Actually, I received it yesterday, 11/21, for shops done as far back as August 30, but through 9/30. Still, 2+ months to get paid for minimum wage....Almost forgot about the work! And...there are no bonuses for SR anymore unless they are desperate, so SR has now been placed on the ten foot pole list.

Same here. I thought I would be paid for the balance due owed to me on this check I received this month. To find the payment in my books they sent me this month, I had to go way back to find where it was owed. I love the shops but, it's taking way too long to get paid. I don't recall them taking this long to pay in the past.

My opinion of SR is 180 degrees out of phase with that of Winemaker. My reasoning is:

1- Accessibility-It would literally be impossible for this MSC to be, if needed, more available. Their toll free number is answered by a human, unless, and this is extremely rare, all office folks are busy.

2-Reports-I have completed in excess of 500 shops for SR with nine clients. NONE of the reports have been either excessive or repetitive and all have been inline with the fee.

3-Responsiveness-All workers, including the owner, have always responded to my E-mail queries. I have never had the slightest concern with crickets.

4-Schedulers/editors-Among the best I have encountered in my 15+ years in the business. Each has always been available when I needed assistance.

5-Last, but far from least, bonus money-Folks, this is business; it is not give-a-way land.
I receive extra money, but, only as it should be, when they are desperate.

A final note: The SR pay period is in the middle of MSCs for whom I complete work. I certainly do understand, though, if that is too slow for other shoppers. As for me, I always look at the big picture, as opposed to zooming into a small section and the big ones are 1-5 above.

1. They are the only company who has ever given me flack about rescheduling due to weather.

2. They are the only company that has ever gotten mad at me about the amount of a bonus request.

3. Their payment terms are in the middle of MSCs but they 100% of the time pay late. This month it appears to be 21 days late.

4. They are not friendly to route shoppers that want large amounts of shops.

I agree their shops are easy and pay is fair. And I've never had problems communicating with them. But to me they're pretty hard to get along with and I prefer companies that are easy to get along with. I do maybe $200 a year worth of work for them. If they we're easier to get along with I would do 10x that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2018 05:33PM by bgriffin.

Griff,

This is an example of one person's meat being another's poison. I am neither a route shopper nor do I ever recall needing to reschedule due to weather, but with regards to , pleasantness, there has never been a problem with SR. Being in my 70s, on two occasions I shopped the wrong location; the dates were cheerfully changed

Does Strategic Reflections pay by check only? Paypal? DD? I did a bunch of shops for them in October and am wondering if I should expect payment next week or no? Should I watch the mailbox or not?
Thanks!

Check.

Thank you!

My experience with SF has been similar to shopperbob, but YMMV.

Thank you!

I love SR! I do between 10-18 shops a month for them. It sucked not getting paid until the second month after the work, but once I got that first check, I get a check every month (albeit for work done two months previously. I am currently expecting payment for October (a VERY GOOD month). I have found them very easy to work with regarding the weather, but then again I ALWAYS follow through and never leave them hanging. I've gotten small bonuses from them but it's rare because I know what their situation is and do my best to do their work by the 10th (long before desperation sets in. My biggest problem is that due to other shoppers bad behavior I can only schedule 8 shops at a time, although I end up doing more than twice that many each month and I have to call and get them assigned.

I've only done a few shops for them in the past. Are they having financial problems?

Getting paid for the work done is the BiGGEST issue. That is why we work. SR pays in 2+ months....That's NOT in the middle of my MSC performance rating grid for payment timliness, it's at the very bottom. If that is okay with you, fine. YMMV.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2018 07:16PM by winemaker.

It says on the website that they do checks between 27th -30th and receive checks by the 1st week of month and I will receive an email when they are mailed... I haven't received that email so far...
When I scheduled the shops I had 13 on one day...I had a question about the required purchase so I called them and emailed them over and over (way ahead of the scheduled due date) with no answer nor a reply so I sent a last email with a request for a date extension because I still didn't have that answer I needed to complete my shops. No one ever answered the phone nor returned my calls or emails....
The day after the date the shops were to be done I finally.got an email from the project contact who I had been emailing and calling and it was not a response to my repeated efforts to contact her...it was a not very nice scolding that I needed to "reach out to her" if I was not able to complete my shop by the due date and it was unprofessional of me etc etc etc...I replied to the email letting her know I HAD in fact "reached out" to her repeatedly and to check her email and voicemail to prove that and then I reasked the original question I had and asked for the date to be changed to the following day. She answered my email with yes I will change the date and still never answered my question. So I replied to that same email (since so far that was the only way I had received a response) and finally got one word "yes". I did the 13 shops and submitted them on time and all 13 were approved and then the next month they needed some of those same shops done last minute and wanted me to do one that was 100 miles a way from my house I said no and they called me everyday for a week and emailed me repeatedly asking the same thing.
I still haven't received that email for my check...
So am I unprofessional? Breen doing this since 2006 I'm not a newbie...

I am only able to think of a single possible meaning for YMMV, but I am relatively certain that is not correct. Please share.

YMMV. also ymmv. written abbreviation for your mileage may vary: used, for example on social media and in text messages and emails, to mean that you understand people may have a different opinion or experience to yours:

@kryswyn916 wrote:

My biggest problem is that due to other shoppers bad behavior I can only schedule 8 shops at a time, although I end up doing more than twice that many each month and I have to call and get them assigned.

I'm down to 2 shops at a time. That's not worth my time. I only call an MSC if I am requesting a bonus. They don't give bonuses until the very end of the month so calling them is a waste of my time.

I used to shop them a LOT and did a lot of long distance stuff but they got tired of paying me extra and asked me to do things for far less than the cost of stepping outside to my car and wasting gas. I don't shop for them anymore. I don't know if they are struggling that they can't pay a shopper a decent bonus to drive many miles for them.

They've certainly changed unfortunately. I still check em once in a while but don't really shop for em anymore.

They've certainly changed unfortunately. I still check em once in a while but a waste of time

I never received the last check that was mailed out. I have e-mailed Emma twice with no response. I have looked on the website for an e-mail or phone number for help and don't see one. Luckily it was only $25 (not $100). Hopefully it will be returned to them and they will send it back out to me.

Peg,

I-866-518-6508 is the number I have always used. Rarely in the past decade have I not reached a human and without needing to listen to a minute long directory.

Emma told me on the phone yesterday when I called that checks should bemailed between 12/10 and 12/16 so hopefully I'll receive the $135 that I'm owed

@shopperbob thanks
@Missie1961 It was the check sent in November that I didn't receive

Used to do alot of work for SR. I got tired of waiting for payments !!!
ALWAYS LATE !!! 2018, where is Pay Pal or direct deposit ???
If you are going to be paid late and/or VERY late !!! I got into a huge fight with them over pay issues.
Owner emailed and we went at it for 2 weeks with emails. Personally, I think they are a terrible and unreliable company !!! I waited almost 3 months for my last payment from them !!! So I took 10 shops on a route, and never did any of them !!! I had to block their emails and change my number. It was well worth it !!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2018 06:39PM by claabe.

Missie, thanks for that update. I did shops for them in Early October. I do not expect to get that chedk until after XMAS, and maybe later (part of that is undoubtedly due to the poor mail service in December). I just can';t wait that long anymore.
One more thing....Sometimes they are quite late in editing the report. SR thinks it is appropriate to ask about details regarding shops 1-2 months old...When I told them that i am 'referring to my notes'...they got mad!
Of course I have to refer to my notes...it was 7 weeks ago!

pegleg2000, I didn't get my check, mailed in November either. I also emailed, with no response.

Latest on October payment! -- No email from SR on when October will be paid....2+ months has gone by since my first October 2018 shop......Has anyone else got the email from Emma of Sr that says "...the check is in the mail"?

I didn't experience that thank God...they were ok'd for pay pretty quick actually but took a long time to add the reimbursement so I was a little worried...i did those shops in early October also so maybe I won't hold my breath for a check next week lol...

winemaker, shops performed in October won't mail until the middle of December (give or take).