Check Mark Inc. has posted a statement saying that their clients made them do it. They have had to "restructure our costs and therefore must also restructure our pay scale" in order to keep some clients. They apologize.

What is it that Checkmark is doing, Sandra?

Yipes, folks. Cheater's Warning.

They are offering a shop for under $3; the way it is written you think it is much more, but I have done the same shop for Jancyn, who pays much better for it. They are claiming altruism... this shop is for those who need to borrow $100 until payday, and we will pay the outrageous amounts that these places charge people who cannot go to a real bank. We are helping you out.

Yeah, right, But they are not paying you. And if the client's are asking for relief because they are financially tight, who is at the bottom of this food chain?

If the MSC's get their way, pretty soon we'll be working for free!

The continuing reductions in shopper fees are alarming. We've GOT to stick together and refuse to keep taking these low-paying shops. Eventually, the MSC's will start to see that they NEED us to do the fieldwork more than WE need their low fees!

Just like CoRI is starting to learn with their $4 gas shops that they can't get done like before.

I don't think that an excuse that the client wants it that way is workable. After all, where are the clients going to go--CoRI? Other MSing companies are probably in the same boat, and clients have to deal with the industry as is.

I think that MSPA shoppers or some group needs to make a list. That list will group shops from easy to hard to specialized. An easy shop might be run in, get a receipt, run out. A medium one would be ask a question, then write a narrative, or having to go back to the store for a return. A hard one would be going into the outdoor store where nine departments are visited or the home supplies store where several transactions are observed and employees talked to. There could even be a hardest shop listed. The specialized ones require something, such as driving a specific car, having a specific education such as a college degree or a mechanic's certification, or having skills such as portraying a high-dollar customer or speaking a second language. The time required to do the shop should count towards the pay as well.

No more of these excuses: "This is a fun shop!" or "You get to eat at your favorite restaurant." In addition, mileage should be spelled out as so many cents per mile, instead of an added fee that we can't calculate in our heads when we feel we have to hurry up and grab it. There could be a basic addition for miles when we, for example, leave our own zip code.

This group (us) should place a price range on each group of shops for the companies to consider. I think that these shops ought to pay at least twice what they do now, and for some, three times the amount.

Any shop requiring special equipment, such as a camera, ought to pay more. After all, the person with the camera should have special skills. Not everyone can take a good picture.

We also ought to promote a certification for ourselves that most companies will honor.

We shouldn't have to spend hours filling a day of consolidated trips for this piddling amount. We should be able to freely add shops to our trip to make a better living, not just to make the trip worthwhile.

Some of us have other jobs. Could we just sit this out until the companies cough up? The only way that would happen is if they don't have new shoppers to add to their stable while we are waiting. Anyone can shop. We do it in our daily lives. But, as we all know, not everyone can shop and get a 10.

I'm not advocating a strike. We can't do that, anyway. I'm advocating a professionalism that even the companies recognize. How can we make them feel guilty for what they pay us?

Well said, Sandra Sue.

I don't know HOW to make the MSC's and their clients realize that we have VALUE short of refusing to do the lower paying shops.

I guess, if somebody is willing to travel, do the shop, submit pictures and do a 25-minute report with three narratives for $5, well, hopefully, it won't take long for the companies to realize that you tend to "get what you pay for".

Too funny...I just had a Scheduler call me and ask me to do one of their shops for $4. Uh, no thanks!

Very well said. I, for one, will not do a 4, 5, 7 or 9 dollar shop. Add a bit to that, and give me the opportunity to consolidate it with other shops, and, I'll be happy to help out.

I find it interesting that some of the lower paying shops expect some of the most work.

There are always going to be people who will pick up the low-paying shops, but, I doubt if they are experienced, well-spoken, and meticulous. But maybe...

~Christina

Has anyone been paid by Check Mark, Inc., recently. I have not been paid for one July shop and two August shops. There contact tab goes to an error page and their payroll e-mail returns as a failure. The shops show they are paid, but I have yet to receive a check. When I called ten days ago they said they were just starting to mail the checks out, but on their site the July shop read on paid 9/18. Somethings f-i-s-h-y!

Sandra Sue, I agree with everything you said. I don't know what we can do to make these changes as long as people are still willing to pick up the $4.00 up to $9.00 shops. I know I am guilty of it myself when I am going to a certain area and just filling out my schedule. I am trying to cut way back though and just do shops close to home but it is hard to do when you live in a rural area and have to drive several hundreds of miles to get good paying shops. The closest big cities are 125 to 150 miles away so I take as many shops when I go as I can get and sometimes this means to pick up a few lower paying shops. It does not pay to go for just one or two shops even if they do pay good. I don't want to give this up completely but it is getting harder and harder to make a living at it.

Well I have never been offered one of these "cheap fun" shops, and if I did, I would tell them where to stick it. Its just not worth it to me.

I have received two checks in the past 2 wks for shops I did on Sept and Oct. It appears perhaps that their finances are improving, so I begun taking assignments again. I like this company and their banks shops are easy,fun and pay more than $10.I know they had problems in the past year when a partner left the company and caused some financial issues.

After the partner left the company they lost a lot of their clients, lowered their fees and offered a lot less bonuses. A major client moved with the partner and others seem to have just drifted away. Many shoppers who used to work with them got burned with their financial problems and many of us will not work with them further because of the sense that they are not solvent (late payments I see as an indicator of this) and handled shoppers caught in their previous problems less than honorably. My guess is that they are offering clients "bargain" contracts to stay in business and that is not in my best interests as a shopper. I have not terminated with them in hopes that some day they will get their act together, but neither will I do charity work for them.

I am waiting to be paid for Dec,Jan,feb. This has been going on since last March. Brian told me he mailed a check Feb 21. I received this check 2days ago dated 2/26/2008,postmarked 3/14/2008. He e-mailed me the day before with the check number stating the check has been reported stolen by him and not to cash if received. They are playing games. It is not a good company.

Ouch, Pay Me Big. For your protection, when you get a check from them you may want to present it to be cashed at a branch of THEIR bank if there is one in your area. There is no reason for you to risk having bounced check fees at your bank due to depositing an uncovered check.

I am contacting the proper authorities in their area. Banking,atty general etc.Their checks do not list a bank as they print them on their system.I have my lawyer checking routing number as that tells bank So Flash I am going to do whatever to show Mr Brian I am not the one. I put a lot of miles on my vehicles doing bank shops that no one else would do due to proximity.They were paid by the client but did not pay shoppers. Have a nice Easter.

pay me big, I am in agreement with you. I was told on 3/11 via email from Brian Beach at Checkmark, that a check would be "in the mail" last week. Of course I have yet to receive it. I called and left a message on Justina's voice mail and sent another email to Brian advising if I do not hear from someone by Wed. next week, I plan to also contact State Atty.General. I also made it a point to again print out the contractor agreement we all completed and something with their contact info on it - just in the event they officially close for business and the site is no longer open. Will keep all informed.

Your own State's Attorney is where you need to go for information on how to follow up I suspect. In Florida if I recall correctly, you need to send a certified return receipt letter demanding payment within 10 days to start the ball rolling. But I haven't needed to do a non-payment thing in several decades so even that may have changed. The complaint though needed to come from your jurisdiction as you are the aggrieved party rather than from theirs. But don't spend a lot on legal fees or you are likely to be out just that much more $$.