So, over the past months I have complained about the IPSOS "I Shop First" program and, I was advised by one of their schedulers on another string to simply move on to another MSC. Maybe I'll be doing that, maybe not - if that happens, you shall not hear of my complaints of this MSC. I am trying my best to look for something promising regarding IPSOS.
However, that being said, I am now noting that none of the shops I did for IPSOS this week and most of last week have not been edited. They are not of any singular brand or type of shop, but rather, they seem to be too many of different shop types across the board.
So, yes IPSOS does pay on time (most of the time anyway), yet, could it be, cleverly, that since shops are not being edited in a timely fashion, payment to shoppers is decreased? For me, it is substantial enough that I am beginning to wonder if it could be mandated by upper management to slow the editing process in order to make the books look better and hence payments spread out over time.
That's a theory on my part, of course.
On the other hand, did their "I Shop First" and, the September elimination of the rotational request reassignment of shops result in a crescendo of shops being turned in by many more shoppers to such an overwhelming degree that their editors are inundated? If that is true, then I would surmise that the new program could be termed a success for IPSOS, yet at the expense of their shopper's payment. Of course the shopper's pay shall be made - albeit at some point - just not when the shopper expects it to arrive.
Who knows? Yet, I am saddened to find myself in a more cynical view of this company every day.

I don't know what the motivation for any large MSC that likely does not have cash flow problems at all, would be to delay editing for the purpose of delaying payment to shoppers. Monies not paid out in "Week 26" need to be paid in "Week 27". Delay Week 26 and Week 27, then Week 28 will be heavy. If we're talking about a MSC with cash flow problems, then okay, I can understand the reasoning. It doesn't make sense, to me, for a large one to do that. The reason for the editing delay is not because they don't want to pay.

Interestingly, I had not done any Ipsos shops the first two weeks of this month, so can't say anything for them is slow. But I did a bunch this week, mainly Monday-Thursday, and all of the Sassie's are edited at this point. Some shopmetrics which usually take 3-5 days still have not been. So, I guess it's project related with the ones you are waiting for and not some strategy to not pay shoppers.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2022 01:07AM by purpleicee.

Maybe the editing priority is put on the clients that have project end dates coming up soonest. Also, thinking of their clients, I am envisioning the sheer number or reports to edit. It seems like it is an overwhelming amount.
There is no way to know for sure. I understand people who are unhappy with IPSOS, but constantly complaining about them isn't going to do anything and it's not healthy for the complainer either. If you think there are better shops than what IPSOS offers, then by all means, go grab them. As long as there are plenty of shoppers willing to do IPSOS postings, things are not going to change.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2022 09:34PM by hbbigdaddy.

In my experience it has always been the case that at certain times, some projects get backlogged while others get edited right away. It may have to with billing cycles, the editors getting slammed, the editors choosing the easier reports first, I don't know. The way the projects deadlines vary and overlap differently probably create times when there is a large backlog and times when there is little to no work. This even happened with Maritz, and I doubt it is intentional.

I think this is getting into tinfoil hat territory. I highly doubt there is any nefarious plot in place to delay the editing process and payments. I have not found the amount of time it takes to be paid by Ipsos lengthy at all. For the shops I've done recently, whether on Sassie or Shopmetrics, the editors completed their part within a few days. If a shop takes much longer than that to be edited, I would think it is simply either a backlog of work to do, a shortage of available editors, or some issue that arose with regard to that specific shop and which needs to be checked out further before approving it. Nothing more than TCB (*taking care of business*).

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2022 10:49PM by shopnyc.

Ipsos is contractually obligated to make payment within 3-weeks from the date a shopper submits a report.

It just so happens the MSC processes payments on a weekly basis and often reports are edited faster = quicker payout. Yes, many (including myself) like it when they can step up to edit and pay faster.
However, if payment is made within the 3 week window, it is NOT delayed or late (until the 22nd day after the submission of a report).

We should give the MSC credit for the frequency in which they are able to edit and pay quicker (than guaranteed) and not beat them up when they are not even late yet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2022 05:45AM by Zek.

I consider myself a full-time auditor for IPSOS. MOST OF MY ASSIGNMENTS ARE CHECKED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. THANK YOU IPSOS!

@Zek wrote:

Ipsos is contractually obligated to make payment within 3-weeks from the date a shopper submits a report.

It just so happens the MSC processes payments on a weekly basis and often reports are edited faster = quicker payout. Yes, many (including myself) like it when they can step up to edit and pay faster.
However, if payment is made within the 3 week window, it is NOT delayed or late (until the 22nd day after the submission of a report).

We should give the MSC credit for the frequency in which they are able to edit and pay quicker (than guaranteed) and not beat them up when they are not even late yet.

I would agree with you (beating up the MSC). However, over this past year (I keep a monthly spreadsheet of when the shop(s) was performed versus when payment was received of the shop), I have found that as the year has progressed, IPSOS has become later and later in editing and payment. It seems to have become a trend.
Yes, payment has been received, albeit later and later. I have shops over the year where payment was over 3 to 4 weeks late. Were there many of them? Not enough that I worried too much. As you say they (the MSC) are "contractually obligated to make payment within 3-weeks from the date a shopper submits a report). Just what do we (the shopper) do when they (the MSC)fail to meet their contractual obligations? Sue them?
BTW, that question is rhetorical.
However, I see a trend developing of slow editing and hence later pay. In my mystery shopping world, I am becoming concerned.
As someone who worked in corporate at a higher enough level, I know enough about the various division "buckets" that cash is kept, to understand where cash flow from one department can be fine whereas another department is suffering for whatever the reason. Sure, that is just an accounting trick, but those divisions that were suffering, I saw how upper corporate cut corners and or later closed down the department not hitting their goals.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2022 09:04PM by French Farmer.

I usually get paid quickly but the shops I completed mid Sept have not been edited / scored yet and I emailed about it and received a response they are working on it. It's rather frustrating, I prefer them to be consistent!!!

They have added a lot of new projects, and they have outsourced a lot of their editing. I'm sure the outsourced editing went to the low bidder.

@ french farmer

With all the miracles, positive, negative and crazy things that happen in the world, I can buy into "never say never". And, fair enough for one to be concerned if/when shops are edited or paid outside the 3 week window.

As one other poster mentions, the consistency, or lack of, seems to be the crux of it all. Personally I do not feel our pay grade is high enough to absorb a ton of energy into theories on how Ipsos decides what shops get edited when and how they might be keeping their books. I agree with the probable business reasons other posters have stated, but do I think it is a proposed plot, carried on in secret, by a powerful group of executives who have some kind of sinister goal? No, sorry, my brain just can't digest that thinking.

What I do care about is if I got paid the amount agreed upon, on time. If I see a pattern of late editing and payments developing (beyond the 3 week window) that is when I will become concerned. I'm elated when they pay faster, but can also live with the longer editing cycles provided the payment is made on time.

Back to the crux -- when the MSC edits and pays faster it sets a pattern and some shoppers begin to "expect" it. I get it, but it really is not a late payment, its just not when the "shopper expected" they were going to be paid.

In terms of the late payments you said you have experienced this year, how many has it been 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 29, 25, 50 ? The number is relative to a pattern being established. And, are you saying payments were 3-4 weeks beyond the 3 weeks guaranteed ?

To your rhetorical question, likely the partnership would eventually dissolve. I will be the first to admit I have zero tolerance for late payments. For me, its not cash flow, its the principal that payment is due when it is due. I fire off a communication on the day a payment becomes past due. If I was not getting a response from the payments folks, I would go to the scheduler, and if no avail, in the case of Ipsos, I would have no qualm reaching out to the VP contact Karen Holland gave us in another string a few weeks back to facilitate a resolution.

I think for you, you just have to decide if its one more strike on your con list for Ipsos or not. Maybe then you will have some additional clarity as to whether to continue your partnership with them or not.

@French Farmer wrote:

I would agree with you (beating up the MSC). However, over this past year (I keep a monthly spreadsheet of when the shop(s) was performed versus when payment was received of the shop), I have found that as the year has progressed, IPSOS has become later and later in editing and payment. It seems to have become a trend.
Yes, payment has been received, albeit later and later. I have shops over the year where payment was over 3 to 4 weeks late. Were there many of them? Not enough that I worried too much. As you say they (the MSC) are "contractually obligated to make payment within 3-weeks from the date a shopper submits a report). Just what do we (the shopper) do when they (the MSC)fail to meet their contractual obligations? Sue them?
BTW, that question is rhetorical.
However, I see a trend developing of slow editing and hence later pay. In my mystery shopping world, I am becoming concerned.
As someone who worked in corporate at a higher enough level, I know enough about the various division "buckets" that cash is kept, to understand where cash flow from one department can be fine whereas another department is suffering for whatever the reason. Sure, that is just an accounting trick, but those divisions that were suffering, I saw how upper corporate cut corners and or later closed down the department not hitting their goals.[/quote]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2022 06:17AM by Zek.

I also questioned their Ishopfirst protocols. There are never any travel incentives available any longer. It's a basic low ball pay rates locked in. Like Market Force tactics. I just let them sit on the board. I'm in the boonies and if I don't do these shops. There's no White Knight to come to swoop up there bare bones pay. So we're at a standoff. I do the ones that are reasonable and on my route. But those 100+ miles round trip paying $12.00 plus $5.00 reimbursement ain't happening. They used to pay $50.00 then went to $30.00 now no bonus at all. They told me took look closer for shops in my area. Well I have 24 other MSCs that do offer travel incentives. Ipsos maybe a Major player. But ethics is a part of the business. We agree to disagree about what low ball is. I use them we convenient. But not going out of my way any longer

I can see your argument and they have the analytics to know what the shops go for in the areas you shop. But instead, they choose to leave them low and hope new people start shopping and take them. Can you really blame them for trying to get away with paying the least amount to get work done when you are on the other end trying to make the most you can? They understand the game. The smarter shoppers wait and get better pay later. The impatient people (or newer people who don't know better) take them early and often.

I see these shops get taken under the ISF program. It seems like there is a never ending flow of new shoppers (at least in the urban areas). I do not participate in ISF. I am a ISL shopper and wait until the middle to end.

@David Hoppe wrote:

I also questioned their Ishopfirst protocols. There are never any travel incentives available any longer. It's a basic low ball pay rates locked in. Like Market Force tactics. I just let them sit on the board. I'm in the boonies and if I don't do these shops. There's no White Knight to come to swoop up there bare bones pay. So we're at a standoff. I do the ones that are reasonable and on my route. But those 100+ miles round trip paying $12.00 plus $5.00 reimbursement ain't happening. They used to pay $50.00 then went to $30.00 now no bonus at all. They told me took look closer for shops in my area. Well I have 24 other MSCs that do offer travel incentives. Ipsos maybe a Major player. But ethics is a part of the business. We agree to disagree about what low ball is. I use them we convenient. But not going out of my way any longer

I have thought it was intentional as well as it coincided with the lowering of bonuses, and trended throughout the year (I haven’t shopped for Ipsos in awhile so I didn’t know it was even worse). To the person who thinks there’s no incentive for Ipsos to pay later? What? Having millions of dollars in the bank for an extra week or two adds up. Yes, they still pay every week, but if they pay you for a Sep 1 job on Tuesday the 20th instead of Tues the 6th, that’s an extra 2 weeks in the bank for them.

Tin foil hat? You think a multinational, billion euro, company isn’t thinking about every way to save money?

There is of course another possibility, which is that they lowered the editing fees for some or all projects. Their blue gas stations (MS then reveal) used to be edited in minutes, and even when they changed from minutes to only a few days I wondered if they had been paying a premium for those, and maybe they’ve also lowered editing fees for other projects. I don’t know how wordsmith pros works, but I always assumed editors claimed reports they were qualified for that are in the queue, and that some were claimed faster because of better fees. I could be wrong.

To those that are telling people to not complain about Ipsos (the same ones complaining about complaints every time), you can see the topic of the thread and skip it. This is a forum for questions, help, info, and yes, also complaining to other people doing the same work. We don’t meet other shoppers in person, so this forum is the water cooler as well as the help desk. If you’re not a water cooler person stay away from those topics. It’s ironic that you’re telling people not to complain when you spend so much of your time complaining (about shoppers). I don’t like seeing defenses of Ipsos every thread, and definitely don’t like to see “this isn’t the right business for you; don’t work for Ipsos if you don’t like it,” etc, so I guess I’ll complain about the complainers complaining about the complaints. But why you’d show more solidarity with Ipsos than other shoppers is a mystery, so to speak.

I got paid today (9/27/22) for my two shops that I did on (9/16/22)

I love water and will be seeing you at the water cooler to talk shop. I continue to learn more with every sip.

The last two shops I did for them seemed to take longer in editing, but I haven't done much for them in awhile, so I don't know if this is their new norm. I got paid for the first one within a week all told, including editing time, so I'm happy.

They are definitely taking longer to review shops. For middle of the month jobs, it was running 10 days. Today I was happy to see jobs done 5 days ago, receive a review. My preference is more immediate feedback so you can correct anything on future jobs that is not being done to their standards that you may be overlooking.

They re-released a job yesterday that went unfilled last month for LESS than the price they were offering last month with a bonus. Why do they think someone is going to do it for half the price next week when no one did it last month and they placed it on bonus?

@heywave wrote:

....They re-released a job yesterday that went unfilled last month for LESS than the price they were offering last month with a bonus. Why do they think someone is going to do it for half the price next week when no one did it last month and they placed it on bonus?

They're probably hoping someone new to mystery shopping will see it this month and take it. IMHO

@Notme2021 wrote:

..... To the person who thinks there’s no incentive for Ipsos to pay later? What? Having millions of dollars in the bank for an extra week or two adds up. Yes, they still pay every week, but if they pay you for a Sep 1 job on Tuesday the 20th instead of Tues the 6th, that’s an extra 2 weeks in the bank for them. ...
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Why do you think it takes PayPal 1-3 business days after you request your money for you to see it in your account? It's the float. In today's world of instantaneous money transfers, you should not have to pay a fee to get your money in one day.

My old girlfriend used to work for a financial firm back in the late 80s, one of the big ones. They had people whose job it was to move money in and out of accounts for just a day or two. Now we're talking millions here. But it was worth paying people six figures just to do this all day everyday

Maybe it depends on the client. Sometimes I really wish someone on the inside could step in and explain how things are working behind the scenes. Perhaps they wait for a batch of reports to come in and then send it to editing a week at a time?
I did an online purchase/return shop for them and was paid within 3 days.

My last few IPSOS shops were edited within hours. On one I even got feedback while I was entering another report from that same day's trip.

(Tangential - I'm not very happy about being dinged on a report because they don't like how I handled a situation that the guidelines never covered. At least it was approved though. MarketForce recently rejected a report because there was an issue the guidelines weren't and I chose to do MORE documentation. I'm still quite salty about that and have been holding off a rant.)

Anyway, float interest is a thing. But you need huge numbers at current interest rates to justify going out of your way to hold money. However it's pretty common for all businesses to delay payment as long as possible, just because it's more secure to hold cash in case something happens. There's a standard practice on invoices called "2 Ten / Net 30", which means "You owe us in 30 days, but if you pay within 10 you can take off 2%." Nobody is getting enough interest in those 20 days to make 2% worth it. It's just that everyone is more comfortable with money in their own hands.

Which is relatable, I'm sure. I know I'm less likely to take jobs from slow-paying MSCs. If you're fast you get to be a little worse in other ways.

@joanna81 wrote:

Maybe it depends on the client. Sometimes I really wish someone on the inside could step in and explain how things are working behind the scenes. Perhaps they wait for a batch of reports to come in and then send it to editing a week at a time?
I did an online purchase/return shop for them and was paid within 3 days.

They (IPSOS) know they are now later than their typical editing and hence payment. Yes, their contract allows for a 3 week time period, and, as I have stated in earlier comments, they exceeded that time allowance for some of my shops this past year. To be upfront, I did contact them, asking if there was a reason for this delay in editing. There was and has never been a reply. The shops were edited and I was paid.
I am not wishing to jump on her, yet is it not notable that Karen, the scheduler who often comments has been silent?
Speaking for myself and others who are seeing the current delay in editing (mine now are exceeding 2 weeks for far too many shops than I think is typical) a simple acknowledgement of the delay and an assurance that they (IPSOS) are working on this issue would not only be a refreshing statement of the condition, but also, just that, an acknowledgement.
Sigh.

@joanna81 wrote:

Maybe it depends on the client. Sometimes I really wish someone on the inside could step in and explain how things are working behind the scenes. Perhaps they wait for a batch of reports to come in and then send it to editing a week at a time?
I did an online purchase/return shop for them and was paid within 3 days.

I don't know how it works with Ipsos. At another site I worked with years ago, basically all of the available editing assignments appeared on a queue similar to to the "Available Shops" lists we often use. Editors, who were independent contractors, could pick and choose which shops to edit, just as we choose what shops we do. Not all editing tasks paid the same, and some were more difficult than others. Editors were not required to work a set amount of hours. They tended to work more just before their payment cutoff date. If a huge backlog began forming, the company might temporarily bump the pay or offer temporary production incentives. Again, this has nothing to do with Ipsos, just a glimpse of how IC editing work is often done.