My email is turned off, but I still get notifications having to do with the pet jobs, nothing else...they have a life of their own.....

I did a shop for them on 8/26 and got paid for the shop two weeks ago, so my pay was about 7 weeks. Nothing fast, but nowhere near the slowest I have seen.

I only do the credit card audit where they supply you with the SSN to use.

As far as the 60 days pay, there are a lot of companies out there who does this. The key is to only do them if you have the spare time so that you won't count on the income coming so soon. Once you get the cycle going, it would not bother you getting paid every 60 days anymore.

When I need money fast, I start focusing on Trendsource, ICCDS, and TNS jobs. Otherwise, I'm happy with the 60 days that Ath, ServiceCheck, Intl Service Check, and other companies had to offer. As long as I do jobs for them consistently, I can almost expect a check from them every month.

Also understand their business model. Most MS companies would do a 30-day net billing. This means that the bill they send at the beginning of the month for jobs performed before the 15th of the previous will not be paid by the companies for another 30 days. Once they get the payment, it will take another week to clear and another week to cut the check. That is where you get your 60 days.

It is fair and gets them more business. It is not good business practice to harass your customers for payment because you want your shoppers to be paid quickly. This business is all about customer satisfaction. This includes the companies who hires MS companies.

Ath power is not worth the time we put into the shops. payment in over 60 days is not acceptable. Until shoppers quit working with them they will not change.

I am very busy and very happy with Ath power They are my bread and butter and I shop them over and over....

For me, ATH is a perfect example of the old saying "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know".

Yes, their payment terms are somewhat long, and it is a dirty (but legal) trick to slide the extra 10 days in there.

But, although it's slow, I've never been stiffed on a payment and a majority of their shops don't require a purchase. So while you are waiting for payment, at least you're not fronting money for 60+ days.

Plus, in my area, they have a ton of reoccurring shops which are, in my opinion, perfect filler/tack-on type jobs: usually between $10-12, no purchase, and high concentration of locations.

Also, they are usually pretty straight with me as to when they'll have bonuses available, as I tend to pick up 2 locations that it is all but impossible to get people to. They've also never unreasonably challenged any negative reports I've issued.

So, are they one of my "prime" MSC's? No, but they are generally one of the first I turn to if I'm in a lull or need some filler work to justify driving to an area.

I've shopped with Ath for several years without any problems. I looked back over my 2011 payments and they have come in consistently within 8 to 9 weeks. I've never worried about receiving payment from them. I agree with zlinedavid that they have many shops near me that are very easy to do. They are great fillers and I can usually find several locations in most any area I shop. I do all bank shops with them so have no out of pocket expenses, other than gas. I have always received a rating of 10 from Ath and I have never once received any communication on a shop requiring clarification or more information. I submit them and get paid. Apparently there has not been an issue with any of my shops and I've submitted an occasional report that unfortunately was not a positive reflection of their employees. I have even asked for a bonus from time to time on a route I put together and they are often agreeable to that. The only thing I do not like about Ath is when I receive that email stating that if a shopper can do this particular shop, they will give them a rating of "10." A bonus? Yes. A false rating? No. I worked for a while as an editor and I am appalled, literally, at what some shoppers submit for a report; no sentence structure, poor grammar, spelling, punctuation, and an inability to follow directions or even put the information in the correct section of the report. A rating should reflect the actual quality of a report. Sometimes, an editor has to take the basic information and completely rewrite a report. I wish Ath would change that policy.

I have done the credit card app one for them a number of times as it is the only thing close. It is a quick shop and a quick report. The 60 day thing does not bother me too much. As long as they pay consistently, don't expect a ton of details, and don't ask me a ton of follow up questions, I am good with that.

shoppergal, really ?. I thought ath never gave ratings. I have done abut 15 shops for them. No rating, but get paid and do get assignments. I don't care.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2011 04:45PM by anakin.

anakin Wrote:
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> shoppergal, really ?. I thought ath never gave
> ratings. I have done abut 15 shops for them. No
> rating, but get paid and do get assignments. I
> don't care.


I've never gotten a rating on any of my reports for ath, either. And I've been with them for a while....

Whoops! Sorry; my mistake. I just checked my shopper log. I have shopped with them since 2007 and I actually have only one rating of 10. The rest are blank. There are a few with positive comments and no ratings, but they go back a couple of years. I guess I was looking at the "current rating" at the top of the page or something...........I don't know, really. But my point was that they do pay on time, their reports are definitely not demanding and I literally never hear back from them for any reason after submitting a report. They are good for filler jobs, or a route of shops with a bonus. Maybe because they have a very large bank in my area with branches everywhere. They are "cookie cutter shops" for me; very easy. Am I mixing them up with another MSC that offers a "10" if a shopper will take a job when the MSC is under the gun? Hmmmmmmmmm....maybe I need a break.

I also have noticed that it takes 90 days to get paid by them. In addition to write the detailed reports they require takes a great deal of time. All this aggravation and time and they only pay 12.00 a shop. This works out to way less than minimum wage when costs are factored in. Mystery shopping in general needs to raise the pay rates. With the current cost of gas and supplies it just is not worth it unless the job is very close to your home or job. The pay should start at $20.00 per shop.

I've worked for Ath in the past, they paid 12 for platform shops. Then I started working for another company that pays 20 plus mileage. Ath emailed me recently begging me to do a job. I wrote back that I can get paid more from almost anyone else, so I'd have to respectfully decline. I doubt they'll ask me again.

I agree. Their banker jobs are pain for $12. I don't mind their Teller jobs though.

Watch for next year anakin! In my market the $12 banker jobs from last year went to $11.50 this year (when I used to do them they were in the $14 or $15 range but they reduce the fee annually).

Flash: Thanks for heads up. Now I don't do them for even $12. If you are lucky, the banker is waiting for you. In some cases you have to wait. I stopped doing them when I had to wait 29 minutes. That stupid banker could have waited 1 more minute, and I would have left per instructions.

I also did alot of shops for this company and have not seen a check yet and wondering what is the hold up. It saids on my shop log paid on 12/09/11 I have not seen a check yet I email someone and they said that was odd and I should get paid on the 30th

If they mailed your check, the 12/9 day is probably the day the payments were processed, not necessarily the date they were cut and mailed. With it being the Christmas season, mail might be delayed.

wjones777 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I contacted Ath by email this morning and told
> them due to their inability to pay me in a timely
> manner I will no longer accept their assignments.
> I wish more shoppers would do the same until they
> change their payment policy and show more respect
> for the men and women who work diligently for
> them.

do they pay within the agreed upon time period? if a company takes too long to pay, i just turn down the assignments beforehand. however, i'm willing to be paid three months out if the pay is good enough.

ATH is a slow pay, difficult low pay shops and super stupid editors. What a combinaton. However, Marie S. happens to be a nice person and she can work out any problems that you will encounter with ATH. Just a tidbit of info that someone can use. I deactivated myself with these people for all of the above reasons.

My philosophy re slow payers is: if it is a reasaonble paying shop and easy report AND no cash outlay, why not? Chances are I am going to need the cash in 60 days since I pretty much always need the cash!!
I only do the Service Sleuth Pay advance shops once in a great while because of the cash upfront and 60 day wait. If you want to do them though, after you get registered w/ the client, it is a super easy $20.

I do not like having to request a job then waiting and waiting.. I have never done a shop for them but figured what the heck... I applied for 2 bank shops yesterday afternoon. I hope they let me know by tomorrow as that is when I am planning on doing the shops.

I went to my email and their web site ... I was approved already. Now the only problem is I have to make a balance inquiry and I have no account at this bank. Oh well. I sent an email to the scheduler to see what happens. Maybe they will remove them.

I was doing a bunch of bank shops for them and all of a sudden they stopped contacting me and just let my requests for shops sit pending until past the due date. I wrote to my local supervisor about it and there is no response. I asked that she let me know if I did something wrong so I can correct myself. Still no response. I'm pissed off. I rearranged my schedule more than once to accommodate last minute rush jobs for them at my own inconvenience.

Well I was going to ask if anyone had any shops with them because I have been signed up with them for at least a year and have never seen any jobs out of them.

I have done the bank shops for them in the past. They even called me once (while I was on another shop) to ask me to do 6 that had to be done ASAP. Bonus and all. They pay slow but they do pay.

I started shopping with Ath the beginning of 2011. I did bank shops and dentist office audits quarterly and the pay was pretty good. Then, suddenly they did not have shops in Michigan. I noticed recently that they are offering bank shops again in this area. All of my previous shops and scores have been wiped out. I only have the shop that I did in November on the log. For the first time I received a 7/10 and they did not give an explanation for the low score. Not sure what's going on with them. Yes, they do pay 60-90 days!

They used to have shops for the green bank. I never see much of anything in Ohio on Ath's board now.

Blue banks are seen doing the shopping company shuffle again.

sheram53 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
All of my previous shops and
> scores have been wiped out. I only have the shop
> that I did in November on the log. For the first
> time I received a 7/10 and they did not give an
> explanation for the low score. Not sure what's
> going on with them. Yes, they do pay 60-90 days!

I haven't shopped a lot with them, but none of my shops has been rated. It has been several months since I shopped with ath, though.