Logged in last night to notice that their home improvement shop fees have been lowered by .50 cents. Last year they lowered them by a $1. I wonder if anyone will take them? Granted, the shop is easy enough, but they can't get me out the door for the low shop fee they now offer for these assignments.

As long as there are people that justify the low pay with "Well, it's next door to another shop I'm doing", the companies will keep lowering their fees. That's why I refuse to take these.

ETA: See #4 on this list [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2016 05:11PM by DareWright.

Supply and demand. There are more and more capable and well versed people out of work and/or earning less for the MSCs to take advantage of. Who owns a business that doesn't try to make it more profitable?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2016 08:51PM by isaiah58.

People kept taking them when they were lowered $1. People will keep taking them now that they are lowered another 50 cents. Maybe not you, maybe not me, but somebody will take most of them. Some may have to be bonused to get rid of them, but they will probably save money in the long run, because most of them will get taken. When they lowered everything a dollar recently, it didn't have any effect at all on how quickly shops were self-assigned. Most flew off the Job Board, even with the lowered fee.

Just got a "Shop with Premium Email." Guess what I could make a whole $2 above base. The "Premium" used to be $3. I would not take it for $3, while would I take it for $2? Not only that, but the location they are offering me is not even in my City. No thanks. I will pass.

@Lady Marius wrote:

Just got a "Shop with Premium Email." Guess what I could make a whole $2 above base. The "Premium" used to be $3. I would not take it for $3, while would I take it for $2? Not only that, but the location they are offering me is not even in my City. No thanks. I will pass.

I received the same email. It was for a date 3 weeks from now, and a 25 minute drive without traffic. My bonus for this location is usually $10.

@roflwofl wrote:

People will keep taking them now that they are lowered another 50 cents.

Wait till the new app becomes popular and the shop fees go even lower.

I wonder how long before they are reimbursement only.

If the reimbursement was significantly higher than $5 and I didn't have to buy what they want me to buy (related to my scenario) I might not mind so much. But I have an excess of drain opener and disposal cleaner under my sink, I have more paint brushes than I really need, etc.

I agree with @JASFLALMT, I have a wedding to attend in 2 weeks. In the last couple weeks I have been reimbursed: Dress pants, dress shirt, hair cut tomorrow and Saturday I am getting a great discount on shoes. All I need is a nice rental car or at least a car wash.

I wish I was geting more decent reimbursements like you are, sstazz!!!

I must be the only person with a Visa card chipped in the area. There is a limit of 1 shop and I have done 7. I never thought it would be difficult to spend $25-35 inside a gas station.

Ah yes - the games that MF plays. It is fun to see the burger place fee jump from $6 to $8 online, then disapear from online, then they send me an email with a "premium" fee offer of $2 in addition to the online price of $6. Very cute- they take away $2 and then "give it back" in premium fee of $2. (it used to be a $3 premium.) That is why I only do the bonused shops when they call. They lost a major FF client and a lot of other smaller shops have disapeared from MF. They are having to adjust to less money in their coffers and shoppers are getting lower fees.

When I receive the $3/now-$2 email offer, the online fee stays $8; meaning the real bump is on top of the currently displayed increased fee. I have never seen them lower the increased fee in lue of the offer email. Must be something new for you or your area?

@DareWright wrote:

As long as there are people that justify the low pay with "Well, it's next door to another shop I'm doing", the companies will keep lowering their fees. That's why I refuse to take these.

ETA: See #4 on this list [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Even if it only takes 2 minutes to arrive there and complete? Don't be ridiculous.

@MysteriousLurker wrote:

@DareWright wrote:

As long as there are people that justify the low pay with "Well, it's next door to another shop I'm doing", the companies will keep lowering their fees. That's why I refuse to take these.

ETA: See #4 on this list [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Even if it only takes 2 minutes to arrive there and complete? Don't be ridiculous.

I've been a shopper for over 5 years. I can't think of one single shop that takes 2 minutes total to both arrive and complete/input a shop. Not one single one. Let me know which ones these are...they sound great.

Yeah but you won't do them....so...

I'm guilty of taking a fast casual shop at base pay once a month. I need to do real shopping a block away anyhow and do enjoy the food in moderation. This location is never bonused and will get completely taken very quickly if I don't log in and find it.

good for you for making MSing still work for you, scanman!

Most Mystery Shopping assignments are meant to be just that. While you're there......could ya'.....
They aren't meant to pay a mortgage and put your kids through college.
They're just supposed to be a supplement, adding perks.

One person isn't supposed to do 85% of the grocery shops in a 30 mile radius week after week.
They're meant to be spread across MANY shoppers who happen to be in the area, happen to want to get a little something for their 'little bit more professional' feedback.
After you've worked 8 hours in a day, at any job, you're productivity goes down drastically.
That's what is happening when the 'professional' shoppers do 15 retirement homes back to back; the client is getting robbed and so are the clients customers.

If you're going to the store and your neighbor asks if they can go along do you ask them to chip in for gas or do you say they have to pay for all of the gas and your time and you want extra if they want to have conversation along the way? It's not exactly the same, but, just saying.

@DareWright wrote:

@MysteriousLurker wrote:

@DareWright wrote:

As long as there are people that justify the low pay with "Well, it's next door to another shop I'm doing", the companies will keep lowering their fees. That's why I refuse to take these.

ETA: See #4 on this list [www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Even if it only takes 2 minutes to arrive there and complete? Don't be ridiculous.

I've been a shopper for over 5 years. I can't think of one single shop that takes 2 minutes total to both arrive and complete/input a shop. Not one single one. Let me know which ones these are...they sound great.

Actually, I had a shop that took about 25 seconds and I was paid $15. I was to go into a cell phone store in the mall, see if 2 kinds of cell phones were on display and then I could leave. I was there such a brief time (less than a minute) and the salesman tried to talk to me. Since no interaction was required or necessary, I waved him off and left. This was actually for a merchandising company I work for. The input took less than 30 seconds. Did you see the 2 phones? Where were they displayed? I don't even think I needed a business card. This was the easiest shop I ever did. There was no POV required. I did 2 of them. I was actually an employee of this company and my hourly wage was $15 an hour. So for 25 seconds I work, I was paid $15 for the assignment.

Wrong.

@spicy1 wrote:

That's what is happening when the 'professional' shoppers do 15 retirement homes back to back; the client is getting robbed and so are the clients customers.

I am confused...the client's customers are getting robbed? Are you saying that the elderly people (and their families) in the retirement home are getting robbed?

I actually found the comments to be contradictory. If productivity goes down it seems having someone who works a full time job completing mystery shops after working eight hours would be doing the clients a disservice. On the other hand, the professional shoppers do nothing but mystery shopping. Shops such as senior living and new homes can only be done during normal business hours Monday through Friday. So what exactly is the difference between a professional shopper working 40 hours a week and any other professional doing the same?

We all know spicy1 loves to slam professional shoppers because she has not had success in the field. With the statement here she has included all mystery shopping companies who utilize professional shoppers making us all complicit in practices that deceive and defraud the clients.

I agree with Lisa. Most professional mystery shoppers have finely tuned skills and focus solely on their assignments without being distracted by what is going on at their regular job. While companies like MF may not intend for anyone to be able to make a living off mystery shopping and intend their shops to be supplemental income, mystery shopping for retirement communities, new home shops (especially video shops) and others are an entirely different thing. Melinda Brody at the IMSC conference didn't allude to mystery shopping as being supplemental, nor did the many other MSC owners and representatives who were speaking or in attendance. The way the conference was presented, mystery shopping could easily be the source of a lucrative income for professional shoppers.

I agree, it could be seen as the other way around. Full-time mystery shoppers can become so adept at knowing the details of the assignment that they don't miss anything. I wasn't trying to slam ALL anything that deceive and fraud ANYTHING. I said what I said and only what I said.

When you are actually looking, for the first time as they guidelines state, for a care home for your parent you have a certain look on your face that cannot be replicated after doing a certain number of shops; a combination of fear, sadness, excitement, questioning, doubting and genuine co-dependence. The customer service rep recognizes these and behaves accordingly. Just as you can only go to so many burger joints and strain to read their name tag before the CSR realizes it and behaves accordingly.

That's all I'm saying. The CSR notices and the shops outcomes are changed. I have an opinion and because that opinion goes against yours, because you are defensive about what you do in particular, doesn't make mine any less important than yours and give you the right to say that I am not successful because I don't exclusively do Mystery shopping full-time like you do. Why would anyone do that anyway? No other options? A dig for a dig!

I'm quite successful, and becoming more so everyday, thank you very much. My Mystery Shopping is now about a third of my income and my car has 35,694 tax deduction miles on it from Mystery Shopping alone this year. I have to trade in my car, year after year, because of this, thank you very much!

I don't know about that. Well-known professional actors pull it off all the time and are just as believable in the next role as the previous one. Some, though not all, are typecast and are always pretty much the same characters, and they do it quite well. Are not professional mystery shoppers proficient actors? It's all about drawing on inner emotions and perhaps life experience that makes a good shopper (actor) believable.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Wrong.

@spicy1 wrote:

That's what is happening when the 'professional' shoppers do 15 retirement homes back to back; the client is getting robbed and so are the clients customers.

More words of "wisdom" from spicy1. What did you professional shoppers do to piss her off? Take lucrative jobs away from her? Submit better reports in a timely manner than she does? Who knows!

@spicy1 wrote:

I'm quite successful, and becoming more so everyday, thank you very much. My Mystery Shopping is now about a third of my income and my car has 35,694 tax deduction miles on it from Mystery Shopping alone this year. I have to trade in my car, year after year, because of this, thank you very much!

Trade in your car year after year? Are you leasing a car?

Quote: More words of "wisdom" from spicy1. What did you professional shoppers do to piss her off? Take lucrative jobs away from her? Submit better reports in a timely manner than she does? Who knows!

What exactly do you add? Nothing. Are you just agreeing with the "cool kids" so you can sit at their table?
You are aware of what they actually think of you, no matter how much you have their back or carry their books.