How is the report? A lot of narrative or yes and no questions with comments?

If the governemnt shuts down, I'm going to need a break from my husband 24/7!

The one where the reimbursement if $0 and some people around here feel comfortable giving their work away (it their right anyhow). The one where the mystery shopping companies makes a profit and they pay you with lodging and food? That one?

Rardon, please tell us more about this $0 reimbursement you speak of.*

Also I want to do one but I just can't front that kind of outlay right now. I must be one of those poor mystery shoppers Freelance is always talking about.**





*I might be in a pot stirring mood tonight.
** I'm definitely in a pot stirring mood tonight.

bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rardon, please tell us more about this $0
> reimbursement you speak of.*
>
> Also I want to do one but I just can't front that
> kind of outlay right now. I must be one of those
> poor mystery shoppers Freelance is always talking
> about.**
>
>
>
>
>
> *I might be in a pot stirring mood tonight.
> ** I'm definitely in a pot stirring mood tonight.



There is a mystery shopping company that offers these $600 reimbursement only shops but the shopper pay itself is $0. Meaning to say, you have to put down your own money at risk, stay at the hotel, pay your own stay and work on a report that may take you hours of observations and writing. Only after the report is accepted, you will be reimbursed your $600. BUT NO PAY to the shopper...that is the "scam".

Now...some people defend the Mystery Shopping company and have berated me for bringing this up. I guess it is ok for them to work for free (it is their right).

But think about it...the Mystery Shopping company IS making a profit. The scheduler IS getting paid. The editor IS getting paid. I don't think that they get vouchers for salads to cover their work.

The shopper gets the short end of the stick on this one.

It was sarcasm Sheldon.

Bazinga!

I can see where this might be beneficial if you were traveling to that location and wanting to stay at that hotel or another one like it. Other than that, you are working for free.

Working for free, away from my small child and husband, in a room with blackout curtains and earning my points in my hotel rewards account for a chain I use exclusively when I travel.

So I guess the answer is no, noone has any practical real world experience to share.

You will not get the points as the charges are reversed and thus the points are reversed as well. I have done a few of these in the past.
Report - in line with some of the easier hotel reports - it takes me 2 1/2 hours.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2013 11:56PM by MMMM.

I only speak for myself as everyone has a different scenario. When starting, I wanted to elevate myself to hotel shops and fine restaurants, (that whole growing thing). I was thrilled to get a hotel, work, pay for WIFI and get no pay but a meal.
I don't do hotels any longer, just too much work, for the few times I travel, I get rewards from Starwood hotel (Sheraton)
get a couple rooms per year, no report, enjoy myself and take another restaurant via MSing. I do believe they should pay
for your report time + airfare. I know a few get this, but the majority do not. I am now happy doing a very few jobs in my
town, but the less I do this, the less I want to do.....still, it has been a good run, and fun, and a bit of a supplement $ wise.
Each of us decides what works for us, in this economy, how can you look down at someone that needs a 4 dollar job....take it, it won't go up anyway (as many think). This industry knows this, and uses it to their advantage. I still work for a few companies that are fair, pay quickly and are a delight to work with...Service Sense comes to mind, no job board, no undercutting, actually get a easy dinner with a fair report, the owners that care. Continue on as long as it is in your benefit.
The 600.00 hotels, no, I'm not putting out that kind of money, but never say never!!

Rardon, It is not a scam. I look at it as getting a vacation for free. Well, not exactly free, I had to work for it. Recently, I did one with over $800 reimbursement including some meals. There was a nominal fee of only $100. It was a long drive, so we made the drive into 2 days, stopping at a motel 2 extra nights, so we had out of pocket expenses. I had to pay out more than $900 then wait for reimbursement but it is a reputable company and I had been working for them for a while.

For those working for rewards points. Yes, the points were reversed when the charges were reversed. So, no rewards points.

Most companies do not pay for travel expenses, no airfares, no gas expenses. They are looking for local people. The highest fees I have seen is only $100. If there are companies offering travel expenses, I sure would like to know them.

I' ve been given a fee for travel for video shops.

ShopperFun Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Most companies do not pay for travel expenses, no
> airfares, no gas expenses. They are looking for
> local people. The highest fees I have seen is
> only $100.

Be careful when making statements like that when you are admittedly not well versed about hotel shops. It's that sort of acceptance of work that costs you money and thinking it's the norm that leads people into thinking no-pay shops are as good as it gets. That's simply not true.

The reality is that there are many levels of mystery shopping and the kind that most people on the forum have quick access to is just a starting point. If you look at hotel shops overall, getting travel expenses and pay IS the norm. Most hotels are shopped by employees of large hospitality firms that receive a salary and all expenses. Below that, you have ICs that perform shops for expenses plus a fee that ranges from $100-$1,000. The outlier in this group are the shops you are talking about; Hotels that employ everyday MSers with little hotel experience to perform cursory evaluations for little to no fee or travel expenses.

I can name a dozen companies in the list of MSCs on this site that will pay travel expenses to/from hotel shops, as well as a fee. I know of only a handful that offer them at no fee. I post this out of self-preservation because as soon as no fee and no travel expenses becomes the norm, I am out of this game!

The hotel shops that I talk about are not posted on self-assign boards for anyone to grab, BTW. You have to put in the time with some companies and prove yourself. The higher paying jobs I do ($300 and up) all included me sending resumes and samples, and going through either phone or in-person interviews, as well as (paid) training sessions.

SteveSoCal, care to share where and who these companies are? After all, you can't do all of them. The hospitality company I have been working for is international, and I have gotten quite a few "20" scores from them. However, they still do not give me a fee higher than $100 for travel expenses. I'm dying to find better fees.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2013 03:17AM by CAscotch.

Assuming you are referring to Coyle, I would say they are right in the middle between as far as travel expenses and fees go. Perhaps a bit low on the fee side. Looking at their job board right now, I see 30 hotel shops posted with travel expenses. Those start at $100 and go up to $400. Only one shop is limited to $100 travel expense and the average is closer to $200. All of them pay a fee on top of that.

As far as the better paying shops go; Those companies work by referrals for the most part and don't have online applications. I don't know you or the quality of work, so how can you possibly expect me to refer you?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2013 03:16AM by CAscotch.

In some cases I was referred by other shoppers. In others I was referred or selected by schedulers and/or MSC owners that I know well. I'm not saying that I make $1,000 per property, but I know some who have. For me, a $400-$600 fee + all travel expenses for 2 being covered is a good score, and just like many MS jobs, fees and expenses are always negotiable.

I have a track record that spans over a decade with some of these companies, as well as a public profile in an industry outside of MSing. I think that makes me a good candidate for luxury resorts, and that is my main focus these days.

If the properties you are evaluating are not found in the top 100 Condé Nast Traveler places to stay, then keep applying and building relationships with MSCs, because just about all of those places are shopped!

To SteveSoCal you guys act like you never had to start somewhere.I am a new shopper myself and getting higher paying shops is a little difficult because of the Experienced shoppers wont or seem to not want to share any info. I have signed up for several msc but when I see shops for $3.00 and it's 50 miles from my house that's a little insulting. You can't do them all so why not share?

I would absolutely LOVE to know some of the places Steve has shopped. Not because I want to shop them, I couldn't afford the float, but just because I think it would be fascinating information.

I understand that giving that information would be harmful to his business, but that doesn't stop me from being curious.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2013 01:24AM by bgriffin.

Let me tell you how I got started; I took a 3-day holiday weekend and spent 10 hours a day each day signing up for every MSC listed on the V-God and MSPA site. I worked at some point for almost every one of those companies to build relationships and turned in exemplary work no matter what the fee offered was. I helped out schedulers in need, honed my skills and proved myself time and time again in order to qualify for the best assignments available.

I didn't start out with 5-star resorts when I started getting hotel shops. I sometimes checked into 2 fleabag hotels at once and travelled back and forth between them, ordering extra towels and making complaints as needed, just so I could get my airfare covered. I paid my dues and the knowledge that I came away with makes me very good at what I do. If I gave you a list of companies I choose to work for these days, it would do you no good because you would be lacking the experience they require for those assignments.

I'm not hiding information from anyone. The link to just about all of the known MSCs is right at the bottom of this page. I'll make it even easier for and post it here:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

If you sign up for every single one of these companies, spend a decade getting perfect scores for them and still don't have access to the better paying shops, then come to me and I'll tell you which MSCs I think you should focus on...how's that?

WOW Steve! That is quite a story. You must have worked yourself to pieces for this career. You certainly have shared more than enough with all of us here on these boards to write a book. Perhaps mrgiveitashot should click on your profile and read every post that you have written here. He would surely get a great lesson in mystery shopping, if he did. I for one follow your posts faithfully and appreciate every single word that you have written. You are my hero!

That's exactly how I assumed you did it. I was more interested in knowing things like....have you ever gotten paid to stay at the Plaza in NYC? Or the George V in Paris?

My answer wasn't aimed at you, bgriffin. We cross-posted so I never saw your comment until mine appeared.

I haven't shopped those exact hotels but I have shopped their competition; The Four Seasons in NYC and the Mandarin Oriental in Paris.

Oh come on Steve, what is wrong with you?!?!?!?!?! Stop being so greedy and give us that list now. While you're at it, don't forget to give us all referrals. Yes you may not know us from Adam, but we found this place, surely that means we are good enough.

Getting back to the $600 hotel shops subject....

I have one scheduled for Tuesday becasue I became curious. I chatted (via email) with the scheduler, who tells me that she does these shops for the rewards points. I am told that the points that would have come to me for using the rewards-affiliate credit card will be unavailable BUT that the points just for staying at the hotel will accrue to my rewards account. That is exactly what happens with another MSCs high (ish) end hotels (Not the George V in Paris, I assure you.) I will report back on the experience with respect to points when I have personal knowledge.

BTW, the shops are more correctly "up to $600." Absolute truth in labeling is not a high priority with some MSCs.

The 600.00 hotel when I checked was actually 399.00, in a sophisticated city, in the subs they go from 129 up, so they only use the high price as an example...I doubt those hotels ever charge 600.00, they are not 5 star. I am looking forward to
Wales critique...have a great time.

Steve is in a class of his own, and it is a little presumptuous for a newcomer to ask for names and a referral....oh dear,
this is what chase's experienced shoppers from the forum. Sorry, I am a bit snippy these days, but when reading this
forum, please see that shoppers cannot give out clients names and jobs, if you can't see that, no, you don't get the high end hotels....just not ready yet (said tongue in cheek). This forum is full of great info., and I noticed someone was peeved because they don't get more, do your homework, like Steve did and all of us experienced shoppers in order to get
jobs with decent pay. I don't even see a 4 dollar job anymore, then I don't bother with those companies. Those that do, just delete and stop complaining, your beating a dead horse. Let's try and keep the forum constructive. We really grow from
doing our own homework, not cheating.....now, I'm going to have my coffee.

I've been mystery shopping for a bit over a year now. A key to being successful at shopping is to know your limits. I was recently offered a shop at The Hotel at Charleston Place which is operated by Orient Express, rooms starting at $425/night. I called the scheduler and politely declined. I have shopped quite a few of the retail stores at that hotel, and I did not feel I had the experience to properly "shop" that property. I turned down a short term job but will hopefully end up with much more longer term gains.

Hi guys nice meeting you all.Im in the South Fl area and I see a lot of hotels and resorts posted in some of the companies particularly two of them. I have never applied to either one of them because of the same issue of the high amount of money since they do not reimburse right away. Any tips on any other companies.

I have done many high end hotel shops. They are ALOT of work. I would never do it for no pay, but it is a way to get experience with hotel shops. That said, know you are taking a risk. See my post about losing $900. I have been working for a company for 12 years and recently one of the clients questioned a few things on my shop and I am not being paid OR reimbursed the $900 I put out. I have been putting up to $5000 a month on my credit card and waiting over a month to be reimbursed. That in itself was hard but I never imagined I was risking losing this kind of money.