Has anyone else out there had problems with GfK? I've noticed that they are always advertising for auditors for the same locations month after month.

GfK was always a really really nice company to work with. This batch of audits is obviously no bargain. It pays well but requires two consecutive days on site and my understanding is that the reporting can be a bear. Folks who take the work are required by the client to submit to both a background check and drug testing. That invasiveness sits poorly with many of us. It will be paid for by GfK only if you pass and take the jobs. I've got nothing to hide but nothing to prove either and by golly I am not an employee and not about to do it at my own expense in case some lab somewhere f**ks up. Your commitment then is to do the same location twice, in months 1 and 3, with another shopper doing the location in months 2 and 4. From the sequencing of solicitations in my market, it looks to me as though few shoppers are doing more than their mandatory two visits. That does not speak well for the job being a profitable use of time. If it was a good deal people would be fighting for the work.

That was kind of a teaser line I put out there just to see if anyone else had problems with them. It "seems" to pay well, however, once you are done with the store time, the data entry is more than a bear. By the time you get done in store and with data entry, you're lucky if you make $4/hr. They have a new system in place finally, unfortunately I won't get a chance to try it out. They promised every month for the past 6 months that the new site would be up the next month - it wasn't. Due to computer & internet problems, this past month was a major pain for me, and they "will no longer be needing my services" for anything. I think it's kind of lame since their site for data entry on this project has been beyond lame - I should at least be given a chance with the new system, but, oh well, there are plenty of companies out there with better sites than GfK. Not to mention I just got hired to work the Census - and there's not a company out there that can touch what they pay. What I consider the worst about the whole thing is that they removed me from their system and didn't even tell me they were going to. I went to log on to see if they had finally perhaps updated their job history page so I could possible figure out when I would get paid (which shows the last audit I did was last August - and this is their "new & improved" website) only to discover that I had been removed from the system and could not log in. Pretty sad to remove someone and not even tell them about it. My father ran his own business my whole life, and I have a brother that has owned his own business for almost 30 years - it's unthinkable to just blow someone off and not even tell them that they won't be working as a contractor for you anymore. I was just wondering if anyone else had problems with them.

I'm sorry that you got caught in that mess. I expressed interest when the jobs were originally advertised at $20 higher than they finally got assigned as. Once I listened to the phone training and realized that the $20 reduction was a reality rather than an error, I cancelled the jobs. So I never did one and have no intention of doing so. To the best of my knowledge I am still a shopper on their rolls, though they have had so little other than these jobs that checking their boards is a waste of time.

I agree that termination without warning or notification is noxious. I have only been terminated by one company and it was for disagreeing with the company's owner here on this forum. Your evaluation of the GfK job working out to about $4 per hour is approximately the feedback I have gotten from others as well. And judging from the frequency of postings that these jobs are available, it strikes me they should be having a love fest with any shopper who is or has been willing to do them.

Good luck with Census. I did the one in 1990. It is government work but it offers no benefits and certainly is temporary. I lasted longer than most because I got kicked up to a supervisory position very quickly. But the money was quite reasonable.

I have no idea and clue about your question.

I have been doing these audits for the last year. Yes I will agree that the reports are a bear. And with the new system (hopefully) it will be better.
I live in a small town, so our store is smaller than any other in the system. I can usually do the entire store, and get the report done in the 8-9 hour time frame. Yes I do it in two days (as they request). I almost always have two or three other shops to do in the same area, so I do one or two on my way to the store, then the others on my way home.
I find they pay to be reasonable for the amount of time (for my area). I just hate the rotation. One month on, one month off. I could always drive 35 miles up the road and do the three up there, but that would really eat away my profits.

I know of at least three people who applied and NEVER even got to do a report or accept a shop and were given the great we do not need you letter.
Several age ranges. Both male and female.
But I still city their cities listed in the new request list.
So do they need you or not? Hard to say.

Hours versus pay on the audit... hmmm $4 thought minimum wage was higher than that GFK!

I have been registered with them for a while. Until just the other day, all of the shops I was emailed about seemed to be the same audit. Not that I have anything to hid, but I never applied because the drug test and background check seemed way too intrusive for my taste. The new shop that I was just offered paid way too low and it seemed very involved. There was a time I might have done it, but I've learned that these low paying shops are sometimes deceptive -- they require as much work as the higher ones do, sometimes more.

The drug test and background thing was simple. Results in 2 days. I did several of these audits for them. One of their Schedulers got smart with me. I stopped doing them. Others have experienced the same. They do not have trouble getting Auditors. They have trouble keeping them. When they learn to respect the little guy - Their Auditor problem will be solved. My 2C...:p

I do hear they pay well, but what do you have to go through to work for the Census?

Also.. do you have to visit homes? Or can you work in an office? I wouldn't mind the walking involved, but then there's a safety factor, if there's a mean dog, or someone simply doesn't want you on their land/home.

biancajean Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That was kind of a teaser line I put out there
> just to see if anyone else had problems with them.
> It "seems" to pay well, however, once you are done
> with the store time, the data entry is more than a
> bear. By the time you get done in store and with
> data entry, you're lucky if you make $4/hr. They
> have a new system in place finally, unfortunately
> I won't get a chance to try it out. They promised
> every month for the past 6 months that the new
> site would be up the next month - it wasn't. Due
> to computer & internet problems, this past month
> was a major pain for me, and they "will no longer
> be needing my services" for anything. I think it's
> kind of lame since their site for data entry on
> this project has been beyond lame - I should at
> least be given a chance with the new system, but,
> oh well, there are plenty of companies out there
> with better sites than GfK. Not to mention I just
> got hired to work the Census - and there's not a
> company out there that can touch what they pay.
> What I consider the worst about the whole thing is
> that they removed me from their system and didn't
> even tell me they were going to. I went to log on
> to see if they had finally perhaps updated their
> job history page so I could possible figure out
> when I would get paid (which shows the last audit
> I did was last August - and this is their "new &
> improved" website) only to discover that I had
> been removed from the system and could not log in.
> Pretty sad to remove someone and not even tell
> them about it. My father ran his own business my
> whole life, and I have a brother that has owned
> his own business for almost 30 years - it's
> unthinkable to just blow someone off and not even
> tell them that they won't be working as a
> contractor for you anymore. I was just wondering
> if anyone else had problems with them.

NeedsGoodJobs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do hear they pay well, but what do you have to
> go through to work for the Census?
>
> Also.. do you have to visit homes? Or can you
> work in an office? I wouldn't mind the walking
> involved, but then there's a safety factor, if
> there's a mean dog, or someone simply doesn't want
> you on their land/home.

[2010.census.gov] has information about the Census and getting jobs with them. They have both office and home visit situations. I did the 1990 in an office, a friend did the 2000 in the field and in her area they sent out the folks in the field in pairs. Their concern I gather was less dogs than irate citizens who have no intention of cooperating--even though that cooperation is required by law.

I also got an e-mail from Gfk recently, and they also requested that I undergo a background check and a drug testing! How do you do that online for god's sake? lol

Also.. i went and looked at the jobs they had and they were hours away, so it didn't matter in the first place!

You get a drug test locally. They send you the form. They then send you a link for the background check...

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Their
> concern I gather was less dogs than irate citizens
> who have no intention of cooperating--even though
> that cooperation is required by law.

Sorry if this is off topic a bit, but I had a question. How much cooperation is required by law?

If you spend 45 minutes answering questions during a home visit, are you then required to spend another 45 minutes over the phone talking to the same woman, answering the same questions?

If you answer all her questions, does she have the right to demand to speak to everyone in your household over the age of 12? Thanks for any info.

I have no problem answering the census questions, but enough is enough. The woman who is assigned me is pretty much rabid and seems to get off on the power of threatening "you answer me or I'll turn you in" (direct quote there).

When I did it in the 1990s only a very small portion of submitted forms ever had any additional contact at all. When forms were mailed in, the editors looked them over. If there were contradictory answers or certain critical questions were answered (or multiple answer dots filled in), they were sent over to the phone bank. When phone bank folks completed calls on the handful they were working on they were either dropped into the "No Answer, Call Again" bin or "Edit" bin or "Foreign Language" bin. They would then grab another handful of the bottom of the incoming stack (those being the oldest) and continue making follow up phone calls. The likelihood of speaking to the same Census person twice was slim to none. Home visits only happened if you didn't mail in the form. The head of household is the person who is to fill out the form, so there should be no need to speak with any other members of the household.

But I'm not sure what is happening to you here. Is this current? The Census as NOT STARTED YET. The forms are to be in the mail next week from a letter I got the other day. I would sure ask for this woman's identification because if this is current you are being scammed I suspect.

As for legal. You ARE required by law to answer the Census. Fines and penalties for failure to do so generally are $100 per day up to a maximum of $5000 I believe. I have never heard of them imposing the fines or penalties.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2010 01:24AM by Flash.

Yeah, this is current. It was last year that I answered the questions, but so far this year I have been called 7 times by the same woman.

Like I said, I have no problems answering her questions, how I just wonder how much is mandatory. Are you just required to answer the forms?

If she contacts you again, ask to speak with her supervisor. Express your complaints and concerns to that person. Take names and the locations they work out of. If they aren't in your area, or they refuse, contact YOUR local Census office.

To the best of my knowledge you are only required to fill out a paper form, you need to fill it out completely and mail it in and they will contact you if there are specific questions or problems about the paper form you filled out.

I am doing census shops now. You wear a census t shirt and lanyard. I simply go to stores and place a clear census cling inside the main window and door...

I wanted to do that! They have a number of Texas cities listed but not Austin! Boo!

I haven't been called, lisa. A census worker (out-of-work 57-year-old engineer) knocked on the door last year to determine if my house was lived in. This past week I received a letter stating that the questionnaire would be mailed in a week. That's the only contacts made by the census to me.

I'd certainly be checking out her credentials.

Austin is testing AustinMom. My kid went in a bit more than a week ago. The little map on the Census site indicates they are paying $17 per hour out there. But you can't be a state or government employee already I think I read.

Just wondering if anyone knows where I can look up the laws Mandating filling out the census? I would love to see it in writing:-)

[usgovinfo.about.com]

During the 2000 Census there was a suit filed in US District Court regarding a citizen's requirement to complete the form. A judge filed a temporary injunction that would protect those who answered at least the question regarding how many people lived in the household. If I recall correctly, it offered no protection from the full force of laws against those who falsified the question regarding the number of folks in the household. That injunction was only temporary and so even if there was no final ruling would not be in effect still today.

OK, I guess that lets me out as a state employee.