I quit shopping one group of restaurants in my area (and apparently others did also) because after changing from one MSC to another, the shops no longer had a fee for my report writing time (approx. 1 1/2 to 2 hours) and the reimbursement amount decreased. This used to be a very popular shop that was hard to get. Now they are sending out e-mails that indicate that they will waive shopper rotation and occasionally have a drawing for $25 dollars. I believe they are shooting themselves in the foot because they do not get the variety of shoppers they used to have and there is a greater chance of identifying the mystery shoppers.

whiterosie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> There are several shops I will take the moment
> they appear because I love doing them even if it
> is just for a free meal. For the rest, I wait and
> wait and wait, until close to the end of the
> month. I've been paid as much as $80 to eat at
> Arches, $50 to do a gas station audit, etc. I
> have enough other types of work, i.e., political
> work, writing, etc., that I am not going to bust
> my butt for a $6 hamburger unless I want it for
> the hamburger, not the money.
>
> I also mystery shop because so much of the other
> work I do I can do in my nightgown at home.
> Mystery shopping forces me to get out of the
> house, meet people and be connected to the outside
> world.
>
> We all have our reasons for mystery shopping. But
> as someone who went through a really tough time
> financially for a short period of time a few years
> ago (due to a medical condition where I could not
> work), I really have come to resent those that
> take advantage of others because they know so many
> are desperate to make money any way they can.
> There is a very userous aspect to this business
> and it will continue that way as long as we have a
> sucky economy and lots of people just trying to
> survive.

I agree! Some shops I do because it's something I would do anyway, such as dining out. I get a free meal, even if I end up not making any profit. Even if I pay extra out of pocket (such as when I take the family on a dining shop), it was an enjoyable experience, and I figure I've gotten at least some of it paid for. On some restaurant shops, I make decent money, especially if I take them when there's a bonus. But, there are some I simply won't do. Getting $8 for an office-supply shop where I have to buy something that's not reimbursed is ludicrous. Never done one and never will, unless they up the pay! Or, cell-phone shops seem to be a lot of work for the pay, and I won't do those, either. I've done a couple post-office shops, but won't do one again, unless I really have something to mail that fits within the guidelines and for which I won't have to pay extra out of my own pocket. The first postal shop I did, it wasn't made clear in the instructions that reimbursement for the specific weight range they required would only be made based on a certain zone range. I had a package I needed to send for my business, but it wasn't within the weight guidelines, so I just mailed a book to my sister. I had to add stuff to get to the right weight. Turns out that even though the weight was correct and my sister lives only one mailing zone away from me, the reimbursement didn't cover the postage. So I paid $2 out of pocket from a $10 shop that took me nearly two hours in all to do. So not worth it.....

A lot is expected of mystery shoppers, and it takes time do do a shop correctly and write a report professionally. I work very hard at doing the shop and writing my reports, and am more than willing to do it if the reimbursement is worthwhile. I think some MSCs need to re-think their pay scales. How can they expect to get top-notch shoppers with outstanding observation and writing skills for less than minimum-wage pay? And I think shoppers need to go into this field with eyes wide open. If you're doing it to make money, you have to be very selective about what shops you take. If you're doing it to get things for free, or nearly so, that you would ordinarily do anyway (such as amusement park shops, bowling shops, postal shops in which you have a legitimate need to mail something, etc.), then that's something else. I imagine many of us do this for both reasons, but you need to be clear in your own mind about how much effort you're willing to put in for the pay offered, depending on what you want to get out of it. I'm relatively new at this, but am learning to look very hard at a shop before I grab it, even if it looks on the surface to be a good one. I took a bowling shop for this coming weekend, and am already beginning to regret it, because I think it's going to be a LOT of work and there's no real profit in it. I took it because the family and I love to bowl, and haven't been in ages. So this seemed like a great idea--bowling for free! But already I'm dreading the amount of work involved in the report. But maybe it won't be as bad as it looks! I'll live up to my commitment and do the best job I can, but will just have to see if it ends up being worthwhile.


I work mostly at home, too, and it's nice to be able to get out into the "real" world and engage with other adults! So, that's a non-tangible benefit, but one that's worth it for some of us....

peachgirl Wrote:
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> It does annoy me when I see the $4.00 shops for a
> certain company getting snatched up by new
> shoppers. The reason is this....they are costing
> all of us money as this company will raise the pay
> up, up, & up!! AARRRGGGHHH! I find this soo
> frustrating. I've had shops that I've been doing
> for the last year or so that always paid
> well.($15-$30) Now, people are picking them up for
> $4.00. Wish these folks would find this forum!!!



yes but new shoppers need to get their ratings up otherwise theywill be constantly passed on the big shops. I am still constantly passed up on $30 shops in this one company.

enrewen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> yes but new shoppers need to get their ratings up
> otherwise theywill be constantly passed on the big
> shops. I am still constantly passed up on $30
> shops in this one company.


I think those ratings are highly over rated. As I posted in this forum once before those ratings are worth about as much as those little purple and silver stars 1rst grade teachers put on the kids papers.

Seems like above poster needs to find a new profession and stop wasting his time badmouthing shoppers, as we all know
which companies pay too little and who not to work for, it is a very old story. I eat free, and enjoy it since I have to eat anyway, got paid 30.00 to buy great food (steak and wild Salmon) and will happily continue as long as they'll have me.

enrewen, I think you and peachgirl are thinking of different companies. My guess is the one she is talking about is self-assign and as long as your rating is a 3 (the starting rating) or above you can get shops at any price point.

I've two quick points before my comment:

1-There is no greater advocate of the free market system of economics than me.
2-I not only don't sell my services too low, they are neither low nor at any level remotely resembling low.

Each shopper must determine for themselves what is or isn't acceptable. My approach is as a non-migratory harvester of small stemmed tree grown fruit, or, as the owner of a video MSC stated, a cherry picker; for this I have not a speck of apology. I am an INDEPENDENT contractor, not an employee, who adamantly opposes any form of pay control; let the market establish itself. As an example, XXX MSC now offers bonuses on their oil changes that far eclipse any in the 8 yrs. I've had a relationship with them; the market has spoken! If, though, any shopper either is unwilling or unable to await change, it's decision time. I made such a swap a few yrs. back, when I accepted I'd failed as a full-timer and switched to situational assignments where either the money was long or I had a need that compensated me for the shortness of cash.

The seller determines the bottom line cost that determines whether or not they will part with their 'merchandise' in a free economy. If you feel that you are not getting the money you feel you deserve for your 'goods', then look for somewhere else to sell them.

No one forces us to do this :-)

It is ironic that Bob's attitude didn't work for him to make this full-time. It is everything I learned from him that has allowed me to make a decent full time income. An added benefit of his wisdom was a reduction in my stress level. Negotiating, route planning, driving long distances, etc, is still stressful, but any guilt I may have felt before has been replaced by knowing this is just business and I have a right to ask for appropriate compensation and demand companies abide by their terms.

I have to say that the only thing that has kept me from burning out was moving to part time shopping. LIke Bob, I'm able to get what I consider an acceptable rate for my efforts so long as I'm not forced to take work in order to pay my bills.

Kudos to Lisa for and others for making it work FT for them, but in general, shoppers have more power over controlling the pay rate via opting out if they don't rely on MSing for their sole means of support.

Most mystery shopping programs were not designed to employ full time workers. More people have turned to it as a means of support in recent years, however, and I think that has negatively impacted the ability for better compensation. Even companies that hire shoppers as employees are paying less than in the past.

I think it's probably representative of wages throughout the country in general, but when you start with a low paying job and further reduce the income potential, it makes it an undesirable proposition for many.

I do lots of post offices and after the first few, they started taking about 15 minutes for the report and I average about seven minutes inside the post office. It does take some preparation ahead of time to have things to mail. I've mailed my goodwill items to a friend for he to take to goodwill. I've mailed rocks. I've mailed bolts and screws from the Re-store. Now I'm mailing cat food. Creativity can save those dips into the profit. Route shopping makes the difference for me. I can turn four $10 post offices into a $100+ day easily with very little more gas and car wear and tear.

As far as low paying shops go, I've been laid up for a couple years and not able to shop much. Those $1.50 phone shops came in real handy for me and I still do them. I sat in an arches store the other day, wrote their report using their WIFI and did 20 phone shops in an hour and a half. All the reports were done by the time I left arches and I made $52.50 and all the Diet Coke i could drink in an hour and a half. And my new puppy got to eat the hamburger! They can load me down with those $1.50 shops anytime. But not when they take forever to do. The amount I make for my time affects my standard of living and my self esteem.

Thanks Steve, but my situation is unique because of three ongoing monthly projects. Actually four, but the newest one may not work out. The combo has me starting every month in the black and also allows me to turn down other work if it doesn't meet my criteria. Add in video shopping, living in an area with a reasonable cost of living that offers a large variety of shops with relatively little competition and easy access to four interstates allowing me to travel long distances quickly.

It took two or three years and investing in equipment to reach this point and I don't encourage shoppers to become full-time if they have other employment options. This is far from easy or fun and I haven't had a vacation since before starting which is now 5 1/2 years ago. It is a good weekend if I can take off for 48 hours in a row.

I no longer will start my car for less than $15.00. I also will no longer accept shops that require heavy narrative without a shop fee that covers the time it takes to provide quality reporting. Working for less than minimum wage is demeaning and it does not pay the bills.

I just took a low paying shop that I regret having taken. There is more to remember than I thought there would be and that sometimes stresses me out. Thank you for starting this thread because it has me thinking about what shops to do and not do. I think I have sold myself a little short in the past on shops. I don't mind the small amount of pay if it is an easy shop with a good kickback/reimbursement, but when it pays little and you are reimbursed for that small $1 or $2 item.. it isn't always worth it.

During mystery shopping many companies ask for pictures, audio and video recording for twenty to twenty five minutes continuously for a song price of $ 4.00 per shop. And after receiving them timely just find faults on the pretext that the quality of recording was bad and reject the reports. Some shopping companies demand lengthy reports which take four hours to complete a report and one hour at the store for a pay as poor as $9.00 and an additional dollar as bonus for a report rated 9 and above. They expect the shopper to memorize ten staff names accurately and mention them in the report. Any faulty name brings the wrath of the report being rejected.

Fortunately for me, upon no occasion in my 10+ yrs. as a shopper have I encountered any of the situations described in the above post by "nayan."

I'm new to MS and during my first month when I only worked with one company I took those $4 jobs. I still do but i definitely more picky now. I ride my bike to do shops so no gas expenses. I do several shops in the neighbourhood, so its like I'm going that way anyway so I'll do several jobs there. I do take low paid jobs if I get something in return like $10-15 meal. Other then that I would skip.

If there is a video shopper working for $4 a pop I would like to know who it is, lol. At that rate it would take 100 to 200 shops just to pay off the equipment!

spree Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know most of us need the money but I keep seeing
> shops that end up paying around $5-$10 an hour.
> Some barely cover gas. Some are just for a
> sandwich. Then when the schedulers get desparate
> the same shops can double or triple in their
> payments so it is obvious they are being
> compensated a lot more than the shoppers. I'm not
> suggesting a union or anything like that but I'm
> personally taking a stand and I hope other people
> follow along. Maybe that will raise our pay.
>
> 1. I will not start my car for less than $15 now.
> Gas costs money. Wear and tear on our cars cost
> money. No more $5-$9 shops.
>
> 2. No shops for just a sandwich.
>
> 3. This country has a minimum wage and so will I.
> If a shop is for $10, includes an hour of
> paperwork, a 15 minute visit to the company and
> gas to get their how much are we making an hour
> after expenses? $3? $5?
>
> When I see some of these $3-$7 shops I think of
> lawnboys fighting among themselves to mow a lawn
> for $3.

. The problem is that a lot of college kids and retired people may need the under $10 shops to survive. There are many of them out there where the $5, $7 and $10 shops are the difference between starving and Raman noodles and Mac and cheese. Time is not an issue. both have lots of time. The seniors may take a senior bus to the mall. (no gas). There is an extra bonus. The seniors brains are stimulated when they do the reports and the senior, especially if they are alone will get human contact.

I will let the college kids and seniors have those shops. Still, the slime that offers those shops should lose their jobs and see what that half is forced to do to survive.

I agree. I won't even look at a reimbursement only shop or shop that pays less than $10 per hour including driving time and covering my gas. I am in a rural area without much shopper competition...so if I wait a week or two, these usually will be bonused to an acceptable amount. Most of the time.. I wait until the last two weeks of the month to work and put a route together with ALL bonused shops and pull in $25 an hour or more...and keep my fuel and drive time covered as well. WHY take the low paying shops people? YOUR time is worth MORE. On that note.. I do take $2 phone shops...They take me MAYBE 10 minutes if its a 4-5 minute call..I will take those all day long..When you do the math, You are making a decent hourly wage. I'm not willing to work for peanuts. Maybe some people are.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And don't forget parking meters, besides gas. I do shops in the cities here, and the meters are steep. I recently paid $1 - $2 on meters for each of the shops. That is why I do not do them unless there is a bonus. The coffee shops that are offering $11.50 including the $3.45 to $4.50 coffee drinks are not worth it. I checked and confirmed that it had been $11.50 since I started doing mystery shopping 7 years ago. Gas was below $2/gallon then. Meters were 25 cents for half an hour. Minimm hourly wage was lower by $4-6 than it is now. Anybody know what it is now?

In addition, the reports are long with 2-3 narratives after long yes or no's.
They offered $3 bonus, sometimes raised to $5, but recently $8, even $10 (rare, I've seen only once) when it gets close to the end of the month and it is a difficult area. That means the scheduler gets more money than we do if they don't have to give out the bonus.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2013 06:19PM by ShopperFun.

Recently I cancelled a job after I arrived at 9:15 PM, and it was closed. I did not think it will be closed that early in such a busy neighborhood so I did not take a camera with me. (I'm in the market for a smartphone now but have not decide which one to get yet). The instruction said to shop from 9pm to midnight. It was not worth it to go back, take a picture, then go to the drive-thru and purchase only 2 tacos for 99 cents, do a long report all for $5 fee. Cannot order the $7 meal at the drive-thru which is what I shop there for. They were pretty nice about it when I cancelled. Now I see that the $5 fee was raised to $7.

PHD states:

The problem is that a lot of college kids and retired people may need the under $10 shops to survive. There are many of them out there where the $5, $7 and $10 shops are the difference between starving and Raman noodles and Mac and cheese. Time is not an issue. both have lots of time. The seniors may take a senior bus to the mall. (no gas). There is an extra bonus. The seniors brains are stimulated when they do the reports and the senior, especially if they are alone will get human contact.

BOB'S reply:

I agree

PHD also states:



Still, the slime that offers those shops should lose their jobs and see what that half is forced to do to survive.

BOB'S reply:

I vehemently disagree. As I've so often stated, this IS business and my survival isn't, nor should it be, of the slightest concern to an MSC. In addition, the use of the term "slime" is wholly inaccurate; these are merely people doing their jobs.

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.

I'm wondering if that scheduler got fired. Probably.

Last month one of the restaurant shops (possibly the one being referenced earlier in this thread) went to the very end of last month without being picked up. I've done this one twice, with small bonuses. But couldn't manage the schedule in September. However, the very last day of the month it went to a $75 bonus! I'd have had to drive 60 miles r/t and do the shop alone, because nobody else in the family could make it. And I'd have been thrilled to do it for that! But by the time I opened the e-mail and went to the job board, it had been snapped up. No surprise there....

But I haven't seen any e-mails come through this month from the same scheduler--wonder if she's not there anymore???? And none of these shops, either in my state or the neighboring one, have been bonused this month. The only one I'll take for base rate is the take-out one from the location about 1 1 1/2 miles from me. Not gonna do them for "up to" $15 reimbursement (you can't eat at one of these places for less $15 unless it's take out) and $5 report pay.

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...

Being new to this I am seeing this a lot this month. I got an email telling me about a shop starting at $5.00 with a bonus of $3.00. and reimbursement . I did the exact same shop for them when I started for $13.00 plus reimbursement. I realize bonuses are needed to fill something but that is quite a jump for what I think is a simple assignment. My first thoughts were, "why would I do the exact same thing job $8.00 less just 4 weeks later?"
I noticed another on a board that dropped $2.00 from last month. It is the exact same assignment as last month

The thing is there are people there that will grab shops. Of course a lot depends on where you live. At this point I will only do shops that are:
- at least $10 (if it's a reimbursement, it has to be something I want)
- not a whole lot of narrative (this one company wants paragraphs with a specific word count for a few questions - I won't take their shops unless it gets to the deadline/bonus stage)
- quick and easy (most cellphone shops!)
- near my home/work/along my commute

And I definitely won't do a certain shop for a certain fast food place! They have this crazy manual you have to read first and they give you sooo little pay! Plus, why would I want a drive-thru meal AND a sit-down meal?