I did two oil change shops the first week in January. I'm at 8 - 9 weeks, so hoping for payment soon.

My late Dec shops were all paid in Feb. I've got some Jan shops that are just hitting 8 weeks. In general their DD is very reliable so I'm not super concerned.

Same here. Two shops on Jan 3rd.
Waiting...
I did two oil change shops the first week in January. I'm at 8 - 9 weeks, so hoping for payment soon.

HS Brands used to be pretty consistent with an average of 45 days to pay. Lately, they have been exceeding two months. Not sure what is going on, but eventually they will pay, May be experiencing some difficulty.

Every single shop I have done with them for several years has been paid exactly 60 days after shop date.

In the email/job board info, HS states 60 days. If you get it earlier than that - consider it a win! And yes, HS acquired another MSC that was horrible - taking 90+ days to pay and would never return calls or emails. So HS is integrating with them. Also I just saw that HS is farming out editor responsibilities to proof readers at wordsmith pros (???).

Frosty,

HS Brands has used Wordsmith Profs for editing for quite some time.

HS acquired the Dutch firm, Mystery Review, in December. Have they acquired anyone else recently?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2019 03:01AM by Rousseau.

Yes, they have acquired MCP (Measure Consumer Perspectives) and Kern is doing the scheduling for those shops.

I am not a fan of the wordsmith pro - they are very inconsistent when scoring shops. I can get a 10 on an audit, and then the next time I do the same audit/same location, I get an email with numerous requests for great detail for every no answer. I don't think they read the guidelines or even the questions on the survey. For example: an audit/integrity shop is going to have many "No" answers. i.e. No, there was no spillage by the bartender; No, there was no waste by the bartender; No, there were no employees sitting at the bar ordering food and/or drink; No, there was no guest that was intoxicated, and so on. I got a shop back from them not long ago asking me to go into "great" detail about every "NO" answer and return it to them in less than 24 hour turn around ( I got the email at 10:40 PM). I just restated the question with my no answer - there was no detail like there is in a normal shop. It is many of the yes answers in an audit that require additional details (at least the audits I have done) because it means that the person being observed or audited is doing things that client does not want them to do. You know - the bar audits - they do no want the bartender wasting liquor or spilling it or comping it; and they don't want employees sitting at the bar eating food and drinking booze while they are supposed to be working and not paying for it either. I sent the editor a nice email explaining that the "NO" answers are what this particular client is wanting (for many of the questions she mentioned in her email). I ended up with a perfect score...but not I remember why I don't like doing that audit. LOL

I did a shop in early December for Planet Fitness, I am still waiting.

I was paid today for a shop completed in January for Measure Customer Perspectives through HS Brands.

So I was paid today but they are using a new payment system that requires an access code to download a check. Never got an access code. Bad enough to wait months and now this.

This is what their shopper agreement says--

How Is Your Fee Processed

HS Brands International processes ALL independent contractor payments via PayPal. If you do not accept payments via PayPal, you are not eligible to provide services for HS Brands international. Independent contractors must set up their own PayPal account at www.Paypal.com. Independent contractors must be 18 years of age or older to sign up for PayPal. Payments are submitted to PayPal approximately 60 days after the last day of the month in which the project was completed. Please note that it then takes PayPal up to 5 business days to process these transactions and clear the money for disbursement. If you do not receive payment by this time, please notify us after confirming that both your email address and PayPal accounts were correct and active. You are responsible for updating your email address in our system, and in your PayPal account (email addresses must be EXACTLY the same) to ensure prompt payment. Your Shop Log will provide a description of your payment, so there is no need to call us unless your log does not match what you were emailed when you accepted the project and the agreed timeframe.

My direct deposit is in my account, so no clue why I got that strange email to download a pay stub. I have shopped for them for a very long time and have always had direct deposit. Paypal and DD are both payment options on their shopper profile. Perhaps they never updated their agreement. Paypal or direct deposit - doesn't matter as long as I am paid. But I certainly do not like a strange email to download a pay stub with an access code, and no one providing the access code.

Hi: Are you a member of Athpower, they are a good company and pay on time. I have not had any problems with HSbrands, but if you want sign up for athpoweronline.com and your referrer: Marie Calvin
Thanks, Marie 914-348-1266

Did something change with linking client with the MSC?

@kimmiemae wrote:

Did something change with linking client with the MSC?

This place has no filter lately. Anyone can post..

I'm not posting my full name and phone number though.

It seems that they pay after about 60 days of the shop being performed. They always pay, just don't expect it for at least two months. I've never had a payment take longer than this.

I'm still waiting on payment from November and December 2018 shops. I've been told I'll be paid "this week" a couple of times. Since the amount pending is several thousand dollars - I'm starting to worry!

December shop- paid February
November shop- paid January

Two months from my limited experience with the MSC

I am waiting for 2 shops done Feb 2nd. It has now been 60 days. Luckily I'm only out $60.

Their guidelines say 60 days plus a five business day processing window. I suspect that you (and I) will get that payment next week. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you shop a lot with HS their direct deposit option is the way to go.

@gemini_jen
If you have not been paid yet, it's time to take a more aggressive approach - that's a lot of money on the mystery shipping world and you've been waiting too long. This page seems to be a good starting point....[hsbrands.com]

Just received an email from HS Brands explaining their payment schedule:

Our standard
payment terms are 60 days from the last day of the month the
shop was done and you will typically get paid between 45 and
75 days from when you submit your completed report.

Actually, if you do a shop on the 1st of the month your 60 days doesn't kick in till the end of the month - meaning, like my shops, I will be paid at day 88. Three months is a long time to expect a shopper to wait for payment especially when they have shelled out their own money to do the shop (oil changes, meals, car washes, etc)

..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2019 07:35PM by lbtweety47.

I just did a shop for them and I realized that they had changed the wording, saying that it's 60 days from the last day of the month in which you did the shop. Since I did the shop April 3rd, I won't get paid until June 30th. That is indeed a looooooooong time....

Yes. They are now on my 10-foot pole list. Goldurn consarn it, anyway! I just did a shop for them, cost me a whole tank of gas to get there and back, plus $$$ for the meal, and I won't be paid until JUNE? Total rip-off. OK, not rip-off, that's way too harsh. But I've been doing this same shop for two years, pays like clockwork the following month by the 20th, and I just merrily kept doing them, not realizing the change. So my bad, I guess.

And that link to H S Brands home page, absolutely nothing I could find there about shopper pay.

I was never keen about their next 60 day terms. Net 30th 2nd month proximo, however, is much worse. It means, as has been noted, up to 90 days to get paid. That strikes me both as unprofessional and as a warning sign of poor creditworthiness. Bye. Bye.

If I'm not mistaken, and I'm 99.9% sure I'm not, 60 days from last day of the month the shop was performed in has been their terms since I started shopping in July, 2013. There was some discussion about that in the thread when HS Brands bought MCP and @Lorri Kern KSS "corrected me" that this was no longer the case. So apparently they have returned to this schedule?

@bgriffin wrote:

If I'm not mistaken, and I'm 99.9% sure I'm not, 60 days from last day of the month the shop was performed in has been their terms since I started shopping in July, 2013. There was some discussion about that in the thread when HS Brands bought MCP and @Lorri Kern KSS "corrected me" that this was no longer the case. So apparently they have returned to this schedule?

The terms had been 60 days after completion, not 60 days after the last day of the month in which the shop was completed.

I know this is an old post but from the first page of the sticky "Payments" thread from 2014:

@mistry wrote:

Service Sleuth is really more than 2 months! after the last day of the month in which the shop was performed. Two people said above that it is a shorter time frame. From their site:

Compensation for contracted services are submitted to PayPal approximately 60 days after the last day of the month in which the shop was completed. Please note that it then takes PayPal up to 5 business days to process this transaction and clear the money for disbursement.

So if you do a shop June 1 you'll get paid in the first week of September. And if you don't do a glowing report you won't get paid at all.

This is also what I have in my notes and appears to be how I was paid in 2013 and 2014. I don't think I have done a shop for them since then.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2019 12:36AM by bgriffin.