Anyone here work with them?

I started in October and received my first couple payments later than promised and only after inquiring but they DID pay. Now, though, I am getting a bad feeling.

Shops are still assigned and approved lightning quick. It's only that they aren't paying and aren't responding to questions about that.

When I hesitated to accept new assignments, the scheduler assured me that the problem is one employee who has been "out sick for weeks". I'd like to believe this but I have never worked for a business that didn't have a contingency plan for paying the bills.

Dee, unless you are desperate and/or masochistic, follow your gut. In a relatively short period of time, the MSC has hoisted far too many red flags.

While I agree that you are experiencing some red flags, I do want to share my own experience with them. I have been working them, 1-2 shops a week, every week, for over two years. I have done a total of 194 shops for them, for a total of $10,000 in reimbursement value. Hands down, they have been my FAVORITE company that I work for, and I work for about 30 companies. Up until December, they paid more quickly than any other company, within just a few weeks of the shop. I have loved working for them.

But this was until two months ago, when they suddenly became slow with their payments. When I reached out, I was also told that the person who processes payments was out sick for weeks. She sounded horribly embarrassed. As far as I can tell, it is a fairly small company, although they currently have one very large nationwide client, in addition to restaurants in California.

I'm going to reach out right now to ask about the December payments, since I still haven't received them. But again, for over two years, they paid in a more timely fashion (and twice a month) than anyone else I have worked with. (And I average about $50,000/year in reimbursements/fees.)

I'll let you know if things improve for me, at least. If they do, I will absolutely continue working for them, as they were a delight until now.

@laloweryshops Thank you, this was exactly what I had hoped to hear.

I also believe it's a tiny MSC with growing pains but having worked for a small business on the brink and where paychecks occasionally bounced, I didn't want to be a fool, either.

They got me caught up today.

Years ago I started the application process. It was endless, elaborate and very high-brow. All that after making it clear that reimbursements would NOT cover the full orders. I stopped wasting time, thanked them for their offer and chose not to continue.

Are they any better/different now?

@sestrahelena wrote:

Years ago I started the application process. It was endless, elaborate and very high-brow. All that after making it clear that reimbursements would NOT cover the full orders. I stopped wasting time, thanked them for their offer and chose not to continue.

Are they any better/different now?

Wow - that has not been my experience at all. I found the application process to be quite straightforward and easy. And the particular shop that I do on a weekly basis provides a reimbursement ($45) that completely covers my expense, and the report takes me less than 10 minutes. All my communications with the employees have been friendly and responsive. That all said, I do not have experience with doing sit-down restaurants for them, since I am not in California. Maybe someone else can chime in?

Helena shares--.........that reimbursements would NOT cover the full orders.

Bob comments--I, unknowingly, accepted a shop for Mercantile in Aug. of 2007 and ended up $8 & change out of my pocket to cover requirements. That was both a first and last experience. When, to successfully complete the job, it is necessary to dip into my funds, I have zero interest. I definitely do, though, compliment the MSC for being forthright.

Quick update to the payment delays that I had suddenly experienced (after two years of super prompt payments). After I posted, I reached out about not receiving my payments yet for December, and the person responded immediately and I just got paid. She apologized and said she had become quite behind from when she was sick for a few weeks and it was taking her longer than she had anticipated to catch up. I am confident that she will do so, though, and I will continue performing shops for them every week. As I noted, it is one of my favorite companies to work for.

I started the application process but stopped the moment they asked for a full report (with a minimum of 5 paragraphs for the service section) as part of the application. They said to take any recent dining experience and write a full report. All this, without even knowing what kind of clients they have... even Coyle has never requested to write a full report for an application. I get it that they need to screen new shoppers, but a full report unpaid is a bit much to ask. I do not know of any company that does that

they pay via gift cards?

@LindaM wrote:

they pay via gift cards?

There are clients who provide a GC to apply toward your bill when performing dining shops so you aren't paying and waiting for reimbursement on those. You can imagine that advance payment puts the risk on them for a shopper not fulfilling obligations so they are surely very careful with their choices and I am not surprised if it takes a lot of proving yourself to get these jobs. I do not live near any of these shops so this was not part of my experience.

The shops lalowery and I are doing get reimbursed by PayPal. They don't have an extensive narrative requirement so the onboarding is standard stuff. You do need a willing teen assistant and to commit to following the guidelines exactly.

They only pay reimbursement with their DC client. And the report, while long and detailed, is easier than the 5 paragraph per section report to apply. The dinner shops are possible within reimbursement, lunch is a little more difficult since the menu is basically the same as is the ordering requirements but the reimbursement is $60 less. If you go for brunch it is a little closer. I like the client and don't mind going a little over (usually just the tip) but wouldn't do it if I didn't like the food and treating my boy friend or friends to a nice meal. On the up side they do pay for parking which is outrageously expensive in this area.