Has anyone worked for this company before? I have 4 bank shops coming up, and I sent them a message because what they are asking me to do is a little weird.

I signed up with this specific bank early in December becuase there was a lot of shops for them, and it made sense to stick $25 in a free checking account to make money.

Now AthPower/Apex has the account apparently, and I am scheduled to do 4 shops, but there actaully 2-in-1 shops where I make a deposit into an account (I only have the free checking) but then I am to go to and speak to the banker about free checking. I told them ahead of time that I only had free checking, but they assinged me this anyway. I emailed them yesterday but haven't heard back as of yet. The pay is also really low as far as I'm concerned, $17 for 2-in-1. I specialize in bank shops and I usually get $10-12 for teller and $15-$17 for banker.

Opinions everyone? Thank you!

Man I lOVE this forum.

Yes, their pay has dwindled over time for the same job.

Generally the teller part can be any kind of transaction--check your instructions again to be absolutely certain they are requiring a DEPOSIT TO AN ACCOUNT. Obviously you can't deposit to a free checking and then go chat about finding information to open a free checking. You could, however, possibly ask about features on your free checking.

If I have an account already and am going in to do an account inquiry, I make change with the teller or ask to buy rolled coin. These things most banks will do with or without an account as a 'friendly service'. I then mention to the teller possibly opening an account to get shipped off to the CSR and give a fake name.

Although I have not done a 2-for-1 for aTH in more than a year, that was an accepted practice back when I did do them. For them I pretty much now only do the drive thru shops because of their current fee structure and because the bank employees don't change much here. I will do an inside teller from time to time to see if there are new faces in the side offices. If I remember the faces in the side offices there is a reasonable chance they will remember me as the banks here are far from busy.

Yes, they say DEPOSIT INTO AN ACCOUNT, which is so bizzare to me. I'm waiting for a reply but still nothing from three of people I sent the email to. I'm not thrilled with the compensation either, so depending on what they say I may not do these in the future.

If they don't get back to you and you must proceed, I would deposit into my account and talk to the banker about free checking--as in "Is this really the best account for me? What else do you offer and how does it compare to the free checking?"

That is a wonderful idea. Thank you!!

Yeah, I saw it too. I had already opened the free checking for the bank's regular MSP, starting with a C, through their scheduling co. I wonder if they're switching MSP's. Let us know how long the report is.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2009 11:45PM by sneakers.

The forms are similar that the old MSP had. The teller shop is 40 questions with multiple narratives and the banker shop is 62 questions with multiple narratives. This is a LOT of work for $17 in my opinion. My shop log says branch teller $17, and banker shop says $0 "attach to in-branch teller." It's like they are getting a free shop out of me. Not happy about this at all. Not when I was making $12 per teller and $18 per platform shop from the other MSP.

ATH called me originally and a woman with a thick accent asked me to do this shop and I said yes, but she said there was no platform visit, but apparently they were incorrect.

Yes, that second report for $0 smarts big time. Never could figure out why they couldn't append one report to the other so you didn't have to redo the stats part at least.

STILL waiting for an answer from Ath! I sent them ONE more email and said I am going to call if I do not get a reply.

This is pathetic. Can I mystery shop an MSP?

I'm not sure I'm going to go through with this. This shows a lack of organization and a general disregard for the shopper. If there is this much trouble just getting an answer to a question, what will it take to get paid?

Ugh. *Shrug of frustration*

Never had trouble with the previous MSP, and I did loads of both types. 102 Q's +narratives for $17!! Mine is weirder: I do see teller shops alone for $10 (The old $12 ones), then rep shops saying $0 "attach to in-branch teller."

It is weird, and it's exactly what I saw. I applied for the teller shops only. They called me and said they will be attaching a banker shop to it for $17. I asked if it was a platform shop and they told me NO just an inquiry so I said ok. Obviously, they are platform shops (maybe they don't know what that is), and what they didn't tell me is that they would be removing the $10 from the teller shop. They attached the banker shops to my teller shops, and fee went up to $17 on the teller shops once assinged, but the banker stays at $0. Its like they are saying "Oh, while you are there, can you do this for free for us?" You know THEY are getting paid for these shops.

I also applied for another teller shop close to me. They assinged it to me over the weekend, but attached the banker shop WITHOUT me applying for it!

I emailed them a no thank you, which I NEVER do once I accept an assingment. You are doing the teller shops for FREE is what the bottom line is. NO THANK YOU! I politely explained why too, no excuses. The shops are still on my log though.

They finally replied to me yesterday afternoon telling me that is the new fee starting in 2009 (DUH!) and please inquire about free checking (DUH!), so basically they did NOT answer my questions. I've emailed 4 people there but they can't get their act together.

I may have ruined my chances with Ath, but honestly I'm not that concerned at this point. I don't do free shops, sorry. I am disappointed that I will not be able to use the account that I signed up for to make more money though.

Sorry for the rant and novel-length reply, but this one really has me burning.

My guess is that another MSP has sold themselves short to keep a contract for their survival and in the process they sold shoppers short as well. I haven't look for 2009 shops in my area but even in 2008 pretty much only did the drive-thru. If the prices on that have gone down as well it is time to close my account with that bank as I won't be needing it . . .

I have seen these bank shops recently offered by two different MS companies and one scheduling company on behalf of one of the MS companies.

I was unable to see the locations on their job board for some reason but instead was emailed by the scheduling company with locations in my area.

What the????

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2009 03:45PM by modario.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2009 01:52AM by Flash.

What's a platform shop?

A platform shop is basically a banker shop rather than a teller shop.

What you have all said is true. modario, they were offered by the previous MSP in 2008, they are now with Ath. The shops for that bank have all gone down in price, and with the mysterious "attaching" of free shops.

After all of the emails and such with Ath, they actually called me today to see if I was going to do the shops!! I politely explained why I was not doing the shops.

One less job to worry about. I too will be closing my account at that bank, which is too bad.

I have done many shops for them. They know the difference between platform and bankers shops. Just know that some schuedulers are better than others. Yes, they will try and get 2 for 1. They want to save as much money as they can for themselves.

modario Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have seen these bank shops recently offered by
> two different MS companies and one scheduling
> company on behalf of one of the MS companies.
>
> I was unable to see the locations on their job
> board for some reason but instead was emailed by
> the scheduling company with locations in my area.
>
> What the????


I don't see it here at the Co that uses the scheduling co, modario, and I'm ticked off. I just opened that account a month ago to do teller shops.I liked the idea of having a little fund for a special purchase separated from my regular accounts. I can leave it, but I had an incentive to put money in.

I've lost almost all my shops here due to lowered fees. Time to look for other part-time work.

SusanMB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What you have all said is true. modario, they
> were offered by the previous MSP in 2008, they are
> now with Ath. The shops for that bank have all
> gone down in price, and with the mysterious
> "attaching" of free shops.

You're wrong SusanMB. They are definitely with 2 MS companies at least here in NY. The scheduling company on behalf of one of them actually offered a bonus. I've been getting phone calls and emails from both to conduct these shops now before the end of this month. It's weird.

Modario--maybe the sched co still has them near you, but they've ended it up up here, and I would guess your area is next.

I see they're also in VA, TX, LA, CT, and NJ, and they're buying another bank in DC. Thought they were only in NY.
[phx.corporate-ir.net]

So has anyone done a teller shop for the new co this month without a tacked-on rep shop? I'm perfectly happy just making a few deposits a week.

Yes, I agree. I can't imagine a company would contract with two different MSPs. The costs would be astronomical. I'm sure there is a logical explanation for it like banks bought out, MSP has until xx/xx/09 to get all the contracted shops in, etc. It doesn't make sense since most MSPs are national, and with the help of scheduling companies like Kern, etc. they can reach many people.

I haven't been offered any shops with via Ath without the rep shop. I'm sure they aren't going to give me any now that I said no thank you, and let them know I wasn't happy about the automatic add-on of the $0 shop.

You're right it doesn't make sense. Oddly enough an email I received yesterday was of a desperate nature and the scheduler stated that they wouldn't be handling the account anymore after the end of January.

Anyway, they are quite a few near me with a bonus.

I've done a ton of these shops for them. The schedulers have been great helping me with the reports which just make me go bananas. I don't like to do these reports. I don't understand what they are asking for and why there is so much writing for these. I'm stuck now, trying to complete a report for a banker I did a couple of days ago. The scheduler told me to take my time to complete it over the weekend. They've given me bonuses and I've received good checks after completing my assignments. When the other scheduling company had them, I applied, but didn't get any assignments.

For the teller shops, I've made deposits on an account in my husband's and my name, cashed a Capital One check they sent me to use for that purpose, and made payments on my credit card. The Banker shops are to inquire about free checking accounts or a Free Business Checking Account. I act like I don't have one in my name even though my name is on my husband's account. These shops are to evaluate their product knowledge and selling abilities, I do believe. Some of these shops are just the banker and looking at the marketing materials and the appearance of the branches. It's not always the teller and a banker shop. I'll be sorry if they won't have them any more, because even though the reports are a struggle for me, I liked the schedulers.

The leftover shops at the old MSP might be flakes and re-shops from Dec.

I don't see any stand-alone teller shops near me. I'm NOT doing double shops for $17 with 102 questions. S$^&**(%^#$ them.

The other special Ath wonder is the 5 hour turn around time. It means that their bank shops have to be the LAST thing I do on a route of shops or the report will be late. All that and a cheap shop to boot. . .

It's too bad that the current bank program with ATH is not the same as it was with the other MSP company. The fees with the other MSP were wonderful in cmparison. Also, one was allowed to do more than 1 shop a day. The new program is much more limiting. The only way to make some decent money per month is to try to get a few assignments per week. I'd love to do one a day if it were possible. The reports do seem longer too. While on the subject of bank shops, does anyone know of other MSP companies that are doing them? I can suggest Informa and Kinesis

sneakers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The leftover shops at the old MSP might be flakes
> and re-shops from Dec.
>
> I don't see any stand-alone teller shops near me.
> I'm NOT doing double shops for $17 with 102
> questions. S$^&**(%^#$ them.


You mean flakes like me? LOL

I just recevied an email from them and clicked to see what was there. $12 platform shops? NO WAY! I get nothing less than $15, and usually more, for a platform shop with 60+ questions and a narrative!

Short of the small, regional banks, which seem to not need to be dining at the public trough these days, I doubt many banks are willing to spend much on shops or shoppers these days. I feel blessed because I still have a couple of those small regionals I can work for fair fees. But on a certain level I find it offensive to see Citi and Bank of America shops since these companies asked for and received taxpayer bailout money.