I thought Bare was a great company. They have an editor that is way too strict.
I have been dodging shops from them. As we know, some edotors fix simple things and go on,She makes a point and reduces your rating.

No more Bare for me.

We all have different companies we like and dislike. Once you find one that is not your cup of tea, move on. A couple of the companies I have elected not to work for again are very popular with some of my forum friends. A couple I like and work for are not as popular. Bare happens to be one I like. Payment is not a problem (this is a BIG deal with me, I refuse to work with companies that make me chase payment) and I like their shops. I've worked for them for more than 2 years and so far have had only pleasant experiences with the schedulers and editors. Sometimes it's all personal preference, and, as ICs we can pick and choose who we work for.

I always liked Bare, however this month they have no shops in my area worth doing. The Editor can make or break a shop, if their really netpicky, makes you just not want to work with them again, or if they deduct a point for asking a question or deduct your fee...one of the things we shoppers have to endure. I certainly wouldn't give up on Bare, they do (many times) have excellent jobs, and seem pretty fair.

I've done shops for them for a little over 10 years now and found them not to be a problem if you take pains to use proper grammar and spelling, as well as fixing typos before submitting your work to them.

I like Bare also. it is one of the best MSCs for me. Like another postor stated, "the payment is there, U do not have to chase down payment."

The shops for this MSC are fair. I am looking forward to the other kinds of shops they have and working for them a little while longer.

I have had to chase after reimbursement of tips on more than a few restaurant shops. They don't disagree that it's owed and promptly pay it. Not sure what the problem is.

Mert, they have some sort of policy that the tip must be on the receipt. Certainly when they want the itemized receipt it will NOT show the tip as it is presented prior to your payment. The tip will (in most cases) only appear on your credit card slip as a handwritten item. I hand wrote the tip at the bottom of the itemized at one point and was given grief, so subsequent restaurants for them I made sure I paid the bill and tip with a credit card and scanned the two receipts together to send along to them.

Funnny, they have never had a restaurant here, except the buffet at a Casino past Santa Barbara...mostly banks, oil changes, apt's, and that sort of thing.

They used to have a really fun casual restaurant here. Last seen and shopped Oct. 2008. The client does not seem to have moved elsewhere so I still have hopes that shops will resume some day.

I find some of the schedulers fantastic, and others, not so much. In general, I find this company highly inconsistent, ranging from communication to courtesy to clarity of shop instructions.

Regarding their editors, I agree that there is a big difference there as well. I once received a deduction for not answering a question that wasn't even on the questionnaire! Similarly, I got an email about an error I made in submitting a form. I inquired about it, because I did not recognize the issue. I received a reply, saying that the email had gone out to the wrong shopper.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mert, they have some sort of policy that the tip
> must be on the receipt. Certainly when they want
> the itemized receipt it will NOT show the tip as
> it is presented prior to your payment. The tip
> will (in most cases) only appear on your credit
> card slip as a handwritten item. I hand wrote the
> tip at the bottom of the itemized at one point and
> was given grief, so subsequent restaurants for
> them I made sure I paid the bill and tip with a
> credit card and scanned the two receipts together
> to send along to them.


I have adhered to that policy, submitting copies of the itemized dining receipt and the credit card receipt with the tip written in. Also, it has been separated out in the report. Some MSPs frown on handwriting anything on the receipt. Bare's guidelines, for all restaurants if I recall, have requested that tips be handwritten, then uploaded.

It's like playing Russian Roulette. 99% of the editors are ok, then you hit that one cyclinder that has the bullet! All in all, they are a good company and pay quickly. Schedulers are ok, however, if you are not an English professor, watch out! (Most editors realise that we are not all English majors and HELP us from time to time with small idiotic mistakes, right?) Damn! Maybe now I am being too critical!

I never found them THAT critical....you might be overly critical Rich.

OK, Im off base.

Am glad to hear all the good things about BARE> I have done alot of work for them already and have gotten my first $25.00 shop from them!

I want to say thanks to all of you again! You are so helpful to us newbies!

My all time favorite shop was with Bare. I had to get a jillion cans of soup, remove the labels, code the labels & the cans then deliver the cans to a location a jillion miles round trip. Bare paid well, reimbursed tolls and arranged for a quick reimbursement of the cost of the soup. Great company and they even have assignments in Europe but I don't know how to get them. Does anyone?

Marijaldm...I as well did the job you mentioned (OMG), but with a water drink that the company was re-packaging, thought I'd die, lifting, schleping, but it did pay well, however, never again....way too much work for me.

I have really enjoyed doing shops for Bare, and been paid well for doing them. The Bare shops in my area are mostly for a specific vehicle, and require a lengthy report, as the client likes to be a "fly on the wall."

I've done alot of shops for them the last bunch is really easy and they pay 60days after the shop.

I've always enjoyed doing shops for Bare. Didn't they used to have some high-end hotel shops? I'm fairly certain I did two or three a few years ago and haven't seen any posted since. Does anyone know if they still do hotels? I work for an airline and LOVE to do hotel shops all over the country. It's a great gig. Can anyone recommend OTHER companies who do higher-end hotel shops? Thanks, all!

dktomb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've always enjoyed doing shops for Bare. Didn't
> they used to have some high-end hotel shops? I'm
> fairly certain I did two or three a few years ago
> and haven't seen any posted since. Does anyone
> know if they still do hotels? I work for an
> airline and LOVE to do hotel shops all over the
> country. It's a great gig. Can anyone recommend
> OTHER companies who do higher-end hotel shops?
> Thanks, all!

I do a lot of high end hotels for Dave Buckalew - Buckalew Hospitality. They are great properties and he is great to work with. I know he is looking for more shoppers - especially in the DC area.

Liz

Thanks so much, Liz!

Lisa with Bare International is one of the nicest schedulers any MS'er could ever hope to work with. I've done some upscale restaurant shops with fairly high reimbursements for them. The reports for this client are very long and require an unusually large amount of narrative. I really don't care to do these shops because of the time required but every once in a while I will do one just because I know Lisa is grateful and she's so darn nice! (and because I want a big juicy steak dinner for free)

Sunnyside Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lisa with Bare International is one of the nicest
> schedulers any MS'er could ever hope to work with.
> I've done some upscale restaurant shops with
> fairly high reimbursements for them. The reports
> for this client are very long and require an
> unusually large amount of narrative. I really
> don't care to do these shops because of the time
> required but every once in a while I will do one
> just because I know Lisa is grateful and she's so
> darn nice! (and because I want a big juicy steak
> dinner for free)

Lisa is very nice. I have also done restaurant shops for her just because she is so pleasant about it!

However as to OP's point. With a couple of degrees under my belt, I am pretty comfortable with my grasp of the English language, grammar and spelling. There is a new editor for BARE (or one who is simply getting all my reports right now) who is pushing my buttons.

I've always gotten 10/10 on a certain type shop I do repeatedly for BARE, with effusive complimentary feedback regarding detail. She reviewed my last 4 and it was 9/10 on every single one with no feedback other than "Thank you for your report". It is super-irritating and I've not looked on their Job Board for a couple of weeks as a result.

I realize that no one is perfect and that I don't get paid any less for a 9/10. But don't downgrade my reports just because you can, that is so petty.

Yep, Lisa is one of the professional ones.

3offthecharts Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sunnyside Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Lisa with Bare International is one of the
> nicest
> > schedulers any MS'er could ever hope to work
> with.
> > I've done some upscale restaurant shops with
> > fairly high reimbursements for them. The
> reports
> > for this client are very long and require an
> > unusually large amount of narrative. I really
> > don't care to do these shops because of the
> time
> > required but every once in a while I will do
> one
> > just because I know Lisa is grateful and she's
> so
> > darn nice! (and because I want a big juicy
> steak
> > dinner for free)
>
> Lisa is very nice. I have also done restaurant
> shops for her just because she is so pleasant
> about it!
>
> However as to OP's point. With a couple of degrees
> under my belt, I am pretty comfortable with my
> grasp of the English language, grammar and
> spelling. There is a new editor for BARE (or one
> who is simply getting all my reports right now)
> who is pushing my buttons.
>
> I've always gotten 10/10 on a certain type shop I
> do repeatedly for BARE, with effusive
> complimentary feedback regarding detail. She
> reviewed my last 4 and it was 9/10 on every single
> one with no feedback other than "Thank you for
> your report". It is super-irritating and I've not
> looked on their Job Board for a couple of weeks as
> a result.
>
> I realize that no one is perfect and that I don't
> get paid any less for a 9/10. But don't downgrade
> my reports just because you can, that is so petty.


Hello every one! I am happy to share that I got a 10/10 on my $25.00 shop for BARE! What a pleasnt surprise! It was a really fun shop to as I had to "act" a part! Michel is super, I have worked with her (him?) now on a couple of shops.
For the 10 shop, I pretended like I was a fly on the wall, and was recording everything and pretended like I was telling the story of the shop to a really dumb person who found it difficult to undersstand without a ton of detail. Didn't take any longer to write. So I got a nice thank you for the detailed report.

nicelytwicely Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find some of the schedulers fantastic, and
> others, not so much. In general, I find this
> company highly inconsistent, ranging from
> communication to courtesy to clarity of shop
> instructions.
>
> Regarding their editors, I agree that there is a
> big difference there as well. I once received a
> deduction for not answering a question that wasn't
> even on the questionnaire! Similarly, I got an
> email about an error I made in submitting a form.
> I inquired about it, because I did not recognize
> the issue. I received a reply, saying that the
> email had gone out to the wrong shopper.

I totally agree - no consistency with Bare.

My sense is that the "issues" are fairly recent and likely due in part to the massive volume of additional work (or gearing up for it) from their recently acquired nationwide client. Hopefully they will get things under control and settle into a more uniform pattern. Of course I noted similar a few years back when GFK acquired audits for a huge client and as far as I am concerned they have never recovered and returned to being a company I wanted to work with.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My sense is that the "issues" are fairly recent
> and likely due in part to the massive volume of
> additional work (or gearing up for it) from their
> recently acquired nationwide client. Hopefully
> they will get things under control and settle into
> a more uniform pattern. Of course I noted similar
> a few years back when GFK acquired audits for a
> huge client and as far as I am concerned they have
> never recovered and returned to being a company I
> wanted to work with.


I do like the company, so I hope you're right about this, though I'm not so sure. I'm actually in the midst of an issue with them right now, but I've chosen not to write about it because I do believe that it's an unusual situation, and that best efforts are being made to resolve it.

BEWARE of Bare International. They are the WORST mystery shopping company I have ever worked for. I have been mystery shopping for 7 years and have never had worse customer service for their evaluators. They do not send emails as to requests for more information until they give you a grade 1 on the shop and reprimand you. They told me they didn't believe I did not get emails even though they could not provide any proof that they had sent any. There are much better companies out there to work for. I recommend MarketForce, Quest for Best, Jancyn, Second to None, and Feedback Plus to name a few. STAY AWAY FROM BARE INTERNATIONAL!!