Goodwin & Associates - Mystery Shopping - Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services THEY LIE! Won't Get Your Money!! Concord New Hampshire

I am an experienced shopper and have worked with dozens of companies over my years of completing shops. I've been a shopper for Goodwin and Associates for several years and until now have had good experiences.  In the past year Goodwin and Associates has chosen to go with a third party reporting website. Since making this change the company has become irresponsible and they do not conduct themselves professionally. I completed my last shop on January 4th and immediately submitted my report. I was advised this morning, January 6th, that my shop had been declined. The only explanation I was provided with was that my report was not submitted within the 24 hour time frame.

I immediately contacted Goodwin and Associates to learn more about my this situation. At that time I was advised that the phone application was undependable and should not be used, even though I received an email from Goodwin and Associates inviting me to join and to download the application. I was further advised that many shoppers have been cheated because of errors in the system. I was instructed to contact the third party reporting site to get their take on what happened and to see if they could offer a resolution. After this contact things are only more confusing for me. In speaking with a support agent I was advised that my report was completed correctly and that they cannot see any reason it would have been declined.

They did indicate that some issues happened with the system and that Goodwin and Associates should have been aware of this. The third party reporting site also offered the opinion that Goodwin and Associates should have contacted me before declining the shop. Unfortunately the third party company has no control over shop acceptance or payment. Convenient? I am attempting to save other shoppers from falling victim to Goodwin and Associates policies and procedures. I can attest that there are numerous reputable companies out there who will pay you for your time and who will treat you fairly. Unfortunately Goodwin and Associates is no longer one of those companies. Hopefully I can save other shoppers from being cheated like I have been.

Goodwin and Associates PLAINLY states that they have a flat fee reimbursement. The problem is that NO OTHERmystery shopping company does this, at least to the extent GA does. and they figured out that since they ONLY interact with you on-line, you will be none-the-wiser to their little scheme. It looks attractive --say, $40 for a bar shop, but wait, you have to pay for your drinks, apps, and tip out of that $40, so you made like...uh...negative $20.  Hope you liked the bar, sucka! You've heard of negative amortization with home mortgages?  This is that, come to life with mystery shopping.

They tell you that "Guests are welcome!" and to order "two drinks and two appetizers!"...in fact, they require sometimes that you spend twice or three times your "Flat Fee Payment". If you don't...well, no pay, pal, sorry! So, when you go to a casual restaurant and you are supposed to get paid $16, that is what you get, $16.  Too bad that you spent two hours doing the report, an hour driving to and from the site, that you paid for parking (not reimbursed) or that you followed up with every penny ante request they had for corrections to your sterling report!  And, you spent $40, including tip. Figure it out, people!  You just made about $2 an hour....and you got a burger!

P.T. Barnum said there was one born every minute....and he was right.  

They don't know squat about the restaurant or bar industry, and they don't know squat about the other industries that they serve. They just process the report, which YOU are required to fill out absolutely perfectly, spelling, grammar, format, etc. And irf you don't? Well, you don't get paid!  But they do! They use your report anyway! And they use your work and bill the client who ordered the work, and you are shut out!

So yeah, they PLAINLY state, in the fine print, what their reimbursement policy is...they just need to make it $100, not $16, or $40.  

I have to agree with the original poster. I was paid two months after the 45-60 day time frame earlier this year. And I am still waiting for payment for shops I did in June 2009. I have contacted the payment email as directed and still have received no response. I am very dissatisfied with this company's payment processing and will no longer work for them.

I would like to clear up any confusion that Goodwin & Associates does not pay their shoppers. Our company has always been upfront and honest with shoppers, that our reimbursements are fixed-rate reimbursements. These are visible before the shop is taken, and it clearly states on the website that the payments are meant to cover some of, all of, or all and more than the expense of doing the shop. We request receipts for proof that the shop was completed, and state nowhere that you will receive the shopper reimbursement listed AND reimbursement for the items purchased. In most cases, the shopper reimbursements we have posted should cover most of or all of the items required for the shop. Payments go out 45-60 days from receipt of the report and receipts. In November, there was a computer problem in accounting which was clearly explained to anyone who inquired about payments, and we sincerely apologize to those who were affected by the situation. Goodwin & Associates has been a reliable and trusted company for over 10 years, and any shoppers can contact us directly if they have questions about how the system works, or any questions about payment. We assure with complete certainty that this company is in no way a scam, and encourage anyone with questions to contact us directly.