I do not wish to jinx myself so treading lightly seems in order on this topic. Without revealing who the MSCs were you dumped, I was curious if after you established yourself and made good connections if you dumped the Low Pay Dogs? Low Pay Dog is a relative term because there are Shops were the pay is lower because the Shops are fast. A Really Big Low Paying Dog is a MSC that pay's you $13 to do a Auto Shop spending at least 1.5 Hours for a Four Point Shop (Internet, Phone, Physical Visit, Wait for Call Back).




Were you happy and proud to cut ties(not physically by cancelling your account but ignoring) with all the Low Dogs?

There are many MSC that I no longer render my services to. They all cry themselves to sleep.

@DavePi wrote:

There are many MSC that I no longer render my services to. They all cry themselves to sleep.[/quot


Remember the most successful female smoking advertisement in history "You've Come A Long Way Baby"? Low Paying Dogs would not know if you died even if you personally did ten shops a day they still could not care if you lived or died. The only time they stress is when their limited labor talent pool dries up making them push their bonus level above $3 that might make them cry. Its Mystery Shopping, Nobody Cries Here!

I won't say I cut ties with them, but yes there are companies that I no longer do work for. There are 300 companies out there to work for and I stay pretty busy. There are even some great companies and some high paying companies that I don't shop for anymore.

Definitely, once I learned the trade, I found companies i just didn't like, low pay plus using the shopper mercifully.
I see on the forum, many work for companies I wouldn't. Companies I work for now, I find kind, fair and decent,
am able to make good solid relationships with them, and feel I'm treated with respect...that matter to me. I love working with the ones that allow self-assign. I'm retired, reimbursement along with pay has to be o.k., it will never be enough.

I went about things a little differently. I stopped doing certain types of shops, for instance reimbursement only shops.

I check the job boards of the MSCs I'm registered with, whether I am current with them or not. Sometimes, a nice surprise will show up.

Until recently I picked up as many shops as I could handle because I needed the money to support my sister. She passed away in April and I took a break from almost all of my shops to deal with her estate. Now that things are starting to return to normal, I am re-evaluating what shops I LIKE to do. I still want to do shops but won't force myself to take shops just for the money. It isn't a matter of which company has the shops, it's what shops I feel I worth my time and I feel good doing. I will continue the oil changes, grocery stores, pizza, chicken wings and post office but will skip some clothing stores and others that drive me crazy. Since I bought a newer car that doesn't burn 2 quarts of oil a month, my oil change shops will decrease (LOL) I had a great rotation with different companies so I got an oil change every month and it saved money having to fill it up with oil. I will only do the garden store when I need to buy garden supplies because of their extensive narrative. Before I shopped to pay the bills but now I can shop to pay for a vacation. In one way it is sad my situation changed but it is a lot less stress in my life.

Keep in mind that it is good to do a shop occasionally for the low paying companies to keep yourself active. You want to be contacted when they have one of those usually low paying ones plus a nice last minute bonus due to a newbie flaking or a rejected report.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2016 10:08AM by lbw1000.

I've not found it necessary to take a low paying shop to stay active preferring to just log in occasionally to update my profile. I also don't deactivate myself from companies. Too many times circumstances change. Thinking about some of the lowest paying companies and I'm hard pressed to find one that hasn't either offered me a substantial bonus or gotten a remarkably high paying project at one time or another.

Lisa, I did one of the $17 car shops, and a few low paying phone shops for the same company. I check their board a few times a month, and nothing impressive. Out of the blue, there was a car shop (test drive, low price) for $100. I hopped on it. That was the only time I saw it.

There are several MSCs where I might do just one of their clients, usually when there is a nice bonus involved. Most of their other shops I would never consider due to low pay. So, I do not deactivate myself, for reasons that others have stated. Also, I did my last fast food shop on the second day that I shopped, back in September 2005. Split second timings and bad food are on my 10 foot pole list when combined. If I am going to enjoy ff fries, I will do it on my own dime and my own time!

Blackball is a strong word, I won't lose any sleep, and they'll find another shopper.
Editors can make or break you, the car dealership I did for 17.00 (go ahead whip me with a noodle), a lot of work, report to die for, and the editor says I needed to call for an appointment when the instructions say not to,
didn't accept the report and gave me a 1.......I wouldn't work for them, they have to re-erect me from the dead. Still kicking myself for having taken that job. Lesson learned, when companies are that low pay, and your dumb enough to take the job, they'll screw you for the report.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2016 12:53AM by Irene_L.A..

I do not deactivate myself from any low paying shops, I just don't shop them. I would never black ball a company because of their pay. Many times when I see the low paying shops I ask for a bonus, sometimes I get them other times I don't. I started out with the low paying shops 10 years ago, I learnt a lot about narratives, timing, and value of a shop. Without this knowledge I would not have preformed the high paying shops successfully.

low paying MSC's are like old girlfriends...theres always times to fondly remember when you rolled in the hay with them to the benefit of one or the other or both(preferably).

I've stopped accepting shops from many companies due to low pay and/or shop difficulty. Car dealerships, furniture shops, theater checks and bank shops are some types of shops that come to mind. But I wouldn't say I've blackballed anyone. If the pay went high enough or they offered different types of shops I liked, I definitely would work for those MSCs again. Well, actually there was that one MSC that canceled a shop after they found someone else to do it for less, but if the price were right I would even work for them.

I have been mystery shopping for close to a year and have registered with about ten companies. Initially, I accepted everything I was assigned, but with time, experience and participating on this board, I have learned to become more selective. For example, I used to accept low paying ($7.00) bank assignments which would take about twenty five minutes in the bank and then another twenty minutes or so to complete the report. Some of the banks were close by but a few were a greater distance. I am now much more discerning. A total of an hour of time is not worth seven dollars to me. At the start of my mystery shopping, I was not aware that a shopper could inquire about bonuses or incentives. I have only tried a couple of times and neither time with success. My favorite shops are the ones in which you get a service such as a car wash. I have done a few restaurant shops but like so many others, find them to be a challenge due to the need for exact timing of when you are greeted, seated, have your beverage order taken, food order taken, meal delivered, refills of drinks, etc. It sometimes feels more stressful especially with having to note all the timing discreetly. There is one company that I registered with that mainly offers water parks and museums. These looked intriguing but when I read over the guidelines which were extremely extensive and a bit confusing, I realized that these shops were not for me. It seemed that it would be impossible to have a bit of fun while trying to complete the job accurately and then guidelines clearly and honestly indicated that the reports might take two plus hours to complete. I have not deactivated that company but I am not in any hurry to give one a try yet.

queenie,
Sounds like it is time to sign up with a lot more MSCs to have a wider choice of better paid assignments.

You're right, Walesmaven. I have to do some more research on other MSCs and start signing up for more. Thank you for the advice!

I've put more than 12 years in as a mystery shopper. I have come to the conclusion that we all should try to limit how low we will go with the money paid for particular shops (I realize some people can't do that because they need the money.). For example, I generally will not go below about $30.00 for auto dealership shops. I also do not make an unlimited number of phone calls for targeted phone shops without additional pay (Yes, sometimes that means I lose the pay all together.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2016 09:51PM by alannajm.

My experience has been, you don't have to take a job to stay active. There is one company I am registered with, but have never done a job for and they bug me to take a restaurant up here, I never have as I do the same job for another MSC that gives me other work as well. I recently had an "invitation" to do a job with a company I hadn't worked for in years, and forgot about...once your registered, your on their list when they get work in your radius....just my experience. I have and will continue to do lower paying jobs, 15.00 minimum when I'm at the mall anyway. I do go on and update profile which keeps me active and not forgotten.

@queenie1 wrote:

You're right, Walesmaven. I have to do some more research on other MSCs and start signing up for more. Thank you for the advice!

Queenie,
You may know this already, but at the end of each page of this forum there is a link you can click on that will show you a long list of companies that you can sign up with....do your due diligence first, and find out about them here on this forum, but there's plenty of good ones there!! HTH!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2016 09:05PM by guysmom.

I don't know if I have become "successful" or not... but I plan to keep all my MSC's. There is no reason to drop any of them. They let me work, make my work better, and have a changing roster of clients that keeps me interested, or at least out of trouble and off the streets, haha. I am very grateful for my MSC's and I am loyal to them.

Over time, some jobs have seemed better or easier or more pleasant. Is this because I have more experience in one or more locations? Do I have more confidence in my ability to do the jobs? Here is an example. For whatever reason, I am ready to return to a job type that scared the bejeebies out of me a few years ago. Due to more experience with longer job trajectories and narrations, I now look forward to this well-paid job type. Perhaps you will find that adding companies and mixing up the jobs makes each job type seem less bad or even downright good... Enjoy!

I've stomped off swearing never to work with a company again, and a few years later they look attractive. Contracts are constantly gained and lost, so the opportunities constantly change, as well.

Sometimes, I've stopped working specific assignments with specific companies, because I figure the same people I've had trouble with are working in that department. Of course, most wouldn't work for Tom Callaghan for any price.

Last month I ventured into restaurant shops, I took on 2. The first one required a recorded phone call and I received a fee plus reimbursement. The 2nd, I had to hang out for 45 minutes with only reimbursement.
Neither were my cup of tea. That being said, the reimbursement only shop wouldve been fabulous if it had been closer to home. I wouldn't do it again, unless I knew I would be driving by at the right time of day. Both were a great learning experience.

There are companies that the shops aren't worth it, but I don't put them on the 10 ft pole list. I have no idea of what may happen tomorrow let alone in future months. Why shoot myself in the foot?

I've been deactivated by one company - but it was completely mutual. Otherwise, I wouldn't go out of my way to deactivate myself on purpose - just because I don't care for the shops an MSC offers, the fees, etc. The one thing I do no do anymore is the 'No shop fee' shops - reimbursement only. Oh, and there is that MSC that only pays reimbursements - and in gift cards for that same restaurant where the no shop fee shop happened. Ummm, no thanks!

When first starting, I accepted the bank assignments only which back then paid somewhere between $90 to $300. I would work one week and make close to $2000 for all the assignments. Those dried up. I then started scheduling assignments in one day that would garner me either $200 to $300 per day. Now, I accept those that pay $30 or more no less unless it's a phone shop where I can stay home and make $50 in one hour to contact and complete the report. It depends on how desperate one is I think, Desperation will make you accept all you can until you're no longer desperate, then you can be very selective.

I'll let you know when I become successful!

I have dumped several well known companies for a variety of reasons- low pay- no pay- schedulers who move to different companies and get replaced by schedulers who try to dump low paying jobs on you and never bonus you. I actually dumped one of my favorite companies which was Monterey Mystery- They have reasonably high pay and narratives that are short and easy, but it took months to get paid and many many emails and phone calls before that happened and I had done a lot of jobs for them at $30.00 per and up with a bunch of bonus-ed shops- I told them I wouldn't shop for them anymore unless I got paid, so finally a check for nearly 300.00 arrives- and then I got screwed on my very next job which I had to travel 100 miles round trip to do and that was the final straw. I never looked back. I usually have more shops available to me than I can do. My basic rule these days is generally I don't do shops that are less than $15.00 and they can't take more than an hour to do. But Mystery Shopping and merchandising is all I do.

I haven't deactivated myself from anyone. There are some low paying companies I barely work for. However, occasionally a bonused shop appears that is worth it to me and I'll do it. I make sure to do a fantastic job of it in hopes that they will call me next time. I really hate car shops but will do them for good pay, don't like pizza shops but do them when well bonused. I don't like grocery shops but will do them when I can bundle them with others or make a route. So I'm really all about the money and enough money has overcome my dislike of particular companies and shops quite regularly.

The only time I've ever "blackballed" a MSC is for not paying at all or I have to hunt them down for months for payment. Never for a low paying shop. I just don't take those shops, UNLESS I am working to build a rapport with that MSC. I used to take a lot of low paying shops for x MSC, now a year later, I am always getting calls or emails from schedulers at x MSC to do $40 and $50 shops that are not listed on their job board. To each his own, but UNLESS you are messing with my money, I will always work to keep my MSCs in rotation