Alta is a legitimate company. Like all Mystery Shopping Companies (MSCs), they have requirements for completing shops. Some MSCs permit shoppers to correct items or to respond to questions, some do not. There are shops that do not offer any pay but require outlays of many tens of dollars (sometimes hundreds of dollars for fine dining), and you will find a lot of discussions here as to whether or not people should "work for food." Even casual dining shops require that you front maybe $5 to $20 which will be reimbursed upon proper completion of the shop. When I do a $200 fine dining shop and have to pay $10 more than I will be reimbursed, I view it as a great discount. Not everyone here will agree. But I think that everyone will agree that someone who will experience severe financial hardship if something goes south with a shop and the shopper is not reimbursed, should not even apply for the shop.
In another message, you said, "...Ive been screwed over by one already (did all the work and they refused to pay me because they said one question wasnt answered,,mind you there were dozens of questions and they didnt even ask me to fix the one I supposedly missed)." As I stated, MSCs are not required to allow you to fix mistakes, or to answer questions. Unlike employees, we have very limited rights. I am mentioning this because you stated that you are new. As a contractor, you are free to accept, or not, any assignment. But when you accept a shop, you are required to complete it correctly in order to be paid. When I worked as an employee for a large company, I occasionally made mistakes. I got paid anyway. That is not the case here. Shoppers who develop good reputations with a given MSC sometimes get considerations not accorded to other shoppers. Some MSCs are super rigid (such as Market Force), while others really try to help shoppers. I suggest that you research each MSC here before you accept a shop the first time. And for each MSC, start slowly and cautiously.
@unruhe5517 wrote:
I just did my first gig with alta (im new to doing this mystery shopping)- wondering if maybe someone can answer a question for me- it says 'hold pay' for me where it used to show they pay and reimbursement amount....does 'hold pay' just mean its waiting tfor them to cut s check? not that they arent paying me, right? As for my first gig with them, had the gig not been close to me the pay wouldnt have been worth it. what kills me is that they wanted me to spend MORE than 10 bucks (which theyd reimburse) but only reimburse me 10! (besides the pay for the gig itself). I absolutely made sure i didnt go over 10.25, lol.
Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008