Shiftsmart

What:  Shiftsmart connects willing workers with companies seeking product testers, retail workers, telemarketers and others.

Expected pay: Varies

Husl$core: $$

Commissions & fees: Free to freelancers

Where: 50+ countries; remote and in-person options

Requirements: 18 or older. Legally authorized to work in the U.S.; Smartphone; Fluent in English; Access to Mac or Windows computer with a strong internet connection for remote work. 

Shiftsmart Review: 

Shiftsmart connects willing workers with available shifts in a variety of fields, including product testing, telemarketing, and retail. The amount you can earn per shift will vary based on the company offering it. But based on the jobs available when we tested the app, it appears that the rates range from $10 to $20 per hour. However, some jobs also promise bonus payments.

After you complete a shift, SmartShift must approve your payment. It promises to do so within five days. Once the payment is approved, you can withdraw it instantly or wait 2-3 days for a direct deposit. If you choose Instant Pay you’ll get nicked for a $3 fee.  

Caveats

The app’s allure is that you have control over your schedule and what you do, with the ability to cherry pick the shifts you want. But that flexibility comes at a cost. Based on user feedback, you may struggle to find an available shifts and be expected to participate in unpaid training. Worse, Shiftsmart is notorious for not paying at all — or at least failing to pay until you complain to the Better Business Bureau. 

In dozens of complaints filed with the BBB, workers say Shiftsmart failed to pay them the promised amount, if they were paid at all. In several replies, ShiftSmart said there were mix-ups with the client that caused the worker’s hours to be misstated — or go completely unreported — and the app made good on the missing amounts.

However, to err this often points to either horrible accounting procedures or a toxic business plan that denies or delays payment until the company is forced to make it. We don’t know which it is, but would suggest that you find a better place to work.

Recommendations:

If you’re looking for work in warehouses or restaurants, check out Wonolo, BlueCrew or Qwick. You can also list your availability for shopping, cleaning and handyman tasks on TaskRabbit.

What their users say (from Trustpilot)

“Spent my weekend doing some shift smart surveys and drove around 150+ miles over 6 hours of work for some extra cash to find my account had been blocked the next day without reason or warning. They have IGNORED MY EMAILS AND THE CALL NUMBER ISN’T EVEN REAL! I wasted my weekend and not to mention the hours of driving and petrol down the drain. 

“No one explained that you need to “check-in” on the app so i have a timecard that shows no hours worked. I have sent several (as yet unanswered) emails to try and work out how to get paid. Additionally, they kept all the testers (about 30 people) sitting waiting in reception for AN HOUR with no explanation or apology. Later we heard they had made a mistake in asking us to come an hour early. Staff knew we were waiting, but didn’t bother to let us know what was happening and were rude when I asked for an explanation.”

From the Better Business Bureau:

“I spent hours on a shift and communicated with the managers during the shift, so there is proof I was working. There are call logs showing I worked and yet the pay was not received. This is not the first time that I had to go through hoops to get the little bit of money they pay for hours of work! Obviously it’s an ongoing issue.

“They only paid me $67.00. They owe me $323. Every time I call the number I was told to call, there’s no one to take my call during normal business hours.”

“I volunteered to product test a technology product. Arrived 15 minutes early. Signed in and asked if I needed to do anything else. Myself and another young man were taken upstairs, and our phones were taken away. We were given the product to test. And when we were done, the woman moderating the test told us to check out on the app. Neither of us knew we had to do that and said we had not checked in on the app. I tried contacting Shiftsmart and was told if I didn’t check in online, that it was my fault and I would not get paid for my time.”