Maritz Research
Overall Rating: C-
Volume of Jobs: Average
Number of Individual Clients: Average
Type of jobs: Retail, drugstore, gas
Rate of Pay: Slightly below average
Speed of Pay: 3-4 Weeks
Method of Pay: Check
Bonuses available? Yes
More Resources:
> Company Website
Pros:
Maritz has very professional and friendly
schedulers. Many shoppers indicate that they have been flexible with
emergencies, and speaking to a scheduler over the phone is an option and they
are reliable about returning phone calls. They are open to new shoppers as well
as experienced shoppers.
Maritz often has waves of many shops in one area; it's as convenient to schedule
twenty shops as it is to schedule one. Maritz also doesn't require a barrage of
online tests and courses to apply for shops, though on the flip side it's not
always clear what the requirements of the shops are before applying.
Cons:
Maritz is one of the mystery shopping providers
that has yet to truly harness the new way of doing business on the Internet.
Their website is not particularly well designed, and their way of assigning
shops is often clunky (after requesting an assignment on a new project, I had to
play phone tag with the scheduler to talk to them personally). I find them too
dependent on telephone contact, which in turn is limited to business hours. If
Maritz was willing to use e-mail and their website more comprehensively, I'd
find them a lot easier to work with; e-mails often go without response.
One of their major clients in particular schedules only sub-$10 shops, with a
very small reimbursement. To me, this is too low to bother with considering the
amount of time that the shop requires. I also find the requirement of submitting
invoices unnecessary, especially considering there's no option to do so online.