I have only been mystery shopping heavily for the past six months. I am an attorney actually who has three children in college. I'm a single mom and need the extra cash. I have been tickled pink lately when asking for bonuses. In one case, I had signed up for five banks. I had done two of the banks and had three of the bank scheduled for the last day of the month. A couple days after accepting the five and performing two there was an additional $10 bonus added on the shops. I wrote my scheduler and pointed out that I had taken five of these shops and the bonus was substantial to me. The scheduler graciously gave me the $10 bonus for the three outstanding shops. I also do a small gig here in town for apartment complexes. It is a small company which has one huge client. I hate apartment complex shops. However, the shops pay $50 and require only a Excel spreadsheet questionare. Therefore they are really worth my time. I have been getting on average one to two week. The scheduler sends me a check within 24 hours of completing the shop too. Well, for the first time, I was asked to record my phone call to the complex. In the past, I've been given higher compensation for a recorded call with different companies. I asked very nicely yesterday whether I would be paid more for the recorded call. Again, I was tickled pink when I was told I would get an additional $10 for recording the call. This brings the shop to $60. I had to do the call anyway and I already had a recording app on my phone. Another find is I rarely do shops for Bestmark. They are too low paying but I must admit it is where I started. The reports are generally easy. Well I found a new button on the BestMark site. On old difficult shops, they have a make me an offer button. It was a pricing audit. Ugh. Well I made an offer for $50 on an old posted shop of $30. They accepted the offer. I'm still not sure it was worth it for $50 but I really need the money. My point in this long diatribe is do not be afraid to ask for a bonus where there is a legitimate reason. In my case, an advertised shop I'd already accepted was bonused again when I had three outstanding shops and had performed two successfully. Or in another case, an additional requirement of recording the phone call was added. And last, the company invited me to put an offer in. I am always very gracious in my requests. I am sure to thank my scheduler for the work and indicate it is a well paying job. I also state that I will perform the shop regardless. I do not threaten to back out if no bonus is given. I have only been told no once along with a good try haha from the scheduler. So go for it and get a bonus if there is a legitimate reason but be sure to ask for it graciously. And do not cancel the shop if a bonus is not given. If you do cancel for this reason, it will likely get you banned from the mystery shopping site. Just a piece of advice for those who are new to the mystery shopping world.

Where do you find the bonus button on the Bestmark site ?

I actually can't recall the last shop I took without a bonus. I'm sure it would have been a short and sweet "filler" job on the way to a bonused shop!

But I live in a rural area, and must drive a minimum of 45 miles to reach the nearest shop. Even though it's a lovely cruise through the countryside, it's still work!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2017 02:48PM by ceasesmith.

Sorry it was MarketForce. They changed their website. I did not see any today. It is normally below "higher fee" and states "make an offer."

Thanks for the reply. I've done many bm shops and have never seen a make an offer and thought, what am i missing ? Yes, mf is the only place where i've seen the offer option. Even then the starting prices are low here and a 50% premium above starting price doesn't really make it worthwhile for me. I hope you are able to make a lot of money on these shops.

I did 2 audits for MF last week at $80 each. They accepted my offers so fast I'm certain I could have asked for more.

I began shopping late last year and wonder if my lack of experience makes schedulers hesitant to bonus me.

I do get bonuses for pizza shops when I ask (and sometimes don't), but on every other type of shop I've asked for them I've been denied or not responded to.

I'd love to hear of people's negotiation techniques?

I've been doing this for 16 years...I'd say building relationships with schedulers and establishing yourself as reliable and competent are of the utmost importance. I get offers with bonuses and negotiate from there. Also, many companies have deadlines near the end of the month and are willing to bend a little later in the month with hard to fill shops. Never hurts to try, so call and email offers.

I find that with schedulers that I have a proven track record, I get bonuses on a lot of my shops. I hit one of my schedulers up and asked if she had any bonused shops. She told me to login and tell her which ones I wanted and she would add a few dollars to each of them. I did and she added $3.00 each which is great as they are easy $15.00 shops to begin with. If a scheduler knows you are reliable and your shops do not have to be returned a lot for corrections, they are more willing to bonus them for you... at least in my experience!

Thanks for sharing. What MS company are you referring to? "I hate apartment complex shops. However, the shops pay $50 and require only a Excel spreadsheet questionare" The only ones I have seen were only for $30.

@KathyA wrote:

Thanks for sharing. What MS company are you referring to? "I hate apartment complex shops. However, the shops pay $50 and require only a Excel spreadsheet questionare" The only ones I have seen were only for $30.

They usually start at $30 but get bonuses added quite frequently, at least for the MSC I shop.

Back when Ronald did burger shops in New Jersey they had locations in places a suburban shopper should not go. for their own safety. The schedulers had my number on their Rolodex. The Scheduler neglected to tell the shopper you need street smarts, you must dress and act the part and If you are driving a vehicle that does not look like the other vehicles, you should keep on driving.

The schedulers would call. I would bump them up as it was last minute, you can not lump the expense into a route and the scheduler called you because they know you are expensive but you get the job done. There is always a risk as "shots fired" is often heard on police radios even in the middle of the day.

The locations lock the bathroom doors and buzz you in so street people do not use the room unless they buy something. You must ask for condiments and extra napkins at the counter because it is not available outside the Plexiglas they serve your order through. Like I said there are shops that you must drive by and keep on going if you feel your life or property is in danger. Your scheduler will understand. Be safe!.

What mystery shopping company do you do shops for ? Thanks.

Most of us are registered with anywhere from 100 to 200 mystery shopping companies and shop with dozens at any one time. Shopping with just one company rarely results in enough income ongoing.

7 star: I think it is not there for Bestmark shops but only for some Market Force jobs that are hard to fill. I have never seen such a button on the Bestmark website myself.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2017 10:49AM by alannajm.

@Azalea wrote:

What mystery shopping company do you do shops for ? Thanks.

Sounds like a "Newbie" question to me.

At the end of the replies you will see::

"Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies"

"Looking for companies? Browse our directory of mystery shopping companies here."

While the companies are legitimate, you must read the offers and sharpen your pencil or grab your calculator. Add up the cost of doing the shop, time to prepare, time to commute to the location, time to perform the shop, difficulty involved and if the shop contains "I AM THE MYSTERY SHOPPER" requirements a normal shopper will not say or do. Even the legitimate companies have clients that take advantage of newbies.