Hey there Dragon Lady. Sounds like you had a time of it. I won't beat Intelli's drum loudly, but I will offer that any shop that is new to me, either the MSP, or the shop itself, will take patience, and much more time than expected. Specific to you leaving for coffee, followed by the editor's remarks that it was not acceptable, makes me wonder. Were the guidelines that you could leave the premises after l/2 hour, if the wait time for your vehicle to be serviced was longer? Or, that you could leave the premises after l/2 hour, while waiting for the service to be completed? Any oil change shop I have done, with this or other MSPs, does not allow me to leave after my vehicle is in the bay. Guidelines dictate that I remain on the premises from the start of my shop til its conclusion, unless there's a defined wait time to be serviced, at which point I can leave, with my car. Then, I would contact the MSP, report what occurred, and wait for further instruction.

Hang in there. Not all shops are sour.

I recently posted about deactivating my profile with Intellishop. I honestly believe that they ding us with lowers scores (8s and 9s) in hopes that we will fall for the infamous hero citations.

They gave me an 8 recently because they said they had to contact me. It turns out that the issue was between Chris at Intellishop and one of the proofreaders. Chris even apologized to me. It had nothing to do with me..and yet my rating was lowered because of this.

Their pay is low for the amount of work they expect, and then the proofreaders criticize your report without giving specifics. How am I expected to improve if I don't know what I did wrong?

I've learned my lesson...they'll have to find someone else for a hero citation.

Phoebe70 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recently posted about deactivating my profile
> with Intellishop. I honestly believe that they
> ding us with lowers scores (8s and 9s) in hopes
> that we will fall for the infamous hero
> citations.
>
> They gave me an 8 recently because they said they
> had to contact me. It turns out that the issue
> was between Chris at Intellishop and one of the
> proofreaders. Chris even apologized to me. It had
> nothing to do with me..and yet my rating was
> lowered because of this.
>
> Their pay is low for the amount of work they
> expect, and then the proofreaders criticize your
> report without giving specifics. How am I
> expected to improve if I don't know what I did
> wrong?
>
> I've learned my lesson...they'll have to find
> someone else for a hero citation.

I'll preface this by stating that I'm not Intellishop's biggest fan, but I do more than a few of their travel center shops, when they're bonused.

I've gotten anywhere between an 8 and a 10 for any shop I've done for them....and I could care less otherwise. I'm not going to lose sleep over getting a 9 instead of a 10 on an Intellishop review. So long as my overall score is above the threshhold for self assigning and I'm being paid, it's all gravy.

Here! Here! You said it all

Exellent attitude, zlinedavid.

Thanks for the insight, Mert. All the guidelines I saw say is that you can leave if the inspection is going to take more than 1/2 hour. If there are more detailed specs, I'm not sure where to find them. I think I may need a decoder ring to decipher INTELLISHOP's instructions. And patience, yes...a virtue.

And Phoebe70, while I wholeheartedly agree with you on the lack of feedback and internal politics getting in the way of a good score, I wouldn't feel at all bad about an 8. 80% is a decent mark in just about anyone's books.

Dragon Lady Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Exellent attitude, zlinedavid.
>
> Thanks for the insight, Mert. All the guidelines I
> saw say is that you can leave if the inspection is
> going to take more than 1/2 hour.

So, when you advised the person who scolded you of this, and pointed out the exact place where the guidelines said it was OK, what was that person's response?

I have been a mystery shopper since August 2011 and Intellishop has been keeping me pretty busy. I have received all 9's and 10's except for one 7 which was totally my fault for forgetting to write the Job ID # on the business card before submitting it as proof of shop. Each job has different requirements so I have learned the hard way to read and reread all their instructions. I even take a yellow highlighter and mark the key points. Then I review them right before performing the shop.

I do agree that their proofreaders seem to be stricter than with other MSCs but I believe they say that somewhere on their company website. I do receive comments with evry score that I receive. They don't necessarily pinpoint the exact problem but they do explain that they took 1 point off for minor editing. But they also include many positive remarks about what I did right like meeting my deadline and using proper grammar.

Well, that is my two cents. Have a nice weekend. We are about to get a "cold front" here in South Florida...it might reach the 50's overnight. (Sorry to the Northerners...I couldn't resist!) ;-)

I just completed my first shop with Intelli-shop and was quite pleased. It was for a restaurant and the guidelines were quite clear. The survey was a combination of ratings and reasonable narrative. I scored a 10 and had good comments from the proofreader.

I wish I would have read this e-mail before doing three shops for them. They say they are not going to pay me for a shop because my "Integrity is in question!" My integrity was just fine for the other shops (for which I haven't been paid yet) but not this one? It is completely ridiculous. I have superior ratings with other companies I work for and my integrity is well in-tact. I agree with the rest of the posts: DO NOT WORK FOR INTELLI-SHOP: Scam!!!! They will give you work and then not pay you for some false reason they come up with!

I have done 26 shops for them since 2010 and have always been paid. They are not a scam but a reputable company.

IsaArcega: Please explain why they say your integrity is in question. Since your first post on this board is to malign a reputable company I also question your integrity. Please elaborate on what happened to you.

I have performed 17 shops for them since September 2011 and I have always been paid in a timely manner. My average rating is a 9 and my last four shops scored a perfect 10.

Gotta love the posters (or are they posers) that come to the forum and post something negative without any real explanation...NOT!

Although I find some of the vague feedback given to be pretty useless and even annoying at times, I've completed 57 assigments for them with no issues.

Gotta wonder just what you have to do to have your integrity called into question after completing only 3 assignments.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2013 12:32AM by shopgal.

I never had any problems getting paid although as I recall their payment schedule was slow as molasses. I gave up on them because I thought the reports were tedious and repetitive for the money paid. It also seems as though they were the ones with that ridiculous "inspect the coffee grounds" at the truck stop shop.

I stopped working for them also due to a phone shop. I was accepted to perform the shop, but they never gave me the toll free number as stated that it would be in my instructions. I called them , and the girl who assigned me the shop was not in. Left a message with her and spoke to another person and never heard back. Their pocket change is not even worth dealing with. And yes, ces1948, if you are talking about the same gas station, 20 minutes inside for below minimum wage, such a waste of time. And by the way, why in the world are their phone shops recorded and you still have to fill out a report. EASY SHOP, RIGHT! STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And by the way, I choose who I want to work for, no shop is going to choose me anylonger. If it does not pay at least 15.00, near my home, hours I can deal with, reports no longer than 10 minutes, they can kiss my ukw. Slavery to all who fall for some of these companies.

I have performed over 130 evaluations for them in 24+ months. They pay when they say they pay, their guidelines are accurate 98% of the time (Yes they have messed up on a couple fast food restaurant postings...but they are human). They are honest and pay ok for most of their shops. Remember, YOU get to select which shops you do...so if you don't like the shop after, that's on you...not the MSP.

I've been shopping with Intellishop since 2010 with no problems. Attacks on Intellishop or any other company without supporting details are meaningless.

I did a mop shop for Intellishop on the flip flop da doo bop.

my most annoying thing about them right now is the incessant use of the word "delicious" to describe a meal at a fast food restaurant.

I'm sorry, but a hunk of grilled chicken on a bun and a side of over-salted fries does not constitute a "delicious meal" and since we have to sing for our supper around here, it is not "on us," we EARN it.

Don't know why that word grates on me so much but I can't stand seeing that subject line... "Easy (yeahsureright) fast food shop. Have a delicious meal on us!"


Wouldn't mind if they said "yummy" or "tasty" but delicious is just too much overkill for this particular place. If the food was that great, they wouldn't have to bonus the shop up to $20 to 40 to get me to do it.

Well, I'm jealous - not many bonused here ......even the way-far-out locations.....shoppers are grabbing them at $5

They are fine, get my oil changes every month,

My lowest shop grade was "1" for a comic book shop where I input the wrong time shopped. I DID shop after 3 PM as instructed but I made an error and input 10 AM. I sent an email to correct the error but they wouldn't hear it. Hey, I goofed, so I'll live with it. They didn't fire me, still get the shops I apply for

Did a higher end dining shop a couple of weeks ago, we managed to fall just below the $200 reimbursement. Service was horrible. All the way around from hostess to server to chef to food runner to busser. We had after dinner coffees with our dinner and dessert plates still on the table with half eaten food. Never received an offer of boxing and after requesting boxes TWICE we never did receive them.

I was on point and honest with my report. After reviewing my report, Intelli-Shop gave me a 6. I was stunned. I was told I used ambiguous grammar (not true). I believe they did not want to provide the client with a negative report. You would think the client would want to know.

FLguy65 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was on point and honest with my report. After
> reviewing my report, Intelli-Shop gave me a 6. I
> was stunned. I was told I used ambiguous grammar
> (not true). I believe they did not want to provide
> the client with a negative report. You would
> think the client would want to know.

Was the report rejected, or just scored low? Over the past week or two, my average shop ratings have decreased by a point or two. I'm wondering if perhaps they have made some changes in their editing staff (or editing standards). I really wish we could see the edited versions.

IsaArcega Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They say they are not going
> to pay me for a shop because my "Integrity is in
> question!"

They do have at least one regular shop that has an integrity question in it. If you indicated that the cashier offered something the client doesn't sell, that would be an indicator that something is amiss. If you come back and read this thread, perhaps you could provide us with additional information so we can help you figure out what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future?

Report was accepted, just scored low. It frosted me, I guess still does since I'm posting about it!

Is that the pizza question? I've been scratching my head over that one, couldn't imagine why a FF burger franchise would install a pizza oven. It's too bad, because I wouldn't mind doing this shop so much if I could have a pizza instead of that chicken sandwich I'm getting so tired of.

FLguy65 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Report was accepted, just scored low. It frosted
> me, I guess still does since I'm posting about it!

*nod* I went for over a year without getting anything below a 9, unless they had to contact me for some reason, in which case I would get an 8. Over the past couple of weeks, that has changed, and it's frustrating me, too. I have to believe it's editor related, but without any kind of real feedback, who knows?

itsasecret Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is that the pizza question? I've been scratching
> my head over that one, couldn't imagine why a FF
> burger franchise would install a pizza oven. It's
> too bad, because I wouldn't mind doing this shop
> so much if I could have a pizza instead of that
> chicken sandwich I'm getting so tired of.

That's the one. If you click "yes," they'll ask you to explain what the employee said and did when he or she offered you that personal pizza. I, too, would gladly accept a pizza as an upsell at that shop.

I do like that they have started doing substitutions on that shop.

Has ANYBODY been asked the pizza question? IS there really a pizza question or is that just a test to see if we are honest?

This question pops up on a certain report as a test. Whether it's to check on integrity issues or to see if the shopper is on autopilot while answering the survey questions, who knows.

I'm glad to hear other people questioning their recents scores. I still have an average of "10", but my last 4 shops received a "9" with no explanation. Oh well. I get paid and it's all easy enough.

I'm one of those that questions the scores from time to time with this MSC. I talk a good game about not letting it bother me, and I do my best to hit "delete" quickly after reviewing some of the more nonsensical feedback, but it still gets to me occasionally.

I have a report pending in which an editor asked for more information on subjects that I truly believed I had written up in great detail. I think pretty much anyone familiar with my postings would be sure to consider me fairly wordy. I really thought I had knocked this out of the park and had spent an extensive amount of time in doing so, but now I am dreading the review to come.