Mileage

One of the things that I have not been able to accomolish is to be reimbursed for travel milage. For example, I live in NW Houston pribably 90% of the job offers that I receive are from 25-50 miles away which makes a round trip of 50-100 miles. For a any shop paying $10 which I find are the most plentiful, it makes it not worth while. Spending $6.00 on gas and receiving $10 just does not make any sense to me and I am refusing all of these. I guess My question is: Has anyone found a way to have the Mystery Shop Company pick up or reimburse for gas expense? Are there those that do?

John wise

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I havent seen any. I do claim it on my income tax.

The only thing that I can suggest is to make sure you line up more then one shop and make the trip worth a little more. I have one company that reimburses me the same amount each time and it is usually double what I actually spend so I count that as travel reimbusment. If I can line up a lot from that company it more then pays for my gas. When I do 100 shops for that company in a month (which I usually do) that is $300 extra I can put towards gas.

yes they pay the company big bucks and dont pay us milage and we should get it

Mileage is a tax deduction because it is a business expense. I have only seen a few companies, when they are desperate, offer some extra gas money if you have to travel to get the job done. The next city from me is 15 miles one way. I see lots of shops there but I only take them if I can bundle at least 3 on the same trip. It must be difficult for shoppers who live in rural areas to make any money with the higher gas prices and lower shop fees. Good Luck!

Making the world a better place to shop, one assignment at a time!

Maybe I have been simply blessed, but, when the CRI & CMRS in Kinderhook, NY needs a shopper they will 1- offer a BONUS!! and or 2- I have told them no due to distance and gas mileage and they agreed and DID pay me my agreed upon gas mileage.
I always believe in being honest and if I would love to take the " shop" but, can not swing the gas, especially cuz it doesn't makle any sense, I tell them nicely and most oftfen I hear " Can you hold on and I will check with my manger to see if we can give you something extra.
You won't get it if you do not ask.
I also try to line up a buccch of "shops" that I can complete in a day and plan them out economically. Tommorrow I have 7 "shops" that will yield $88.00
Pat

Unless you can do several shops in that area, I would not do them. I don't like the fact that the BIG companies that are looking for shoppers pay the contractors big money and they offer $6-$18/shop.

Most companies will pay mileage if they desperately need you to complete the shop. They refer to it as PAD. Some companies even has a field on the form to enter your mileage request. You should always ask for it, because their system indicates how many miles the shop is from your address.

There are too many "middlemen". We are on the bottom of the totem pole. That's why we don't get much pay. Another reason could be that there is great turnover, and they pay beginners' rates. It doesn't make sense to pay beginners' rates if you need people, but I've seen it in other industries, such as those hiring security officers. It does appear that there is great turnover in mystery shopping. The impatient ones leave, and those who keep hoping stay.

I have to agree with some of the comments above, the best thing to do is to group 3 or more shops together. This makes it easier to make some money and saves on the gas.
Mike

As Independent Contractors with MS companies, it is your responsibility to cover your costs. Some or most say this in the Independent Contractor agreements. That is why you can claim it on your income taxes, at $.485 per mile for 2007. The companies may offer extra pay for the jobs, and call it gas or travel expenses, but it is still reported as income for you. Check IRS.gov for more information on the standard mileage rate and independent contractors for more information.

I spoke with a scheduler about this, because I often get mileage on my shops.

She said that they only paid mileage when the shops were out in "the boonies." Then they have to pay someone from the large city (in my case Phoenix) to go out there.

The best way to deal with gas without mileage is stack your shops. Alot of companies will change dates so they line up, no matter if the other shop is with another company. One trip, 4 shops.....see how it works.

I was told when I first started that rural people had the advantage, because of less competition. But there are less shops, so I do not think this is valid.

Wannabe scheduler/editor

I was recently offered a banking shop, there were three shops in one town, they paid $22 each. I told the scheduler that I would be interested in other towns but they were further away, she said that if I complete these shops up to their standards, I would be offered more and reimbursed mileage. The closest town to me is 20 minutes, but it is large enough that I am usually able to schedule 3 or more shops in a day, and this covers my fuel. I also like to travel, and will schedule several shops along my route, this way I feel like I am getting paid to sight-see

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Mileage

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