Has anyone worked with North Fork or have any info on this MSC? I put a lot of effort in a 10.00$ shop. The narrative wasn't satisfactory for North Fork to submit to their client. The information the QSR sent back to me and the paperwork I sent them, didn't make sense to me. After two attempts, I ended up forfeiting the $10.00 assignment. First time ever to throw in the towel..The reject shop and unable to correct it stressed me out! Unfortunately, North Fork MSC has work in the area around where I live. I'm upset! Not sure when this company makes their payments can"t find it on their website! I did a shop just like the one rejected with no problems.The QSR suggested maybe I should contact the scheduler to reschedule the assignment. What would you do? Personally I don't think it's worth the time and effort. But, I don't want the epic failure either!

I've done a lot of work for NFR. Overall, they are a good company. They pay about one month out on Mondays via PayPal. They had some online shops that were easy for $10, but the current ones are just ridiculous. Took me 2 hours to complete with screen shots and a lot of other stuff to look up. I cancelled the other one I had taken.

Thank you for that info. It's good to know about the payments NFR make The 10$ jobs posted now ask for a lot of narratives and details. I spent about 2 hrs on the paperwork if not longer. Finally I thought geez enough is enough! That was one hot mess! lol I haven't done any screenshots for a job,I bet that is time consuming. Sometimes MSC's have glitches in their data systems. Thank you again for the feedback.

NFR pays on the 20th of the month according to their site, but I usually find it in my account on the 14th. I do a couple of NFR shops every few months as rotation allows. Took me a couple of back and forths to fully understand what they wanted in a narrative (this company wants correct pronouns and explanations for every no, even when "No" is their own multiple choice "Teammate not present".

Anyway, I was home yesterday and picked up one of their $10 phone comparison internet lots of screenshots shops. It required getting and figuring out the suggested Screenshot app, the learning curve was steep, and yes from start to finish my hourly pay was about $3.33 BUT it was fun, I was home, I learned something new and the next one should go much faster. I didn't have to drive anywhere and didn't have to hire a pet sitter. I'll do these all day long if I can get them. The ones I don't understand are shops (for another company) that require a face to face meeting, that are an hour or more away and pay TWO WHOLE DOLLARS????

Yes that's right."explain any no answer in the narrative section. ( ie my example}..
After checking," NO team member available." I wrote a sentence to explain my no answer.
When I arrived at the pizza shop there wasn't a team member at the counter".
This was sent back to me at least twice asking for more detail. I just couldn't get any more detailed .
I was aware of the payment when I signed up for it but,didn't expect to knock my head against a brick wall to
earn it.

I guess, when the MSC's scheduler post a job, the computer system sends out thousands of emails
The shopper is interested in or qualified for maybe one out of five.I've noticed some companies have the
posting narrowed down a little better than others. So back to the job boards for me! lol
Thank you for the very helpful feedback. My head feels much better now!

My first shop with them took 3 editing sessions on my part to finally be accepted (with a 7/10 rating). The 2nd got edited once for a clearer photo and an unexplained no and got a 9/10. Now I get 10/10. I get around the minimum # of characters requirement with "There was no associate to interact with. I checked back several times during my shop."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2017 04:30PM by kryswyn916.

@kryswyn916 wrote:

I get around the minimum # of characters requirement with "There was no associate to interact with. I checked back several times during my shop."

I do the same.

I've done a bunch of their grocery store, hardware store, a couple of clothing stores, one of their camping related shops.

I haven't had any problems except for one time they told me that the grocery store had a department that I didn't shop. Guess what? I was in the store and it didn't exist. I had a little bit of a disagreement on this point, but even though they had it reshopped or maybe because it was reshopped with the same problem, they paid me for the shop.

I like that they pay weekly so you can get small payments weekly instead of a large one once a month.

I do NF GROCERY STORE shops every month and I think I have mastered them. For example, I am scoring 9's & 10's and find that the key to their reports is in the narrative, mention EVERY question whether the answer was yes or no. And answer all of the questions. Describe where you found sale items and how much was in stock. I make notes on my phone sometimes so that I don't forget some of the questions for dept. shops. I jot names of people or key words in my phone because they love the detail in their reports. (It's hard to remember everything they ask for.)

After you write these reports for a few months they become easier. They were 2-hour reports when I started, now I can crank out a whole store report in 20 minutes, maybe? The shops themselves used to take a solid hour or more and now I can get in and out the store in 20-30 minutes(depends on check out lanes.) Keep working at it and it will become easier!! Then they will send you bonused shops or create a bundle of shops for you if you are willing to drive 15-20 minutes to a store or area. OR- If someone messes up their report and you can reshop it that same day/next day you can make nice bonuses. $25-$50! I just pick up reshops and out of towns and only do a few each month now. I did my dues of $12 shops. LOL

There are two schedulers. Donna & Cristina. One for entire store and one for departments. They are both pretty no nonsense and don't usually go for you asking for a bonus, yet you have to wait until they offer it. Sometimes, they will waive the time frame. I find it hard to shop from 4-8PM. But if they waive the time frame you can go from 8am-8pm on your day.

Their pay is consistent. 30 days from shop date, on that nearest Monday. (not sure who said on the 21st because that is ACL not NF.) Never had a payment issue. Only 2 non - payments and that was because I did not follow the instructions. So they were totally all my fault.

Keep working at it! It will pay off. Just give answers to all the questions and include detail in your explanations. Plus, everyone needs groceries! I spend what I am making on the shop, since the reimbursement is only $2 and you look obvious waiting in a long line for a cashier with one item. Plus, asking rewards questions. ?? Obvious. I break my grocery list up over multiple visits and knock out 3 a day. Which I believe is their limit. Even though one day I did 9 department shops at 3 locations and was paid. I was later told that 2 stores per day, and only 3 shops per day. Or something like that. GOOD LUCK!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2017 08:01AM by LeslieKay111.

@kryswyn916 wrote:

My first shop with them took 3 editing session on my part to finally be accepted (with a 7/10 rating). The 2nd got edited once for a clearer question and an unexplained no and got a 9/10. Now I get 10/10. I get around the minimum # of characters requirement with "There was no associate to interact with. I checked back several times during my shop."

You will get automatically docked 1 point every time it is returned to you. So you actually scored a 10 if you edited it 3 times!

I like them as a company and they pay on time.

I accepted one of those shops that you had to compare two websites and search for the products. I asked to be removed from the assignment. It was frustrating me and made me feel slow. Any assignment that stresses me out, is one I'll remove myself from.

I didn't think they shared scores. They have never provided these to me, only generic comments. Have others had this experience or do you always receive scores for your completed shops?

I was thinking the same thing MSF... where are the scores? I’ve never seen any scores from them and I have been working for them for about 1 1/2 years...

Mod note: Post removed as it breached the Forum guideline which states, "Do not reveal the clients of mystery shopping companies". Additionally, it is usually an ICA violation to name both the MSC and client.

I did one for a company about Walmart. Not worth my time for $10. What a joke.

I don't think you should give up on these. I had terrible experiences with NFR at first too but I rock these now. Once a report was kicked back for capitalizing "Team Member." Remarkably, I made the same mistake again, but it wasn't kicked back. Anyway, I use Word to copy/paste the basic comments. Then, when filling out reports I change a few names, input store and receipt info, and done. I just wish I could figure out when they bonus because it seems like there is a rhythm along side what could be called, "Flaker Taker Bonus."

I did my first one of those $10 shops and it certainly took a lot longer than I had anticipated. It's as everyone has said about the new variety being a lot harder than the old variety... but I guess I should have known with so many "at home" shops sitting on the board that they would be tricky. I sucked it up and got one for tomorrow too. Figured I'd give it one more go to see if it's any better.

The grocery shops are a lot of time for what they pay. Northfork is extremely nit picky. I think its ridiculous how picky they are for what they pay. You have to take photos, talk to many associates, and then rewrite the multiple choice questions in your narrative after you have answered them. If you don't repeat every yes and no answer they kick it back. This last time I thought I had it nailed because I included all of the no answers but first they returned it with no comments. Then they returned it again with one comment. I corrected it and thought I was done but then they returned it it with two more different comments. I corrected it and thought I was done. Then they sent it back with three additional different comments. I corrected those and hope they don't send it back again. It's not really even corrections. It's more a matter of preference or redundancy. I almost feel harassed. Plus the shops are not much fun.
Did I mention the pay is minimal for the time they want you to put in.
This company is not one of the better ones.

They must have a different editor for the grocery shops than for their clothing and credit card shops. They don't have a grocery client in my area, so I've never done those, but I've done a lot of their clothing shops since 2010 and love working for them. I find the reports short and easy and I've never heard back from an editor with questions. And they pay faster than most MSCs. I wish they had more clients here. And I wish they had a grocery client here so I could try the grocery shops.

Mod note: Post removed. The copied portion of a previous post was in violation as it breached the Forum guideline which states, "Do not reveal the clients of mystery shopping companies". Additionally, it is usually an ICA violation to name both the MSC and client.

I’ve only done one shop for NF (a compliance shop) but it was nicely bonused and I had no problems with them. They didn’t ask for any clarification/revision and paid on time.

I personally find it amazing as to how one shopper can have a lousy experience with a given MSC and the next shopper can have a great experience and sing the same MSC's praises. I myself have had good luck with Northfork and like to shop for them.....I have done several bonused shoe store shops for them and on one shop managed to snag a pair of fully reimbursed hiking boots. Last shop I did for them was a $10 base fee bonused $7 and it was a very easy shop with an almost fully reimbursed pair of shoelaces....something I can actually use. I don't shop often for Northfork but to date they have been good to me, knock on wood.

I've done a bunch of their grocery shops and the pay is low since I can spend anywhere from 1/2 to a full hour in the store and that amount again on the report organizing and uploading the pictures and narratives. It depends on how quickly I can find the things in the sale flyer and if I have to check back when there is nobody in the department I'm required to interact with.

I think it is really strange that they have a minimum character amount narrative to explain there was nobody in that department after checking the box stating there was nobody in the department as in "associate present yes/no". "No associate was present" isn't enough characters.

They also ask you to label the pictures after you upload them to the appropriate department. Upload a picture in the "produce department" area and then have to label it "produce department".

I also had them reject a shop because I didn't shop the bakery and upload a picture of it. The store didn't have a full service bakery, just a table with a few cakes on it. I was in the store for crying out loud! The reviewer wasn't but called the location and was told there was a bakery. I finally got paid after fighting it.

Their athletic shoe shops require a purchase with I believe a $2.00 reimbursement. The only thing in the store close to that are shoe laces. So every mystery shopper will end up buying shoe laces.

Their hardware store shops are very simple, but again they don't pay very much. I've bought about everything I need for their reimbursement amount of $5 I believe. They don't have many small ticket items in the store. Their main merchandise is flooring, windows, doors and lumber. No power tools, minmal hand tools and no electrical (extension cords or switches).

I like that they pay more than once a month and the shops aren't really complicated. I have been waiting for them to be bonused now unless I have another nearby shop.

Buy bugee cords. They did have a five pack for $3.99. Now it is a three pack.

@ wrote:

"Their hardware store shops are very simple, but again they don't pay very much. I've bought about everything I need for their reimbursement amount of $5 I believe. They don't have many small ticket items in the store. Their main merchandise is flooring, windows, doors and lumber. No power tools, minmal hand tools and no electrical (extension cords or switches). "

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2017 05:53AM by sojo917.

I won't do their grocery stores until they are bonused at $10 in addition to the fee. The stores are super overpriced. The amount of work is ridiculous. The ones I do don't require photos. I'd never do them with photos unless they paid at least $25. That's just a crazy amount of work for nothing. I prefer to do them at night, so that most of the departments are closed or empty.

They recently lost the major grocer in my area that I was doing on a regular basis. I have done their hardware shop and plenty of the online comparison shops. I noticed that they are limiting people to 2 online shops per round now so I don't bother. I like to meet a minimum $ amount for my jobs.

Just remember to get creative and write a lot of narrative to each question, whether the answer was yes or no you need to explain it.

Payments are done weekly, 30 days from submit date on the nearest Monday. They are extremely punctual on payments.