Trendsource on-site business inspections

Don't bother doing these. Trendsource will initially guarantee a high pay rate, but you will hardly ever be paid. The company will come up with some reason not to pay you. This happened to me several times. I would do my inspection, turn in my report on time, and within two days, Trendsource would respond with all kinds of other questions, i.e., "please submit a photo of the signage on an inner office door. The one you sent was hard to read". I had explained to Trendsource twice already that there was a huge counter top desk one foot away from the inner office door. The only way to take a straight on photo would be to climb up on the counter. I felt that, in my business casual skirt, this would seem unprofessional to the other people in the building, (outside the office). After FIVE repeated requests for this same photo, Trendsource told me to "keep my comments professional" when communicating with them. Subsequently, Trendsource said they were, "removing me from the business inspection part of their shopping program", due to the fact that I asked too many questions, and there was too much back and forth email communication taking place between Trensource and myself. Nearly all the email's were initiated by them; they had just found another way not to pay me.

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I've been doing this for years, and never had a single problem with pay or communication.
Ditto to @ceasesmith. Certainly Trendsource is not among my 'top 5' companies, but I never found them unduly picky about reports, photos or when something was beyond shopper control. I guess it all has to do with 'keeping the communication professional'.
Same here. They aren't my favorite company, and I don't do a lot for them. But I've never heard anything back after I submit the reports, and I've never had any trouble with them. Always pay quickly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2016 10:24PM by Threemom.
I have to agree with above, except I do tons of work for them, find them understanding if there is a problem.,
and when needed, always answers my question the next day. Have not had excess communications, but they have called many times to ask me to do a quick job in my area. Due to the fact of low pay, having so many jobs close by and paying twice a month more than makes up the difference.....no wear and tear on my car, nor gas expense, nor traveling time They are in my top 5.

Live consciously....
I do quite a few on-site projects when they are in my area. There have been a few times Trendsource has come back and asked for more information or another photo (which I have, but sometimes there are not enough "slots" to upload in their reports), but I have never had them be unreasonable. Without knowing the exact situation, it sounds like maybe the photo might have been too blurry for them. I typically take my photos for these jobs with my digital SLR camera so they are clear and crisp. My phone camera can sometimes focus on the wrong thing, and I don't notice until I have opened the photo on my computer screen. Sorry you had problems.
hattendo, I'm sorry your report got rejected! The Source has straightforward guidelines that they expect their inspectors to follow. If you do, you get paid.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
My experience has been like most. I've done many MSI/Trendsource business inspections and have always been paid within a few days. Questions have arisen, which I've promptly answered. Because I want to get paid, I always look at my pictures before leaving the location to make sure everything is well focused. I also bring a checklist of needed photos to make sure I don't forget any.

Sorry the OP had an unpleasant experience. Sounds like communication deteriorated between both parties due to a bad photo.
Bad advice from hattendo. It appears that hattendo wasn't able to follow the guidelines and didn't get paid. And it happned "several times?" Who in their right mind continues to work with a company who is not paying them?

TrendSource is not the highest-paying company around, so I seldom work for them, but I've never had any problem when I do work for them.
I have worked for Tread Source some and never had any problems with pay even though a few of my shops need to corrected or more information. Once I fix what the problem was they paid on time no problem.
Are you dealing with Shannon Moland . Look at your message replies . I had an issue with them recently regarding insurance shops for seniors
I have not done a lot of work for this company because the pay is not that high, but when I have shopped for them I have not had any problems. I also use a high-end camera for my pictures, so I never have any problems with clarity. The fact that you said this happened to you several times tells me that maybe you are having a hard time following the guidelines. I also think your other problem might have to do with keeping communication professional and, maybe, overall communication skills. Your negative comments here are not very professional and, quite frankly, your writing is not very clear or easy to follow. It's probably best for both parties that the relationship ended. I say move on.
Trendsource doesn't pay a lot, but they do pay regularly, and I appreciate that. I've learned to take extra pictures. I take two of everything and some of the things that are asked for on the more involved audits, even if I am doing a simple inspection. The reason I take extra photos is that they will, from time to time, come back with more questions or to ask for more photos. I've learned from doing well over 100 inspections what information I must get before I leave the location. Sometimes I do get annoyed at the questions, but I got an email from them a few days ago (and I thought to myself, "Oh no," ) but it was actually an email saying how much they appreciate the effort I put in to doing a good report. I was relieved and surprised, to say the least.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2016 07:19PM by christinereed.
I occasionally get questions, particularly when the physical arrangement is odd such as two entrance doors into the same one-person office. I inspected a museum once and they wanted to know why the contact (a person in HR) did not have the name and address of the company which services their HVAC equipment. All in all, I keep doing them when it makes economic sense. I have one tomorrow morning.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
So the OP is another 'hit-and-run' poster who has not visited the forum since the original post. Just another attempted mud slinging.
I love their shops and will take when ever they are available. Most of the time I get PAD. Never have had a problem with Trend Source.

Deb
I do the same inspections for banks, realtors and high-end automobile purchasers looking from out of town. I get paid 5 times what trendsource and We Go Look pays. And I upload the photos directly to them in real time so there's no double backs ever. They pay to my paypal account before I leave the site. I live in a touristy town with lots of old show autos.
I had one of the drawing inspections with TS. The front building photo had to be taken in such a way that the entire parcel was in the photo. That would have placed me in the middle of a busy street. I explained that in my report. It was questioned, and accepted.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
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