Bearclaw14 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The OP clearly stated "millions", not "million".
> Whether one or 50, my answer remains unchanged:
> Oh Hell No.


Perhaps I should have said, "Multi-millionaire" suggesting 10 Million or more.

It's interesting to see that some really enjoy MSing and others considers it a job that they would quickly abandon, given the opportunity.

If the windfall was on the smaller side and not something that would not support an extravagant lifestyle for the remainder of my life, I could actually see an argument for continuing to shop for travel opportunities. Most of the shops I do have a reimbursement value of over $1k, with some being over $5k.

Some quick math on the number of shops I've done and years in the business tells me that I'm currently over $500k in reimbursements, and will probably hit that million dollar mark for reimbursements in my MS career before it's over. Probably around 2018.

Who ever thought that you could get a million $$ from this job? I was happy with the free donuts when I started out!

you can never have too many free donuts

Maybe if you are a cop but I do not like donuts.

I think you actually CAN have too many donuts.

Back when I was doing the Krispy Kreme shops, they would auto-assign the nearby shops monthly (they may still do that for all I know). After my first year of MSing, I realized how much weight I was gaining and asked to be deactivated from the donut shops. I lived near a hard to schedule shop for them and they did not want to let me go. There were multiple return calls from the MSC and offers of increased pay. They kept insisting that I didn't have to actually eat the donuts and could give them away…but you had to cut the donuts up and photograph them! Willpower to not consume a pile of sugar that was now leaking jelly onto my kitchen counter aside, how potentially creepy is it to be offering free cut up donuts to people…repeatedly?

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think you actually CAN have too many donuts.
>
> Back when I was doing the Krispy Kreme shops, they
> would auto-assign the nearby shops monthly (they
> may still do that for all I know). After my first
> year of MSing, I realized how much weight I was
> gaining and asked to be deactivated from the donut
> shops. I lived near a hard to schedule shop for
> them and they did not want to let me go. There
> were multiple return calls from the MSC and offers
> of increased pay. They kept insisting that I
> didn't have to actually eat the donuts and could
> give them away…but you had to cut the donuts up
> and photograph them! Willpower to not consume a
> pile of sugar that was now leaking jelly onto my
> kitchen counter aside, how potentially creepy is
> it to be offering free cut up donuts to
> people…repeatedly?



Basically the same as today's offering of mangled pizza. LOL

After my experiences today...HELL NO! For anyone who describes themselves as a "workaholic" (insert eye roll here)- find some meaningful work!

I wouldn't even look back.

techman01 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> you can never have too many free donuts


I love their donuts but I don't like their Drive-Thru shops...

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's interesting to see that some really enjoy
> MSing and others considers it a job that they
> would quickly abandon, given the opportunity.
>
> If the windfall was on the smaller side and not
> something that would not support an extravagant
> lifestyle for the remainder of my life, I could
> actually see an argument for continuing to shop
> for travel opportunities. Most of the shops I do
> have a reimbursement value of over $1k, with some
> being over $5k.
>
> Some quick math on the number of shops I've done
> and years in the business tells me that I'm
> currently over $500k in reimbursements, and will
> probably hit that million dollar mark for
> reimbursements in my MS career before it's over.
> Probably around 2018.
>
> Who ever thought that you could get a million $$
> from this job? I was happy with the free donuts
> when I started out!

May I ask Steve what shops pay between 1K and 5K? I'm thinking hotels or a large route..

Reimburse Sunny…not pay. The highest I have ever been paid for a single hotel shop is $600.

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's interesting to see that some really enjoy
> MSing and others considers it a job that they
> would quickly abandon, given the opportunity.
>
> If the windfall was on the smaller side and not
> something that would not support an extravagant
> lifestyle for the remainder of my life, I could
> actually see an argument for continuing to shop
> for travel opportunities. Most of the shops I do
> have a reimbursement value of over $1k, with some
> being over $5k.
>
> Some quick math on the number of shops I've done
> and years in the business tells me that I'm
> currently over $500k in reimbursements, and will
> probably hit that million dollar mark for
> reimbursements in my MS career before it's over.
> Probably around 2018.
>
> Who ever thought that you could get a million $$
> from this job? I was happy with the free donuts
> when I started out!

From Donuts to Dough! You should write a book about how you did it. You'd make a small fortune! I'd buy it!

Seriously ... inquiring minds want to know, but I wouldn't expect or ask you to divulge your formula for free.

On the contrary, NYC, I am happy to divulge my formula and ask nothing in return. I feel like a offer it up regularly on this forum. It's simple…

If you want the best assignments, Be the best at what you do and exceed the standard for performance.

As I wrote on another topic I do not reveal my income. I am comfortably retired. I mystery shop because most of my friends still have to work and can only come out to play on weekends. I mentored people for 30 years and those who got the message succeeded.

Several of my companies were successful because customers trusted me and was not afraid to approach me and tell me what they wanted. My customers did not want to be cheated or abused.

I used that feedback like I hope clients will use my feedback to improve the shopping experience for their customers.

I am mindful that some employees really do not wish to work and the customer is the victim of their unhappiness. Other employees are dedicated and wish to represent their company professionally. I call them as I see them without opinion (unless asked) and let the client evaluate the information.

Mystery shopping is not a matter of income for me but rather a hobby that I take seriously. I hope those who deserve it gets rewarded and promoted and those who are just putting in the time and are abusing customers are retrained or enlightened.

SteveSoCal, I don't think it's that simple where I live, because there's plenty of shoppers who will work for peanuts, but it never hurts anyone to try to do their best. You have to have a car, good credit and access to funds you can wait to be reimbursed for to get the higher paying/reimbursing assignments, I am sure. I don't need to make a living at this, and I've gotten several requests for bonused shops, but I'd like to see more higher paying shops offered to me. I have never seen a single shop paying more than $100 yet since my first shop where I could've spent up to $200 at one of three stores and kept the merchandise and been reimbursed. I feel lucky when a $50 to $75 shop comes along.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2014 06:51AM by nycrocks.

nycrocks, It's actually MORE simple where you live! There are more million dollar business opportunities in NYC than just about anywhere, and more high reimbursement shops there as well.

Yes, you will need credit to pull of those shops, and you will also need think outside of the box a bit to elevate yourself above the crowd that will work for peanuts. You are fortunate that you don't need to make a living at MSing, so you can bide your time and hold out for the assignments that are actually productive. You stated earlier in this very thread that you only shop for the $$ and that you are looking to get offers for better paying shops. That's what most who work for peanuts are also doing, so perhaps start thinking about a way to make MSing work along side an industry that you aspire to be in.

The very model for success in my career started out with using MSing to finance trips to NYC in order to take business meetings, so I know the opportunities that exist in your market. A few months back I flew into JFK, took a limo to my hotel, had a lunch meeting with a potential client, bought bottle service for that client and his wife at a swanky manhattan bar, locked in a business deal with him and flew back the next day. 100% of that was done via 4 well-planned mystery shops and I was reimbursed for the entire amount I spent, which was around $4k. I also earned around $250 in fees for the trip, but that's not why I took the shops.

The win for me in that circumstance was landing the business deal. Truth be told, it's not a lucrative enough deal for any of my competitors to bother coming to NYC for a face-to-face meeting or wooing the client with fine dining and bottle service, but it was a great experience and bought the fidelity of the client for years to come….and perhaps the next deal with him will be even better.

Some might look at the bottom line for my trip, deduct the direct expensed I incurred from the $250 I made and call me a fool for working that hard to make the equivalent of $5 per hour. I think those people are the foolish ones for being short sighted of the opportunities that MSing provides.

[I should probably state for the record that I don't recommend taking an uninformed client to a business lunch that you are mystery shopping unless you are very good what you do, and willing to eat the cost of that lunch when something goes wrong, but I like to live on the edge.]

Thanks for the advice! In my case, at least I wouldn't need a hotel or limo. My credit is poor due to a job layoff 5 years ago, and for my next job I had to take a huge pay cut to have a job, so I could only pay off some of that debt. I have some minor credit today, but nothing like $4000. You know it's expensive to live here, and rent and other essentials come before credit card payments. If an MSC was willing to pay you $250 to take someone to lunch and evaluate them, that's actually a very nice payment! If, by looking at the bigger picture, you felt the investment was worth more than the $250 (which may have been offset by interest while waiting for reimbursement, unless you paid the amount before you got reimbursed), I'm sure it was money well spent. It still all comes down to we can only spend what we can afford to be without. For me, that's not a lot. Right now I'm out $550 in cash waiting for reimbursement for a shop I'm only making $40 for, and there have been a lot of problems I won't get into details over but I will have waited over 5 weeks for what was supposed to be a 3 week reimbursement turnaround. I can't say the aggravation of the entire shop will be worth the $40 I will ultimately make, but I see your point. Perhaps it will result in a better shop being offered by this company in the future, but I doubt it. That's not to say it won't be worthwhile another time. I'm trying to build a cushion for myself between cash and credit to use for shopping, so I can eventually take a paid flight or something cool. That old saying, "you have to spend money to make money" is as true with MS as any other business.

I would still shop all fun shops which is what I do now in my busy season of work. Amusement parks, fine dining, Wine tasting, carpet cleaning and oil changes. Why pay for silly stuff ( like the last two) when I can get it done as a shop?

And please before I get 100 pms asking me for the info for on amusement park shops, not to be mean, but put in the legwork, get 10s on your reports, and then reap the rewards

Speaking of donuts, the C-Store by my house started carry KK donuts. I found myself buying a donut everyday..The weight started creeping up slowly and I had to wean myself away from stopping at the store altogether...

I limit myself to a maximum of two KK shops per month.

Hell no - I would travel and volunteer and pay for 5 guys myself.

monarch2003 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would still shop all fun shops which is what I
> do now in my busy season of work. Amusement parks,
> fine dining, Wine tasting, carpet cleaning and oil
> changes. Why pay for silly stuff ( like the last
> two) when I can get it done as a shop?
>
> And please before I get 100 pms asking me for the
> info for on amusement park shops, not to be mean,
> but put in the legwork, get 10s on your reports,
> and then reap the rewards


That is my motto; If it is not fun I am not going to do it.

cpburt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not quite a Millionaire, but I don't need the
> income from mystery shopping to survive. However,
> unless you're a one per center, who can't use
> extra money.
>
> My back problems won't let me play golf three or
> four times a week so I'm doing more shopping. I'm
> retired and can't stand to sit at home and watch
> reruns of Bonanza. Mystery shopping and doing
> audits are kind of fun for me. However, if I had
> do this for a living I'm sure I would look at it
> differently. I sincerely admire those of you that
> do this for a living, or to augment your income.
> I'm sure for those of you that have to do it, it's
> not fun to scrape for jobs, constantly deal with
> schedulers and editors, and not to know what your
> income is going to be any given month.
>
> I salute all of you!

WOW that is pretty close to my situation except for golf. I do not do it because if I started in the morning I would still be on the golf course when the sun is going down. I can handle a miniture golf course.

I can not stand to be at home and wait for my buddies who probably will have to work till they drop because they did not plan to live this long and spent it all.

I will take a shop if I am going past the door and it fits into getting lunch for the beach, a convenience store or fast food. I will do the shop on paper at the beach instead of a crossword puzzle and it will be easy to report when I get off the beach and go home.

I enjoy playing a role. I can play an intercity shopper or a high end shopper with a change of clothes and change of vehicle. I am at neither end of those economic situations.

Piled Hip Deep, PHD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do not do it because if I started in
> the morning I would still be on the golf course
> when the sun is going down.

Sounds like we have similar golfing skills!

Since every house in my area is worth close to or over a million, I guess I live among millionaires! But that is not at all true. I live in a very modest west los angeles neighborhood and many of these close to a million $ houses are 1000 square feet or so. Us millionaires here cannot even begin to entertain in style in our small houses and those big luxurious cars would soon be stolen or tires slashed as most of our garages have been turned into extra living space so we can have a second bathroom. Being a millionaire today is not at all the same as being one 40 years ago. If you do not add a number above 1 to the word million the lifestyle some of you are proposing will be very short lived. Think of all the sports people you read about who earned over a milliion $ a year and were broke a few years after retirement at age 35. It is not really whether you will or will not mystery shop but without having a plan to conserve some of your million rather than splurge on cars, purses and vacations galore you will quickly find yourself back there again if this is your only source of income. Dreaming is wonderful and it is heartening that everyone has dreams but do not rush out and make all your dreams a reality at once if and when you hit the jackpot....having a million will definitely put you in a position to pick and choose what you want to do but with doing nothing but spending, you will soon be back where you started.
Keep dreaming and reaching for the dream but then add a dash or reality when you get there.

I live in a "nice" town. It is a suburb of the largest city in New Jersey. In the same town I am in and nearby towns the houses sell for a few million to many million dollars. I was a paralegal in a law firm for 30 years. As a paralegal I learned that the houses mean very little. You go into these houses and they have little furniture. The wives go to the malls to spend their husband's money because you can not be a big shot doctor or lawyer unless you create the image. I did a shop in one of the malls and spent $150. in a department store cafeteria. I do not eat $150 everyday but when you are trying to impress, those people eat those lunches often. In Texas they have a term for that. They have a ten gallon hat and no cattle. I am comfortable and I am happy and I am real and live in a nice condo that is within walking distance of the town pool but I am not a millionaire unless I am shopping for a $75,000 vehicle or eating a $150 lunch. It is all in my mind. Now tomorrow I might be getting into my ghetto mobile and visiting the intercity where I learned in my law enforcement career how the other half lives. They have billboards that pray for Peace and for gangs to stop the shooting. I go down there for nostalgia and adventure but I give way the food to "homeless" people as it comes out of a greasy drawer and could not possibly have been freshly cooked in 2 minutes.

I understand what you mean but around Fort Worth that expression is "all hat and no cattle".

If I were to become a millionaire, I would start a business and use an MSC to evaluate my company. Does that count?

Piled Hip Deep, PHD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do not do it because if I started in
> the morning I would still be on the golf course
> when the sun is going down.

Sounds like we have similar golfing skills!

````````````````````````````````````````````

Does miniature golf count?...

I am ony $999,999 away. I will think about it when I get closer.