I see very few posts regarding this company and wonder why. Lack of shops? I'm in Wisconsin and they are one of my favorite companies. Easy scheduling and reporting, shops consistently pay $15, I have yet to have any issues with my reports. (7 shops since 10/22/15...and I live in a small town) Check them out!

I've done a few shops for them, but they don't have that much in my area. But sometimes not seeing a lot of posts about a company is a good thing, since many people tend to discuss companies that they have problems with.

I take one high-paying shop from them every 6 to 8 months. I get all excited when I see the email come in and I drop everything to complete it. It's the only job I've ever done for them but they pay on time and are absolutely reasonable in every way to work for.

So you have not had problems reciving payment from them?

You have not had any problems getting your payment from them?

Secret shopper has been one of my favorite companies to work for. I have done many, many shops for them and never had a problem, until now. The shop I did last week required me to go to a bar and ask the manager some questions and take a photo of the Smart TV they received when signing up for cable. 1. Manager wasn't working that day. 2. Bartender (running the entire bar...not just some kid) was certain they did not have this TV I was talking about. I emailed secretshopper asking for help because the instructions did not say what to do in a situation like this. They told me to NA everything on the survey and explain what happened. I did that and then a few days later was emailed and called asking me to return to the bar after calling to be sure the manager was there. The problem with that is even if a manager was there, doesn't mean they will be there when I arrive shortly thereafter. Plus, I was confident they did not have the Smart TV and didn't want to waste my time. I called and spoke to the owner and he told me he had taken the Smart TV home and it was not in use in the bar. (I believe the TV was supposed to be used to advertise the cable company and the bar was getting a discount if they did this. However, the instructions didn't tell me this.) I re-entered my survey with the new information. A few days later Tyler from secretshopper emailed asking "Were you able to get an image of the exterior?" I replied no, I did not. Like I said, the requirements were to get a photo of the Smart TV. I was going to take a photo of the exterior but forgot. This was not in the instructions anyway. A few days later I received a notice of the cancellation of the shop and I would be paid $5 instead of $15, with no explanation. Emails went back and forth about it and I explained the photo was not a requirement and nobody had asked me to get a photo. Many back and forth emails later (within minutes) I asked how to escalate this to a manager. The responses stopped and I haven't received one since. The shop is now showing available again with a bonus and I am super irritated. If someone else goes to the bar and asks the same questions I did, the owner and bartender are going to be like, wtf? I don't get it.

Now this was REALLY a waste of my time to @#$%& about the $10 but it is not about the money, it is the fact that I followed the instructions. I'm not going to call them. I'm probably just going to drop it after venting on here. Or maybe I am hoping someone from the MSC will read this and actually respond; since they didn't respond to my last email.

Sounds like they should have compensated you for the second shop if there was no requirement to call first and see if a manager was present (dead giveaway) and there was no instruction to take a photo other than the non-existent television. I would probably have dropped it after doing the shop and entering it the first time. You did as you were told for the first shop. They owe you the fee for that.

Right, there was no requirement to call first to see if a manager was there so yes, I had performed the shop per instructions. Its not my fault their instructions were not complete. Just irks me that they reposted the shop, and with a bonus.

It sounds like your report was a --->"He said,, they said". on both reports. You did not submit a photo to show where the TV should be nor a photo of even ever being there.(the exterior). Your second shop did not include you going to the Retail, because you did not want to waste you time. So why do you want pay for that?

You received $5 and that should be good enough. Perhaps another MSC would of given you nothing. You did not follow instruction----->You did not take a picture of the Smart-TV although it was not there. and you made the phone call but you did not return. (Remember, waste of time) It does not seem like the MSC owes you any further explaination.

When the BONUSED shopper returns to the BAR, perhaps s/he will find the TV, because the Owner/Manager would have returned it to the bar. That way it could be access for advertising.

Since the report required a photo of the TV, and the TV was not in the Bar, your report said "there was no TV." When they asked you to do it again, and you contacted the manager, who told you he had taken it home, that went into your report, and, of course, you still had no TV photo. That TV photo was supposed to be your POV. In my mind, that makes it similar to a closed location. For example, when you visit a cell phone company and find it closed, you are unable to provide a business card as your POV, so you provide a photo of the exterior. Given that you were unable to provide the requested POV, to me it would seem reasonable that you provide something as your POV, either a receipt for a purchase at the Bar or a photo of the exterior. If your report was provided to the client, regardless whether the client was the Bar or the cable company, the client would want documentation that you DID go there AND that you went to the right location.

The instructions seem poorly written, and should have included a directive to take a photo of the exterior if there was no tv. The client got the information from the shopper -- the tv wasn't there. When another shopper returns, it will be there, so the client will then get faulty information. It's $10. She did the shop. The MSC has already lost more than $10 worth of reputation for failing to pay when THEIR instructions were not well-written. Frankly, I would tell them to keep the $5 and prohibit them from using my report.

I had the same problem only the owner said the tv was in storage because he didn't have any where to put it yet. But yet he was able to answer the questions on how long it took to install. Any way between the many emails and telephone calls and going back and forth and 3 trips I finally caught the manager/owner. And after I turned my report in with a blank photo because it wouldn't let me turn my report in with no photo. They sent my report back to me and asked me to go back and take a picture of the outside of the bar. So after 4 trips I finally got my report completed and accepted. I agree the instructions should have been better written.

Perhaps @Kristie6923 and @Joy1228ce should re-read there ICA in regarding to shops preformed for the MSC mentioned. Those ICA instructions could not have been better written. If you don't understand the wording in your ICA than I can see why the wording in your reports and or guideline are not payable.

Just sayin........!!!!!!!!

@sojo917 wrote:

Perhaps @Kristie6923 and @Joy1228ce should re-read there ICA in regarding to shops preformed for the MSC mentioned. Those ICA instructions could not have been better written. If you don't understand the wording in your ICA than I can see why the wording in your reports and or guideline are not payable.

Just sayin........!!!!!!!!

Do you know something about the shop instructions that would add value to this conversation? Perhaps you read something that both posters missed and could help them understand. That would be more helpful than being rude.

Just saying.........!!!!!!!!!!!!


Edited to fix a typo

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2016 04:09AM by TeriW.

Some are just rude.

Thank you

How long do you get paid from this company?

Not a huge fan but once and awhile I see some good shops. In my area, 80% of the shops are for a shoe store with a zillion locations and it pays 15. But you need to buy shoes and return them. Huge pain in the arse.

I've seen some really good shops come through though but they get snatched fast.

When do you get paid from secretshopper?

Interesting. .I'm now on probation, no shops are available to me and the shop i was talking about doesn't appear in the payment section. What the heck? This whole thing is strange considering the number of good reports i have done for them. Doesn't matter, i don't need them.

From my May 28 post, "A few days later I received a notice of the cancellation of the shop and I would be paid $5 instead of $15, with no explanation."

The MSC ended up completely removing the shop from my file and did not even pay me the $5. Now, 2 months later, there are still "no shops available" for me.

"There are currently no shops available to you. This may be due to a number of possible reasons:
You do not meet the required demographics (age, gender, etc.) for one or more shops.
You completed a shop at a store too recently to do so again. The amount of time required between shops varies by client and by location. Finally, it may be that there are simply no unassigned shops available. New batches of shops are generally released during the last full business week of each month."