r/mysteryshopping

Did Coyle shops lower their usual compensation from the standard $10-$15 to $5 as the starting pay now? I just noticed!

Title: I'm Honestly Getting Fed Up With EPMS (Ellis) as a Mystery Shopper

I've been mystery shopping full-time for about 2–3 years now, and I really need to get something off my chest about EPMS because I'm honestly getting tired of dealing with this company.

I don't know what is going on over there, but the way they handle certain assignments, communicate with shoppers, and decline reports is ridiculous.

I've had multiple experiences where I've completed apartment mystery shops, followed the instructions, made the required phone calls, visited the properties, and submitted my reports, only for the assignments to either get declined or completely disappear from my dashboard.

And what makes it worse is trying to get an actual explanation from somebody.

It's like you have to chase them down just to figure out what happened to an assignment you already spent your time and money completing. I've reached out about shops before, and sometimes the responses don't even address what I'm asking. Other times, getting a response at all is a headache.

I understand that mystery shopping companies have guidelines, and I understand that reports can be rejected if something wasn't done correctly. That's not my issue.

My issue is when you do everything you're supposed to do, put in the effort, and still end up having problems getting your work accepted or finding out why it was rejected.

These apartment shops aren't always as simple as people think. Sometimes you have to make several phone calls, wait between attempts, schedule an appointment, drive across town, complete an entire tour, and then come home and fill out a report asking a million questions about every little thing that happened.

By the time you're finished, you've already invested several hours into one assignment.

And let's not forget that we're using our own vehicles, our own gas, and our own money to complete these shops.

So when a company decides to decline your report or remove your assignment, you're the one taking the loss.

That's what really bothers me about EPMS.

Sometimes it genuinely feels like they find the smallest little technicality to reject a shop. I'm not claiming to know their intentions, but after dealing with similar situations repeatedly, it starts to make you question things.

I've even had a couple of friends I introduced to mystery shopping tell me they've experienced similar problems with EPMS. That made me realize this wasn't just something I was personally dealing with.

And another thing I don't understand is why shoppers seem to get blamed for things that are completely outside their control.

If a leasing office doesn't answer the phone, what exactly are we supposed to do? If an agent isn't available, if a property changes its hours, or if something happens that prevents the assignment from going exactly as planned, why does it sometimes feel like the shopper is automatically the problem?

Isn't that the whole point of mystery shopping? To see how these businesses actually operate?

If a property is providing poor customer service, not answering calls, or failing to follow its own procedures, that should be useful information for the client.

Instead, it feels like the shopper is left trying to explain themselves over and over again.

And the communication from EPMS doesn't make things any better.

They expect shoppers to follow every single guideline, meet deadlines, and provide detailed reports, but when we need assistance or clarification, it can be extremely difficult to get a straightforward answer.

How are we supposed to do our jobs properly when we can't even get proper support?

What really gets me is that mystery shoppers are independent contractors. We're not employees getting paid by the hour. If we spend three hours completing an assignment and the company declines it, those three hours are gone. The gas money is gone. The wear and tear on our vehicles is still there.

Meanwhile, we're left with nothing.

I don't think some mystery shopping companies realize how discouraging that is, especially for people who take this work seriously and depend on it for income.

I'm not expecting every assignment to be accepted automatically. If I make a mistake, tell me what I did wrong. Give me a clear explanation. That's completely understandable.

But don't have shoppers jumping through hoops, spending their own money, and completing all this work just to leave them confused about why their assignments were removed or rejected.

At this point, I've become extremely hesitant about accepting EPMS assignments, especially ones that require a lot of driving or have complicated requirements.

It's hard to trust a company with your time when you've had repeated problems getting your work accepted.

And what's frustrating is that I actually enjoy mystery shopping. I enjoy evaluating properties, interacting with leasing agents, and writing reports. I've been doing this long enough to understand how the industry works, and I've worked with companies that communicate much better than this.

I just feel like EPMS needs to do a better job of respecting the people who are out here completing these assignments.

Without mystery shoppers, these companies wouldn't have the reports they're selling to their clients. We're the ones going out into the field, making the calls, conducting the visits, and gathering the information.

The least we deserve is fair treatment, proper communication, and clear explanations when something goes wrong.

And I'm going to say something else: just because we're independent contractors doesn't mean our time is disposable.

I've started wondering how many other shoppers have completed assignments, had them declined or removed, and eventually just gave up trying to get answers.

Because after a while, you start asking yourself whether it's even worth fighting over a shop when you've already wasted so much time trying to get somebody to respond.

I'm not saying everybody has had a bad experience with EPMS. I'm sure some shoppers have no problems getting their assignments approved and paid. I'm simply sharing what I've personally experienced.

But I definitely think shoppers should be more vocal about these situations instead of just accepting them as part of the business.

We shouldn't have to wonder whether we're going to get paid every time we complete an assignment.

Has anyone else been having problems with EPMS lately? Specifically with completed shops getting declined, assignments disappearing from your dashboard, or support not giving clear answers?

I'm genuinely interested in hearing other people's experiences because, at this point, I'm seriously questioning whether I want to continue working with them.