List of MSCs Who Are 90 Day Payers

Here is a list of some of the slowest paying companies. Of course, this assumes you did a shop and had it accepted on the FIRST day of the month (not the last day). Please add to the list if you know any others. Basically, this is a list of companies who pay between 70 - 90 days or longer. It does not mean they are bad companies, it just means you should take note if you care about your cash flow.


1. Goodwin & Associates
2. Service Sleuth
3. Secret Shopping Services (not Secret Shopper)
4. Service Check
5. Regal Hospitality
6. Mystique
7. Intelli-Shop
8. Business Evaluation Services (read the fine print)
9. Cirrus Marketing

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2012 03:43AM by AnonymousNYC.

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The last on your list, Intellishop, has been much discussed here for precisely that reason. Some of the others however have inspired disagreement over the timeliness of their pay.

D'Agosto


"What does it mean? You ask. I answer not/For meaning, but myself must echo, What?/And tell it as I saw it, on the spot."
Actually, Goodwin took 120 days to pay me...this is without me prompting them....just to see how long it would take...

Service Sleuth was another one that was over 90 days...

Secret Shopping Service was another "over 90 day-er."
Dagosto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The last on your list, Intellishop, has been much
> discussed here for precisely that reason. Some of
> the others however have inspired disagreement over
> the timeliness of their pay.


@Dagosto
There should be no question. With the exception of one, ALL of these MSC companies have sent me emails stating their 90 day payment policies (because I inquired by email first) OR they have gone ahead and published the 90 day pay policy on their websites.
Payment for ATH Power can approach 70 days, depending on when you did the shop. If you did a shop on January 1, you'd get paid on March 10.
Intelli-Shop is not a 90 day payor. I did shops 2 on 10/10 and 1 on 10/24/2011 and I was paid on 12/20/2011 that is less than 60 Days. I have not had a problem with them as gfar as being paid and paid on time. Now ServiceSleuth is another story they are at least 90 days and sometimes you have to call or e-mail them to get your money.
plbell627 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Intelli-Shop is not a 90 day payor. I did shops 2
> on 10/10 and 1 on 10/24/2011 and I was paid on
> 12/20/2011 that is less than 60 Days. I have not
> had a problem with them as gfar as being paid and
> paid on time. Now ServiceSleuth is another story
> they are at least 90 days and sometimes you have
> to call or e-mail them to get your money.

@plbell627
You don't seem to be reading my post correctly about 70-90+ day payers. My original post says if you did the shop on the first. So if you did those shops on 10/1 (not on the 10th or the 24th as in your example) then you STILL would have been paid on 12/20...and that makes it 80 days.

Shops done near the end of the month are paid quicker. It's interesting how the truth about Service Sleuth seems to be rising to the surface.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2011 10:53PM by AnonymousNYC.
Here's my take on "slow, but dependable..."


Once upon a time I shopped much more than I do now. I did several each month for Intellishop, Maritz, SI, Bare... After shopping a few months, I got into a routine where money was coming in each and every month from the slow-but-sures. It really is not that big a deal if you are patient.
Service Sleuth does pay VERY slowly. Intelli-Shop pays differently on a lot of their shops, so to say Intelli-shop as a whole pays slow is not fair. Some of their accounts are slow, while others are fast. I also found Hilli-Dunlap is almost impossible to get payment from.

-------------------
Kyle Bonnyman
Independent Scheduler-Editor-Recruiter-Project Manager
kyle@shopperscheduling.com | (647) 932-7468 |
Facebook: Scheduler Kyle Bonnyman
Yesterday, I completed assignment #141 for Service Sleuth dating back 5 1/2 yrs. Are they slow payers? Most assuredly! BUT, do they not clearly the pay period? As to a problem with payment, it's possible I've been fortunate, but I've never needed to ask for my money.
I guess it's all in how you look at it and if you want to count every single day after one shop. I consider anything the following month as net 30 and so on. Technically if you shop at the beginning of the month it's longer and at the end shorter. It really does all come out in the wash so I don't think pbell627 was way offbase with their comment. I was surprised to see them lumped in with the net 90 companies myself.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
With most of these folks they let you know what the pay cycle is and if it is not worth the wait, you just don't bother. The ones that annoy me are the ones that play games with payments/reimbursements.

An example is that I don't believe I have ever received the 'first check' Service Quality US has supposedly sent out. They post the date that the check was 'sent' and you are not allowed to follow up for 30 days. Then when you follow up you get a check in a week or so after they have 'investigated'. So they manage to stretch out paying you your $12 to pretty close to 3 months when they state 30 days for payment and show on their website that the 'first check' went out supposedly right on time. If it happened once I could understand, if it happened twice I would be wondering, since it has happened every time I have drawn my own conclusion.
Kyle.Bonnyman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Service Sleuth does pay VERY slowly. Intelli-Shop
> pays differently on a lot of their shops, so to
> say Intelli-shop as a whole pays slow is not fair.
> Some of their accounts are slow, while others are
> fast. I also found Hilli-Dunlap is almost
> impossible to get payment from.


INTELLI-SHOP has their payment policy clearly published. It says they pay around the 20th day following the second month after the shop is accepted. If that "is not fair" then blame INTELLI-SHOP for saying it. This list is for the people WHO CARE ABOUT CASH FLOW.


Slow does not always equal bad. Slow equals slow. Slow and bad should be separated. Maybe some day someone will be able to add another MSC to the list.
OK AS far as I can tell all MSCs list their pay cycle. So I would suggest not taking the shops if you cannot wait that long for the pay. That is their policy and it is like any other job you will be told when you will receive the pay. Always check. Especially if you need to put a chunk of $ out their first. My theory is I will need the $12 or $29 when it shows up. I always need it.
Thank you for posting this list. I was just trying to research the various payment timelines so that I'd know when to follow-up with various companies. This list saved me a lot of time. smiling smiley

__________________

Shopping Coastal California since November 2011
Dagosto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The last on your list, Intellishop, has been much
> discussed here for precisely that reason. Some of
> the others however have inspired disagreement over
> the timeliness of their pay.

I have Intelli at 60 days. Checked my last 15 shops for them. It never varies. ??? Definitely NOT 90.
Intellishop payment policy:,"Payment for your shops will automatically be sent through PayPal approximately 50-60 days after the "LAST" day of the month in which your shops were completed."

It could be 50-60 days if you did the shop at the month end or could be 80-90 days if you did it on first of the month.
cynb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK AS far as I can tell all MSCs list their pay
> cycle. So I would suggest not taking the shops if
> you cannot wait that long for the pay. That is
> their policy and it is like any other job you will
> be told when you will receive the pay. Always
> check. Especially if you need to put a chunk of $
> out their first. My theory is I will need the $12
> or $29 when it shows up. I always need it.


@cynb
Hmmmm? You certainly have an interesting take on this thread. If you insist that this thread was created to moan and gripe and complain then I guess you've got a point. However, this thread was simply a listing of slow paying MSCs for people who like to manage their cash flow. Nobody was complaining...in fact, I work for many of these companies and I'm the one who started the list.

Cynical is as cynical does. Luckily, the sky is not always falling. Geesh.
I've been doing shops for Customer Perspectives and About Face and they pay around the 15th of the month following a shop. (if you shopped on 1/22 you would be paid via Pal Pay around 2/15) One thing I don't understand is that sometimes the money is in Pay Pal on the 8th or the 9th or the 12th or the 15th. I'm not complaining because I like being paid what I believe is pretty fast, but why don't they just pick a date and stay with it.
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