Bestmark Payments
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I'm confused why anyone is still taking their projects. Today I got an exciting offer to pay $20 out of pocket to have alcohol delivered to my house. No shopper pay, just reimbursement. No guarantee of when this would be reimbursed. Aren't we better off just buying our own wine?! 
I have August shops that have yet to be paid. Each month, they keep on pushing back the payment date. Now it is scheduled for November! This is the second time this year that they have delayed payments. I have previously reached out to BestMark execs on LinkedIn to no avail.
Thanks for all the advice on this thread. I have reached out to the MN Ag's office, and the BBB. I also went ahead and wrote to the CEO of the restaurant chain I did my most recent shops for. It is a fast-casual chain I have done mystery shopping for years, because I enjoy the food. The previous company, A Closer Look, always paid me the following month after doing shops. Now that BestMark is doing the mystery shopping, I am not getting reimbursed in anything resembling a timely fashion.
I have done mystery shopping for literally dozens of companies over the years, and nobody takes as long to pay as BestMark does!
Thanks for all the advice on this thread. I have reached out to the MN Ag's office, and the BBB. I also went ahead and wrote to the CEO of the restaurant chain I did my most recent shops for. It is a fast-casual chain I have done mystery shopping for years, because I enjoy the food. The previous company, A Closer Look, always paid me the following month after doing shops. Now that BestMark is doing the mystery shopping, I am not getting reimbursed in anything resembling a timely fashion.
I have done mystery shopping for literally dozens of companies over the years, and nobody takes as long to pay as BestMark does!
My shops from August showed to be paid yesterday (20th) until... yesterday. Late afternoon they all changed to showing November 20th. Several shops I would love to do again, but not if pay is over 3 months.
That is exactly what happened to me. My August shops were first listed as being paid on September 20, and then October 20. Now they're listed at November 20. Who knows when I'll actually get paid for them?
I've also had the pay date for a shop bounce from September to October and now November. I sent a message to the company and they said "they'll look into it".
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt
For whoever needs to see this, the only way to get your Bestmark payments is to email their CEO directly. He does respond. Take your most recent runaround email from their general mailbox and forward it to Jeff Hall at jeff@bestmark.com and state the day by which you must be paid. I'd suggest you provide the amount due, the date it should have been paid per their published terms, and give him a 48 hour deadline to remit payment. He will get you paid. Any other communication attempt (shopperpaymentinquiry@bestmark, emails to "Cory", notes to their ex-execs on LinkedIn, etc) do not work. They don't have a problem with their payment processor, and they aren't "looking in to it" or any of their other canned responses - that is what they send to buy time only.
Sad its come to this, but if you want to get paid this is how you do it.
Sad its come to this, but if you want to get paid this is how you do it.
Thank you so much for posting this! I won't be needing it, as I stopped shopping for them about a year ago when their payment system started having "issues". I didn't buy it then & still don't. AP systems just don't start having problems all of a sudden. What shame it comes down to bothering the CEO to get a payment.
Thanks so much. I will try that right now!
Thank you for this information! Like a sucker, I bought the payment system issue and took another job. Now they over me over $500, one job dating back to July. I will try this route.
I have to wonder if their major online retailer client that has the monthly $250-$350 jobs is aware of this ongoing issue? I'm a regular client of that retailer and they provide top notch customer service, so I suspect they would be very disappointed.
I have to wonder if their major online retailer client that has the monthly $250-$350 jobs is aware of this ongoing issue? I'm a regular client of that retailer and they provide top notch customer service, so I suspect they would be very disappointed.
@Cassiespark wrote:
For whoever needs to see this, the only way to get your Bestmark payments is to email their CEO directly. He does respond. Take your most recent runaround email from their general mailbox and forward it to Jeff Hall at jeff@bestmark.com and state the day by which you must be paid. I'd suggest you provide the amount due, the date it should have been paid per their published terms, and give him a 48 hour deadline to remit payment. He will get you paid. Any other communication attempt (shopperpaymentinquiry@bestmark, emails to "Cory", notes to their ex-execs on LinkedIn, etc) do not work. They don't have a problem with their payment processor, and they aren't "looking in to it" or any of their other canned responses - that is what they send to buy time only.
Sad its come to this, but if you want to get paid this is how you do it.
It sure was nice to get my ipsos payment after a week and a half.
BestMark fired me in the Spring of 2007. This due to my refusal to complete shops to "help out" for which the work:pay ratio was unacceptable to me, While being under contract, I was always paid as agreed and never had the slightest complaint. Their termination was their prerogative, just as mine was to not accept being under paid.
Until this recent episode of tardiness, I have zero recollection of ever reading any negative comments concerning this MSC, BUT, they would not be the first company with an excellent reputation to go belly up. The point that would bother me, were I a contracted shopper with them, is that they are jerking people around concerning pay. Many yrs. ago, an MSC fell behind and sent out notices to that effect; I continued, due to their candor, to work with them.
Until this recent episode of tardiness, I have zero recollection of ever reading any negative comments concerning this MSC, BUT, they would not be the first company with an excellent reputation to go belly up. The point that would bother me, were I a contracted shopper with them, is that they are jerking people around concerning pay. Many yrs. ago, an MSC fell behind and sent out notices to that effect; I continued, due to their candor, to work with them.
I don't like to complain or get firm with people, but I had to send THE email today. I also resigned myself to not shopping for this company in the future, even though I love the online retailer shops! My pup is going to be really sad.
Does anyone know what happened? The BBB shows 25 complaints in the past 12 months and very few in prior years. It has also been in business since the 80's and it's hard to believe they could last that long if payments have always been an issue. I also can't image that a very reputable retailer would engage a company with these issues if they were aware.
Does anyone know what happened? The BBB shows 25 complaints in the past 12 months and very few in prior years. It has also been in business since the 80's and it's hard to believe they could last that long if payments have always been an issue. I also can't image that a very reputable retailer would engage a company with these issues if they were aware.
@Cassiespark wrote:
For whoever needs to see this, the only way to get your Bestmark payments is to email their CEO directly. He does respond. Take your most recent runaround email from their general mailbox and forward it to Jeff Hall at jeff@bestmark.com and state the day by which you must be paid. I'd suggest you provide the amount due, the date it should have been paid per their published terms, and give him a 48 hour deadline to remit payment. He will get you paid. Any other communication attempt (shopperpaymentinquiry@bestmark, emails to "Cory", notes to their ex-execs on LinkedIn, etc) do not work. They don't have a problem with their payment processor, and they aren't "looking in to it" or any of their other canned responses - that is what they send to buy time only.
Sad its come to this, but if you want to get paid this is how you do it.
I haven't shopped for them in a while, since there was nothing of interest in my area. I did a sporting goods shop a couple of weeks ago showing payment for November 20th. Took a screen shot. I just accepted two more sporting goods shops and am wondering if I should even bother. It's sad - I never had any issues with Bestmark.
I followed your suggestion, and was paid for my shop the next day.
@Cassiespark wrote:
For whoever needs to see this, the only way to get your Bestmark payments is to email their CEO directly. He does respond. Take your most recent runaround email from their general mailbox and forward it to Jeff Hall at jeff@bestmark.com and state the day by which you must be paid. I'd suggest you provide the amount due, the date it should have been paid per their published terms, and give him a 48 hour deadline to remit payment. He will get you paid. Any other communication attempt (shopperpaymentinquiry@bestmark, emails to "Cory", notes to their ex-execs on LinkedIn, etc) do not work. They don't have a problem with their payment processor, and they aren't "looking in to it" or any of their other canned responses - that is what they send to buy time only.
Sad its come to this, but if you want to get paid this is how you do it.
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt
All my shops are now 12/20/2022 contacting CEO.
It's truly sad that it has to come down to emailing the CEO. I got the September shop payments but not October's. Will not do any of their shops until the situation improves.
Im waiting on 2 from August and 2 from September. All say 12/20/2022
My November payments were changed to December. I have a shop for tomorrow, but I more than likely will cancel.
I just wrote to Jeff today about my November payment being bumped to December. Ridiculous.
Just sent an email to the CEO for immediate payment. Any shops to be performed tomorrow are now on hold.
Writing to them using Contact Us and choosing payment Inquirey actually worked. Just mention that you will email Jeff if they don't pay and they paid same day. Ridiculous but worked
So sad. They had one client that I used to shop regularly, but the local location closed about a year ago due to a remodel. They are supposed to reopen shortly, but even if they still are going to be shopped, I'm not going to do it if I have to chase payment.
Received an email after stating I'd be contacting the ceo and BBB. Suddenly from 12/20 to next 24 hours!!
The BestMark contract indicates a 10% penalty or $2, whichever is higher, for missing deadlines. I highly recommend sending a daily invoice to them showing your running total due. I sent an email last month regarding late fees being added and just sent a new one to Jeff as my Nov 20 date was just moved to Dec 20. I am filing for breach of contract.
Has anyone gotten paid? After my email response yesterday, a direct deposit was noted on their account. I don't have anything in my bank account yet, so it ain't paid until it's paid.
I heard back from the CEO but the Bestmark system has me listed as getting paid at the end of November for it.
So the question is: are y'all going to continue to do shops for them?
I gave up on them back in February & haven’t looked back. I felt it wasn’t worth the aggregation.
I think I'm done after this. The juice ain't worth the squeeze! No other company makes it so hard to get paid!
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