HS Brands: where is my shop pay ?

We do expect the same standard but expecting it and getting it are not the same thing. I say if we don't want to wait on the slower paying companies we should not shop for them. Contracting work from a company with long terms and a slow pay reputation and then complaining that they have long terms and are slow to pay looks like a waste of time to me. Some of the longer term and slower pay companies work for me and some don't.

If the company doesn't measure up to expectations, we should stop contracting their work and move on. Doing a better job meeting terms is their business and if they see their shopper pool disintegrating they'll make a move. Trying to change someone else by talking about it won't work in our situation. In all cases, let's choose the companies that measure up and move on from those that don't.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

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Please don't misunderstand me--I was not referencing their slow payment method. I'm completely ok with them taking as long as they want as long as it is within the time frame that we agreed upon. But to just tell me "hey, we're not going to pay you when we said we would and you just have to be ok with that" does not sit well with me.
Right. There is a difference in slow terms and paying slow compared to their terms.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
Mary, the point is that they have agreed to pay within a certain timeframe and did not live up to that agreement. If we contract with a slow-paying company and them complain because they pay on the very last day of the window they gave us, it's irritating but within their parameters (this feels dishonest to me, but that's another thread). This is not the case here. If we make a legal agreement with them and they are two credit card cycles late, they have failed to live up to their end of the contract. If we, as shoppers, failed to meet our agreement, we would not be paid. I know I'll get paid eventually from them, but it is incredibly irritating to have to chase the payment. There's no reason for it.

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
If I didn't pay my internet bill, would they accept "hey guys, my report is going to be a few days late because my internet was shut off"? No, I would go to the library, go to a friend's house, etc. to complete my obligations that I had agreed upon in my contract. I recently completed a fast food shop after I had spent all day in bed with the stomach flu because I am a professional and I refuse to flake on a job that I agreed to complete.

I agree that if we just come on here and whine that little is resolved but for me, seeing that others are experiencing the same frustrations encourages me to be proactive with holding the company accountable for their unprofessional behavior.
I've done over 125 shops for HS, have always been paid, but I get pretty annoyed too when it says right on the login page that shops complete in September will be paid by Dec. 1 (changed to Dec 12th now) -- especially annoying at this time of year!
What I am going to do is request a reschedule for my upcoming HS shop this week to a later due date, after 12/12. If HS does not pay for the September shops by then I will not complete the shop.

***RESOLVED*** HS not only paid me today for the September shops but they also extended the due date for my only December shop with them. This is not the worst MSC I've dealt with. But as a previous poster pointed out, the contractors should not suffer because the clients are not paying timely. HS needs more of a cushion or more clients.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2015 12:41AM by DoogieZZ.
It's not that I don't get it. I get it. When we encounter what we consider unacceptable payment procedures we should stop accepting shops and move on. That's the only action that really means anything but sometimes it's hard to give up a future body of work to support a personal principal.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
Finally got paid by HS Brands for shop completed in mid Sept. woo hoo. I also just deactivated my account with HS Brands after processing deposit. There are too many good MSC's who pay on time, and I don't need to waste my time with ones who cannot.
I just got paid also for September shop. Payment was due, per their stated terms, on November 30, so this makes payment 7 days late. I can live with that. Although I would prefer to be paid in two weeks, since I read the guidelines and payment terms, I was aware that my September shops would be paid approximately 60 days after the last day of the month in which I performed the work. If I were not in agreement with those terms, I would not work for them. I also prefer that companies pay on time, but 7 days late didn't turn my world upside down.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2015 06:31PM by AustinMom.
What baffles me is what makes them more superior than other MSC's on paying their contractors after 60 days of work? There are much better companies out there with better shops, shop assignment process, responses when question arises. They pay at least once or twice a month. Do they not know what the competitions are out there?
Anyway, I will keep them around, won't burn the bridges. They do have a few easy self-assigned shops in my area which requires very little time to complete with minimal effort. I don't mind waiting 3 months for those shops. As to the other shops, they can look elsewhere for help.
I got payment for one shop today. I guess for Sept shops they are paying one at a time...? This is my second payment and I'm still waiting for my last one...
@risinghorizon wrote:

Correction: It was actually more than 6 months. It is very easy to miss things when you are doing a lot of shops for the MSCs and they pay you in bundles. I have a bad habit of presuming they are always correct and I am at fault...

That is exactly the reason why a shopper should have some sort of database. Many shoppers use Excel. With a click of the filter button, I can find out exactly which payments are still outstanding and by how many days. I also have a column for form of payment among many other options.
@SS4U wrote:

I also just deactivated my account with HS Brands after processing deposit.
Thanks. I love working for this company. Easy breezy reports. The longer pay cycles do not bother me; I like varying pay cycles so I always have money coming in even when I am on vacation.
Sybil, if they paid in a timely manner on those longer pay cycles, that would be one thing. They do not. They promise one thing, and then deliver another. The next time their scheduler is desperate again (shoppers in my area have a habit of dropping one shop in particular), I won't be doing any favors. I'm not deactivating because there is one shop that comes up occasionally that I'm willing to wait on. For the rest, I forsee heavy bonuses for other people, especially on the consistently dropped one,

Why can't every company run like Mintel?

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
I just looked at HS site and will summarize their payments.

Shops done on a month (let's say October 9th) will be paid 2 months after the end of the month PLUS 5 business days due to Pay Pal.

Therefore, October 9th shops will be paid in the first week of January... which is 84-91 days after the shop is completed. So, range can be near 100 days later... or as 'early' as 67 days later...

Smaller fee shops it doesn't trouble me so much...but they have some that run near $700...that's quite a float.
@civic82 wrote:

What baffles me is what makes them more superior than other MSC's on paying their contractors after 60 days of work? There are much better companies out there with better shops, shop assignment process, responses when question arises. They pay at least once or twice a month. Do they not know what the competitions are out there?
Anyway, I will keep them around, won't burn the bridges. They do have a few easy self-assigned shops in my area which requires very little time to complete with minimal effort. I don't mind waiting 3 months for those shops. As to the other shops, they can look elsewhere for help.

Guess what? They are in my top 5 (and I am sure that I am in their top 5). I have been shopping for close to 20 years. You have no idea the extent of what they have, as far as work goes. They don't post special projects on the job boards. They are very MSPA involved. I made my presence known to them at an MSPA meeting / event in 2002. I'd definitely hang around. I do an occassional regular shop for them now, probably 20 or less a year. I do a lot of special projects for them. I can't do everything though. Sometimes, I have to decline and then they find somebody else.
I do shops they have listed for other companies as well and get paid in 30 days or less. Doesn't quite make much sense.
I guess here people are talking here about the payments for being delayed by them but guys don't see that this company is providing more works compared to other companies..HS brand is having more clients compared to other..Here they provide different different companies audits compared to other they have less..HS gives more shopper fees compared to other..I been in this industry since long yes payment with hs is late but they paid it that's more important..I m full tIme Msytery shopper but there are other companies they give payment in month..
exactly and right to the point. they expect their reports in by a deadline, and we abide, but they don't abide when it comes to ponying up for work done.
I deactivated my account with them.
Still enjoy their shops, tho I don't enjoy the wait for payment. But as one shopper posted, there's always money coming in from othe rMSCs.
@SoCalMama wrote:

Guess what? They are in my top 5 (and I am sure that I am in their top 5). I have been shopping for close to 20 years. You have no idea the extent of what they have, as far as work goes. They don't post special projects on the job boards. They are very MSPA involved. I made my presence known to them at an MSPA meeting / event in 2002. I'd definitely hang around. I do an occassional regular shop for them now, probably 20 or less a year. I do a lot of special projects for them. I can't do everything though. Sometimes, I have to decline and then they find somebody else.

That's good, mama! They don't have very special shops in my area though. They have this inquiry shop that takes a long time to do. It is just not worth it for the amount of work I need to put in. On the other hand, they have another audit shop in my area which is so simple (& they are normally self-assigned) for the same pay. I pick them up in a heart beat and I don't mind at all getting paid after 3 months.

Is it worth it is what it all comes down to.
SCM is talking about shops that do not show up on the job board. You're talking about shops that are on the job board. Two different animals. This MSC has two very large divisions that rarely post any shops at all on the job board. I would say that both are larger than the standard shopping division that does post on the job board.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
It seems as if this is a small company working with limited capital. If they are waiting for the clients to pay, that means they don't have the money to take care of their obligations to shoppers. It is not the shoppers responsibility to wait for clients to pay. If the shops are completed on time and approved,shoppers should receive payment based on the contract.

The contract does not state shoppers will get paid ,when they get paid by clients. This company reminds me of living pay check to pay check. It's like an accident waiting to happen and unfortunately, shoppers may be on the losing end.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2015 04:29AM by d111055.
Can anyone make this Mystery shopper as a career I m taking for Mumbai people and how much one can earn..Is there any certificate we can get it so that we are eligible for more shops..
They don't always follow their own contractual guidelines because they don't have to. There are too many people out there willing to take any job, for any fee, for any payment times. Just a function of the "Glamour" of mystery shopping. LOL!
2.5 months is the time it takes for them to pay on average. they are the slowest paying company i've done work for, they do always pay though.
On a semi-related note, HS also paid October shops early right before Christmas.

Somewhere in the Midwest, shopping / auditing full time since 2014. Will use PV-500 for food! smiling smiley
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