What do you see as being the pros and cons of mystery shopping?

Are you asking for yourself or on behalf of the MSC that you work for?

Pro - I can set when I work and within limits, I don't have to work when I don't feel well if I am not already committed.
Pro - I get to shop for little items that I would never spend my money for (premium chocolate as a gift, car details)
Pro - I keep my cars oiled with high priced synthetic oil. So I save the money $$$
Pro - I get to take hubby, mom, sis, godmother, cousins out to nice restaurants and fine dining, saving money $$$
Pro - After living in this city for over 14 years, I am learing my way around different parts and the outskirts.
Pro - It gets me out of the house and pays me to do it!

Con - Reports that are required in less than 24 hours.
Con - Long payment/reimbursement timeframes.
Con - Redundant reporting/narratives.
Con - Scenarios that make no sense and set the shopper up to be identified.

I am asking as a scheduler to understand where the shoppers that I work with on a daily basis are coming from.

I'll address the one problem I have with Sinclair and it involves a bank.

We're invited to set up a route but, as soon as I self-assign one bank in a town, all the other bank locations within a 20-30 mile radius are locked out for the same day. The entire point of a route is to make the most efficient use of the shopper's time. I understand that this is a requirement the client has imposed on Sinclair. Personally, I think the client is overthinking things too much. There's nothing in the scenario that screams "mystery shopper!"

I love that particular shop because it's fairly easy and it pays well for the work required, but I've blocked that client because the time required to make a route makes the process of creating the route uneconomical.

Pros: I get to taste, see and be a part of so many restaurants, businesses, and unique locations, that I might not have ever ventured out to see, if not for being a mystery shopper.

I like that everyday is different. You are not confined to a building (working in one) and you never seem to see the same person twice in your busy day. You go out the door and you have FUN shops (for the most part) where you to experience all kinds of shops.

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Cons: You have to have a bankroll, in other words "pay" up front and I realize it's the "cost of doing business" but I think many newbie shoppers don't realize the start up costs, such as fuel, ink, shop costs (burger, dinner, etc.) They can do banks and cell phone shops, which have no out of pocket costs to them, but the average cell phone shop is $15 and banks close to that.

Pay takes forever (unless you work with Trendsource--I was paid in 2 days!) So, it benefits you to sign up and work for MANY companies, that way a check is always floating in on the 1st or the 15th.

Pros: That bonus reminding you that mystery shopping is worth your time.

Cons: E-mails at the beginning of the month telling you that a six dollar meal is "On us!" with no fee.

Pros: No two days are ever the same. I don't answer to anyone but my own work ethic. I can take a few days if if I want. I just schedule it for myself. I can do as much or as little work as I desire. The biggest pro: Bonuses.

Cons: Having to ask stupid questions (pre-determined by the client).
Seriously, no grocery shopper ever expected the guy in produce to know anything about Kiwi.

I totally disagree. I DO expect the produce guy/girl to know produce. It is what he/she was trained in and specializes in every day. I can understand the produce guy/girl not knowing how to operate the slicing machines in the deli department but they should know how to tell when an avocado is ripe or when strawberries are in season.

@Sybil2 wrote:

I totally disagree. I DO expect the produce guy/girl to know produce. It is what he/she was trained in and specializes in every day. I can understand the produce guy/girl not knowing how to operate the slicing machines in the deli department but they should know how to tell when an avocado is ripe or when strawberries are in season.

Your free to disagree but having worked in grocery stores my observation was that they knew a lot about when the next shipments were coming in and things like that, but as far as being experts on what type of onion is the sweetest, not so much. I'd like to be wrong, but I've been asking these questions for months now and most of the time my answer goes something like "Well my mom..... blah blah blah". If their mom didn't teach them, then they don't know.

Kiwi will be in the produce department and anyone working in the produce department should know their merchandise. If they don't, then it's the fault of store management and that should be addressed at the managerial level.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2015 05:41PM by James Bond 007.5.

I guess the grocery stores I go to have trained their employees well, even the young males who probably do not know how to cook yet. I get lots of great advice and preparation ideas from my produce guys. Some have taken the time to show me an unripened versus ripened avocado or tell me how to carefully prepare a whole artichoke without getting stabbed by the sharp leaves. Now I'm hungry.

Pro- Since I don't have to work 8 to 5 I've been able to get the house ready to sell without having to hire someone to do it.
Pro- The free clothes, meals and jewelry I've received.
Pro- The money. Using it to pay down debt.

Con- Trying to think of new ways to say the same thing on 10 different reports.
Con- Some of the extremely long reports required for reimbursement only shops.
Con- Not really a con per se, just something funny. How many errors I see on the forms we are expected to fill out but I get dinged for using a contraction. (I will never claim to be the queen of grammar.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2015 06:16PM by wozswoman.

For me, the huge pro is scheduling flexibility. The cons are low pay and conflicting guidelines.

Pro: The flexibility to work in my own schedule that my job allows.
Pro: Some of the nice schedulers I have talked to with the different companies.
Pro: Bonus money

Con: Long reports
Con: Strange requirements (Photos of odd things)
Con: Reibursments not covering enough (A burrito and a drink at a fast food place being more than it reimburses)
Con: Low fees (not enough to drive as far as the shop is. $5 to do a shop 20 miles away)

Pro: Making my own schedule.
Pro: Determining my own pay.
Pro: Only taking work that I enjoy.
Pro: Tons of free gas and other freebies.
Pro: Really enjoyable restaurants.
Pro: Getting to sleep in!!

Con: Sometimes waiting way too long for a paycheck.
Con: Long, repetitive narratives.
Con: Having to ask too many questions that may give away my cover.
Con: Having to ask a ridiculous question that may give away my cover.

Hi,

I mainly do phone shops (so keep this in mind). I have done over 150 phone shops in a 6 month period. I do not find cons with narratives. I write each one uniquely. It is easy to say the same thing different ways. I try to ask different questions. That might work for the people with the repetitive narratives. An example are bank shops. Some give a choice of CD rates, new account opening (savings and checking) and money market. There are also HELOC, mortgages and car loans. I find a great many shoppers want the fastest way to get the job done. This will lead to repetition. If you mix it up this does not happen. You also learn something over time.

Pros to me are the ability to work the amount of hours when and where I want. Also no supervision. I am one of those trustworthy people who just want to do my job and not be bothered. Independent contracting works for people like me. Another item never mentioned is the job training. As a phone mystery shopper I solicit for the call from the marketing company, I administratively prepare for the call, make the call, perform data entry for the call, perform accounting for my earning efforts and interact with others (such as schedulers) in a team effort to complete a project. This amounts to real life work experience. For people who are home bound or unable to commit to a schedule this keeps your vocational training updated in the current tense.

Cons are no benefits no matter how hard I work. No unemployment no matter how hard I work. Taxes which eat into my decent hourly wage doing this (this could make it low income if you make too much money). The typical person identifies mystery shopping as a hobby.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2015 11:36PM by sandrapdunne.

For me:

Pros

- I'm my own boss, and can only pick up jobs I find enjoyable (or lucrative)
- I can sleep in; and pick my own days off without begging a boss for them
- I love driving; so having to drive from job to job is a perk in a sense
- I can imagine I'm somebody else. Different employers, cities I live in, occupations, income levels, etc.
- I get to discover places I would have probably never visited before
- Ever been to a mall on a weekend? Cute girl central! Okay.. okay.. kidding about that one.

Cons:

- Weeks when work volume is low
- Long wait for a paycheck
- Not always knowing I'm going to be making good money
- Having to memorize shop instructions and hoping I didn't forget anything while on a shop

On an unrelated note; what do you tell people when they ask what you do?

I just say "consulting and auditing work" to keep it simple.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2015 11:22PM by AlexG.

I just say I'm self-employed. Most people who have social skills can figure out if I wanted to tell them I would have answered the first time and not ask again.

Depends on who is asking. If it is someone I want to "impress", I am a "Business Consultant". If they press for more detail, I take it in an entirely different direction and say that "I serve as a consulting business analyst on network engineering projects involving internal systems, especially telecommunications infrastructure". Now figure that out! FYI - it is real from a past life.

If someone close to me wants to know, I say that I am a Professional Mystery Shopper.

@AlexG wrote:

For me:

On an unrelated note; what do you tell people when they ask what you do?

I just say "consulting and auditing work" to keep it simple.

Pros:
1 For the most part work when I want and how much I want.
2 Able to work anywhere in the world on any given day
3 able to do personal thing while working.
4 get to travel and see the world
5 new and different jobs each day
Cons
1 Having to find work
2 Always thinking about work as this is my business and sole income.
3 following stupid requirements without outing myself. Ex spend 20 minutes in a small store no one spends more than 5 in.
4 schedulers who are brain dead
5 editors who are brain dead
6 having to occasionally chase payment

Pros:

It can be fun.
It gets me out of the house without costing me money.
A way to make side money that I can work around the weird hours I have at my other job.
I enjoy acting, and I consider it actress-ing at large.

Cons:

The low starting pay. I am still new-ish and "paying my dues."

You go girl! I have MS too. This keeps me going.

Pros:
I am my own boss
Flexible work hours
Meeting new people
I get to travel
Free stuff for my family
Somewhat steady source of income
Opportunity to make as much or as little money as desired

Cons:
8-12 hour reporting windows on many shops
Working with disorganized or unresponsive employees at some MSCs
Redundant multiple choice questions and narrative writing

Pros - Make my own hours and sleep in. No more 5:30 a.m. alarms. I take the jobs I want and don't take the ones I don't. I get to interact with the fabulous people in this forum! I travel a little for a different job, so I've been able to do shops in other areas, too. Free food, and clothes! Get paid for getting quotes on bank rates, credit cards, home refi, insurance, send packages to family/friends, etc.

Cons - less money and no benefits compared to previous FT jobs. Conflicting instructions, i.e., one assignment states in the guidelines for an audit, I am allowed "no personal items except for the tablet - no purse, cell phone, coats, etc." I'm doing my first audit for them in two weeks. February in North Idaho - seriously, no coat??? I e-mailed the scheduler who says I can, in fact, wear my coat in and take my phone. Did they change the guidelines? Nope. However, this could become a pro in the long run - if another potential shopper in my area reads that and decides not to do it, I have less competition. There are only 3 here.

Pros: I can tell you where all the clean gas station potties are in a 45 mile radius.
Cons: I also know where all the disgusting potties are and have the photos to prove it.

Pros: The freedom of being my own boss
The bonuses at the end of the month
This forum and great schedulers

Cons: The pay for most shops is too low for the work and time it takes. I realize that is not the scheduler's fault.
Not feeling well on the day I have a route
Traffic, wrecks, excessive mileage, and wear and tear on the vehicle
Guidelines with multiple grammar errors when we are dinged for the same thing
Guidelines that are misleading and confusing
Editors who are not objective and bring their personal feelings to work
There is more, but I am stopping now because I hate negativity and it won't change the above cons.

"Redundant multiple choice questions and narrative writing" (dixiewhiskey)

You mean like: (one report)

1. Were you greeted?
2. If you were greeted, how did the greeting sound?
3. Were you welcomed and acknowledged when you walked into the location?
4. Did the greeting sound sincere, and where did it take place?
5. Did all of the associates greet you?
6. Did the greeting sound natural, if so, which associates greeted you?
7. Did the greeting sound forced or insincere?
8. How can the associates improve on their greeting and when would you like to be acknowledged as a customer or should we just leave you alone to shop for the first 10 minutes?

There are many pros but the cons really suck. Like, right now, I am 6 hours from home in a hotel with a rental car outside because I attempted to do a route with an old car and it broke down. Not only did I not get to do the shop (deadline: today - which was why it was so heavily bonused that I could not resist), I'm set back $450 in repairs (although that could have happened anywhere!) I just hate accepting a shop, then not being able to complete it in a timely manner due to unforseen circumstances. I will probably get a major flake citation from the MSC.

The other con: a scheduler that says, "Oops, my bad. Well, since you didn't ask for clarification on the unclear guidelines and did one little thing wrong, we can't accept the shop." No pay AND no reimbursement, so that shop COST ME money!