Did you document ANYTHING that shows the bonus?

Usually what I'd do is before proceeding with an assignment, I print to PDF all relevant documents in case something like this happens.

I'd print out things like:
-Shop instructions directly for this assignment
-All correspondence that addresses things like bonuses, conflicting guidelines, clarifications that would supersede the shop instructions
-The report I turned in
-Report confirmation

Hope the MSC will address the situation in your favor!

I do that too. I make sure I have it in writing. Thankfully, I've never encountered a problem like that and I would not be very happy, I tell ya.

I hope you get it sorted out.

BillBryaninCarthage – Mistakes happen; I would've just contacted and clarified to make sure the correct bonus is being applied. Then I'd document the response received. I'd only speak on my displeasure if there's any pushback from the MSC.

I remember Market Force offering me a larger fee and when I went to print out the contract, the upgraded fee was not there. I emailed the Help Desk and they sorted it out immediately.

BillBryaninCarthage – I know how you feel and the frustration you're feeling; I go through this all the time in my full-time job. Vendors would duck me and think I'd overlook them redlining through my specifications, even though my requirements were clear-cut and they didn't highlight their exceptions accordingly.

Anyways, you just have to keep an objective mindset until you know for a fact that the MSC was in the wrong; not just off of what you were told by someone else. In other words, I'd wait to hear the MSC has to say for themselves first before expressing displeasure. If it helps any, I've never had issues with IntelliShop and being paid what I was promised. I've done 100+ assignment over the past year I've shopped with them.

BUT, if you've received feedback that it's $19, instead of $35 AND they refuse to accept the $35.... Yeah, by all means, display your displeasure with them. Anyways, keep us updated with how things turn out with this situation. I'm curious to hear the turnout of the situation.

EDIT: Just saw your edited OP! Sounds like you have a good handle on the situation with your documentation. Awesome!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2014 05:18PM by Tarantado.

I agree with Tarantado.

I will also add that you jumped the gun by posting here so fast. So far you are assuming they are not going to pay the enhanced bonus.

Please be diligent and provide us with the MSCs explanation and your final results.

The only thing I could think of is if the shop was not a perfect shop. I know bonuses are paid on shops that are successfully completed to standards. Not saying yours was not, but this could be a reason...

Seattle, you may be right but if Intellishop had a problem with the report they should have told Bill. It doesn't make sense they would adjust the fee without contact.

Just curious does the shop show a grade and being in received status? Perhaps it will still bump up to the higher pay?

Intelli is not one of my favorite MSCs, and I shop very little for them because of low fees, but I have never had any particular difficulty with them. I've seen both negative and positive information posted about them. I don't consider the posts to be "wisdom."

And I don't think that the posts of other shoppers, whether negative or positive, have been "proven true" in your case. I think that is a very premature determination. So far *nothing* has been proven. I strongly advise dealing directly with companies to work out problems BEFORE posting complaints on the forum. According to your posts, you contacted the company yesterday and have not heard back yet. Since it is the weekend, I would probably not expect to hear back until Monday. If I were in your place, I would have delayed posting about a problem until I talked with the company and determined if it would be resolved to my satisfaction. If the company fixes the error on Monday, this thread will be irrelevant, and I am guessing you will delete your posts. If the company does not fix the error to your satisfaction, there would have been plenty of time to post about it on Tuesday. Why continue to post to this thread when you don't know the resolution? I suggest postponing your next post until Tuesday (or sooner, if you speak with the company before that).

I've always been confused about that. Why do some posters immediately assume that a company has an evil plot to cheat them and run to the forum to complain before even addressing the issue with the company?

I just want to mention that I have done 39 shops for Intellishop over the years and never had a problem getting paid the amount that was promised. The only reason that I have not done more is due to the low base pay; however, when they provide a bonus that makes a shop worthwhile for me I take it. This is probably an honest mistake and as long as you can show the documentation related to the promised pay I would be very surprised if it is not rectified.

AustinMom Wrote:
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> Why do some
> posters immediately assume that a company has an
> evil plot to cheat them and run to the forum to
> complain before even addressing the issue with the
> company?

1) This is unfairly hyperbolic in regards to Bill's posts. So far, IS seems to have wronged him (I would assert, though, not intentionally). Bill has started the process of addressing the issue. He may have been a bit premature in so extensively posting, but in response he's received some good advice, your own included about allowing more time for resolution. I completely disagree with his decision to self-deactivate, but I affirm his turning to the Forum for help.
2) We are in the business of identifying deficiencies. It is no surprise that some turn this around on the MSCs.
3) Over the years there have been two MSCs identified on this Forum that have genuinely plotted to cheat shoppers, albeit both during their death throes. Precedent does exist. Someday there will likely be a third. IntelliShop is not it.

Nevermind, for now...

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2014 12:11AM by Mantis.

BillBryaninCarthage -
I keep a close eye on Intellishop travel centers. Twice this year I have seen several highly bonused locations go down in bonus from one day to the next. Why? I honestly don't know. Maybe they got an extension so the pressure's off? Maybe they're past deadline and lost their own bonus by not getting them all done on time, but are still obligated to get it completed at their own base rate?
My interpretation of what likely happened to you is that your report was not finalized on their end, and when IS decreased bonuses for this client across the board, yours got sucked into the reduction vacuum. This year I had two shops lose their mega-bonuses after I had completed them. I notified IS immediately through every means that I had available, and never received a direct reply, but the bonuses did reappear after three days, and I was paid in full.
There are at least two Intelli-editors and at least one Intelli-scheduler active on this Forum, and at least two of them have invited Forum shoppers to PM them with concerns. All three are great folks.
You've got rock solid evidence of what you're owed. Contact them again on Monday, knowing that everyone's back in the office when you email and call. I suspect that by Wednesday night they will have fixed their genuinely unintentional mistake.

Why contact them again on Monday? It's barely been one business day since he sent off his email to IntelliShop. It's not like he'll be paid by them next week anyways. If they need to investigate the situation further, it'll take some time. Patience.... Patience.

I wonder if this is what the clients and vendors think whenever they ask me a questions and I don't get back to them immediately at my full-time job...

Intellishop does not reduce bonuses based on the quality of the work. Either a shop is accepted and paid or it is invalidated and unpaid.
I've had bonuses entered wrong before with many companies and all were resolved.

Some time in the recent past a scheduler told me about some shops with an across the board bonus. The system was programmed to put in that bonus into every single shop and scheduler's then had to manually adjust the shops to anything different. It could be something like that happened here.

I have no issue with the OP posting this information. He has posted screen caps that show he has the potential of being wrongfully shorted by Intelli-shop. It serves as a useful reminder to all of us to make sure to document and keep track of promised fees and payments. Whether is was malicious and intentional by Intelli-shop does remain to be seen. But we as shoppers need to let others know when companies act poorly.

One of the biggest problems I have is keeping up with documentation of bonuses. Kudos to Bill for having the documents to back himself up, and here's hoping Intellishop will come through with the initially offered bonus.

I have done the travel center shops, in Muskogee and Checotah, OK. But only when my other job sent me out to those cities, towns, villages or what every you want to call them. That way I get the mileage claimed for my job and not for the Mystery Shop business. They have called me to other shops that are over an hour away. I usually reply that I want $.075 a mile round trip for the trouble. At first they said yes and then I asked them if they were sure because it is 244 miles one way and it would come to $366.00 plus the $5.00 fee and another $5.00 reimbursement not to mention 6 hours round trip. I really doubt that an MSC would pay that well.

You might want to check your math.

244 miles is more like four hours away. And 7.5 cents per mile for 488 miles is more like $36.60 not $366.

I require 40 cents a mile just to cover my operating costs. For 488 miles that would be less than $200 using my rate. But I also require pay that covers at least $10 an hour for the round trip.

For a 6 hour round trip of that length, you'd have to be doing over 80 miles an hour and spend 2 minutes on the shop.

If I were a scheduler and a shopper offered to drive to remote areas for 7.5 cents a mile and no charge for travel time, I'd give them all the work they could stand.

Now if you just had your decimal in the wrong place and actually charge 75 cents a mile, that would be more reasonable and would cover your travel time not just the mileage. Maybe that's what you meant?

Damn auto correct, it moved the decimal over supposed to be 75 cents per mile. I do not count the stop in the round trip time. It's actually a 7 hour drive round trip. The 75 cents cover the hourly rate also. I would get $366.00 and you would get $343.28 Not sure how that would work out on taxes though. But it's moot anyway, no MSC would pay that much for travel more than once.

LOL. Just be sure it doesn't auto correct you when you're emailing the scheduler what you require for travel.

I got $300 for travel for a string of four grocery shops once. Long day on the Navajo reservation. 576 mile round trip. Probably wouldn't do that again though. I think about 75 of those miles was due to my Garmin screwing up and taking me way out of the way to get from one to the other. Some of the roads up there are a little obscure. Pretty country, though. I took a friend and we took pictures of the rock formations.

Never assume

2stepps Wrote:
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"......................no MSC would pay that much for travel more than once."