From the Globe and Mail Saturday October 23, I see that Catherine Ann, the founder of Consumer Connection, has published a memoir. "Beautiful Buttons: A Memoir of Survival and Triumph".

Maybe she could use some of the money from the sales to actually pay her shoppers.

The little blurb from Amazon claims that she employs thousands... sure, they all do 1 shop, realize it takes 4-6 months to be paid if they're on top of their game and remember to ask for payment, then move on to greener pastures. One must be willing to be insulted, slighted, accused of wrong doing or even be rudely responded to when asking where the heck payment is or when it's coming.

Personally, I think she's full of crap and would never spend a dime on her book. Maybe if she spent less time promoting herself and taking care of her business, there wouldn't be a bunch of nastiness said about her company (seriously, google Consumer Connection). I'll also tell anyone who'll listen to stay as far away from this company as possible.

This is why I am collecting the money owed to me from the past 7 months and leaving as fast as possible. I called the company and the person that answered just started working 4 months ago and had no idea about all the bad Pr from people not getting paid from the company. It is all on Cathrine shoulders who gets paid and when. the person that answered the phone began to cry when she learned about this and could not answer most of my questions except to say i will be paid soon.
When I told her I will go online and start to say how bad the companty is and call the Better Business Bureau ( I don't think they are a member) and start to name names she was really worried. I was then suddenly paid for 2 shops in the next 3 days that I did 5 months ago.
I still tell everyone not to work for this company unless you don't care if and when you will get paid

They still owe me money from my August shops with them. I have been trying to find a way to contact them, but to no avail. Can anyone help me with this as they owe me for alot of shops. Thanks.

Laughingkim Wrote:
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> They still owe me money from my August shops with
> them. I have been trying to find a way to contact
> them, but to no avail. Can anyone help me with
> this as they owe me for alot of shops. Thanks.


What I would do is send an e-mail to cathrine@cathrineann.com. (Note the spelling of Cathrine; there is NO "e" in the middle.) Keep sending it until she is so annoyed that she pays up. I only sent her two e-mails and it's obvious she is a very reactive person. I'd start off sending the email just once. Next time send it twice. Then 3 times. Pretty soon she'll get the message (maybe). If not, you'll have the pleasure of filling up her INBOX !

Also, there are other forums associated with mystery shopping. Put your message on them too.

Good luck.

MtlShopper Wrote:
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> Maybe she could use some of the money from the
> sales to actually pay her shoppers.
>
> The little blurb from Amazon claims that she
> employs thousands... sure, they all do 1 shop,
> realize it takes 4-6 months to be paid if they're
> on top of their game and remember to ask for
> payment, then move on to greener pastures. One
> must be willing to be insulted, slighted, accused
> of wrong doing or even be rudely responded to when
> asking where the heck payment is or when it's
> coming.
>
> Personally, I think she's full of crap and would
> never spend a dime on her book. Maybe if she
> spent less time promoting herself and taking care
> of her business, there wouldn't be a bunch of
> nastiness said about her company (seriously,
> google Consumer Connection). I'll also tell
> anyone who'll listen to stay as far away from this
> company as possible.


She is full of crap I can prove it. SHe spends money like nothing else while not paying her internal staff at Christmas!!! The stories I could tell you, it is so incredible it is hard to believe, but she is one seriously disturbed person.

specshop Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MtlShopper Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Maybe she could use some of the money from the
> > sales to actually pay her shoppers.
> >
> > The little blurb from Amazon claims that she
> > employs thousands... sure, they all do 1 shop,
> > realize it takes 4-6 months to be paid if
> they're
> > on top of their game and remember to ask for
> > payment, then move on to greener pastures. One
> > must be willing to be insulted, slighted,
> accused
> > of wrong doing or even be rudely responded to
> when
> > asking where the heck payment is or when it's
> > coming.
> >
> > Personally, I think she's full of crap and
> would
> > never spend a dime on her book. Maybe if she
> > spent less time promoting herself and taking
> care
> > of her business, there wouldn't be a bunch of
> > nastiness said about her company (seriously,
> > google Consumer Connection). I'll also tell
> > anyone who'll listen to stay as far away from
> this
> > company as possible.
>
>
> She is full of crap I can prove it. SHe spends
> money like nothing else while not paying her
> internal staff at Christmas!!! The stories I could
> tell you, it is so incredible it is hard to
> believe, but she is one seriously disturbed
> person.

So sad that a few people fired from Consumer Connection are still angry at us instead of moving on with their lives. Equally sad that people who experienced a small company's growing pains OVER A DECADE AGO, can't move forward and still continue to jump on anything to do with Consumer Connection to justify their anger at our expense.

In sixteen years of being in business, EVERYONE has gotten paid. PERIOD. If anyone CLAIMS that they have not been paid, please e-mail info@consumerconnection.net - however, I suspect there will not even be one e-mail received - as there never is - when I personally invite these people to sort their 'imaginary' payment issues to be rectified.

Consumer Connection is one of the largest and best, Mystery Shopping company in the country - and we are very proud to be in business for 16 solid years.

Without our Shoppers (approximately 20,000 of them in North America) we would be no where. I am grateful to the thousands that work with us each month that get paid and never have an issue with us or how we operate.

Please everyone, move on with your lives. It's time to let go of your efforts to destroy me. I deserve all the success and greatness that my company has achieved and I have worked hard to get to where I am.

And to the person that embezzled from the company and also contributes to these negative posts, you are lucky I didn't prosecute you as you were my trusted and loved assistant for over two years! You admitted that I am so nice that you knew if you asked me for the $30K instead, I would have leant it to you. And I would have.

If you do a search on any company, you will find negative things about them all. However, you will not find reply posts from these company owners inviting people to make contact to correct what 'wrongs' were made - such as supposedly not getting paid. And that reason is because everyone has gotten paid.

People, consider all the facts when you read things on the internet. If you want to question Consumer Connection, work with us and find out for yourself. We have amazing and caring staff that you can always get in touch with to help you do the best job possible as a Shopper.

We would not be in business for 16 years if I were the person with poor company policies as some people say I am.

And...just to address something that really hurts...my staff get ONE WEEK PAID off at Christmas plus champagne and perks and all sorts of dinners and gifts throughout the year. I am proud to pay my staff well beyond the industry standard and every day I thank all 20 of them for their loyalty and hard work helping us to remain the success that we are.

And...my memoir is available globally with a movie in the works!

Time to move on, people. I'm still here and we are a huge success.

Cathrine Ann

Hi Cathrine Ann. I've not heard of your company before. Would you mind telling me a little about it? Do you have shops in California?

Also, is it possible that a payment or two got missed, perhaps? Or, are all of the posters in this thread angry ex-employees?

Thanks.

"Greatness?" Odd choice of a word to describe a business endeavor. People that work hard do deserve success. I'm sure that part of your company's success could also be attributed to the hard work of dedicated shoppers.

CATANN Wrote:
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>I deserve all the success and greatness that my
> company has achieved and I have worked hard to get
> to where I am.

Cathrine Ann - There are several posts on the forum over the past few years from people saying they haven't been paid in spite of every effort to get payment. Instead of suggesting they reach out to you again in an email, why not reach out to each one of them directly with a PM and try to get this worked out? Not all these people are ex-employees. Some have clearly stated they shopped and didn't get paid. It doesn't matter if the issue was ten years ago or yesterday. We all deserve credit for our success, but it doesn't seem possible to build a successful business with 20,000 shoppers all by yourself.

I am not sure what everyone is talking about here. I have worked for Consumer Connection for few years now and done so many shops for them and always got paid from them.

I like Consumer Connection staff and the professional way they deal with people and their honesty.

I have worked for other Mystery Shopping companies and they all pay the same - some faster and some slower.

I will continue to work with Consumer Connection.

As an employee of Consumer Connection and Cathrine Ann's, I would just like to state that Cathrine ALWAYS says that our shoppers are EVERYTHING to us! We often hear her say around the office, "Without our shoppers, we are nothing." I make sure to always treat our shoppers the way I would want to be treated. I appreciate each and every one of them!

Regarding payment, I believe there is a LOT of confusion about how it works. Once the shop is complete, the shopper fills out a survey and submits it to us, our editors edit it and submit it to our clients. Once the clients receive the surveys, our shoppers get paid at the end of the following month. That is when our shoppers receive their pay via Hyperwallet. Hyperwallet is exactly like Paypal, except it is a Canadian company. Information about Hyperwallet is on our website AND in the welcome emails to new shoppers. If a shopper doesn't sign up for an account or doesn't use the same email with Hyperwallet as they did to sign up as a mystery shopper, they won't see the payment in their accounts. Please note, if a shopper doesn't submit a survey on time and supplies it to us the following month, it will delay payment.

I would also just like to say that during the Christmas holidays, I had 9 days off to spend with my family and I was very grateful for each and every one of them.

Please think and use kind, tactful, and informed words when posting on the internet. Words are a powerful thing and can cause a lot of damage when used incorrectly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2013 05:48PM by ChristinaGrace.

I appreciate always being able to get someone on the phone or replying promptly to e-mails. It is nice to be able to ask questions and always receive friendly answers. I have no complaints!

I am not familiar with this company and have no opinion either way.

However, 3 glowing reports within 25 minutes of each other and all from members who just joined the forum, nd their first posts just manage to be about this issue......?

There is always ripoffreport.com. For people who are actually wronged this is a great tool. Once a complaint is file and the company is googled, this is of the first hits people will receive.

Additionally, it's pretty obvious the past few postings on this thread were perpetuated by Cathrine Ann. All three posters had a zero posting record until today, 1/29.

It's amazing that no one stuck up for this company 2 years ago when the thread was started, but only now 6 months after the last bashing of the company. AND it is amazing that so many NEW posters sign up to just stick up for this company. Somthing stinks.

Maybe the company didn't pay shoppers on time 2 years ago, and maybe they do now. Catherine should be taking care of them by PM now instead of dragging up old garbage.


ETA: All but 1 poster were new posters 2 years ago, once again signed up to bash the company and only 1 of those stuck around....the road goes both ways and most people that are "full timers" around here have little respect for either side. The BASHER or the BASHEE that only is here for the moment.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2013 06:36PM by SecretAgentMom.

Not to dispute that others have had legitimate complaints with CC, but need to say:
I have always been paid by Consumer Connections. I did one shop a couple of years ago and got paid and now I have done about 2 or 3 shops per month for the past year and been paid. My October and November payments were late and I got worried because of all the things I've read on CC. However I kept checking Hyperwallet seeing the balance at the top and signing out. One day I scrolled down and saw the message to ACCEPT my payments. So not sure if I was actually paid late or I forgot how Hyperwallet works.

As days go by, we may hear from more Consumer Connection shoppers who are established forum members and get a clearer overall view.

MMMM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am not familiar with this company and have no
> opinion either way.
>
> However, 3 glowing reports within 25 minutes of
> each other and all from members who just joined
> the forum, nd their first posts just manage to be
> about this issue......?


I don't understand what it fishy about my post. I stated that I am an employee and used my real name. I have nothing to hide. I have no problem with shoppers contacting me directly, which is why my name is part of my email.

"Glowing reports" are nothing new to me, I get them often by way of email from our lovely shoppers

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2013 11:12PM by ChristinaGrace.

The fishy thing is that your boss resurrected a thread which had one post in almost three years and that was six months ago. Now we have people registering in order to post glowing comments. That is far from normal.

No doubt, if there are good things to say, established members with a track record for honesty will be happy to chime in. Just as I advise caution when reading a rant about a company from a member with few posts, the exact same thing applies here. Meanwhile it would not be a bad idea for anyone who is curious to Google the company and read what has been said by both shoppers and the owner on other forums.

This thread says enough to me. I don't need to go looking for more.

The combination of:

~complaints form regular forum users
~lack of support from users with a history here
~several brand new posters in support
~the lack of reply to my questions
~the owner's self congratulation and failure to admit any problems could exist

tell me to RUN the other way. Perhaps we will get posts that change my mind, but for now, I'm steering clear.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2013 10:24PM by Bay.

Most of us have been around enough to be able to cut through the BS. The reason I continue to bash this company is because of this type of response from its owner. Her and her minions (or perhaps her and her multiple personalities???) have posted similar 1st posts on other forums in an effort to make the company seem hunky-dory. My own personal experience, which I have reported here with precision, tells me otherwise. In fact, as recently as 6 months ago according to this thread, the company was *still* having trouble paying people on time.

On that, I invite you all to make up your own minds. If in doubt, Google is your friend.

Hmm haven't worked with this company, and pretty sure I won't now either.

CATANN Wrote:
> Consumer Connection is one of the largest and
> best, Mystery Shopping company in the country -
> and we are very proud to be in business for 16
> solid years.

That part would be debatable! I am not sure how she can say the largest.

Not only debatable but really interesting. I haven't seen anything that ranks all companies on size. Where would this information be available and how would she know if it's not public information? If a company is privately owned, this information is not public unless the company deems to make it public. Also, who is best is relative according to what you think determines best. Shoppers have their own ideas of "best companies" and it certainly doesn't relate to how many shoppers the company has or how much money they make.

I have done quite a few Shops for Consumer Connection. I am surprised to see so many negative comments when I search the company. From my experience, they have a great team working there. Whenever I have any questions someone there is quick to address them either by phone or e-mail. I have also recommended my friends to the company who have been grateful for the extra work.

I did a Google search to get background... And found this on their Facebook:

"Hi Shoppers: If you love working with us, please visit both frugalshopper.ca and mysteryshopforum.com and share your positive experience. Then, e-mail linda@consumerconnection.net and we will enter your name into our 'SHOPPERS SAY...' monthly draw to win $100.00! Winners will be posted here each month. Thank you!"

Guess that explains the recent posts...

Thanks for posting the story, jen. We get NO posts from regular forum members..... then suddenly an influx of posters who register and immediately post a positive ABOUT Consumer Connection .....and now we know why.

IMHO, when a company has to bribe shoppers to register on a forum and post positive things, it's a red flag warning about a company .... "STAY AWAY .... STAY AWAY .... STAY AWAY...."

To my understanding, that type of drawing is actually illegal.