I would be cautious to do the auto mystery shops with this company. They are very tough and critical and if you ask a question or two they might give you the boot. The auditor is very harsh and critical and for the most part unforgiving. I have completed their auto shops with success however they also gave me problems that were unreasonable and undue harshness. Most companies are more forgiving and understanding than this one, in particular with their auto shops. Shoppers are not always going to understand exactly what is required and quite frankly the auditor is so short and lacks detail in instructions that it can be misleading. There is definitely lack of communication skills with this company and particularly the auditor. The auditor says short sentences and very little with instruction/details and expects you to know everything and if you ask one question or two you are a little kid who knows nothing. The auditors also fails to acknowledge mistakes on his/her end. Be careful to invest your precious time with this company, they have caused losses due to err on part of their auditor who is arrogant, unforgiving and still has a lot to learn about communications with others and of course himself/herself. I have seen these types go down before (type A).

That's too bad. I've only had good experiences with them.
Maybe you could elaborate a bit more?

Sorry, Canuck, there will likely be no elaboration. Just another echo of the OP's one verse song. Repeat ad finitum.

Troll

I disagree with the original post.

They were one of the first companies I shopped for and one of the first to pay. Haven't seen any car shops. Probably has the name wrong seeing as they have merged with two other companies.

mistert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would be cautious to do the auto mystery shops
> with this company. They are very tough and
> critical and if you ask a question or two they
> might give you the boot. The auditor is very
> harsh and critical and for the most part
> unforgiving. I have completed their auto shops
> with success however they also gave me problems
> that were unreasonable and undue harshness. Most
> companies are more forgiving and understanding
> than this one, in particular with their auto
> shops. Shoppers are not always going to
> understand exactly what is required and quite
> frankly the auditor is so short and lacks detail
> in instructions that it can be misleading. There
> is definitely lack of communication skills with
> this company and particularly the auditor. The
> auditor says short sentences and very little with
> instruction/details and expects you to know
> everything and if you ask one question or two you
> are a little kid who knows nothing. The auditors
> also fails to acknowledge mistakes on his/her end.
> Be careful to invest your precious time with this
> company, they have caused losses due to err on
> part of their auditor who is arrogant, unforgiving
> and still has a lot to learn about communications
> with others and of course himself/herself. I have
> seen these types go down before (type A).

I will concur with the OP and can atest 100% that the editor on the car negotiation shops is a 100% total a hole.
.
I have written on here about this before that when he does not like a negotiated deal he tells the shopper what a worthless piece of human existence they are.


It funny on this board how the peanut gallery responds so quickly to defend every MSC at any drop of exposed inappropriate actions.

Thats why so many got screwed over by Freman group and the other MSC that are currently screwing over shoppers.

And to those that will jump on my back about talking about the demeaning emails that the editors from RSG send out,

Remember, earlier this year when another poster talked about problems with Instant Replays I came on here and also stayed having the same issues.
we were BOTH jumped on as trolls. Other insisted there was NO WAY IR could be screwing over shoppers .

Until others came out of the wood work and started saying they too were having the SAME payment issues.

NO ONE
NOT ONE!!!
That called the original posters trolls EVER APOLOGIZED to the early posters about the IR issues.
And you see where IR is at now

Problems with ANY MSC do not start across the board. They start with one and two and then slowly spread.

Just because YOU have not seen it first does not mean a problem is not there.

Blindly calling others trolls for brining forward issues is why these MSC get away with taking advantage of so many shoppers.

So True

I have not seen this assignment available in my area, but I appreciate the feedback on it. Thank you.

MDavisnowell, have you completed the same type of shop as the OP and if so, what was your experience?

jackaroe, how is it you are not willing to give anyone else what you expect? In other words, it is okay for you or someone else to complain about a company, but when someone else says they have not experienced the same problems you are quick to accuse them of being some sort of shill.

It is standard practice on this forum to ask a poster with a complaint to provide more details. There are reasons behind the request. While warning shoppers of a potential issue is important, so is ferreting out whether a complaint is legitimate or bogus. Sometimes the complaints are legitimate, sometimes it is discovered the poster was in error, a significant distinction. If a complaint is made the OP is not called a troll. However, if questions are asked and the responses are as ignorant as some I've seen, they certainly may earn troll status. I would hope you can see a difference between just complaining and calling someone an a-hole and actually explaining just what the hell happened. We are in a business reliant on communication making a well written post outlining the problem much more effective than a name calling rant.

Freeman is not a great example either. While the problems started as intermittent, eventual warnings away from the company also prevented many shoppers from being out hundreds of dollars.

Off the subject of the original post but a comment on jackaroe's use of Freeman as an example, I came to the forum in 2008 as a totally new shopper. I read on the forum and used the forum's list of companies to sign up. Because of the many warnings here on this forum, dating back before 2008, I never accepted an assignment with Freeman. Thank you, Forum members who posted!

The warnings I find most useful are those which provide details and solid information so I understand an OP's situation and I can assess the danger. Without an explanation of the circumstances, a warning such as the OP's is not helpful to me. I think others are expressing their feelings just as the OP's are expressed. The OP has been very expressive and clearly wishes to warn others away from the subject company, but provided nothing I can use to understand the problem. I think the lack of any details to back up the OP's perceptions is what is in question here rather than his complaint.

I've had my own personal issues with this company, and I deactivated myself. Unfortunately, I still get emails even after I deactivated myself. Not something to make a big fuss about; delete the email and move on. I posted about my experience and spoke my mind. That was good enough for me. I'm glad this forum affords me the chance to speak my mind.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jackaroe, how is it you are not willing to give
> anyone else what you expect? In other words, it is
> okay for you or someone else to complain about a
> company, but when someone else says they have not
> experienced the same problems you are quick to
> accuse them of being some sort of shill.


I expect a poster to use proper spelling and punctuation to get their point across. Yes, I understand that we don't need to be perfect in a forum but considering the type of business we are in, it would be helpful to write a cohesive post. It is hard for me to take jackaroe as a serious shopper due to his post.

Really, Sybil? Why?

(heart)

And you wonder why there are lurkers that are AFRAID to post and ask for assistance when an MSC screws them over.

I concurred with opinions about behavior of an MSC and posters like lisaSTL and Sybil2 chose to turn into personal attacks having NOTHING to do with what the MSC is doing.

One need to look no further than the self appointed gang of Kim Jong-Un wanna be that want to control all posts, what people can post, how they post and that it has to met to their specific standards in order to be acceptable on this forum.

To posters like
Sybil2 that obviously look down at pretty much every other mystery shopper.
REMEMBER

This is a profession that requires NO formal education to be shopper. No college degree is required. No high school diploma is required.
The ability to breathe and to complete shops is the ONLY requirement to be mystery shopper.
So go ahead Sybil2, have fun looking down your snooty nose at others and trying to discredit because you don't like the grammar. Poor grammar may get you point deductions at some MSC but IS NOT VALID GROUNDS FOR NOT PAYING A SHOPPER! (and proper grammar is NOT a requirement to be an editor!)

And the training that most of the MSC provide is a few pages of guidelines that are usually filled with grammatical errors, incomplete guidelines and inconsistent instructions.
Ask an editor or scheduler for assistance and 75% of the time they wont bother to respond. Except to ask if your going to complete the shop by the deadline.
The other 25% of the time the response will be if you can't understand the incomplete and inconsistent instructions they will assign the shop to someone else.

Then the editor that is going to review your shop also does not understand their own instructions and many times are located overseas and not familiar with the english language.


Which brings me back to
When I posted about Instant Replay I had 6 lurkers inbox me and stated they were AFRAID to post in public. All stated the same thing, that they were afraid of being ridiculed by the same group of serial Kim Jong-Un wannabe the way I was ridiculed.

comments like these to another poster complaining of non payment.
"MDavisnowell
Posts:4,544
[ PM ]
[Toggle User Visibility]
oluwafemio, will you look at that. They're paying Lisa and Wales and they aren't paying you. Have you inquired why not and do you want to share or do you just want to slam?"


Funny, Turns out the posters that were stating IR was not paying shoppers were 100% right, and those that chose to ridicule sank into the background after trying to discredit shoppers/posters like nothing ever happened!

And that's why with RSG I am seeing the same thing again. 11 lurkers have contacted me on this forum since I posted about the BS stunts they are pulling on shoppers. Similar issues.
All afraid to post because the same group of Kim Jong-Un wanna be are more concerned about discrediting those that expose inappropriate behavior than protecting shoppers.

And yes, I have posted within the last couple of weeks, in GREAT DETAIL what RSG is doing. I do not need to keep reposting it when it can be quickly searched.

I don't care if it takes a day, a week or a month to get all the facts up and posted.
I respect shoppers have lives and don't live on the board like the gang of Kim Jong-Un. I will ALWAYS give the shopper the benefit of the doubt and its sad how many on here feel the need within 60 seconds to be jumping up and down, screaming trolls and looking to find a way to claim the shopper MUST have done something wrong. OMG, No MSC would ever screw over a shopper!!

jackaroe, that comment I made to oluwafemio was really snarky. I know you would never be guilty of responding to an unsubstantiated piercing whine with anything but the sweetest response. All I have to say about it is that I don't have your patience and self control and some days I'm running on wheels flat out. I'm not apologizing and I'm not going to change. Deal with it.

And this your own post from the Instant Replays thread in February of 2014 jackaroe. It appears you did the same thing you think is so awful from the rest of us, stated your own experience of being paid for every completed shop. On the very same thread I commented about receiving a payment late myself. What more can any of us do than share our own experiences? Doing so should not be misconstrued as either a personal attack or unwarranted support of the company. On that same thread the OP was so vague it was impossible to know if the shop had been denied or accepted. After coming back with a little more information it resulted in a conversation back and forth with many others sharing experiences, some good, many not so good. At that point most people were being paid, but not all were and most payments were late.

"My last payment inquiry was resolved in a week.
Better than previous times.
I Still don't like that I am not paid without having to ask,
But payment has always arrived."

Since when does Kim Jong-Un mystery shop?

jackaroe's an idiot.

lol.........

Anyway about this topic.. Their car shops were actually the first shops I ever did. I did 9 or 10 I think and got 9s on all of them.

What is so hard about it? Read the guidelines, do the shop, get the card, answer the questions as they are asked! Don't talk about your feelings unless you asked. Don't say things you aren't sure about. I have a feeling there is way more to the story and most likely the OP screwed up. I would love one day to see someone admit to something they did wrong on a shop after complaining on here.

I have done a lot of the car shops for RSG and they can either be very easy or very tough sometimes, especially if the salesmen don't have access to printing information on the cars from their own computers, or if the dealer has a policy that they won't give you the printouts. Some of the salesmen just want to write the main figures for you but not everything you will need to do the shop. In these instances, you practically have to beg them for the rest of the information. I've had to tell them my boyfriend (who will be buying the car with me) insists on seeing all the numbers or he won't go for buying the car, and that usually works to get me the printouts. Some dealers are great about giving you the printed information and it's a pleasure to do these shops when that's the case. Some dealers are great about giving you discounts as soon as you ask and that's what the editor (I don't think he's an editor but is most likely the project manager for the auto shops) is really looking for. Then you have to go back and insist on getting a different offer with a further discount from the first shop offer. Having to make two trips to each dealer with at least one day in between is what I find to be the most difficult thing about these shops.

If you get the printouts, salesperson's business card and can get the dealer to give you discounts, and you answer all the questions in the report properly, you won't hear anything from Rich except that the shop has been approved for payment. If you can't get the printouts or can't get a salesperson to grant the discounts you request, you can expect he will be curt and/or condescending. I don't let it bother me. I just do the best I can. A few of the car dealers I shopped I'd never go back to because it was so hard to get the printouts or I couldn't get them, it wasn't worth it. It didn't feel great when I got a message from Rich saying "Other shoppers have gotten the printouts at this dealer." I thought, how did they get them when I was told over and over they never give out the printouts to customers because they contain proprietary information unique to this dealer? I never gave up that easily!

I've made most of my shopping money since I started mystery shopping working for RSG/Mystery Researchers, and for the most part, I think they're terrific. They pay better for the same work than a lot of other MSCs. I can get over someone from a MSC being rude and/or condescending pretty quickly as long as I know I'm getting paid. I'm sure he knows he's tough, but that's how he gets results.

I'd say, don't take the car shops if they're too annoying for you. The other shops are less pressure, because they pay less.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2015 06:50AM by nycrocks.

Your post reminded me...

When I tried doing these car shops last year, I went to one location and it was impossible to get a printout. The salesperson refused to give it to me even after I asked to speak with the manager. It was great to do it for $90 but not so much at their regular rate. I just cancelled the shop and didn't do anymore. They definitely pay a lot more for these car shops than other MSCs though.

If Rich is still the person at the forefront of this project and is the one giving some people grief, I found him to be really helpful and encouraging. I could imagine he gets a lot of shoppers who encounter a sales rep refusing to give the printout but they only try once. I think if one has spent over an hour or has visited more than once to get the printout, it's probably not worth it.

@dixiewhiskey wrote:

Your post reminded me...

When I tried doing these car shops last year, I went to one location and it was impossible to get a printout. The salesperson refused to give it to me even after I asked to speak with the manager. It was great to do it for $90 but not so much at their regular rate. I just cancelled the shop and didn't do anymore. They definitely pay a lot more for these car shops than other MSCs though.

If Rich is still the person at the forefront of this project and is the one giving some people grief, I found him to be really helpful and encouraging. I could imagine he gets a lot of shoppers who encounter a sales rep refusing to give the printout but they only try once. I think if one has spent over an hour or has visited more than once to get the printout, it's probably not worth it.

They're the only MSC that has car shops that doesn't want you to take a test drive, requires two visits and is primarily interested in price negotiations (that I know of).

I'm sorry you had to cancel a shop for not getting a printout. That stinks! Some of the car dealers are so annoying! I will argue with them to death now until I get what I need, at both visits. I've never gone back for a third visit yet and I don't plan on ever doing that if I can help it. I've definitely gotten better at doing these shops after 2 years. I also learned which manufacturers' dealers are easier to shop now after doing lots of these car shops. I like the money. The shops, not so much.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2015 07:13AM by nycrocks.

Well at the point where I spent an hour at the dealership saying everything possible to get the quote then returned again just to try to get the quote a second time, it wasn't worth it. I didn't give up too easily like most people probably have done but at that point it was useless to both me and RSG.

I think I wasn't the only one who had a tough time in 2014 with these as they didn't return again to Canada afterwards. Sounds like the dealer tightened up about giving out quotes..

I will give these another try this year if they come back because the price is right and no test drive Their car shops are the only ones I'll ever do. The rest is too lengthy for the pay

Dixiewhiskey, I agree that the other MSCs car shops aren't worth the money for all the work involved, unless they're highly bonused.

I will often say I lost the original papers (or say that my boyfriend lost them) if I get the first printout just to get a second one with the correct date on it. This is especially helpful if they won't grant a further discount on the second visit.

I have also performed car negotiations for this company. To date, I have performed and still perform mystery shops and audits for over 75 companies in the US for more than three years. My ratings are top-notch and I have a good reputation for delivering what the client wants.

My issue lies in getting paid from this company. I performed two negotiations for them and have yet to be paid for either. I've been approved for both and given high marks in revirw, but there has been no amswer to emails as yet. I've waited more than two months and have done other types of shops forthem. I amremoving myself from thei database.

@Eric in Tampa wrote:

Since when does Kim Jong-Un mystery shop?

He wears a really good disguise.

@instyles5 wrote:

I have also performed car negotiations for this company. To date, I have performed and still perform mystery shops and audits for over 75 companies in the US for more than three years. My ratings are top-notch and I have a good reputation for delivering what the client wants.

My issue lies in getting paid from this company. I performed two negotiations for them and have yet to be paid for either. I've been approved for both and given high marks in revirw, but there has been no amswer to emails as yet. I've waited more than two months and have done other types of shops forthem. I amremoving myself from thei database.

Why not call them and/or email the scheduler? I always get paid from this company. There must be a problem that can be fixed.

"Why not call them and/or email the scheduler? I always get paid from this company. There must be a problem that can be fixed."[/quote]

Calling them might be extremely difficult, not to say impossible. No real person ever comes to their phone. They do not call you back if you leave your number and a message either. And I have to agree that while I never had any payment issues with this company, but ever since the three MSC's joined forces, communication skills are not all the same from all schedulers. The 'original' Beyond Hello's are the most professional in my opinion and according to my personal experience.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2015 05:29PM by Day2Day.

How about a "fool"?