Service Check./ Karin Williams

This Company completely wasted my time...3 hours by the way for a restaurant shop. They want extensive detail and narrative for going to eat a meal. The customer must be too cheap to hire a manager and relies on Service Check to break down everything for them and then screw them out of the payment after spending 1.5 hours filling out the report.
Karin's reason? Because i did not follow instructions and order dessert. I already went over their allowed budget just getting the 2 entrees, 2 drinks, & a salad which we split....what a chicken @#$%& company this is or at least the one running the office. Seems like she spends a lot of time looking for a reason not to pay. I don't need the $ that bad....I was just trying something new and Karin shot it down because the report isn't what she wanted to hear. She probably just blows smoke up the customers ass all the time to make herself look good.
Thanks but, NO THANKS, SERVICE CHECK
I SUGGEST YOU LOOK INTO YOUR OPERATIONS MANAGERS PRACTICES..CAUSE SOMEONE ELSE ALREADY IS...☎

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Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel!!!!
Also it sounds like you didn't follow the directions.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Oh, my....
1) A reimbursement amount is not your required budget. I always check menu prices at an unfamiliar restaurant before taking a shop there. I've done quite a few shops at high end restaurants where the reimbursement was more like a huge discount off a very nice meal. Check it going in and decide whether or not it's worth it for you.

2) If the directions say that you need to order dessert, then order dessert. It is entirely possible that dessert service is a current point of emphasis for the client.

3) I've only had a few dealings with Karin- and they have all been positive. I did get my lowest shop score ever from Service Check. It was simple: They wanted a specific format for my narratives that was different than other companies and I didn't do it right. That was my fault. However, I did it right the next time around and scored a 10. They've been nothing but fair with me.

Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2017 04:42AM by MFJohnston.

If you did not follow the guidelines, the MSC has the right not to pay you.

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

I know it's upsetting when the end results of our shops don't go the way we'd like them to. But if the instructions specifically stated that you had to order dessert, and you did not because of what you had already spent, you simply did not follow directions. The MSC simply cannot pay you, or any shopper, who does not follow guidelines. It's upsetting when, as shoppers, we're out money we were counting on getting back, but let it be a learning experience and move on.

Another problem is the MSC now has to send another shopper. By not following directions the few dollars you would have been out for dessert is now the cost of an entire meal.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

We do have to follow directions. If you are new to Mystery Shopping, consider this a training fee and move on. I would have apologized and offered to reshop. I would be out two meals maybe, but in a position to earn a lot more down the road.

having said that, I do very few restaurant shops as they do not help me pay the bills. I only do them when we feel like eating out.

The OP is long gone and probably just a one hit wonder. No doubt he or she has moved on to bashing Service Check on any website they can find.

@arcalan wrote:

Because i did not follow instructions and order dessert. I don't need the $ that bad....I was just trying something new

Welcome to the forum, arcalan. How new are you to mystery shopping? Did you not understand the directions or did you deliberately not follow them? Did you not understand that you must follow the guidelines? If you don't follow directions, you will have a lot of shops with a lot of companies unpaid. Follow directions if you want to be paid.

And, if you apologize and admit you did it wrong, maybe you can save the relationship with Service Check. It's a really great company with a lot of interesting shops. Karin is very nice and understanding. It would be a shame if they deactivated you. Since it's clear by your post that you were wrong, if I were in your place, I would edit my post and apologize to Karin.

OP is long gone and likely not returning, but in any event, I will chime in to say that Service Check is the only company I've ever deactivated my account with.

I did several small-fee valet shops for them. The valet portion of the shop is outside a hotel. One time, the valet would not accept my payment and sent me inside the hotel. I reported that fact, and the editor was relentless on demanding a description of every hotel employee, what were the hotel employees wearing, what were they doing, and were the hotel employees dressing to code (how would I know?), etc., etc. It wasn't a hotel shop, I shouldn't have had to go inside to begin with, and now Service Check is requiring that I write up the hotel, which was not part of the my gig. If it were just the fee, I would have said something similar to OP, but the parking cost was high and I wouldn't have been reimbursed without reporting the second scenario. OP, I feel ya.

I have never had an issue with either and they are one of my go to MSCs.

While I agree last names seem a bit overkill, especially when only a few people work in a location, it is stated in the requirements.

I have had to get creative to get names of associates of their electronic's company client, as these employees never wear name tags and they require first and last name. They don't like to do quotes for small items in most departments and do not have buisiness cards. I had one associate I sent on a wild goose chase so I could pick up the name tag on the desk, read the long unspellable name, grab a picture to ensure I got it right or else...
Otherwise, I have never had an issue with Service Check and find Karin to be responsive, helpful and reasonable.

They pay on time, have generous bonuses and have been reasonable and responsive everytime I have contacted them.

Service Check is an excellent MSC. Karin is absolutely wonderful to work with, both by e-mail and phone. I have never, ever, experienced anything but professionalism and good communications from her and from Kate.

As others have noted, it is entirely OPs fault both that she/he did not read the menu prior to accepting the assignment and that she/he did not follow shop instructions.

Ordering the absolute cheapest required items can sometimes keep you within the reimbursement amount.

I have nothing but praise for Karin Williams and others at Service Check. I've done 254 shops in 5 years with them and I have NEVER encountered any problems. The OP's issue was common among newbies, perhaps they should have started smaller (such as a convenience store) and worked up to the restaurant.

I just had my job rejected by above named Scheduler/Editor. I called her and we tried to work it out, but this Client was a stickler to the rules. The instructions did say, put an item in EITHER the bottom or the top of the basket. I originally put t in the bottom of this older than old basket, and it keep falling off, so I put it in the corner of the basket per instruction's, turns out these instructions refer to stores that don't have a shelve on the bottom (who knew). ...along with that, they don't like two spaces between paragraphs, and report was not accepted.. I won't be doing that job again, didn't pay enough for the work involved. Karin was willing to work with me, so, she was doing what she does, no bending with this Client. Has never been my favorite, low pay and takes forever to get reimbursed.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2017 02:54PM by Irene_L.A..

I love them. I have been with them since 2004 and done about 300 shops. I have nothing but solid things to say about Karin - and Kate

@SoCalDude wrote:

I love them. I have been with them since 2004 and done about 300 shops. I have nothing but solid things to say about Karin - and Kate

Agree, they are fantastic and reasonable. I do the theater and electronics store and make out well,

I like the employees, but I find that their restaurant shops require too much detail for the amount of pay and quality of the food. Love the employees though and i can't blame them for what is required, I just stopped doing them. That, combined with the fact that you have to bring someone with you is a deal breaker for me.

****************

Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

I had issues with them too one time and got banned for not responding to an email in one hour. lol. Thats the beauty of being an IC you can pick and choose. If enough people started not accepting so low rates rates will end up going up.

-Andrew Anderson
Co-Founder
Udemo.me

I was troubled by them not accepting above story I told, so, I decided to do another this month and was really careful. Not a peep (good news), waiting for my score...love to make a wrong a right.

Live consciously....

A check with purchasing requirement was considered as a high risk mission, especially for restaurant check, not like an item which could be returnable later. After several times of report rejection, I had to stop to take such kind of check. I found that some companies set up miner in guideline or hide up tricks to let you fall, so they could receive your data but free to pay you.

First, there is no trick or hidden guideline. MF makes it perfectly clear you cannot complete two meal shops during the same meal period for them. Just because you chose to ignore it does not make them either high risk shops or some trick to set you up for a fall. You made a mistake, own it.

Second, guidelines are guidelines. As contractors we don't decide, nor do we know, what qualifies as "minor." What you may think is minor could be something the client contracting with MF feels is incredibly important. I say the client contracting with MF because MF is your client. If you are having reports rejected that won't be the case much longer.

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Service Check./ Karin Williams

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