Are any of the companys worth it anymore ? Do they go out of their way to not pay ?

It seems like mystery shopping companies go out of their way to find reasons to reject shops and to not pay but they still collect and use all the data you collect and share with them, Is there any company that is fair and simple in their approach

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Well, I tend to be very detailed, but I haven't had any of the people I do shops for reject mine. I've done work for Maritz, Ipsos, MarketForce, Bare, Reality Based Group, Confero..

@naivasna wrote:

Well, I tend to be very detailed, but I haven't had any of the people I do shops for reject mine. I've done work for Maritz, Ipsos, MarketForce, Bare, Reality Based Group, Confero..

Unless I've done something egregious I agree with the above poster. I work for over 20 companies and I think have done over 5,000 shops in 10 years. I can count on my hand the number of rejected reports I have. Every one of them was my mistake. also as an editor, we work very hard to try and salvage report. If I can't use them because the client won't accept it then I'm not getting paid either. Neither is the MSC. There's no appetite to take work without paying for it. Some clients are pickier than others. Some things I can overlook for some clients but even a small mistake like arriving 2 minutes early is a no-go for others.

Had a shop where I was supposed to visit 7 departments in a grocery story including the meat counter / deli department, the particular location did NOT HAVE a meat/ deli department counter and there were only like 2 staff in the store at the time, was impossible to visit departments that did not exist, Shop was rejected because I did not visit the meat / deli counter

There is an easy way to appeal that sort of thing. Call the MSC and ask to speak to the person in charge of that account. If, in fact, the absence of a report on the meat counter was the only reason for the rejection, they should approve the shop.....UNLESS you did not put in a note to the editor explaining that there was no meat department. If you did not, it may take more time to get an approval.

How long have you been doing MS? I ask since the issue you describe is not very unusual to experienced shoppers.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Primo Solutions who I'll be working for next week is good as are all the companies I work for.....there is no proof who uses rejected reports, how would you know that? I have my one or two I don't work for them, remember your the boss over who you work for, don't jump to conclusions.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2019 07:34PM by Irene_L.A..

I have always been paid unless I missed a requirement. Like I went inside when it was a drive through.

Certainly the OP's experience is not my own. I have had more shops with a deficiency/oversight on my part accepted and paid than I have had rejected. And when some company has been noxious with me, I no longer shop for them even though others continue to have good experience with them. This is a business built on mutual trust and I expect fair play on both sides. Maybe that is why I'm still doing this after all this time.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2019 09:23PM by Flash.

I had the same shop...took forever to get someone in the bakery department. I submitted the shop but it had not been processed. Some was easy but the looking for associates is the hardest. I would definitely appeal as this makes no sense for it to be rejected of it simply does not exist.

@amiart wrote:

Had a shop where I was supposed to visit 7 departments in a grocery story including the meat counter / deli department, the particular location did NOT HAVE a meat/ deli department counter and there were only like 2 staff in the store at the time, was impossible to visit departments that did not exist, Shop was rejected because I did not visit the meat / deli counter

I did a store once that did not have a deli counter so I commented about the deli department. I have been in a few stores that don't have a meat counter but have a meat department so I commented on that also. I also lok for an employee in those departments.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2019 05:05AM by pegleg2000.

There is one editor at one company who always kicks back my shops. The email isn't an attempt to resolve but just says they aren't going to pay me. I always get that reversed because there's no reason to do that to the scheduler.

Except one time I let it go. It was so worthwhile.

amiart opines--It seems like mystery shopping companies go out of their way to find reasons to reject shops and to not pay.

Bob's comment--I completed my first shop 04/01/2003 and I completely disagree with the OP. My 16+ year total stands at 3,458, with six rejections, not including video shops. Two were my error, another two a scheduler flubbing and a final two where the MSC refused to pay me; I immediately deactivated from them.

And my first shop was September 2005. I have done thousands since then. I have had a total of 2 shops refused that were not entirely my fault. In both cases, it was my failure to ask for clarification of ambiguous guidelines that resulted in shop being rejected. The rest were entirely on my head; wrong location; video equipment failure (almost entirely pre-2010, when I got my PV-500 rig); video operator error; screwed up a backstory twice and got IDed as shopper (3 times). Those last three were all matters of failure to keep my alias consistent during a long shop. (Lesson learned: I now teach workshops on how to devise aliases by a system that makes them easy to remember.)

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

I have had 3 shops rejected by Marketforce in 10 years. One by Alta360. I don't recall any more, out of thousands of shops.

I cancelled three shops after attempting to complete them.

I have been shopping for 14 years now, and am signed up with over 100 companies. I shop mainly for about 15 companies, and on occasion might do an odd one here and there for one of the others. I have probably done close to 5,000 mystery shops. I have had 2 rejections in that time, both by MF, both my fault. I have done several grocery shops for a particular MSC at a particular grocery store where there is no meat or seafood counter, but it does have a meat and seafood section/department. I just count that area as the depts they want evaluated. If there are no associates present after the time required by the MSC, I report it thus. If I do meet an associate, I have my interaction. I've never had any rejections from the MSC that does these by using that type of interaction.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2019 05:17PM by guysmom.

I've had shops rejected when I had photo evidence that I was in the right. C'mon, none of you shopped McD's that "challenged" a negative report? MSC always sided with the client. A few others that were not my fault, either, and I've been shopping since Tarantado was in diapers.

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams

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Are any of the companys worth it anymore ? Do they go out of their way to not pay ?

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