Big city shoppers.. a thread on our bonus situation
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I live in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. I don't see many bonuses and most of them are $3 to $5.
Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
Syracuse is definitely not as big as DFW or LA. We do see bonuses. Large bonuses sometimes. I don't think that there are that many shoppers in this area honestly. I don't seem to have that much competition so I do have the ability to "wait it out" on some, but on the popular ones, like Cheesecake Factory, Pandora and Chocolatier shops, you have to jump fast and will never see them bonused.
Washington, DC metro area has very nice bonuses on the places that I shop, most months.
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
I live in the west Texas area and the bonuses are very good. Most of them are easily $20 - $40 more on top of the shop fee. But then again, there is a lot of mileage involved. For example, I drove 223 miles today. I am tired and yet, I have to report all my shops now.
I don't envy anyone living in the big cities. It could take you an hour to cross Dallas for example. The MSC's should bonus any shop more than a few bucks, for pete's sake.
I don't envy anyone living in the big cities. It could take you an hour to cross Dallas for example. The MSC's should bonus any shop more than a few bucks, for pete's sake.
My Philly and Pittsburgh shops still saw decent bonuses. Although, in Philly, my trick with those was to skip the city altogether and concentrate most of my shops on the outlying towns. The $15-$40 bonuses didn't mean much if I was spending 45 minutes fighting bumper-to-bumper traffic to get to each shop, even if they were only 5-10 miles from each other.
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Plan the work. Work the plan.
Plan the work. Work the plan.
I live in a large metropolitan area and I get bonuses, but I don't get them like some people that I see on this board get them. I have gotten good bonuses and I have gotten bonuses that were just okay. It depends on the scheduler what I will accept. If I am working with a scheduler that keeps me busy and he or she are in a pinch I am not going stress her even further by holding her hostage to a bonus that I know would be hard for me to get. With me it just depends on the situation. If they call me at the last minute and want me to go out of my way then I would expect a bigger bonus.
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Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.
Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.
In the San Diego area there are some bonuses at the end of the month but not really that much. I try and focus on the smaller outlying areas that do not have as much traffic. Going 5 miles in San Diego at rush hour can take 45 minutes so I really try and avoid those times.
^ That's exactly how it was with Philly. I lived in North Philly, so rather than fighting traffic to get into Center City for the $15-$40 bonuses on shops, I concentrated on the same shops in surrounding towns that were near my side of Philly where the bonuses were just as high, sometimes higher.
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Plan the work. Work the plan.
Plan the work. Work the plan.
stop working for the big msc's and you will be amazed
at the bonuses you will get. Too many people are focused
on doing most of their shops with the big msc's. I do less
than 2% of my shops with the big msc's and some months
none at all.
at the bonuses you will get. Too many people are focused
on doing most of their shops with the big msc's. I do less
than 2% of my shops with the big msc's and some months
none at all.
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There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
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When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
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When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody
techman01 Wrote:
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> stop working for the big msc's and you will be
> amazed
> at the bonuses you will get. Too many people are
> focused
> on doing most of their shops with the big msc's. I
> do less
> than 2% of my shops with the big msc's and some
> months
> none at all.
I am willing to work for whomever will hire me, it's not the size of the company, it's the size of the fee.
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> stop working for the big msc's and you will be
> amazed
> at the bonuses you will get. Too many people are
> focused
> on doing most of their shops with the big msc's. I
> do less
> than 2% of my shops with the big msc's and some
> months
> none at all.
I am willing to work for whomever will hire me, it's not the size of the company, it's the size of the fee.
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Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.
Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.
Techman, there's a place for everyone. If everyone quit working for the big MSCs and only for the small ones you work for, those bonuses would vanish for you.
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Plan the work. Work the plan.
Plan the work. Work the plan.
Since I live in downtown, I sometimes have an option of picking up an end of the month shop that I can walk to when others don't want to deal with driving/parking here.
It usually consists of $5 or $10 being added to the fee. Once it goes beyond that, the fee will cover parking and there are plenty of hungry shoppers that will quickly pick the shops up.
Sandy, I had a 9 AM meeting in your part of town today. I left at 7:45 AM and was still late.
No way I'm battling that for standard shop fees.
It usually consists of $5 or $10 being added to the fee. Once it goes beyond that, the fee will cover parking and there are plenty of hungry shoppers that will quickly pick the shops up.
Sandy, I had a 9 AM meeting in your part of town today. I left at 7:45 AM and was still late.
No way I'm battling that for standard shop fees.
Very rare. $3 is the going bonus rate, LOL.
I did a non bonused restaurant phone in and take out shop today. I stopped about 3 blocks from the restaurant to make my phone in order from the car as I needed to be at the restaurant by 10 minutes after the order was placed. 3 blocks, 10 minutes and a restaurant with a parking lot and I almost did not make it! Then it took me 35 minutes to drive less than 4 miles to home. Incredibly the food was still hot.
I have many smaller companies I work for but almost all of them have picked up one multi outlet store over the years and now they are on everyone's radar. But even the shops that sit until the next month do not seem to get bonused. My best bonuses are from Papa John's! But since it is originally a shop without any fee I do not really consider that to be a bonus but just the pay they should give me to do that shop. They usually offer $5 but I have gotten as high as $15 once.
I find the $2 bonuses to drive an hour each way to be ridiculous and so must many others as they do not seem to be snapped up.
I have many smaller companies I work for but almost all of them have picked up one multi outlet store over the years and now they are on everyone's radar. But even the shops that sit until the next month do not seem to get bonused. My best bonuses are from Papa John's! But since it is originally a shop without any fee I do not really consider that to be a bonus but just the pay they should give me to do that shop. They usually offer $5 but I have gotten as high as $15 once.
I find the $2 bonuses to drive an hour each way to be ridiculous and so must many others as they do not seem to be snapped up.
DMH wrote
<"Syracuse is definitely not as big as DFW or LA. We do see bonuses. Large bonuses sometimes. I don't think that there are that many shoppers in this area honestly. I don't seem to have that much competition so I do have the ability to "wait it out" on some, but on the popular ones, like Cheesecake Factory, Pandora and Chocolatier shops, you have to jump fast and will never see them bonused.">
Yes I don't think there is many shoppers in syracuse as I can seem to make a route up their anytime I wish. Only 3 hour drive from Buffalo, NY for me also pass through rochester where I can get more shops. Bonuses I just have to ask.
<"Syracuse is definitely not as big as DFW or LA. We do see bonuses. Large bonuses sometimes. I don't think that there are that many shoppers in this area honestly. I don't seem to have that much competition so I do have the ability to "wait it out" on some, but on the popular ones, like Cheesecake Factory, Pandora and Chocolatier shops, you have to jump fast and will never see them bonused.">
Yes I don't think there is many shoppers in syracuse as I can seem to make a route up their anytime I wish. Only 3 hour drive from Buffalo, NY for me also pass through rochester where I can get more shops. Bonuses I just have to ask.
Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.
I'm in the STL suburbs, but generally only travel about 10-12 miles from my home location for shops. I work from home full time and any farther doesn't make much sense for me unless it is a Pandora shop or a restaurant shop to stretch our measly restaurant budget or if I can string together a couple shops at the mall for my teen. I rarely see bonuses and if there are they are usually in the $2 to $3 range. Right now there are very few shops available, mostly bank and cell phone shops that have long rotations or shops with age/gender limits that I don't fit.
I live in Dallas and the larger bonuses I see appear to be from flaked shops and are few and far between. Otherwise it's just a couple of bucks bonus.
I only shop in the county where I live because I rely on reserved public transportation to get around. Reservations require at least a 24-hour advance notice. Bonused shops near me usually involve a short turnaround time. Therefore, my bonuses are usually limited to those that are pre-scheduled to ensure end of quarter projects are finished on time. In August, I was assigned two end of quarter airport shops and two venue event telephone calls with nice bonuses, which were due in September. My Mystery Shopping mainly consists of ongoing "full day" projects that pay by the hour, post security airport circuits and ongoing Mortgage or Investment telephone calls.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2014 01:29AM by Pooch5210.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2014 01:29AM by Pooch5210.
Public transportation to do mystery shopping would be difficult in Southern California but you are a rock star for being able to do that.
teriraia Wrote:
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> Public transportation to do mystery shopping would
> be difficult in Southern California but you are a
> rock star for being able to do that.
Depends on where you live. I would estimate that 90% of my shops in LA are accessible via metro rail. You can buy a day pass for less than the price of parking at most places.
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> Public transportation to do mystery shopping would
> be difficult in Southern California but you are a
> rock star for being able to do that.
Depends on where you live. I would estimate that 90% of my shops in LA are accessible via metro rail. You can buy a day pass for less than the price of parking at most places.
I just got a phone call with a $55 bonus on top of an easy $15 shop. Right on the outskirts of my big town/small city. The location is 1.4 miles from my house. Score!
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Plan the work. Work the plan.
Plan the work. Work the plan.
I live in rural south Texas and I have the same situation as Canuck. Big bonuses, but lots of driving. When I get home I am happy, then I remember the 6-10 reports ahead of me and sigh.
Okay folks, I feel better now. Reading in the forum constantly about shoppers taking only jobs with big bonuses and discussing if they should wait for $50 when it is only at $30 always makes me feel like I am missing out. I am glad to know there is a group of us big city folk out there in the same situation...perhaps the silent majority?
I just picked up a $25 bonus on a cell phone shop that was normally $20.. pretty happy about that. In Toronto, there are the occasional bonuses like the assignment I picked up but it's usually pretty dry. Maybe max $10 bonus. Last year, I think the highest bonus was $40 on top of the shop fee. 90% of shops I do I take the bus/subway to do.
I find the majority of bonused shops I do are all outside of the city, particularly up north. Every month, hubby and I decide to visit the in-laws so I make a shopping trip out of it. The shops in the middle of nowhere are often bonused by $20 or more.
I find the majority of bonused shops I do are all outside of the city, particularly up north. Every month, hubby and I decide to visit the in-laws so I make a shopping trip out of it. The shops in the middle of nowhere are often bonused by $20 or more.
Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond
Well I caved this week and took two jobs from Maritz because they added a $20 bonus to them. The only way I would take them though is with a bonus as they are in another county and I will be driving. I also have a non bonused shop on the way home and just signed for two bonused shops with Kern that I will cancel the app if not awarded before I leave the house as they are in the same area out of my county and too far to do normal. Here I was just gonna relax on my first day off in 10 days. Now I have the potential for $100 for 5 shops.
I live in NYC and rely on public transportation to get to shops. Some MSCs offer bonuses at the end of the month but many aren't bonused well. The average shop pays between $10 and $20. Some jobs pay very well to begin with but most do not. I've had a few shops where I had to do only a little more than get dressed up like a professional office worker and show up on time, then write the report about what I was evaluating. Some clients and MSCs are willing to pay more than others. These shops are few and far between but they do come up every few months. I try to go for the shops that pay at least $20 because I have to justify my $5 round trip public transportation cost. Or I try to set up a route of $15 bank shops if they're available, so I can walk to a number of them within a 10 block radius and make it worth my while to have spent the $5 in subway fare.
I suggest that you keep signing up with more companies because in a city like L.A. there should be some good paying shops.
I suggest that you keep signing up with more companies because in a city like L.A. there should be some good paying shops.
Isn't public transportation deductible as an unreimbursed business expense?
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Plan the work. Work the plan.
Plan the work. Work the plan.
It is, but I still have to spend the money up front and it just bugs me to spend $5 for a $15 shop that will take an hour in time to travel to and from, plus spending an hour and a half or more in interaction/report time.
Gotcha! Does NYC not have monthly passes? Or are they not deductible?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2014 05:41AM by BBird0701.
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Plan the work. Work the plan.
Plan the work. Work the plan.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2014 05:41AM by BBird0701.
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