MSP Watch List
Check Mark: Beginning in July of 2006, many Check Mark shoppers reported that payment checks were bouncing for payments as early as May. Unfortunately, there was poor communication from Check Mark regarding this issue, leading to much confusion, and many bank fees being incurred by shoppers who were not informed even after the problem was discovered. Emails and phone calls to the company were often unreturned, and their own forums were neglected (and eventually removed, in August). Some shoppers reported that they were deactivated after contacting the company asking for payment. Some checks were reissued in late August, but the company did not reimburse shoppers for fees related to the returned checks. They issued a letter requesting that banks waive the charges that shoppers could take to the bank to attempt to resolve the matter themselves. In November 2006, some shoppers who were persistent in requesting assistance did have some fees overturned by Check Mark, but by November, shoppers were still receiving checks late (4-6 weeks behind schedule), so clearly the issues have not yet been ironed out.
Hilli Dunlap: Hilli Dunlap also had
major payment problems in late 2005 and ongoing. According to Hilli Dunlap, this
was due to an embezzling problem with one of its employees, and they publicly
put out a statement to their shoppers that, in order to pay for recent shops (in
order to keep money flowing in), old shops would be placed in a "holding file"
and paid out at some time in the future when the company's finances were in
better order.
Sadly, many still report that their correspondence to Hilli Dunlap has gone
unanswered as to when they will be paid -- including certified mail returned.
Hilli Dunlap has not been communicative about how many are in their "holding
file" or when they can expect to be paid, though some shoppers who have been
persistent in contacting Hilli Dunlap have been paid for old shops.
Infotel: Infotel has a bad reputation
among a large number of shoppers for payment problems (spanning over the last
several years). Its own website claims payments should be sent the 25th of the
following month, yet shoppers report waiting months past this time to get
payment, and some months-old shops that remain unpaid. The company often blames
its payment issues on PayPal and is not quick to respond to shoppers with
problems.
Jancyn: Whether it is intentionally
misleading business practices or just poor organization and communication skill
by schedulers, Jancyn is known for not keeping its' word with shoppers in a wide
variety of ways in recent months. A signficant number of payments have been
significantly late or incorrect. Many shoppers report that the terms of a shop
have changed after completing it (for example, a reimbursement allowance being
decreased without notice); in other cases, offered bonuses were not fulfilled
when the shop was completed. Some shoppers have reported very rude interactions
with schedulers, or schedulers only releasing payments owed if they agree to
take on additional shops. However, the feelings about Jancyn have been mixed;
some shoppers report only positive experiences.
Satisfaction Services, Inc. In January 2006, SSI launched a new
Rated
Evaluator program that requires an upfront fee to shoppers ($9.99) in order to receive
feedback and to have preferential treatment for shops. Existing shoppers are
required to sign up to keep their previous rating. SSI has never been known for
being high paying, so it may not be possible to recoup the value of the training
on your first assignment (as they advertise). Also note that "due to the
nature of our business, meaning, clients we service may or may not have
locations close to you, there may be another evaluator more qualified than you
for a particular assignment, there are no guarantees you will receive
assignments, and there can be no refunds of your signup fee."
The Solomon Group: The Solomon Group
requires expensive training programs to be completed by shoppers before having
access to their site. The company defends this saying that you're not paying
to shop, you're paying to be trained, but the training is required to work for
them. These shops range from $34.95 - $59.90, compared to $15 for a global MSPA
silver certification. You must be trained to even be added to their
database and know if there are shops in your area.
This file was last
updated on 11/28/06.
Why a watch list?
As this site is dedicated mostly to reviews, I feel that it's important that
we keep a record of companies that have been known for being unreliable. It's
important to note every mystery shopping company, no matter how well-run or
shopper-friendly, will always have its critics. The point of maintaining this
list is to create awareness of MSPs that have not only a few critics, but major
and significant problems.
New shoppers may not be familiar with the infamous G3 (Global Growth Group)
debacle. G3 was one of the industry's larger mystery shopping providers.
However, it shut its doors in 2005, and all evidence points to the fact that it
continued to hire out shoppers during the last few months, knowing that they
would not be paid. Even as the company was closing down, G3 responded to
shoppers assuring that they would all be paid, but it did not happen. Thousands
of dollars are still owed to shoppers, as well as direct employees left without
paychecks. After such an event, it's necessary to be reasonably critical of a
company's claims if they appear not to follow up on those claims; lack of
communication and payment are warning signs that the company may be in distress
or simply may not care to meet its commitments.
The preceding is a list of companies that the mystery shopping community should
be concerned about due to the apparent risk of working for them (based on their
reputation). Completing shops for the following companies is not advised until
their problems are resolved, at which
point they will be removed from this list.