Hi.

I started doing mystery shopping about 6 months ago because I couldn't do my normal job due to breaking my leg, which has never really healed.

The first place I joined was okay, but their pay was only $17 to $19, their website to do the reviews kept messing up, and I had one time when I had bad service and they sent it to the company who complained and said that the staff member was their best salesperson. I pointed out that in my interactions with her, she had no product knowledge but kept flirting with me to try to make the sale. If they think she is a good worker, it's up to them, and she made lots of sales, but she had no idea of the product and made loads of mistakes.

I joined a second place, and they were wonderful, giving me $22 to $26 and almost never criticised my reports. I heavily criticised one place who just had staff members sit around chatting to each other, and in response they gave me a job with the same company as an intercept worker, paying $300 in 6 hours across 2 days to do surveys. The few times that they ask me about my report it's because what I said was poorly-worded or ambiguous.

The difference between the two places was stark, but I wasn't getting enough jobs even between the two, so I joined every other one I could find, 10 more, or 12 total. Of them, 3 never got back to me, while one signed me up but I had a corrupted login that wouldn't work and they wouldn't fix. So I have 8. Of those 8, so far 5 have given me jobs, including the 2 above and 3 more.

The third one I joined was horrendous. Firstly, they paid just $16 for a 2-part job where I had to make a phone call and then the next day I had to go in and try on some clothing, with far too much work for far too little money. The second job they gave me had a $10 minimum spend plus just $8 reimbursement ($18 total) but the actual cheapest thing there cost $15, so I only got $3. But that wasn't the worst part of it - the worst part was that the evaluator was hyper-critical, getting upset with me for saying that they had bad service, when they did. She made me remove all criticism of the staff member who served me, for both jobs, in spite of one of them swearing at me and the other one ignoring me for 22 minutes, and then she withheld my payments and issued me with a formal warning. She said I'd be paid for future jobs but those 2 jobs, including my $15 purchase, were not going to be reimbursed. I eventually did a 3rd job with them that involved me announcing I was a mystery shopper and seeing how much they panicked - and boy did they ever panic - for just $30. And when I did that one I asked when I'd be paid for the first 2. Another staff member told me that there was no freeze on my payments and I hadn't received an official warning, and that the evaluator had no power to do that. They eventually found out what had happened - one of the forms I had used to sign up with had been lost, and the accountant apologised. Now, maybe that's all it was, but, based on what happened later, I wonder if the evaluator hid it. After the apology, I signed up for 5 jobs in a week, and did them all at once. But then this evaluator came in and froze me again, this time saying that I hadn't said the right name of the shop that I had pretended I was angry about (as this was an angry complaint shop). But I had said it exactly as it was written. She banned my payments and put me on probation. That was it. I quit. The company said that they would pay me the $12 that they owed me for that shop, plus the rest of it, but they said nothing about the behaviour of the evaluator.

By the way, I went with a 4th one who paid me $60 for a 2-part shop (phone call and visit) but then upped it to $70 because they couldn't get enough people who wanted to do it. They told me off for saying that the place was too small, as they wanted me to focus on the customer service not the size of the store, but otherwise were great. I did 2 more $70 jobs for them last week, and as far as I know it's all good. I signed up for 7 more and will see if I get them. I also signed up for a big promotion where, if I get the job, I get to stay in hotels and luxury resorts as part of some hotel judging competition.

I also started working for the 5th one. They had 2x $15 jobs. One of them had a purchase with no minimum amount but it wasn't reimbursed, but the minimum amount was $7.50 for some paint I will never use. The other one was $15 with no purchase amount. I was annoyed at losing $7.50 for no reason, and having effectively $7.50 for the job (but note that one of the other ones had a $15 spend and only $3 payment on top of it, so this isn't as bad as that one).

But the 3rd one was really horrid. I was considering complaining, but I'd already complained about her before, and now she was not only repeating it but escalating it and making it worse.

Was I right to quit? Or should I have just put up with not being paid for work I have done? And being abused like crazy by them?

Are you quitting just one company? It doesn't sound like you are quitting mystery shopping all together because you are talking about hotels in the future. (Which are very tedious).

My hindsight is 20/20 on two companies that I quit. I look back now and wish I didn't quit. I would have rather not done any jobs until I found the right ones for me. The two companies that I quit a long time ago now have my favorite jobs.

My suggestion is not to quit. Just put them on hold and stop the emails and contact. Just sign on every once in a while to see if there's anything you want to do. Jobs come and go, so do schedulers and editors. The schedulers and editors you are dealing with now may not be there later.

Go with the companies that you feel happy with. Get more involved with them and get more time under your belt. Things seem a lot simpler as time goes on.

But, if you are through, you are through. Don't look back. Keep on keeping on.

Where is ShopperBob aka TerminatorBob? He's a huge advocate of "terminating" the relationship with the shopping company if it doesn't meet his standards.

There are several companies I will either no longer work with or only work with for the right price. You are running your own business and will figure out which companies work best for you.

There's a difference between a disagreement and abuse. I've terminated 2 companies based on abusive conduct and withholding of payments by their personnel after politely "going through proper channels" and being stonewalled. Walking away from that was like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders and far better things have replaced them. Lesson learned.

There are many types of assignments. Consider what you enjoy, what you're good at, and read these forums to learn, because there's a tremendous amount of wisdom, kindness, and experience here.

Example: I'm not a gas station route person, but many love to stack them in a day of routes, and use the gallons of fuel reimbursed to fund other jobs. I'm also very cautious about going out of pocket for "reimbursed expenses" until I evaluate the company's performance and integrity with an assignment that doesn't require it.

I also learned I can trust the wisdom here.

You're just starting out. There's a learning curve for this business, each company, and type of assignment.

Attention to detail matters. Read guidelines carefully, do exactly what's asked, and review them again before you submit your reports. Most companies want facts, not opinions. Some report questions aren't clear, so ask. Some companies expect detailed narratives asking about your impressions. All want clarity and good grammar. Some will even give examples of the writing style they're seeking and how they want the individuals you may be evaluating addressed in your report (example: "associate" or "sales professional" vs. the name of the person).

If you're using a platform that doesn't allow spell and grammar checks, cut and paste your writing into a decent word processing program, do the grammar and spell check, paste the narrative back into the report, and read it again to be sure it flows well. If they want a narrative, you're telling a story.

Also, this is YOUR business. You're now an entrepreneur. Keep good records. You get to choose what you will and will not do and for whom. It's tempting to take any job that's offered and you can learn a lot that way, but do the math in advance to make sure you're not just covering your overhead (transportation, device use, subscriptions, taxes, etc) but you are also making what you need/want for your TIME.

Minimum wage varies by state and sometimes within a state. Federal minimum is $ 7.50/hour. IRS mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile. Regular gas where I live is closing in on $7/gallon. It's not even worth considering a job for less then $20 within a 10-15 mile radius, and that amount needs to increase as I consider additional miles.

Some companies offer more than others, and some are known for "low balling" their jobs with creative marketing pitches that make them sound better then they are.

If you're not netting at least minimum wage, it's time to aim higher unless you're truly good with making less or...you're OK paying to work after all the math is done.

These forums offer a wealth of experience and experiences.

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies.

I still am wondering if quitting was the right move, as opposed to either just putting up with it and not taking any more jobs, or quietly talking to someone about it.

The problem is that it's just about impossible to talk to anyone, and when she did her first things it took me almost 3 months to get paid the $34 for the first 2 jobs, which included $10 of reimbursement for a job that had a $15 minimum spend, and gave me $15 of costume jewellery that not even little kids want. I was $15 out of pocket for 3 months. I didn't want to do any more jobs because I was scared that I wouldn't be paid, and having to pay my own money and then not even get a reimbursement felt horrible.

I then had reassurances from other people that I'd be paid, then I was paid finally, and I was told that she was effectively just a spell-checker and had no power to issue formal written warnings or to freeze my payments, and they then found out that one of my forms when I signed up was missing. I think now that she probably hid it, but at the time they told me that it was an accident. I say that she probably hid it because she went around deleting messages that I sent to other people about her and was going to lengths to hide her guilt. But, in saying that, they didn't seem to support her, and she was probably on edge of being fired.

So when I did the 5 jobs at once, worth $77 (including a $10 reimbursement for a glass of beer, so $67 otherwise for 5 jobs, and there were actually 2 pubs with near-identical names right next to each other and I went to the wrong one initially, so paid 2 lots of $10, or $20, but that was my error), and then had one come back with a rejection, that was it.

Just her saying that it was wrong again would have probably been enough for me to quit, but going all the way to rejecting the whole thing, it was too much.

They had shown no real interest in disciplining her or stopping her, as she did it again.

The company has now told me that they will pay me the whole $77, including the $12 job that the editor rejected, but they banned me from the whole system.

The jobs were fun but the payments were tiny.

I've tried to work out how much I've gotten from others, but I guess the problem is that this one did have a lot of jobs, and it's not like I was missing jobs elsewhere to do it, as even with this I still had spare time, and now I've just cut off a bunch of work that I could have had, and now I'm banned from there.

I don't know if I did the right thing or not. I thought I'd feel good about it but I don't really.

I had hoped that the company would reassure me and tell me not to quit, but they've just banned me and they won't communicate with me.

Maybe I shouldn't have quit.

I feel rotten and confused.

I have learned that I have a temper when it comes to not being paid. I will fly off the handle quick! I have also learned to step back for a while, cool off, and think about both sides: my side and theirs. After a while, I tend to be glad that I did cool off first.

@ozshopper wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

I still am wondering if quitting was the right move, as opposed to either just putting up with it and not taking any more jobs, or quietly talking to someone about it.

The problem is that it's just about impossible to talk to anyone, and when she did her first things it took me almost 3 months to get paid the $34 for the first 2 jobs, which included $10 of reimbursement for a job that had a $15 minimum spend, and gave me $15 of costume jewellery that not even little kids want. I was $15 out of pocket for 3 months. I didn't want to do any more jobs because I was scared that I wouldn't be paid, and having to pay my own money and then not even get a reimbursement felt horrible.

I then had reassurances from other people that I'd be paid, then I was paid finally, and I was told that she was effectively just a spell-checker and had no power to issue formal written warnings or to freeze my payments, and they then found out that one of my forms when I signed up was missing. I think now that she probably hid it, but at the time they told me that it was an accident. I say that she probably hid it because she went around deleting messages that I sent to other people about her and was going to lengths to hide her guilt. But, in saying that, they didn't seem to support her, and she was probably on edge of being fired.

So when I did the 5 jobs at once, worth $77 (including a $10 reimbursement for a glass of beer, so $67 otherwise for 5 jobs, and there were actually 2 pubs with near-identical names right next to each other and I went to the wrong one initially, so paid 2 lots of $10, or $20, but that was my error), and then had one come back with a rejection, that was it.

Just her saying that it was wrong again would have probably been enough for me to quit, but going all the way to rejecting the whole thing, it was too much.

They had shown no real interest in disciplining her or stopping her, as she did it again.

The company has now told me that they will pay me the whole $77, including the $12 job that the editor rejected, but they banned me from the whole system.

The jobs were fun but the payments were tiny.

I've tried to work out how much I've gotten from others, but I guess the problem is that this one did have a lot of jobs, and it's not like I was missing jobs elsewhere to do it, as even with this I still had spare time, and now I've just cut off a bunch of work that I could have had, and now I'm banned from there.

I don't know if I did the right thing or not. I thought I'd feel good about it but I don't really.

I had hoped that the company would reassure me and tell me not to quit, but they've just banned me and they won't communicate with me.

Maybe I shouldn't have quit.

I feel rotten and confused.

Be very careful when moving up to these hotel shops. You have had issues with editors and not being paid. Is it worth the risk on these $$$ shops? If you are annoyed over $10, picture $400… yeah, not good. I have done hundreds of shops over 15 years and still hesitate with ones with large outlay because it’s too big a risk. If it were a hotel somewhere I needed to be anyway, maybe. But the ones near me just don’t seem worth it. Especially the ones where you pay, then they reverse the charges in a few weeks. And if they don’t???

I did do a hotel/casino shop once. Two nights, 3 restaurants plus valet, etc. It took a very long time to do that report. And I sweated it out til I got the approval. I see a combined hotel plus in-house restaurant one available now but it’s over 300 questions with extensive narratives. I don’t think so.

Good luck.