I won't reveal Msc's name (PM me if you want to know). I did same shop for them 4 years ago for $14.00 (easy shop), and just saw it on the board for 12.00. OUCH!!

Hey look on the bright side it is not $4!

I've seen a shoe shop go from $18 to $14 to a new MSC for $10. Then it is bonused, usually for $14. It is a P&R, with a 1 1/2 hour wait. Might do it for $14 because I've earned $40 off and shoes are 2 for $99.

I miss the old company that had these. Usually I was able to get these assignments with a nice bonus.

My favorite is the company that wants more work for the electronic store at $12 and they want you to pay for proof you visited the store($2.00) plus their reports push your pay lower than a Walmart Greeter. They view your language, observation, people and writing skills at $6.00 per hour, not the best company to work for.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2016 12:57AM by GuyFawkes.

I agreed to do a car dealership for 22.00, phone call took half a page, and I don't even want to start the report......I should know better....

Just saw a company who released gas station shops last week at $9 now those same shops with same company this week are down to $7. All I can say is WTF

If it is the same shoe store shop that I am aware of, you forgot to mention that it is a purchase and return shop with a mandated wait of (I think) of an hour in between. So, two shops for $10. Even $18 was not enough unless I was there anyway, and then only sometimes.

@whosear wrote:

I've seen a shoe shop go from $18 to $14 to a new MSC for $10. Then it is bonused, usually for $14. It is a P&R, with a 1 1/2 hour wait. Might do it for $14 because I've earned $40 off and shoes are 2 for $99.

I tried one location of the shoe store with the old company. It only worked because it was near one of the entrances so I could start there complete three or four non-purchase shops then make the return on the way out. Sometimes I like a P/R in that scenario because of having a bag to carry to the other shops. It makes me feel less obvious than walking around empty handed. Since it has gone to the new company I just delete the email.

Whenever a company lowers the fee for a shop. I require more to perform it. I charge at least a dollar for the irritation the fee drop causes. Then, there is the charge for having to wait for the fee to rise.

For instance, the Maritz bank shops which used to be ten dollars with less questions and no required narrative. The fee is lower now for more work. They start at $9.50. I'll do them when they get to $15.

Hey TeriW and anyone else, the bank shops are now being promoted by another MSC broker (I guess that's the right term). It's kernscheduling or KSS international and was offering a bonus on top of the usual $9.50 fee.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I agreed to do a car dealership for 22.00, phone call took half a page, and I don't even want to start the report......I should know better....

Sorry Irene, I will never do those horrible $22 Luxury Shops again, last month another cool MSC paid me $75 for each car shop requiring less time. One Basic Shop is equal to 4 of those cursed $22 loathsome luxury car shops. Sorry you got stuck, I remember the last shop I did for them and promised myself "I will never do another shop for those cheapskates again! That was a year ago, I keep their low paying checks near my phone or computer to remind me we are worth more than that.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2016 04:57AM by GuyFawkes.

@TeriW wrote:

Whenever a company lowers the fee for a shop. I require more to perform it. I charge at least a dollar for the irritation the fee drop causes. Then, there is the charge for having to wait for the fee to rise.

For instance, the Maritz bank shops which used to be ten dollars with less questions and no required narrative. The fee is lower now for more work. They start at $9.50. I'll do them when they get to $15.

Teri, have you ever gotten stuck on their Investment Bank $12 Shops that require you to burn up almost a hour after talking and writing up the report? The Big Blue banks shops asking for information, their not getting touched for anything less than $40 now. Why is that?

I haven't seen those shops. Investment shops should be $50, at least, I would think.

@catgrannyof5 wrote:

Hey TeriW and anyone else, the bank shops are now being promoted by another MSC broker (I guess that's the right term). It's kernscheduling or KSS international and was offering a bonus on top of the usual $9.50 fee.

In my area some locations are scheduled by KSS and some by Maritz. Either way, the starting pay is too low at $9.50.

They seem to get to $15 quickly, at least the last two months. Surprisingly they seem to waive the 30 mile radius. It is not taken into consideration when the scheduling company gets them with the bonus.

Despite the occasional 40 minute plus visit, I like doing these shops. Very little narrative and easy reports.

always found ways to make money during the wait. The stores are in malls so I would go do a chocolate, cinnamon bun and cell phone shop. Usually a bag of chocolates, a box of buns and $25 -$40 in fees. Perhaps i would have a hoot ogling young girls and eating wings too.

I go on KSS to find the same Bank I did a month ago for 25.00, offered for 45.00 to Spanish speaking, I knew I should have taken Spanish in school...

I spoke to one of the schedulers at Maritz a few months back regarding the restricted certain mile radius for the bank shops. She explained that it was the client's instructions. I suggested if the client was willing to unrestrict the certain mile radius when the shops weren't picked up and it would be opened to any shopper. She explained that it was brought up before and the client wanted to keep the restricted mile radius.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I go on KSS to find the same Bank I did a month ago for 25.00, offered for 45.00 to Spanish speaking, I knew I should have taken Spanish in school...

It would not help you. I speak fluent Spanish, so well that people ask me numerous times a day where I am from. In a million years, they would not talk to me in Spanish in a bank unless I was out of the country.

I convinced my SO (who taught Spanish in high school for 40 years and is now an Adjunct Professor of Spanish) to do a Spanish-speaking account opening for another MSC. They paid her $250 and what she learned by speaking only Spanish and forgetting that she knew English has proven very beneficial when she trains ESL instructors. Despite "knowing" for years what it must be like to not understand the CSR (or whomever), actually getting immersed in the role was eye-opening for her. The following week, the same MSC offered her $240 to open a credit card account. She did that one also, and had a better experience, but still enlightening. She told me that she had to get herself into the mind-frame of when she goes to Spain, Mexico, or Argentina. She apparently has acquired a native accent and has had native speakers insist that she must have been raised in Puerto Rico. [As I explained to her, the fact that she trains ESL educators was the perfect cover story in case anyone asked why she was speaking Spanish. The cover story wasn't necessary, but that mindset helped her. She said that the hardest part was remembering not to understand any English, and to just smile.]

SoCalMama, you might want to think about taking one of those $250 savings account opening shops. My SO was in the bank for 20 minutes. If you are actually in Southern California, you probably have a greater chance of actually having fluent Spanish-speaking CSRs. My SO encountered a CSR who spoke no Spanish, and the Teller who did speak Spanish was not allowed by the Bank to help her until it was time to make the deposit.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I go on KSS to find the same Bank I did a month ago for 25.00, offered for 45.00 to Spanish speaking, I knew I should have taken Spanish in school...

It would not help you. I speak fluent Spanish, so well that people ask me numerous times a day where I am from. In a million years, they would not talk to me in Spanish in a bank unless I was out of the country.

There is an MSC pushing NO PAY shops - just the reimbursement (for a pizza no less!). Thanks but no thanks - I'm not that desperate.

myst4au, bilingual MS for SO is a great idea. I bet that $250 was better pay than what the university is giving her if it's anything like around where I live for language professors. I'm pretty sure out elementary school teachers make more than adjunct professors. So many adjuncts don't qualify for benefits and have less than ideal working conditions since if they complain they won't get classes to teach the next semester. Mystery shopping is probably a great supplement to the job.

@Kr wrote:

There is an MSC pushing NO PAY shops - just the reimbursement (for a pizza no less!). Thanks but no thanks - I'm not that desperate.

I'm shocked that someone takes a shop that requires a pizza and drink purchase and the "fee" just covers it. Same company has a sandwich shop with similar "pay". And, per the scheduler's email, even on a desperate "must have done today," the bonus cannot go higher than $2.

There are some fine dining shops that I'll pick up for reimbursement (depending upon the company, the report, and the restaurant), but a $10 pizza? Not unless I was literally starving to death.

I've done a couple of these.... The conditions were just right:
* I needed lunch/dinner on the road.
* The shops are fast and easy.
* The reports are fast and easy.
* My other options for food shops paid slightly more (think: $5), but took 3x as long.

I won't go out-out-of-my way for these, but I have no problem doing them if I need a meal and they are convenient. A free meal is better than a $15 meal.

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

@Kr wrote:

There is an MSC pushing NO PAY shops - just the reimbursement (for a pizza no less!). Thanks but no thanks - I'm not that desperate.

I'm shocked that someone takes a shop that requires a pizza and drink purchase and the "fee" just covers it. Same company has a sandwich shop with similar "pay". And, per the scheduler's email, even on a desperate "must have done today," the bonus cannot go higher than $2.

There are some fine dining shops that I'll pick up for reimbursement (depending upon the company, the report, and the restaurant), but a $10 pizza? Not unless I was literally starving to death.

You are exactly right....Adjuncts are the slaves of Academia.