seelevelhx, you're just killin' me.
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I second what others have said about seelevel being great to work with... I am a newer shopper, I have only been shopping for about 4 months and have done over 16 shops with Seelevel... I find their guidelines easy to follow and straight forward. I have never had any problems even though I'm a newbie. I shop for around 10 companies at the moment and they are in my top 2 of favorite companies. I take as many shops for them as I can.
I was paid promptly for the eyeglass shop. However, I did not do the P/R. I kept them. It was an easy $50. I have never had a SeeLevel phone call ... Recently, I got dinged one point on a shop that I do all the time. I contacted the scheduler who checked and got back to me with the reason. (Questionnaire wording had changed on a service question that I didn't notice.) Next time, I got my usual 10. I figure that's a win for the client and for me.@winemaker wrote:
I just want them to PAY what they owe for the eyeglasses shops.....Until then, my advice is to stay away from SL....
Shopping SoCal and Maui.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2016 10:04PM by PuaM.
I Love Working with Seelevel, they are one of my favorite to do shops for. I just wish They had more in my area to shop.
parkcity brian said "while i happen to be a psychologist i won't attempt to do any armchair head-shrinking (without pay) but it's my feeling there might be some issues that you might want to address with a professional. Absolutely, without a doubt NO WAY! Unless it was earned in prison college!?
Ironic, you came on the board to complain about this company. Then an employee of the company responds. And you grovel like a lap puppy. And then you have the nerve to scold another member for doing what you, yourself, did.
BTW: SeelevelHX has forgiven way too many of my booboos, at this point I actually owe them! Crazy awesome people.
Ironic, you came on the board to complain about this company. Then an employee of the company responds. And you grovel like a lap puppy. And then you have the nerve to scold another member for doing what you, yourself, did.
BTW: SeelevelHX has forgiven way too many of my booboos, at this point I actually owe them! Crazy awesome people.
@xenshopper wrote:
Well, at least it wasn't like the MarketForce folks that call and talk a thousand miles per minute in monotone, non-understandable English (where is their call center?!) just to offer you a dollar more on a shop that has sat on the job board for weeks. I feel your pain...
I get messages on my answering machine that I cannot understand from them. I might be interested in the job but I have no idea what they are saying. I usually try to listen to the message a few times and then hit "delete" since I can't figure out what it is about.
How funny....I have never received a phone call from Seelevel. Guess I must be doing something right.
so ur the one doing shops in Heber and PC area for peanuts! I refuse to 'B A Slave' for pennies on the dollar. Enjoy shopping, friend!
Haha!! You just aged yourself Geoff but I hear ya, I'm 38, and these millenials......
Geoff, I also did this assignment. I submitted the reports within 12 hours and received a score of 10 on both visits. I also have an average score of 10 with your company. So, there were no issues with my report that warranted not being paid.
There were no glasses for under $350 as @winemaker stated. I selected the cheapest frames I could find and the total was $352. I sent the glasses back, but when I was eventually paid, was not paid the $2 overage. In addition, I did not get the reimbursement by the 15th of the following month after the purchase was made (in August) as promised in the guidelines and in emails from Mindy. I had to jump through hoops to get my $350 reimbursement that was paid on October 24th, the second month after the purchase was made. I was told the payment was late because of PayPal issues and because my receipt online could not be read, which is a lousy excuse. I sent back the ORIGINAL receipt with the glasses early in September. In an email, Nicole confirmed that she had both the glasses and original receipt on September 19 and would take care of the issue with the blurry image online. Yet, she still used the excuse that I was not paid on time because the receipt attached to my report could not be read. Maybe she needed to do the shop to purchase the glasses if she could not read a receipt that was on her desk for over a month.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2016 04:23AM by Debbie S.
There were no glasses for under $350 as @winemaker stated. I selected the cheapest frames I could find and the total was $352. I sent the glasses back, but when I was eventually paid, was not paid the $2 overage. In addition, I did not get the reimbursement by the 15th of the following month after the purchase was made (in August) as promised in the guidelines and in emails from Mindy. I had to jump through hoops to get my $350 reimbursement that was paid on October 24th, the second month after the purchase was made. I was told the payment was late because of PayPal issues and because my receipt online could not be read, which is a lousy excuse. I sent back the ORIGINAL receipt with the glasses early in September. In an email, Nicole confirmed that she had both the glasses and original receipt on September 19 and would take care of the issue with the blurry image online. Yet, she still used the excuse that I was not paid on time because the receipt attached to my report could not be read. Maybe she needed to do the shop to purchase the glasses if she could not read a receipt that was on her desk for over a month.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2016 04:23AM by Debbie S.
I've never received a phone call from SeeLevel like the OP got, but right now I am mostly doing restaurant shops for them. Maybe these shops don't warrant a phone call - which is fine with me! Send me email, send me texts. A phone call might arrive while I am doing a shop, which would be very annoying.
NOTE: I'm not on the forum every day. If someone comments on my post, I might not reply right away. I've been a shopper since 1991. I've never done any work for a MS company in any other capacity.
Geoff, I love working with Seelevel HX. I always get help when needed and have never received the check up calls (but I ignore a lot of unknown numbers). I do get regular emails for many shops in my area. It appears that I missed the glasses shop. How do I make sure that I will be contacted for the next round. Since they are easy shops and we need glasses, even my husband agrees to do them.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2016 01:42PM by fa2.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2016 01:42PM by fa2.
ParkCityBrian - I understand your frustration. MSC's should look at a shoppers history and only call to remind those that are A) new, or 
have had previous issues completing assignments.
The call might not have been as irritating if the caller just gave you a quick reminder instead of all that unnecessary banter.
have had previous issues completing assignments.
The call might not have been as irritating if the caller just gave you a quick reminder instead of all that unnecessary banter.
Fa2 - I have also done several shops for SeeLevel HX and I highly recommend them. I rarely talk to any of the MSC reps but I did have the opportunity to talk to Darius with SeeLevel HX because I greed to do a few rush shops for him and he was absolutely wonderful.
@winemaker wrote:
I just want them to PAY what they owe for the eyeglasses shops.....Until then, my advice is to stay away from SL....
I just want those (edited) to stop having multiple schedulers spam my email each day with several offers to do this awesome shop that they just can't seem to find anybody to do for twelve fifty. If I was going to drive a half hour each way, it would absolutely not be to waste some poor schmuck's time by pretending I am interested in purchasing eye glasses when I am not even going to pay for a pack of lens wipes.
I hope that after explaining to the client nobody will take the low ball fee to do that job they will learn to bid a fair amount for the contract rather than disappoint the executives when they get what they are actually paying for and not what they wanted.
Wow, Thanks for the honesty. SeeLevelhx is one of my favorites.
Wow I can't believe the negative comments about SeeLevel. I have been shopping for them since I started shopping in '08. It was called another name then. I don't remember ever having a problem that was not resolved. I normally know when I submit a shop it might not be accepted because I missed a detail or was not sure about something. I don't blame them for my mistake, I blame myself and keep going.As an experienced shopper I have my favorite MSC's and SeeLevel is one of them.
@winemaker wrote:
Geoff, I was unable to purchase glasses for less than $350.00. UNABLE. So I called SeeLevel. I was told to proceed with the "above limit purchase". then SeeLevel IGNORED every contact I made trying to resolve the situation. I did my job, I went above and beyond in order to get this report in. And you and SeeLevel are hiding behind one part of the written instructions? What about the email blast where SeeLevel advertised "FREE eyeglasses"??? You are not mentioning that, er, ah, 'error'. That is why I am calling this behavior unethical, becasue it is.
winemaker, I'm not hiding behind anything. I'm looking into this with the project director and if you acted at our directions you will not end up out of pocket on the shop.
Furthermore if our schedulers are misleading about the opportunity I will have this corrected immediately.
I'll PM you to get your email address in our system.
Thanks,
-Geoff
VP Operations, SeeLevel
I did an audit for SeeLevelX/Insula Research on October 17th, 2016. I had emailed the scheduler beforehand who approved it. I went to the shop log and the date was incorrect so I cannot submit the shop. It reads 2015 instead of 2016. I have emailed and phoned several times and gotten no response back. I am furious with this company (Insula Research) because I did the job and never got paid the $75.00. I have done several of these audits in the past, and even though communication is terrible, I always managed to get through to them and get paid. They simply do not respond! I have all the paperwork and I really want to get this shop submitted. Unbelievable.
Thanks Geoff...SeeLevel came to the plate on my issues and paid the incremental cost i incurred on site. It is appreciated, and I want you to know personally: This type of response MATTERS! Good behavior and professional responses are noted, here....and everywhere!
@winemaker wrote:
Thanks Geoff...SeeLevel came to the plate on my issues and paid the incremental cost i incurred on site. It is appreciated, and I want you to know personally: This type of response MATTERS! Good behavior and professional responses are noted, here....and everywhere!
If we're wrong, we're wrong - we'll admit it and try to make it right. I hope we were able to do so for you and we appreciate your hard work.
VP Operations, SeeLevel
@jake103 wrote:
I did an audit for SeeLevelX/Insula Research on October 17th, 2016. I had emailed the scheduler beforehand who approved it. I went to the shop log and the date was incorrect so I cannot submit the shop. It reads 2015 instead of 2016. I have emailed and phoned several times and gotten no response back. I am furious with this company (Insula Research) because I did the job and never got paid the $75.00. I have done several of these audits in the past, and even though communication is terrible, I always managed to get through to them and get paid. They simply do not respond! I have all the paperwork and I really want to get this shop submitted. Unbelievable.
I'm responding right now. If you'll please send me a PM with your shopper email address and some details I will look into this for you.
Thanks,
-Geoff
VP Operations, SeeLevel
@parkcitybrian wrote:
i've done 100's of assignments with seelevelhx (and their other subsidiaries) over the years and all my assignments have been completed on time (or before if warranted) with virtually no need for any further clarification(s). i don't mind getting their "friendly reminders" starting 2 days before the scheduled assignment date, then the day before and then the morning of the assignment date but... today...
i'm driving and i get an incoming call. i have a new high-tech car (bluetooth enabled) with a screen that displayed a call from area code 404. i decided to answer the phone (hands free) and i get a nice-sounding southern-accented voice asking, "is this brian xxxxx".
i answer yep, it is. then i get, "how are you today?".
i answer that i'm doing just great. who is this, plz? then i get, "this is xxxx from seelevelhx".
i answer with a hello, what can i do for you?. then i get, "are you having a wonderful day?".
i answer with my day is just wonderful what is that you need from me? then i get, "this is just a friendly reminder that you have a shop that is due tomorrow".
now i'm trying to listen to my gps in the background and this person has been prattling (kinda/sorta like the out-of-the-country mf schedulers who go onandonandon confirming an assignment that you've done 100's of times but they insist on relating every aspect of the assignment = beyond frustrating) onandonandonandon wondering about the state/condition of my day and giving me, yet another, reminder of an assignment that is not past due although i have never, ever not completed one for them.
so i say to this nice-sounding (maritz-type woman) how about never, ever call me again to remind me about an assignment that is not past due and raising the fee structure for my assignments to make up for the savings in not having to place calls to me. that was met with anticipated silence (not even a chuckle) and i asked to please make a note to not make these calls going forward.
maybe, tho, seelevelhx is seeing more assignments not being completed on time and/or they have brought shoppers aboard that lack the skills necessary to complete assignments. if so, in either case, there just might be somewhat of a correlation with the fees being offered.
you get what you pay for?
no more accepting calls from area code 404 for me.
amirite?
Gee, when I call out companies for doing dumb things, I get called combative. Ha. Yeah, that is real lame. What got me really ticked off was when a company started sending me overdue notices two days before the due date.
I ended up dumping them. I have seen that the schedulers and the proofreaders do not get paid much. I feel odd for stating this because shoppers get paid lousy too, but perhaps the fee that they pay to those people brings in a lot who are less than bright.
@geoff.curtis wrote:
@parkcitybrian wrote:
thanks, seriously, for replies from seelevelhx. seelevelhx is one of the few companies that is proactive and address issues head-on with explanations and mea culpa's (where/when warranted) rather than deflect.
We're not perfect. I have a large team and I don't know what everyone is doing all the time. We'll make mistakes.
Know this though - I spent many years of my life not having two nickels to rub together. I drove around a borrowed Ford Escort that I had to enter on the passenger side because a rollover accident had crushed the door on the driver's side. It would stop running randomly and strand me in downtown Detroit several times a week.
I know what it's like to really NEED the pay I earned, and I assume that our shoppers NEED the pay they earn with us. If a shopper does a fair job for us, you can bet I'll make sure we treat them fairly.
I'll make an effort to check in with the forums more often. There is of course a lot of 'noise' but there is also valuable feedback. You don't just shop our clients, you shop us too.
I haven't done any for SeeLevel yet. I monitor the Job Board, though.
So, not including SeeLevel, I have been given this same line by schedulers and at least one "field director" from other companies. That message is that they receive thousands of emails from shoppers a day! Seriously. Thus, they can not be expected to respond to everybody. That says a lot about this vocation. It is embarrassing to tell people about it because if they ask too many questions, one looks like a fool for participating, especially when one is asked what one is paid.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2016 07:34PM by indy101.
I'd say to anyone who has problems with SeeLevel: don't get mad, get Geoff! Sounds like he owns up to responsibility really, really well.
@indy101 wrote:
I haven't done any for SeeLevel yet. I monitor the Job Board, though.
So, not including SeeLevel, I have been given this same line by schedulers and at least one "field director" from other companies. That message is that they receive thousands of emails from shoppers a day! Seriously. Thus, they can not be expected to respond to everybody. That says a lot about this vocation. It is embarrassing to tell people about it because if they ask too many questions, one looks like a fool for participating, especially when one is asked what one is paid.
I hesitate to speak for the industry as a whole, but I will say it's a tough business. We watch our costs because we want to stay in business, keeping our employees working and providing opportunities for our independent contractors.
If we pay our employees too much, we aren't successful. If we don't charge our clients enough, we aren't successful. If we pay shoppers too much, we aren't successful. And yes, we want to make a profit. It is all a balancing act to try to bring in new business, keep existing business, get all of the work done at an acceptable cost and pay everyone FAIRLY. That 'fair pay' is very subjective, but we have an open market with many MSP's competing and this tends to set the price at which shoppers are willing to do the work. I don't believe anyone is getting rich doing secret shopping, but I feel grateful to be a part of a business which can provide opportunities that can make a difference in some shopper's lives. That's important to me.
We try to pay our employees as much or more than the industry standards, and offer opportunities for advancement to outstanding employees. We try to pay shoppers as much or more than other MSP's for the work they do. Without our independent contractors we have no business at all.
There are realities that prevent instant responses to every email we get, and that's not a line. Again, it's all part of managing a business and trying to staff with the appropriate number of people to get the job done. It is my expectation that we respond to everyone within reason - sometimes there is just no way to come to an agreement with someone and at that point we have to move on.
I'm sorry to hear anyone say they are embarrassed about what they do. If you feel that way, on a personal level I'd say find something else to do for your own sake. I've mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms, waited tables - you name it - and I've never been embarrassed for one moment because whatever job I did I gave everything I had.
-Geoff
VP Operations, SeeLevel
I really appreciate the response, Geoff, thank you. I do not have access to PM right now but I will be in touch with you soon and give you more of the details. Thank you!
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