Bridge toll's and gas incentive.

I shop in an area with bridge toll's on their way to over $8.00 currently $4 to $5.00'
Gas almost or over $5.00.It's hard to break even on a $10'00 shop.
How have some of been able to continue at this rate.
Are there any company's helping out in this area.
I have gotten some $$ assistance myself by asking. I just don't do any shops that involve these issues.
The Graduate.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Gas Station Mystery Shopping

SOME MSCs will reimburse for tolls if they are asked. For gas, you're pretty much S.O.L. unless the shop is more than 20 or so miles away (maybe 10 in LARGE metropolitan cities). Again, all you can do is ask for a P.A.D. and see what they say. But, as with the trend in fees, in most cases, it may only be $4-$5.

The best you can usually do, is to schedule multiple shops in the same area on the same day to cut down on travel expense. You might still spend $10 on gas, but 4-5 $10-$15 shops could make it worth the trip.

You can always ask. Frequently I am asked to go to a nearby area that is accessible by bridge for $2 for the round trip. I find that when they do an extra promise to cover the toll I end up having to remind them about it too often. So more frequently if it is a job I would be willing to do for $15 without the bridge I will indicate a willingness to do it for $18 and compromise at $17--which covers the $2 for the bridge.

Every couple of months I get a plea for a shop well outside my "range". For these I use maps.google.com or mapquest.com to figure the mileage and even more importantly the travel time. I then give them a quote on the job that would be fair to me as an "orphan" shop. Often I get outrage, but darn it, if you don't like the price I would charge, find somebody who is closer than 110 miles away from the location! You asked, I just quoted what would be fair to me. I wasn't chasing you down to offer to do jobs in the boonies.

We have a similar problem, Graduate. NJ is to the east of my county, over a bridge, but even if I were reimbursed (I think it's $4 now) for the toll, I wouldn't spend 1 1/2 hours in traffic each way to go. To the east there's a body of water with no direct access. The 30-mile rule I set up with my companies doesn't give me many jobs that are accessible. I'm still trying to work this out.

Hello FLASH,
I think the way that you are handling the (Specials) is the best way, and about the same way I handle those situations.
The Graduate.

Flash has been doing this for years, and is in a bargaining position. It takes time to get that far. In my metro area, there's also more competition. When I asked for $50 apiece to do 2 emergency jobs, they got someone else.

Even from early on you can do some bargaining. You have to be fair to yourself first and foremost because you are, after all, running a business. You also have to be happy enough to walk away from a job that is not a viable business proposition. If another shopper is willing to do the job for less for whatever reason that is fine with me.

It's not the same, unfortunately. We're not treated as if we're in business. In my own business, I wouldn't work for that kind of money. If you count all the time online, searching for jobs and registering, you're making only a few dollars an hour or less. In my own business, I charge enough to make my time worthwhile. But also people don't tell me how to do the job or what tools to use, only the results that they want. It's presumed I know what I'm doing.

In my own business I'm also not asked to give everything but my grandmother's maiden name to prove I actually did the job. You know why they ask all those questions about the appearance of the workers, or the exact second we arrived. And why we have to scan in a business card AND then also quote exactly what's on the card.

It's true this is only part-time, but we're for the most part not treated as contractors.

I guess I've been doing this long enough that I don't even get bent out of shape by that stuff any more. I feel blessed because I don't have to chase every job to be able to pay the bills and can treat this like a business. And so I picked up a shop this evening that needs to be done 4/1 or 4/2. Now I will watch for other jobs in the same general area that can be done on the same trip. I expect I will pick up 3 or 4 jobs to do on the same trip since there is time to watch the websites of companies I know have monthly jobs out that way. It may take me a little time to find them, but I will try to turn it into a $100 day.

I know you're trying to encourage me. Thanks. It's a long time since you started, and you've forgotten some of this stuff about how newbies are treated. I won't continue it here.

It also seems that you don't have a lot of competition where you live. Try a metro area like mine where there are 35 million people and 15 bridges and see if you make $100/day.

Anyway, we've gotten way off the topic.

I have found that some schedulers will even help you when this is an issue by encouraging me to accept four or five shops in the same general area in order to make it worth while when I leave my comfort zone "distance/bridge's etc." Others will send back a curt email reply such as "If you think it's too far don't respond."
nuff said.
The Graduate.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Bridge toll's and gas incentive.

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine