AboutFace

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

I received some paypal from her yesterday. Good Sign!

Shopping Bama and parts of Georgia.
I'm still learning 24/7.
mrcomputer101 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I received some paypal from her yesterday. Good
> Sign!


Did you have to contact them to get paid? Was the payment on time, or delayed? Inquiring minds want to know... :-)

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
I did not contact them.

It was overdue.

Shopping Bama and parts of Georgia.
I'm still learning 24/7.
I got paid on the 16th as promised. I wills ee when the next payment comes in, for the June shops.
I'm awaiting a pymt. as well....they have paid me before, but it's been awhile.

Live consciously....
AF is now using two reporting platforms - Prophet and ShopMetrics, depending upon the project. In the early stages, it seems that ShopMetrics may be new customers. I don't know how/if pay schedules will be impacted. I haven't shopped with an MSP with multiple software reporting platforms.
TNS has Sassie and Clientsmart sites.

I am curious about this swtch myself. I got the email the other day, but hadn't logged into Shopmetrics for them yet.

One good thing is that they appear to be making weekly payments to shoppers, so they may get off the "don't shop" list soon. :-)

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
TNS has both a SASSIE site and a ClientSmart site. For quite some time all jobs I have seen have been posted on the ClientSmart site. Goodwin seemed to run two sites for a while--their proprietary (I think it was) site and the Prophet site. Never quite knew where the shops were likely to show up.
I got the CEO letter with all the hoopla. I tried to log in to ClientSmart and could not so I emaile them for advise and did not get a reply. Doesn't matter though, because untill I get paid for June I don't even open their emails.
Anyone besides me taking any of their jobs right now? Anyone besides me notice that they have changed their payment schedule (very very quietyly changed it) to *60* days? I wish I knew THAT before I signed up for the job.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2010 06:39PM by dee shops.
I just signed on to do two "online" jobs. I saw their payment schedule and took them anyway. I will take a wait and see approach for now.
Same job. Kinda silly and pointless but fun. :-)

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
Yea, it is super simple. I took 7 of them.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
I removed my original message because it seems that even though everyone is upset about not getting paid, they really did not want to see anything negative about the company. Oh well - I for one will not be shopping for them again, and they can keep my money since they obviously need it more than I do.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2010 04:25AM by Jessica Seinfeld.
So what exactly is your angle here, Jessica? Do they owe you money? You are mad because your friend is upset? What do you care if Paige hires friends as VP's? Were you an employee who got the axe through layoff or firing?

I'm trying to figure out why you seem angry. What are you not saying here?

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
I have several shops that I have not been paid for just like the many, many shoppers that have posted here. I just happen to know one of the editors and got the scoop on the company from the inside and thought some of these other shoppers might be interested. It is important to keep your word when you are the owner of the company, yet her company lied to us all for months about updating a new payment system and then finally comes clean with economic woes and all is forgiven. It just seems to me that the little guy (the shopper) is the one that is always on the losing end. These companies hold your money while they collect interest and then pay the people that yell the loudest. I apologize if I offended you in any way, as that was not my intention. I am just sick and tired of being ripped off and then put on hold.
You did not offend me. I was trying to figure out why your post sounded angry when you were not complaining about anything directly affecting you.

I don't care who they hire or what they get paid. I only care that I get treated fairly and paid by the contract I agreed to.

I am taking caution with them. I will see if the batch of shops I just did get paid on time. If so, then I will do more. If not, then I will be contacting on the 46th day for one and the 60th day for the others (since the payment changed.) My June shop is due tomorrow. Lets see what happens with that.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
This is double posted from the "who owes you for June" thread....

I was owed $5 for a June shop that was due on August 16th. I contacted them about the late payment this am. I found that in the past, this got me paid that day. Not this time. I am scheduled for payment (for $5!!!!) in "group 8", September 16. If they cannot pay $5 on their own contract, even after these shopper communications stating they are getting back on track again, then I cannot take my time to shop for them. So I am no longer accepting shops from them until I get paid ON TIME for the August shops without having to contact them, AND I also see that they are paying others ON TIME without having to contact them. I went ahead and took a leap of faith this month, even with the new 60-day payment deadline, but they just broke my trust and the "leaping" is pau (done) for this shopper.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
Today, I received payment for my shops - Up to date!...smiling smiley

Shopping Bama and parts of Georgia.
I'm still learning 24/7.
But when were the payments for the shops due?

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2010 06:47PM by dee shops.
I'm in a similar boat. I was promised payment a couple of days ago and after inquiring, was told that I would not be paid until September. Like others, previous inquiries got me paid quickly -- not this time.

Why do they even BOTHER to have that 'check to see when you can expect payment' thing! They should get rid of it -- to have it there and be inaccurate is just insulting!

No more AboutFace shops for me unless/until they get it together. They're now on the same list as Goodwin.
Nicely, I sent a note to their President expressing my extreme disapointment. Let's see if I hear anything back.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
I don't even know what their stated pay policy is. It's been a long, long time since I was paid timely. My June shops, I decided I wasn't going to squeak, but would wait and see. Recently, I received payment from them, via PayPal, and wasn't sure which shop it was for, so I emailed and asked. I received, in part, this response: "I would like to thank you for your patience during this time. I realize how frustrating it is to not be paid for your work on time and sincerely apologize for the delay. We have begun our payoff process. We are paying off shops in the order in which they were due for payment through large mass payments. We are doing these in groups by the week they were due. Your XXXXXX shop is in group number five which is scheduled to be paid by August 28."

August 28 would be outside the 60-day-window of the shop date.
Until recently, their supposed payment schedule has been 45 days. With a recent round of shops they changed it to 60 days, but you could not see that until AFTER you accepted the shop. So I have shops out there with different due dates. THAT reminded me of how they took away bonuses (see posts by AM and others from 2 years ago) that had been promised when people took shops.

I have read PiC's missive on Violation stating how she supports Paige Hall. Gimme a huge break!!! PiC claims to not accept late payments, but when she LIKES the person, she tells others to "be reasonable." I like many people, but it does not mean that I want to do business with them, nor would I suggest that others "be reasonable" when faced with difficulties in getting paid by such a person or their firm.

I have bills to pay, just as Paige Hall does. Except when I go to my college loan company or my car loan company or my landlord, they don't say, "Oh sure. We'll wait for your vendor to pay you and not charge a late fee." On the other hand, Paige Hall can unilaterally tell me that I WILL be paid late, no matter how it affects my payments to others, and she just *expects me to live with it.* Yet, I would bet she herself is not doing the Lee Iacocca thing and working for a salary of $1 a year.

This kind of treatment of shoppers is appalling. Notice the MSPA does NOT have any ethics statements regarding late payments to shoppers (see: [www.mysteryshop.org]) Why would they, when they are out for themselves?

AF and so many others treat shoppers' payments as something they can do when it suits them and their own cash flow problems that they have failed to prepare for in an economy that everyone knows is in the toilet. I agreed to a timetable, and I met theirs. So you Paige Hall/AF (and others like you) need to meet your own contracts you have given to shoppers, or stop offering shops. Period.

Off soapbox now. :-)

Mert, you got the same sort of response I got. Except mine was now 30 days more outside the initially agreed upon (and still posted date) of 45 days after the shop.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton


Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2010 07:56AM by dee shops.
Jessica Seinfeld Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I removed my original message because it seems
> that even though everyone is upset about not
> getting paid, they really did not want to see
> anything negative about the company. Oh well - I
> for one will not be shopping for them again, and
> they can keep my money since they obviously need
> it more than I do.


The thing with your original post that you have now removed is that it ragged on about how those that work there are unhappy, and that Paige hires and pays her friends big bucks. I for one do not care about any of that. I care that I get paid per contract, on time, and in full. If their employees are unhappy, they will leave and go elsewhere, as many already have. If she pays her friends big bucks and they do not do anything to improve the bottom line of her busness, she will lose her business. I do not care at all about those issues. That is her call and her issue. My issue is whether or not she pays the shoppers that have completed jobs per their contracts with her firm on time.

Your post was highly negative but without a personal point of view. After I questioned you, you stated yours. That was all that was asked. What was YOUR point, not the POV of those of your friends employed there, now or in the past.

**********************************************************************
“Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
~Gilbert K. Chesterton


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2010 08:58AM by dee shops.
My point of view was that while her valued employees are getting paid an excellent salary, the shoppers stand by the wayside and have to beg for their money. Yes they can leave whenever they want if they are unhappy, but why should they be unhappy, THEY ARE GETTING PAID. What I don't understand is that while everyone (shoppers) is griping about not being paid, they keep accepting shops from AF anyway. This is only helping AF and not the shoppers. They are fullfilling their contracts with their clients by getting all the shops completed and then blowing off the shoppers that helped them. That is my point of view. If you want to take a stand againgst companies like this, DON'T SHOP FOR THEM.
I'm not griping, Jessica. I wish they paid as stated. I take the shops that I want. I believe I will get paid and I don't feel I have been 'blown off'. Without checking my books, I'd ballpark some of my payments to have been 2 or 3 weeks late. Don't like it, but it's obviously acceptable to me, or I would not work for them. I hope they succeed and don't go out of business.
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login