If I were making $100K a year, would I mystery shop? Uh, NO! What could I do with $150 for two or three hours of work that I couldn't do already making that kind of money? smh

As my income rose over the years, there are some things I said I would never do again. I worked at a convenient store when I was 16, overnight. I fell asleep twice and remember 'waking up' on the drive home. One night, four officers came in running. Two went to the back room immediately, one went into the cooler and one kneeled down under my register and started to explain how they were tipped off that the store was about to be robbed.

If I could start eliminating shops, the first to go would be shops that require memorizing names and/or descriptions of every employee, such as the big box store and several grocery shops. Next to go would the shops where you have to convince the sales associate that you are ready to buy today, only to say at the end of a 15 minute presentation that you are still looking.

As far as non-mystery shopping jobs that I'd never do again...the part-time retail jobs that I did in high school.

At age 17 I was the day shift manager at an A&W Root Beer stand for the summer before college. I smelled like root beer for 10 weeks, even with daily shampoos! Never again. One valuable short term job lesson, where the job I did was not bad, but... I saw how the secretaries in a relative's office were treated and what they earned. I decided to refuse to take the typing course in my high school, specifically so that I would not have to be pushed toward such work. (Daddy had a fit!) That also was powerful motivation to take a non-traditional college major!

Some days I regret that I never became a touch typist; then I smile at what I missed (being "allowed" into the family business as a secretary) and continue hunting and pecking.

@walesmaven wrote:

At age 17 I was the day shift manager at an A&W Root Beer stand for the summer before college. I smelled like root beer for 10 weeks, even with daily shampoos! ...

A college roommate worked at Burger King. The smell of onions seeped into every pore and couldn't be removed with a sandblaster!

Orange Julius wasn't too bad, at least I smelled like oranges and hot dogs. In college I thought it would be a good idea to work graveyard at a nursing home while attending classes in the daytime. Sad to say I only made it one night,

Hats off to the folks who work at nursing homes. They do such important work and are shamefully underappreciated and underpaid. I don't think I'd last a day in that job.

My household income is well over $100,000. I still shop full time. I'm not wasting my time reading instructions for shops under $10, no matter how many I can do as a route. I got a call to do mystery shop / reveal gas station audits last week. Same fee as when I used to do them in the early 2000's. So, no way. My kids were in the car. They had to laugh. The fee was literally unchanged. My COL is higher 15 years later. Call me with a $5,000 weekend for 2 type of shop, you bet I'll do it, regardless of my income. Can I afford a $5,000 weekend? Sure, as a treat. But I'll do them all the time if they are fully reimbursed with a fee on top. The less time I spend on $10 jobs, the more time I have to search and perform higher paying jobs.

I will "never say never" about any job. My dear friend, an Emmy award winning announcer, got prostate cancer. He had not been working much the last few years, mostly due to lack of work due to too many reality shows. He took a job at Walgreen's for the health insurance. I walked in one day and heard the most beautiful overhead announcement for one of their sales. Then, I went to the front register. There was my dear friend. I have so much respect for him for doing what he had to do, despite that some people would look down on him. I took a part time job with full time benefits as well this year. Once I no longer needed the benefits, I stayed on. It's easy (for me), mindless, and there's no marathon report to do when I get home.

Ikea! Never ever again.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I will "never say never" about any job.

Agreed with SCM.

When you are not so worried about making ends meet, you have the option to pick & choose your shops, and your hourly rate/reimbursements can be as high as you wish.

I'm not concerned with the salary I make on shops, but I'm already nearing $50k in reimbursements for this year...and that's tax free. That's roughly equivalent to the take-home pay for someone salaried at $100k!

I won't do the car dealerships and certain restaurants. The BJ's restaurant easy report, I won't mind doing occasionally. I would be very choosy about doing some MS jobs. I wouldn't take the $100,000 salary for granted and remain humble since other forces may change your situation.

In the realm of things, $100K really isn't a whole lot of money. It is nothing to sneeze at but I know many people who would consider that an average income.

I won't be a fry cook again. I will not help tear down carnival rides again, once was enough, it was a ferris wheel. I will not work for a brick layer again.

The only MS client I am boycotting is Sonic, I just do not like anything about their food.

I wonder why they are requiring that you have an income of $100k to test drive a car. It pays $150 so maybe you actually need to apply. If it's that you need to "look the part", well I can do that. I think I'll pass though. I don't like the $40 auto sales shops, I'll probably like this even less. What can I really find out about a sales person in one hour anyway? I need to really, really, hurry through the grocery shops and that takes me 25 minutes. I think the auto sales shops need to be video recorded and at least allow two hours, plus write up and pay $125. Otherwise you are just getting the fast food version of the sales techniques. You don't get any of the little nuances, like when the creepy one keeps looking at your chest, the one who hasn't taken a shower in god knows how long, the one who tells you all about the crappy management etc.

And the irony here...I make well over the $100K but dress and look like a hippy...which to most I'm sure is probably minimum wage or under....lol

Definitely something to be proud of, looking like a 'minimum wager' whilst having bank.

@walesmaven wrote:

At age 17 I was the day shift manager at an A&W Root Beer stand for the summer before college. I smelled like root beer for 10 weeks, even with daily shampoos! Never again. One valuable short term job lesson, where the job I did was not bad, but... I saw how the secretaries in a relative's office were treated and what they earned. I decided to refuse to take the typing course in my high school, specifically so that I would not have to be pushed toward such work. (Daddy had a fit!) That also was powerful motivation to take a non-traditional college major!

Some days I regret that I never became a touch typist; then I smile at what I missed (being "allowed" into the family business as a secretary) and continue hunting and pecking.

Wales, sounds like we had similar pasts although I was the car hop at the A&W, not the manager. I did it because my dad refused to allow me to be a car hop so when I was away at college that was the first job I got.. I was earning 75 c an hour and all the root beer I could drink.. In the winter the stand was cold inside and we had to fish for the frozen mugs with our bare hands and then walk out into the bitterly cold parking lot with bare, cold, freezing and still wet hands to deliver the food. The cars of high school kids would park at the far end of the lot and order 6 of those heavy frozen root beer mugs and then sometimes steal one or two which i would have to pay for.
Even though all I knew how to do was hunt and peck on a typewriter it did not stop almost every company I applied at after getting my degree from offering me ONLY a secretarial job. We've come a long way baby from those days.

@nixkit wrote:

And the irony here...I make well over the $100K but dress and look like a hippy...which to most I'm sure is probably minimum wage or under....lol

Me too. I've been out of my professional field for so long, I no longer own suits or nice business clothes.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I have so much respect for him for doing what he had to do, despite that some people would look down on him.

Well said. I think this mindset has not been instilled in a lot of people. You do what you have to do to take care of yourself and your family. It's not always pretty, but honest work is good work.

The job I would never do again is any place where I'm not the only chain-smoker. A long time ago, I worked in a small office where 4 of the 6 people smoked all day long, every day. The smell sticks with you probably as much as the root beer. (At the time, I needed the work. The working climate has changed, though, so it would never be like that again.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2016 06:13AM by PasswordNotFound.

$100K is just not that much in some areas of the country - mine included. My personal income is well above this amount and I am solid middle class in my area of the country. I make no actual income from MSing. I shop for lifestyle enhancement and for a break from my corporate life which is high stress and demanding. SoCalMama said it well - can I afford a $5K weekend? Yes, but not every weekend. My shopping activity gives me the opportunity to go to the Maldives, stay at $800 a night hotels, and fly Emirates first class (through points earned on flights taken for shops). Yes, while I make a good living - shopping allows me to live so incredibly beyond my means it's crazy. Shopping for me is the next best thing to just being rich.

If I won a massive lottery this week the only thing that would change would be my vehicle and abode.

I'd sell my home. Then I would buy a truck and a nice sized camper. I'd load up the dog and the 3 cats I'm not willing to part with and hit the road. Might even figure out how to tow a boat behind the camper so I can plan my shops around fishing.

I would probably do more shops per month.

Since I'd be rich from the lottery, I could pick up the easy peasy shops that the fees are laughable.

I'd see the country and in theory pay for gas and food everyday without having to attack my capital investments.

I might even get another dog.

@MickeyB wrote:

SoCalMama said it well - can I afford a $5K weekend? Yes, but not every weekend. My shopping activity gives me the opportunity to go to the Maldives, stay at $800 a night hotels, and fly Emirates first class (through points earned on flights taken for shops). Yes, while I make a good living - shopping allows me to live so incredibly beyond my means it's crazy. Shopping for me is the next best thing to just being rich.

There is a place for any income in mystery shopping. It's the attitude that makes a shopper not the income. I agree with MickeyB and SoCalMama on the above. But the difference is I don't do these fabulous shops that include flying around the world and fancy hotels. Right now I just squeeze a few what i consider fun shops in. These are completely different from the ones the schedulers consider fun. I try for mostly reimbursement with small fees as most of the fees are eaten up by taxes in my high tax state.

I learned not to work with your spouse...years ago (30) when starting our own commercial Real Estate Appraisal business, and having just closed it after 50 years, my ex was impossible to work with, kinda my way only. Thank G__ I got pregnant at age 34 and didn't have to work. I did work and helped design models when he was building a development in Calabasas and we built our own house. I learned so much through him, he was a smart guy and we're still friends. I wish I made 100 grand today, I went through lots of money, my big regret. MSing, the job I did today for $15, a big low. Spectrum, the health club bought out a huge cable T.V. firm, and evaluating the RSS, a body builder, who wished he were back in the Gym. had me thinking...what the @#@%__ am I doing. Hotels, trips and good food keep me in the business, and keep my ole brain working...though I work for certain companies that some consider low payers, but I really like and are close by, so, at 79, I can't complain.

Jobs I dislike, dealerships for 17.00 (please), fast food (never), dinners without a fee (although I do them, but less now), companies trying to take advantage, are rude, cheap, and users......too many more to mention.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2016 07:51PM by Irene_L.A..

@KathrynD wrote:

@nixkit wrote:

And the irony here...I make well over the $100K but dress and look like a hippy...which to most I'm sure is probably minimum wage or under....lol

Me too. I've been out of my professional field for so long, I no longer own suits or nice business clothes.

Though I have no place to wear my designer suits any longer, I love them, keep them and now and again take them out to look at what used to be.....living in L.A. is causal, and I like it, but what fun to get dressed up in a great Armani suit......maybe when I'm reincarnated.....

This was a very long time ago but I briefly worked for a company that used to advertise about ten albums for a dollar or so. Then once you joined, you would be expected to pay for the album that they sent you every month, unless you mailed in a little card saying that you didn't want the album. Anyway, I was in the returns room; meaning I had to open all the boxes that contained the returned albums and stack them in piles. I also worked as a telephone solicitor for one day but owing to the fact that I didn't make any sales, I was let go.

As far a MS, I won't sign up for any more car negotiation shops. I did one which was a time consuming failure and did not make any money. I actually went to the dealership three times and it was a total disaster.

My income from my main job + profit from renting out my rooms already exceeds $100,000 per year. But I still shop.... A lot.

@Sybil2 wrote:

In the realm of things, $100K really isn't a whole lot of money. It is nothing to sneeze at but I know many people who would consider that an average income.

Well, location is everything... Got into a deep conversation with my family out in Cali when I was over there this past weekend. The cost of living is significantly higher than what I'm living with out here in Denver, but it makes sense; the salary differences of the same position from Cali to Colorado definitely show and match more with the cost of living.

$100k in most areas in Cali is worth much less than say Colorado. Take that $100k salary into the south, and you'll be living like a king (or queen)!

Taxes alone in CA are off the chart, and again went up. We have something called Mellow Roos for new homes in our town that go to our school system. They used to be about a hundred and are now $500.00, yes, they are tax deductible, but still. State tax is over 9%...still, my golden state is worth it, wouldn't trade it for the world..we have everything and then some....having said that, we could still live nicely on 100 grand, especially a senior with a paid off house, no kids to put through college or cars to buy......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2016 08:26PM by Irene_L.A..

@sandyf wrote:

There is a place for any income in mystery shopping. I try for mostly reimbursement with small fees as most of the fees are eaten up by taxes in my high tax state.

We've been looking for a place to retire in a few years in one of the [www.govspot.com] states with no income tax. Some of these make up for it in property tax, but since we're downsizing considerably, we should be okay.

I like what you said about there being a place for all income levels. There's a place in this industry for just about everyone.

ETA: typo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2016 09:24PM by PasswordNotFound.

We've been looking for a place to retire in a few years in one of the [www.govspot.com] states with no income tax. Some of these make up for it in property tax, but since we're downsizing considerably, we should be okay.

You need to look at a lot more than taxes. I have seen articles in magazines such as Money and Kiplingers that compare all the taxes from one state to the next, not just income taxes. But you also have to take into account what is available in each city you look at. We get a lot of services from the government here in our high tax state. Florida, on the other hand is a low tax state but I recall they started to tax services when my mom lived there. Perhaps they stopped that but taxing doctors and lawyers and expensive services like that could really add up when you are retirement age and sometimes end up at the doctor as often as workers go to work. And don't get me started on Louisiana where my daughter lives. low salaries, virtually no govt services, and almost all the nationwide discount programs I look at thru organizations work in every state but Louisiana, Mississippi and one or two others. You might also check to see if there is a healthy amount of mystery shopping where you choose to move if you want to continue with that.

@sandyf wrote:

We've been looking for a place to retire in a few years in one of the [www.govspot.com] states with no income tax. Some of these make up for it in property tax, but since we're downsizing considerably, we should be okay.

You need to look at a lot more than taxes. I have seen articles in magazines such as Money and Kiplingers that compare all the taxes from one state to the next, not just income taxes. But you also have to take into account what is available in each city you look at. We get a lot of services from the government here in our high tax state. Florida, on the other hand is a low tax state but I recall they started to tax services when my mom lived there. Perhaps they stopped that but taxing doctors and lawyers and expensive services like that could really add up when you are retirement age and sometimes end up at the doctor as often as workers go to work. And don't get me started on Louisiana where my daughter lives. low salaries, virtually no govt services, and almost all the nationwide discount programs I look at thru organizations work in every state but Louisiana, Mississippi and one or two others. You might also check to see if there is a healthy amount of mystery shopping where you choose to move if you want to continue with that.

Sandy, NV has over built and homes, condo's are cheap and cheaper with no state tax. Mystery shopping is off the hook paying more than CA. they actually have a couple nice communities a few miles from the strip, like a regular community. I have thought about it for myself....but right now, too chicken, however, if my property taxes and home owners keep going up, who knows!!