I am retired. If it is not fun I am not going to do it! Therefor I have no "CONS" the client does not get my services if the shop is not MUTUALLY BENIFICIAL.
The Pros are that I have fun. I choose what I want to shop when I want to shop. I do not do it for the money although I would not do it for free. I do it to help people. As a retired business person my successful businesses were as the result of listening to positive and negitive feed back and choosing to evaluate both I made the right choices. Now I pay forward.
I can go to the beach. I stop at a convenience store or fast food shop and instead of doing crossword puzzles on the beach I do the report(s). Going out to dinner is like getting a discount. Most of the time it cost me more that the shop offers in payment. I would have had to pay full price without the shop.
Since I get to choose what shops I want and I have been shopping for six years I know a "Fun shop" or an "Easy shop" will not be fun or easy. If it is offered every hour using different words to describe the shop with no real details the scheduler is hiding something and nobody but novices are biting.
If I can not see the compensation, guidelines or reports before committing to the shop it is not my fault if the scheduler advertised a shop but did not reveal the details before asking me to accept the shop. I will conditionally accept a shop to see the guidelines and other details. I will not flake a shop if the date and time of your shop conflict with my schedule nor will I proceed with the shop if it is not mutually beneficial. I do not care if I do not work for you in the future. Your attempt to Shanghai me (trick me) does not commit me to a shop as there was no “meeting of the minds” until a complete understanding of the terms had been revealed and set to writing.
I do not do shops that embarrass me or the subject I am shopping. The guidelines ask male shoppers to stare at a female's chest to read a name tag that is much too small or ask a young woman for there name at an Ice cream store. I have no desire to know the name of the server at an ice cream store. When I was a teenager I did not stare at a female clerk's chest for a name tag. I had no problem asking the female clerk for her name at an ice cream store. Most young ladies thought I was cute. The forum has many posts where men report they are not comfortable reading name tags as the females react as if the men are perverts or mystery shoppers. At other retail stores it may be appropriate to ask for the clerk's name.
There is a shop that asks a shopper to go to a pharmacy of a competitor. The shopper is to browse the shelves taking data from the inventory but not buying anything. The shops were in neighborhoods were people shoplift. How long do you think it would take before a security person is asking you what you are looking for? You can not say you are doing a comparison shop. The security person may plant something on your person and you may have legal problems. The schedulers do not suggest how to explain your activities. The person who wrote the guidelines for the shop should try the shop before sending shoppers out.
The "Golden Rule" is not “Those who have the gold make the rules.” It is "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. Schedulers should talk to clients about what is fair. 100 questions for $5.00 fee is not reasonable as you must perform which takes time and you must go home and answer the questions that take time. If I offered that opportunity to the client it would not be worth the client's time. If you offered 100 questions for $5.00 fee to a college student or senior desperate for cash to buy food you get what you pay for. If you raise the pay you raise the quality of the report.
If I were truly and independent contractor I would get the option to walk out of a restaurant at lunch time because I allegedly got to get back to work. I would not have to wait over two hours and have the manager comp me because he knows I am the mystery shopper. I got nothing for the two hours that should have been a 45 minutes shop. The client got a negative report. Taxi Cabs get "Waiting time". Mystery shoppers should get compensated for time or be allowed to act as a real shopper would and leave without penalty.
Some guidelines require the shopper to get business cards as a requirement to be paid. Many shoppers will do the report and send it without the business card and they will not be paid. The client will get a free report as the manager knows which salesperson serviced the shopper. The salespeople will seat the shopper to get contact information. They should offer a business card. Many do not.
Salespeople do not want to loose their spot in rotation to service a mystery shopper. Even when I was not performing a shop the salespeople asked if I was the shopper when they greeted me. This is another shop where the person who wrote the guidelines should attempt the shop themselves. If I am told, “I left the card case in my other pants”, or “I am new and my cards have not been printed”, or “I ran out of cards.”, I reserve the right to act like an independent contractor and a REAL SHOPPER. I want to tell the salespeople I want a manager if I do not get a business card. If the salespeople can not offer a business card they can not have my business as they are not professional. I usually get a business card and they know I am the shopper.
Clients want shoppers to take pictures. Most clients are legitimate and do not use this as a scam. Some shops like Pizza shops want you to buy and mutilate a pizza. You get to eat the cold pizza but the forum has many posts where the shoppers never get paid as the shots are at the wrong angle or blurred or the moon was shinning to bright, any excuse is a good excuse not to pay the shopper.
I do not know what shops you offer but if you have shops in New Jersey I would like to offer you my services if we can have a mutually beneficial experience.