Is GFK really that bad?
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I wouldn't do something so drastic unless they do something really terrible like bankruptcy without telling their shoppers. GFK hasn't done anything that terrible but has several methods of operation that do not sit that well with many shoppers. Personally, I don't work with them much at all because I have others that I prefer to use.
You have to decide what is best for your business. You might ask if they have lots of shops and do they pay on time. I also hear many shoppers do work with them. If you like that shop, you might want to try one to see how they work out for you. Or you might want to pass on them for now. It's up to you.
Good luck.
You have to decide what is best for your business. You might ask if they have lots of shops and do they pay on time. I also hear many shoppers do work with them. If you like that shop, you might want to try one to see how they work out for you. Or you might want to pass on them for now. It's up to you.
Good luck.
Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut
Yes.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
For my first couple of years MSing, I shopped lots with GfK. They always required a monthly test for each client. However, after numerous of those, while an irritant, familiarity kicked in, and they took less than five minutes. Subsequently, they have not had shops of interest to me. If they did, I would wade into shallow waters with them, watching for responsiveness and timeliness of payments, as always.
I'm pretty much in the same position as Mert on this. I used to have a fantastic scheduler at GfK for whom I would help with most anything because she took care of me so well. She is long gone, as are the jobs that interested me. So yes, I would wade in shallow waters with them.
GFK has joined a growing list of companies that were good go to MSCs at one time. Outsourced editing along with a revolving door in the scheduler department has created a company that is unresponsive and apathetic toward shoppers.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Gfk went from good to bad. If you don't mind taking idiotic quizzes to get shops. If you don't mind little to no response from schedulers. If you don't mind ever expanding shop report as you go along. If you don't mind low pay. Then I say go for it. there is very few shops I would do.
Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.
oh my, this isn't looking good lol. Thanks everyone!
I've been shopping them for years! In fact them and Market Force were the first two that I signed up with. I did wing shops for GFK for years until they dropped them and I always got paid on time. I loved that they paid within two weeks via PayPal which was fast and convenient (unlike some who pay by check..). I used to also do a lot of cell phone retailer shops with them but only if they were bonused - I would usually make $14 to $20 on each one and make a route of like 4 or 5 of them to make it worth it. Recently I haven't seen anything great except for a decent paying auto insurance shop which I completed. Overall I'm saying give them a shot; people have bad experiences and then just spread that, so that's all you hear. But there are plenty of us that like them. I've always gotten paid on time which is what's important.
I have never had a problem with GfK. They have always paid quickly. That said, I don't do A LOT of work with them, because they don't have much in my area.
There's a certain kind of audit they do (which involves a prior drug test and background check you pay for, but they reimburse if you do 1-2 shops depending)..and the pay and everything else with it is of such anyone who has done it seems to despise them regardless of any previous good will. As I refuse to do the horrid thing, I like them! But, of all 'legit' companies that audit is so bad, even not doing it I almost feel like boycotting the company. The drug testing and background check..especially if somehow fail the background check as I don't read what disqualifies before hand, seems to be some kind of violation of standard federal employment laws... they cross the line with that shop.
I did assignments for them for the wings, and the cell phone audits-- when bonused. I haven't done work for them lately, but from what I've read they've gone downhill.
Should I also include once you do the one shop I mention you are likely effectively screwing yourself out of doing other shops with that particular franchise being shopped as you are now revealed...it's a monumental failure of a shop at its present price level. Further, once you do an audit at that location there's a huge time wait to be able to do another one....it's clear-cut doubtless one of the most obnoxious offers present.
So, my advice to anyone is to still sign up for GFK but stay the hell away from that audit.
So, my advice to anyone is to still sign up for GFK but stay the hell away from that audit.
I have not done a shop for them in a while, but I have not heard too many good things in a while. If I were you, I would stay signed up as a shopper and only do something with them, if you find it interesting and worth the pay. See how that one shop goes, then go from there. Right now, they do not have anything of interest or worth the pay, for me.
I did my first shop for them this month. It was one of the online insurance shops and I just got a Paypal for it today. 9 days from completion to payment! It was a straightforward report and the fee with bonus was great considering I didn't have to leave my house or talk to anyone on the phone.
We are all here on earth to help others....What on earth the others are here for I don't know.
--W. H. Auden
--W. H. Auden
Alison, my experience as well. Which is why shops such as that is why I like them...but for that ridiculous shop which would make more sense with BMA or perhaps Trendsource.
GFK mostly has three huge knocks against it. One is the audit, the other is a scheduler coming to this forum who used to work for them and has been blasting them...which is extremely rare and another being they have/had a scheduler working for them which botched the hell out of a shop for a lot of people recently. A smaller knock would be a shop a lot of people came to expect and enjoy was taken over by another company. Add all this together you get momentum to seriously damage their reputation and shadow over what they are doing well...I believe they have two upper echelon schedulers, pay well and faster than most (well, shoppers at least) and have good shops to perform.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2015 03:58PM by rasky.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2015 03:58PM by rasky.
@BuffaloNY101 wrote:
Gfk went from good to bad. If you don't mind taking idiotic quizzes to get shops. If you don't mind little to no response from schedulers. If you don't mind ever expanding shop report as you go along. If you don't mind low pay. Then I say go for it. there is very few shops I would do.
All of this.
I also got a rating of 1 for self-accepting a shop I wasn't qualified for, though I emailed the scheduler before accepting to get clarification. She didn't respond within a reasonable amount of time, and I thought I might be overthinking the qualification aspect (basically, only one shop per round, but I wasn't sure what they considered to be the end of a round) so I just took it. Figured they'd tell me that I couldn't take it if I wasn't qualified and just drop the shop. Suffice to say I was surprised when it was yanked from my job board and I saw a 1 rating w/o a return email from the scheduler. f a whole bunch of that.
I still took some shops after that, but they didn't pay much and involved too much work on the report. No thanks.
I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
Retro, that's ridiculous for that to have happened. That's clearly their fault to the extent of allowing you to accept instead of apply....hope you were able to get it removed.
@rasky wrote:
Retro, that's ridiculous for that to have happened. That's clearly their fault to the extent of allowing you to accept instead of apply....hope you were able to get it removed.
It wasn't removed, but I didn't put any effort into having it removed. As far as I could tell, it didn't affect my ability to get other shops (all my other grades were in 8-10 range) and I was getting tired of dealing with them and wanting to move on, so no biggie.
The low-paying shops with high expected effort was the bigger issue.
I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2015 04:12PM by retrodaddy.
My experience mirrors many. A couple of years ago when I first started mystery shopping, I did a couple of wings shops. One I got a 1 rating for but never got more information other than my receipt was invalid? I sent several emails, never got a response and just left it alone vowing to not do any more assignments, also canceling the wings I had scheduled because I couldn't get the information so I wouldn't make the same mistake again. I did the wings with new ms company with no issues. Only recently I did the auto insurance quote with GFK but had such a low rating from only doing three shops with one being a 1 that I had to reach out to be scheduled. My main issue is that there was no clear reason for shop being invalid. I have made mistakes before with other companies and chock it up to experience and learning when it happens. This company was not responsive at all in why it was invalid and for a while left a very bad taste for me like I was trying to scam them out of a very small fee.
Lack of communication is just flat-out unacceptable. If something is done wrong, let us know so we can correct it or at least avoid making the same mistake in the future. If a receipt is invalid, let the shopper know exactly why it's invalid. If you wanna have good, long-term shoppers working for you, then act like you want them.
I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
I had an experience like that recently with Goodwin...but, I let them know. I found out who was in charge of the program nationally and e-mailed them about the problem with the specific scheduler including a forward of an utterly useless e-mail I was sent by the scheduler. So, at least giving them a chance to correct their errors. I also indicated I refuse to work with the particular scheduler again unless the matter is addressed. Not much more I can do.
If your priority is how quickly they pay or that they use PayPal rather than a check, GFK will fit the bill. For others responsiveness, respect and work commensurate with the pay are the priority. For all of those I will wait 30 to 60 days for payment.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
I have done a few shops over the last couple of years for them (mostly wings shops) and a few more about 2-3 months ago, but nothing more recently. I didn't have any major issues with payment or communication, but have heard some war stories on this forum about others who have had issues.
bottom line: I don't have a ton of experience or any very recent experience with them, but the experiences I've had have been good. If I saw a job offered by them that I was interested in, I would take it. Lisa's right that they pay quickly. Good luck! If you decide to work with them, let us know how it goes.
bottom line: I don't have a ton of experience or any very recent experience with them, but the experiences I've had have been good. If I saw a job offered by them that I was interested in, I would take it. Lisa's right that they pay quickly. Good luck! If you decide to work with them, let us know how it goes.
Shopper in California's Bay Area
I do some shops for them. The guidelines can be fairly long on some jobs.(those I wont do.) I don't shop for them a lot, but when I do they pay rather quickly.
I have had very minor problems with them, but still pick up shops on occasion. I was contacted about a bonused shop a couple weeks ago that still wasn't enough pay for me. I told them my price to do it that day, and they accepted it. I was paid 6 days later. For that reason, I love GFK because I have always gotten my money so quickly. However, I have only done about 5 shops for them because there is not a lot in my area, so maybe that's not enough to go on. The scheduler I was working with last week was very quick to respond to my emails and assist me with a shop. However, the last scheduler I tried to contact, I did not ever receive a response.
Their shops require much more 'studying' than any other MSC so I only take shops knowing I will spend 1-2 hours just on studying and filling out the report, so they need to pay me enough to do that. But I don't think you need to delete your account, they aren't THAT bad.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2015 08:23PM by mkkp.
Their shops require much more 'studying' than any other MSC so I only take shops knowing I will spend 1-2 hours just on studying and filling out the report, so they need to pay me enough to do that. But I don't think you need to delete your account, they aren't THAT bad.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2015 08:23PM by mkkp.
My experience has not been bad in the long run. I have been paid earlier than expected and I have 4 schedulers that I constantly keep in contact with. Because of this relationship, I let all of them know when I see something unfair, unethical, etc. To be honest, I complain heavily and loudly about it with one or two loaded emails. While I should not have to do that, they always make it right and I have received plenty in return that more than offsets the time I had to take to get what I wanted. I do not recommend this for everyone, because it can be stressful for some and no one really should have to. I have a legal background and it is just programmed in me to right the wrong. But just as it was stated by others, they cross the line with restrictions and such, that really do not have anything to do with Independent Contractors. I do not comply with those things. I just run my business the way I know I should and so far, so good.
I just pick up the bonused cell phone audits in my area. They are worth it even with that annoying testing. I've never had a problem with them, but then again I only work for them a couple of times a year.
When GFK has shops that are worth my time and not (IMHO) idiotic, I do them. I have never had any problems with them.
Most recent experience - did a shop for them on August 27th and received the money via PayPal on September 14th.
Clearly there's a wide range of experiences, good and bad, that shoppers have had with them.
Why not try one assignment that interests you and pays at least your minimum, and see what happens. If the experience is good, continue on. If the experience is bad, cancel.
Most recent experience - did a shop for them on August 27th and received the money via PayPal on September 14th.
Clearly there's a wide range of experiences, good and bad, that shoppers have had with them.
Why not try one assignment that interests you and pays at least your minimum, and see what happens. If the experience is good, continue on. If the experience is bad, cancel.
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