An example: 80 mile return drive for 27.00

Can't do it.

I live in a remote area and have to drive many miles to get the shops done. I live in Texas with cotton fields surrounding me.

I ask for more money and usually get it to make it worthwhile, especially if I cannot route it with another shop or two. The shop has to get done and they pay me to get it done. Of course, if I'm in that area, I'll take it at regular fee. That's what I do.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2015 03:47PM by Canuck.

@TravelGuru wrote:

I just learned something new today. I've been seeing emails pop up from a scheduler, about needing a shopper for a particular location. Someone signed up for it then flaked. So the urgent emails resumed with small bonuses. Because I would be in the area of one of the shops, I advised the scheduler that I could do it. There's only so much, "please help me", emails I can take. I was assigned the job and told if I needed to reschedule to a later date, that would be fine. I emailed the scheduler for some information. I got part of the answer to my question. I email the scheduler again, asking to push the date back 1 or 2 days and did not get a reply. I would have liked to take my son to a last minute Dr. appointment, but I did not hear back from the scheduler. It was also important (to me), to not be inducted into the Flake squad. So, I made other arrangements for someone else to take my son and I completed the job, as assigned. Today, I see that the same shop in a different town is twice the amount. Both of the, "please help me" shops were posted on the same day. The shop I did as a good samaritan had a smaller bonus. I guess it really pays to hold out. I feel like a sucker. If my emails were returned, I wouldn't feel so bad. I won't be in a hurry to help this scheduler anymore. Pushing the date back was more important to me then getting twice the pay. But the lack of consideration, that really bothers me.

Just use it as a learning experience. That scheduler really should have emailed you back. However, your not running a charity. Never take a job because a scheduler needs you to, unless you already have a mutually beneficial relationship with that person. You said you were going to be in the area anyway, so without the Dr. appt. it would have been no harm, no foul. If I'm going to be in a particular area I often take smallish jobs to fill in, or to bump up my total for the day.

@Canuck wrote:

An example: 80 mile return drive for 27.00

Can't do it.

I live in a remote area and have to drive many miles to get the shops done. I live in Texas with cotton fields surrounding me.

I ask for more money and usually get it to make it worthwhile, especially if I cannot route it with another shop or two. The shop has to get done and they pay me to get it done. Of course, if I'm in that area, I'll take it at regular fee. That's what I do.

You are VERY valuable to them! You are their only shopper in that area and they should "pony-up" some extra money since:

1. You get it done. They have no-one else. You can't explain that to a client, "why" a shop can't get completed. They need to hold out extra funds so you can get these remote shops done!

2. If your schedulers could work with you, then you *COULD* take more shops within so many miles, making it worth it to you.

3. I can bet ABC, XYZ and 123 Mystery Shopping Companies ALL "need you" out there. Write a letter to them and see if they can work with you better. You are not competing with any other shoppers out there. They have no large pool to pull from. Make them work with you!

@shopper8 wrote:

I have to laugh. Canuck you are so funny you make my day! CoffeeQueen you are runner up. Are you a New England shopper? I have so many shops in my area that I don't do, about 40 a day. I am picky, want the bonuses, and am reliable.

How rude of me. I didn't answer this question. No I am not a New England shopper. I live in Central Kentucky and I shop up to a 125 mile radius. The area that I get the big bonuses for is Eastern Kentucky. No one wants to go there (for good reason lol.)
I shop close by, mostly for base pay. I get offered a lot of money occasionally, to drive into the mountains. There are also a lot of very small towns here that don't get their shops filled because they are in some crazy non-shopped location. I get offered bonuses to drive to them pretty regularly. Like you, I am reliable. If I take the job, they know its going to be done. I care about doing good work. If I have to go back to get a gas station picture, for example, I will do that. It's all a learning experience and an adventure to me.

I have a very good relationship with the scheduler. He always helps me get the best fee. I understand the bonus pool. I'm not sure if he comes to this forum, but if he does, he'll recognize what I'm about to say here: I won their nomination for best shopper of the month, along with $$. I'll do everything I can to get his shops off the board and he knows that.

There were a lot of last minute shops, some of which are 20 to 100 miles away. The bonus offer was only $5, yes $5. Where do you get those $100 bonus?

@BetteL wrote:

There were a lot of last minute shops, some of which are 20 to 100 miles away. The bonus offer was only $5, yes $5. Where do you get those $100 bonus?

Well they don't happen a lot, but they do happen. A lot of it has to do with the area you're shopping, no doubt. I drove just over 100 miles to get mine so it's not like it was easy money. I worked for it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2015 07:24PM by CoffeeQueen.

Many of the bonuses also depend on the time of month/time of year. I had a Five Guys get bonused to $40 if I would do it on Black Friday.

I've never been offered a bonus of $350. I have SUGGESTED a bonus of that magnitude, for a shop that was a lot more than a 100 mile RT drive (with the intent of doing more shops while in that area). But they did not accept my offer. Driving costs are something few people consider. If you think your cost is the cost of gas, then you are fooling yourself. Why would the IRS pay you (is it $.58/mile now?) if the cost is less than that? Gas cost is down temporarily now. But if you think your vehicle goes 400 miles on a tank (assuming a generous 30 MPG, stop and go) and it costs you only $30 to fill it up, so that means $30/400 = $.075 per mile, then you don't know what you're talking about with regard to your REAL costs. If you buy a car for $20,000 and you keep it for 200,000 miles and sell it for say $2,000, then your cost for that vehicle alone is $20,000 purchase price-$2,000 sales price = $18,000. $18,000/200,000 miles = $.09/mile. You haven't done ANY repairs to it yet, or paid for insurance or registration fees. So just between gas and having enough left over to buy that new car when you need it, you are talking about $.165 per mile...and you are nowhere near the true cost, after considering tires, repairs, etc. Under the BEST SCENARIO, I figure it costs me about $.35/mile...and I drive a very efficient, 34 MPG vehicle on which I have the oil changed thru mystery shops and I do some of my own repairs. Anyone else who drives something with lower MPG or you never do your own repairs, well, then that is why the IRS compensates you at the rate that they do. So next time you have a route of 100 miles planned, be aware that your travel cost alone is AT LEAST $35...and likely MORE. So think again about running all over to catch that last $25 shop on the other side of the county...unless you had several more such shops set up along the way. Sure, I'll do a $5 shopper fee car wash...but only if I'm driving right by their driveway anyway on my way to somewhere else. Wish there were a way to better educate people on their true costs. Used to have a roommate who would think that the gas cost was his cost to get to/from a place. Until it comes time to buy $600 worth of new tires or you have a $500 repair bill...then where is the money you put aside (in addition to the gas that you thought was the only cost) so you can now buy those tires or fix that vehicle? Remember, AT LEAST $.25/mile, if you drive a beater car that you bought for a few thousand bucks, you do your own repairs (it's a reliable vehicle with few repairs) and it gets 35 MPG at currently low gas prices. MORE if any of those components do not apply to you.

@Canuck

That is exactly what all shoppers should do. Hang in there until you are not doing it for virtually free, like some MSCs think we will do. I'd rather some other shopper do it, ultimately discover that they are not making money in this industry and then move on to something else, rather than work for too low of a fee.

I have been shopping for almost two decades and the largest bonus I've gotten is maybe $45. I think there are too many great shoppers here in eastern PA (and a few shoppers who will work for peanuts).

I say no a lot. I decide on a price for an out of the way shop and I won't go for less. I get offered different bonuses but I just say "I'm going to have to decline, but thank you." More often than not they come around. And
if they don't I'm fine with that.

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

I say no a lot. I decide on a price for an out of the way shop and I won't go for less. I get offered different bonuses but I just say "I'm going to have to decline, but thank you." More often than not they come around. And
if they don't I'm fine with that.

Totally in agreement with CoffeeQueen on this. Set your price for what your time is worth and stick to your guns (within the parameters of the specific situation). I might set a price and they reject it. But there might be an exception, if they counter with something and in the meantime, while we were negotiating, another shop opportunity came up that's right nearby, then I might consider accepting their lower offer, but only because the two shops are near each other. But the odds of that happening? It could, but it's not likely. In the meantime, stick with your guns and decline, as CoffeeQueen advises. Let someone else do it, while you find a more lucrative shop to perform that is worth your time.

@Canuck wrote:

You wouldn't like it where I live. Very flat. Boring. Remote. Do not attempt to move here. You will be unhappy.

I ran service calls in the early 80s in Houston, TX and surrounding areas after I got out of tech school. And you are right it is flat down there. Could almost see to the horizon. Reminded me of being at sea except for the land and the few trees that you could see.

@CettiePosts wrote:

$350 was my bonus to take a 100 mile drive. I teamed that up with some other shops for 2 other companies and had a very nice day indeed.

Well, so far I have seen twos shops with a large bonus. One was at the end of last month that was about 180 miles away for a $200 bonus and the other was this week and it is about 14 miles away with a payment of $15 and a bonus of $85. I sometimes go to a city about 40 miles away for my job and if I'm not too rushed or over booked I will take a few shops down there. But I will probably never do a late night Wings shop in that city.

I picked up a bonused shop the other day for a $85 dollar bonus. Two months ago I found one bonused an extra $100. Both shops needed to be done the same day I saw the bonuses.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

Recently, I was in a small town about 2 hrs away for my "regular" job. An hour from that location was an apt shop normally offered at $35 - this one had a $50 bonus since it had been on the board since August. I would be reimbursed for the original 2-hr project, so I was only 1 hr away. The shop itself would take about 30-60 minutes and 45 for the report. I took it and figured I made about $20/hr - way worth it to me. If I could get more like it, I'd be all over them like a cheap suit. Apt shops are great because there is no out-of-pocket expense to wait for reimbursement.

@ CoffeeQueen...Thank you....yes he is fine. He was just sore for a few days. The truck didn't fare so well though.

@DanteScheduler...thanks...I'm sure you get a lot of excuses and sometimes its hard to tell who's telling the truth. I try to always be honest even if it means saying "I forgot". I'm just trying to get a few shops I had scheduled further out completed and I will be ready to take on some more.

I have so many shops near my home that I don't get many bonuses. If I do a route, I always ask or get a bonus. I have great schedulers that will call me for bonus jobs. My largest bonus was $60. I tell them to call me if they can't get anyone else by the end of the month. If the price is right I will shop it. I shop in New England, a bank on every corner. I will shop restaurants, but only when I want to go out to eat for a dinner. As you know most don't pay for the report. I would rather get paid for a report, and get less to eat. I don't shop any fast food shops or gas stations.

I live North of Dallas, which has plenty of shops. But I know there are several more experienced shoppers out west towards Fort Worth and out east towards Garland. So I graciously try to shop north, north, Dallas and southern Oklahoma. There's plenty to go around! I'm home plate (because I'm writing this post LOL ), we've got first base and third base covered, but WHO'S COVERING SECOND BASE (south Dallas)? BillB are you on second?

Does anybody actually *want* to shop south Dallas??

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. Start writing in paragraphs. Your very long, one paragraph posts are hard to read. Do you write your reports in the same format?

@frank860 wrote:

I've never been offered a bonus of $350. I have SUGGESTED a bonus of that magnitude, for a shop that was a lot more than a 100 mile RT drive (with the intent of doing more shops while in that area). But they did not accept my offer. Driving costs are something few people consider. If you think your cost is the cost of gas, then you are fooling yourself. Why would the IRS pay you (is it $.58/mile now?) if the cost is less than that? Gas cost is down temporarily now. But if you think your vehicle goes 400 miles on a tank (assuming a generous 30 MPG, stop and go) and it costs you only $30 to fill it up, so that means $30/400 = $.075 per mile, then you don't know what you're talking about with regard to your REAL costs. If you buy a car for $20,000 and you keep it for 200,000 miles and sell it for say $2,000, then your cost for that vehicle alone is $20,000 purchase price-$2,000 sales price = $18,000. $18,000/200,000 miles = $.09/mile. You haven't done ANY repairs to it yet, or paid for insurance or registration fees. So just between gas and having enough left over to buy that new car when you need it, you are talking about $.165 per mile...and you are nowhere near the true cost, after considering tires, repairs, etc. Under the BEST SCENARIO, I figure it costs me about $.35/mile...and I drive a very efficient, 34 MPG vehicle on which I have the oil changed thru mystery shops and I do some of my own repairs. Anyone else who drives something with lower MPG or you never do your own repairs, well, then that is why the IRS compensates you at the rate that they do. So next time you have a route of 100 miles planned, be aware that your travel cost alone is AT LEAST $35...and likely MORE. So think again about running all over to catch that last $25 shop on the other side of the county...unless you had several more such shops set up along the way. Sure, I'll do a $5 shopper fee car wash...but only if I'm driving right by their driveway anyway on my way to somewhere else. Wish there were a way to better educate people on their true costs. Used to have a roommate who would think that the gas cost was his cost to get to/from a place. Until it comes time to buy $600 worth of new tires or you have a $500 repair bill...then where is the money you put aside (in addition to the gas that you thought was the only cost) so you can now buy those tires or fix that vehicle? Remember, AT LEAST $.25/mile, if you drive a beater car that you bought for a few thousand bucks, you do your own repairs (it's a reliable vehicle with few repairs) and it gets 35 MPG at currently low gas prices. MORE if any of those components do not apply to you.

I skip his posts quite honestly.

@bgriffin wrote:

I skip his posts quite honestly.

You'd never make it as an editor, if you refuse read something due to lack of <C/R>.

He has several very good points in his post and uses very good sentence structure.

It is possible he has a plug-in such as "noscript" running in Firefox, and this will strip out all the spaces and cause all the paragraphs to run together due to the fact that he is not allowing Java script and don't trust the forum to not run malicious cross site scripting(Virus attack stuff). I'm not saying that is happening here, but it happens on my message forum.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2015 04:14AM by scanman1.

I would never attempt to be an editor. Just because his posts are too hard to read in relation to how strong my desire is to read them doesn't mean he doesn't make good points. I'm sure he does. I think I saw something in there that people aren't factoring in repairs and maintenance in their cost per miles figures, which is absolutely important.

You can make all the good points in the world but if people are not even bothering to read all your good points, what's the point?

I hear what all you guys and gals are saying about doing the four shops west for the same or more money as the twelve shops east. That's not what's happening. When they start paying me more money to drive west than east, I'll drive west. Until then, I'll drive east toward more money. Four shops west can be 200 to 300 miles, which is another factor.

MF rules:
I measure if I want to do a shop in congested city miles where I know the side streets even.
It makes a difference if it's in the tourist zone.

5 miles or less - base price.
8 miles - wait for it to kick up the first time and get at least a few dollars more.
10 miles + Ask $20 and if refused, then IDK, I'm not loosing money. Let the shop go to someone else.

If i can make a mini route, I'll do it at base price with 3-4 other jobs at the same destination.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2015 08:02AM by scanman1.

@Sybil2 wrote:

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. Start writing in paragraphs. Your very long, one paragraph posts are hard to read. Do you write your reports in the same format?

Odd that you should say that about my reports, Sybil. I have had multiple reports commented on recently by multiple editors, who all said in their feedback to write all one paragraph, contrary to the way I had submitted it (in multiple paragraphs, which I agree with you would be the desired format). I just got used to doing it the way I have been forcing myself to do it. I would think they would be giving you the exact same feedback they are giving me.

I've never had an editor tell me to write in one long paragraph.

I'm with James. I've shopped since 2008 and am registered with 150+ companies. I have never received editor feedback requesting that reports be in one long paragraph rather than multiple paragraphs. Were the multiple editors who requested a long paragraph working for the same company? There are companies with unusual practices. One company even wants all text submitted in ALL CAPS.