want or wouldn't enjoy. That reduces the pain of a rejected shop somewhat.

Also, I want to suggest that you never do a shop without the actual written guidelines. If you cannot access them on the website, you can always request a copy be emailed to you. It's helpful to get verbal clarification of any questions from a scheduler, but I don't see how it would be possible to gain a complete comprehension of the guidelines from a few verbal tips.
If you did shop(s) without the written guidelines, why do you believe you turned in an acceptable report?

Your post has been helpful to new shoppers; it serves as a warning to access and follow the written guidelines. If guidelines are not available, the shop should be cancelled well ahead of the shop date.

You are so right I told Jennifer off and the owner of that company. They are rude individuals only care about themselves.

Mercy!

I am a forum newbie (but not a new shopper), and I shop for several companies. I was curious about a specific company, wanting to know what's out there in the googleshpere and I stumbled accross this site and have been lurking for awhile now.

This Dave person sounds a lot like a dude in my hometown who owns a famous burger joint. He's known as sort of the soup nazi of [my hometown] burgers. He will outright kick you out of his shop if you bring in kids and they say a word. He will ban you from his shop if you disagree with a political point on his facebook page. He trolls all the restaurant forums, looking for anything related to him personally or his burger joint, and then he starts attacking people online. He is regarded as being arrogant and a narcissist. Forummers routinely bait him because he will for sure go online and start berating people. Sure, his burgers are very good, but they are not the best in town. He is a retired english teacher so he sounds very smart with his quips and he cannot take any criticism of any kind.

BUT..... his conduct online has lost him some business. It is very unprofessional for a business owner to troll around on online forums just for an opportunity to defend himself. Critisism is part of doing business. And what's ironic is that this Dave guy runs a business that it supposed to be critiquing other businesses! I bet if he spent half as much time on online forums designed as a "safe place" for shoopers to vent as he did actually addressing the various problems contained herein, he wouldn't have so many complaints. I've looked at other threads and none of them compare to the level that this guy does in commenting on all these posts. Maybe he should invest in a web crawler, it might save him some time.

The best marketing that one can do for his/her company is to be a good company. Trolling discussion forums and defending any and all criticisms is unproductive and shows that you have a great deal of time to waste on what amounts to frivolity. Successful people never read and respond to criticism, they just keep on keeping on.

HA! I was sitting here thinking this person is from Atlanta, and then I saw your screenname and assumed I was correct.

OK. Here is my read on this. If you find it offensive, toggle me and move on.

Dave is Self Centered, Self Serving, Arrogant and Controlling. These are his GOOD qualities. He is also lacking in other social skills.

But! If you contact him directly, by email, he will look into it and respond. This is giving credit where credit is due.
You may not like the response but Hey, Shoppers make mistakes too.

I think he has spread himself a bit thin and does not always know how his employees represent him or his company.

Toggled. I can't stand people like that OP. There is a way to say something and this one is definitely a loser and a liar. That's all I have to say here.

Toggling several. Peace at any price.

Toggled four. All better now.

Might as well toggle me too and make it a set.

Nope, you're fun.

Funny how we can have so different experiences with the same company. I have done several shops with Sentry and Feedback Plus. I have always been paid on time and have never had any issues with the shops. However, I do read all of the guidelines and pride myself in doing good work. I would not every hesitate to shop for Sentry. It's funny how the OP, after one shop, can spew out to never shop for a reputable MSC.

Sentry shops are very limited in my area, but I've enjoyed working for them and have never had a problem getting paid as promised.

I have mystery shopped for over 8 years and made a mistake when I made the post on here last week. I am an experienced shopper and understand that patience is something you have to have with mystery shopping whether it be getting paid, or finding shops and in this case having an issue with a shop I submitted. I was not patient and did not give Sentry marketing the time to respond to me. For that I apologize to the company and Dave the owner. As shoppers we have to take responsibility and realize if there is an issue it could also be our part and not just the company. The company wants to help the shoppers and Sentry Marketing/Dave have shown that with me. I don't like forums or public bashing and never realized that making a post would open it up to some pretty hateful remarks about this company and people that we don't even know. They are there to help us. My advice to shoppers is if there is an issue contact the company and be patient. Don't bash them out of impatience or venting. A person to person call can make the world of difference and can clear up a lot of things for the shopper and company. If I had to do over I wouldn't have put anything negative on here. We should be careful with our words and stories because it only gives a small snippit into the situation. Dave was helpful and we had a good conversation about my situation. I appreciate him taking time to talk with me.

Interesting follow up response, deafsigner.

(heart)

Thank you for letting us know the resolution of your problem.

I told the people at Sentry I would not work with Jennifer Barrick anymore! She pulled the same thing on me and my significant other, never apologized, truly AWFUL to work with and nothing was done about it! I have boycotted Sentry. $4 for that extensive report for their burger client? I'd rather pay $20 of my own money for that meal than deal with this company.

Hmmm. Something is fishy about this: "..... pretty hateful remarks about this company and people that WE don't even know." (emphasis on the "we"

Would this Dave guy go so far as to post a negative comment in his own company just to see the reaction? Has he ever done that before?

You can expect darn near anything from him. He can go get toggled.

I don't understand what toggling means.

Also, the OP was grateful that this Dave guy talked to him. Is that supposed to be a rare thing? I mean, these companies can't really do their businesses without good relationships with us shoppers. It's a reciprocal relationship. I wouldn't want to engage in a relationship with someone who was overtly hostile to me. It should never be okay for company owners to treat their business partners badly.

Almost sounds like a Mafia Trail. Someone had a word with the witness and the story changes. Just Saying...

Um, did you mean "trial"? If so, (I'm trembling as I write this) I agree with you, computerman, for the first time ever. I'm scared! Very scared!

(heart)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2014 09:10PM by stilllearning.

It looks to me like they resolved the problem, but hey what do I know.

Less, I guess.

That last short sentence is a little bitty poem. What do you think? Prize winning material?

I say, stick with your novel. it's a winner!

(heart)

I do not understand why every single other company can pay so fast and Sentry can't. I got some payments for shops older than 70 days, all separate checks but were written on the same day but with no corresponding documentation for which shops they were for. MF mails an itemization. Others pay on Paypal, and fast, same with the direct deposit ones. My roommate just started mystery shopping too, and I'm advising against her shopping with Sentry. Not worth it.