SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> KateH Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Just to open some people's eyes. Last week I
> > received the acceptance email and the scheduler
> > who was on her drive home by mistake send me
> the
> > full invoice page. The shop is advertised at
> $12
> > initially. I did it bonused for $35. The
> invoice
> > to the client was $55!!!! Even bonused the
> company
> > makes a cool $20 profit. So please do not feel
> > sorry for all these sappy stories when
> schedulers
> > call you and offer $1.75 bonus, yes I got
> offered
> > this by a new scheduler last month.
>
> This is not taking into account any fees paid to
> the scheduler, editor or potential software
> platform, nor any cost of doing business. If
> there was $20 left when the shopper was paid,
> there's a good chance the MSC lost money on the
> shop...

55-12=$43 per shop, thousands of locations in the USA, done monthly. If it did not make a great profit, there would not be all the billion dollar MS companies and other multinationals in the field, or so many mom and pop MS companies with only 5 clients. For the companies that do the arches for example, to have to bonus shops to $100+, multiple locations, every month, it means that they make a handsome profit on the account. I had fine dining restaurants offering a $250 bonus because it was a last minute drop from another shopper. The client has only 60 locations around the USA so again the MS company makes a very handsome profit in order to offer me that bonus instead of the usual $10 fee. And I live in a metropolitan area, not even in a remote rural one.

If you think there is a MSC out there worth a billion dollars, you are mistaken.

Just looking at the press releases for the company that acquired Marketforce this year will tell you that they would be happy to see annualized revenue of $5 million from them. This a company that's posting over $60 million in gross receipts and also has over 500 employees, so it looks to me that creating a $5 profit from a $55 shop would be above average for a MSC of that caliber.

As far as the mom & pop MSCs go, I've known quite a few MSC owners and absolutely none of them had extravagant lifestyles. All were hard working people that struggled to keep their small business afloat. Sometimes part of the struggle is taking $5 from the profit of each of 50 shops you've received for the client and giving a $250 payment to a shopper in order to keep your client happy when a shopper cancelled on you. That's how and why bonuses exist.

If we take your $55 model and break it down, you see that $12 would go to the average shopper, but then you also have to set aside $5 to cover the bonuses on other shops. Another $5 may go to the scheduler and $5 more for the software platform where the shop was reported. If this MSC was particularly frugal they could get away with $8 to the editor as well. From the remaining $20 on that shop, you now have to pay the operating expense of your business. That includes taxes, employees, insurance, office rental, sales and marketing, accounting, MSPA dues, website hosting, shopper training, etc...

If you were a small MSC that could handle 2000 shops per month at that rate, that would mean you were publishing and finalizing 100 shops per day in an average workweek. That might all sound simple enough but you are forgetting about the number of shops that go bad, get rejected by the client or just have the shopper flake out. Now imagine managing a group of schedulers and editors to output those 100 shops per day, while fielding calls from one client per hour on average that is unhappy with their shop. How much time do you think it takes to deal with an irate client or shopper?

If you could manage to do all of that in a 10 hour workday each weekday and create $5 profit from each shop, you theoretically earn $10k per month, but the reality is that a situation like that is very hard to sustain over the long term. Things go awry and there are so many more complications in the world of running a MSC that it would be impossible to list them all here.

I have been in charge of operations for a MSC and can tell you that it's not a good lifestyle to me. It negatively impacted my health and personal relationships, and was probably the darkest times of my life when I look back on it. I'm grateful for the job I had because I really needed it at the time, but when I look around around my home and see pictures from the best moments of the past decade, they are almost all from mystery shops I have done; My trip to Paris in the spring, a stay in the Maldives last winter and a ski vacation in Colorado over the Christmas holiday. All were mystery shops.

Was I underpaid for the work I performed on those assignments? Most likely, yes...but those memories are like a Mastercard commercial. They are priceless to me and I look back fondly on most of my MS experiences. My point is that you should appreciate the freedom and experiences you have as a shopper, and don't get your panties (or boxers) in a bunch over the $5 profit the MSC makes off of your hard work. They can have their $5 and I'll take the free margarita on the beach in exchange for a page or two of narrative...

Marketforce was acquired by another company? I missed that. They had revenue in 2010 of $53 millions according to Forbes.

From BI last year:
"The average contract is $250,000, and more than 80% of Market Force's revenue is recurring with 1- to 3-year contracts. The goal for the next two to three years is to have the customer intelligence solution embedded in the C-suites of Market Force's top 25 clients, who spend an average of $3 million a year with the company.

Market Force competes in various related markets. The market for merchandising is $1.6 billion and growing at 4% per year, according to industry associations, with several large providers. The market for mystery shopping is approximately $700 million, with relatively flat growth. Market Force is the largest provider following several acquisitions (e.g., Shop 'N Chek and Certified Marketing Services), but the industry is still very fragmented. The market for customer feedback (also known as C-Sat) is approximately $1 billion, and according to Gartner, growing at 39% per year; it is also fragmented. Finally, the market for auditing is approximately $500 million and is growing moderately, but no outside research vendor tracks this market independently.

Some of Market Force's acquisitions came with marquee accounts such as General Mills and Sony, and today it has more than 200 clients including McDonald's, Panda Express, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Target, Sears, Benjamin Moore, McCormick, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kroger, Aldi, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, HSBC, Jackson Hewitt, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Its top target segments are restaurants (quick serve, fast casual); retail (mass, specialty, fashion); consumer packaged goods; entertainment; grocery/convenience; financial services; and wireless/telecom.

Management's plan is to grow over the next two to three years to be at least a $100 million business, growing organically at least 15% a year with profit margins at 20% EBIT."


Read more: [www.businessinsider.com]

And the above was before the retail eyes acquisition that has expanded the company overnight globewide to compete directly with the other multinationals.

Forbes, BI, and BW had marketforce with revenues over $50 million annually, and before the retail eyes acquisition. They state that their top 25 clients have $3 million annual contracts. That's definitely more than $5 million revenue total.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2013 04:39PM by KateH.

see this article: [seekingalpha.com]

Hi,
I don't understand the problem with the payment. You can be as selective as you want. If you don't like what your doing why do it?
I started out with the low paying shops which made my experience much better for the better paying shops. I am now in my 7th year.

I love my shopping experience. I set up a route, visit the shops, usually bonused and go out to eat! Most of my reports only take 15 minutes. There are a few that take longer, usually the pay is higher. I take this job as fun! Get your narratives perfect as possible. Have a good talk with your editors, they can be helpful.

I shop a minimum of 20 or more shops a month. Take off Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Usually there is a week off also. My average day pay is anywhere from $25. (1 shop) to $55 not including the free food at restaurants. I combine shops from one to three companies. I take a route to follow. I don't have children at home. Example:Tuesday-2 shops $55. Wednesday 1 shop $40. I just received a check from one company for over $300 and $189 from a month ago. These are basic shops not hotel. I'm not bragging, I just think if you do your research, make a route, complete all visits with reports usually the next day, be reliable, understand what the company wants from you and be happy!
I live in the Northeast.

To new shoppers!

I am an experienced shopper, seven years. I started with low paying shops for the experience. I gradually got to where I am today. I average two to three shops per day. Sometimes more. I select only the high paying shops. Sometimes you need experience and high grades (If they grade you. I am a 10 most of the time.) I only shop Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I average $123, sometimes more, sometimes less, not included is a $40 meal. These figures are from Oct.8 to Oct. 10, 2013. I leave Monday and Friday open in case a high paying shop becomes available with bonuses. I get frequent calls from schedules.

Notes: Purchase a black ink printer only. Cartridge last for a long time. Brothers has a good inexpensive one.
Use a scanner that is easy and automatically puts your receipts in JPeg if you want. NEATReceipts
The best thing I ever bought. The small single item one, portable.
Works great with Prophet, Sassie, and all systems. Never worry about your receipt not going in the correct way. Shopping companies love it.
Keep a calendar next to your computer at all times.
Do not apply for shops you can't do. Read GUIDELINES before committing.
Sometimes I have to ask a scheduler if they will send me the Guidelines if I'm not familiar with the shop.
Set up a route! Usually more than one company. You decide how far you want to go.
Use a GPS if routes are necessary. Be sure your at the right location or you will NOT get paid.
Airport shops are good if your doing multiple shops, they usually pay for parking if necessary.

I live in Massachusetts near Boston so I have thousands of choices, especially banking.
Just have fun and enjoy!

I am new to this forum! I just read StormCloud. What in insult to all of our shoppers.

KateH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Marketforce was acquired by another company? I
> missed that. They had revenue in 2010 of $53
> millions according to Forbes.

The revenue you are referring to is the total gross receipts for the company (which includes all of the shopper reimbursements that get's paid back to shoppers). That's not profit, or as it was referred to in the article I referenced, "annualized revenue".

The 2012 revenue for MFI is specifically listed as $66.4 million and that's the "over $60 million in gross receipts" I mentioned. That doesn't really jive with the claim about having 25 clients with $3 million dollar contracts, does it?

Your post referred to "all the billion dollar MS companies" but even looking at gross receipts for MFI, we have a company that's hoping to break $100 million in a few more years. That's nowhere near a billion dollars, and the article you posted clearly states, "The market for mystery shopping is approximately $700 million, with relatively flat growth". Mystery shopping is simply not a billion dollar business by any of these accounts.

Mary, if I ever get in trouble, you are my spokesperson. I need to say name calling is odious, abusive and reeks of superficial tendencies. I was once called "stupid" on this forum (why), because I choose to get an EIN#. I felt sorry
for the caller, he has a lack of humanity and had to build himself up....same in this case. Thank G__ for posters like Mary,
who eloquently elevate the forum. Not difficult to see who has the open mindedness and intellect to graciously put the poster in his/her place.

I have sort come to the conclusion that I will not work certain shops for $5-8 as there is too much work with the reports and they don't always cover the gas. Having said that, I will break the rule in order to get my foot in with a new shopping company, but I see jobs that I have done in the past on the boards for $7-8 and I say to myself, "Meh, not interested." The market will adjust if enough folks turn their noses up at what is being offered. That is my theory anyway...

I consider two main factors when evaluating if it is worth my time: shop fee and item received. If the item reimbursed has value to me, particularly if I would bought it on my own, it is essentially equivalent to a shop fee. In fact, in terms of tax, it may be even better. Alternatively, if the item is two orders of McFood that make me McFat, then the reimbursed items detract from the shop fee, or at least do not add to it. After that analysis, I consider time, length of report, and then decide whether it makes sense. It sounds complicated but after you have done a few shops, you find your sweet spot, and reject those that fall below it.

That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.