I live in Massachusetts, the banking industry is big here, the pay is not sufficient in the large city areas, like Boston. There are tolls, parking does not exist for under $25. traffic, nightmares, congestion, road work etc.
I shopped 3 branches, took 3 hours round trip because of traffic, did not have to pay for parking, husband waits for me and drives around the block several times. When I get home to do the reports I always say, remind me not to do these shops. Depending on the MSC the pay is $12 to $30 each branch. I will not in the future shop any banks in Boston for under $40 each. Never under $30. These are shops that you have to sit down with a rep. I could go on, but those who shop these location know what I am talking about.
I live 18 minutes from Boston without traffic after 7 PM.
I have stopped most of the banking and thinking of retiring.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2019 05:22PM by shopper8.

Have you tried chocolate covered Nutter Butters?

@JASFLALMT wrote:

OMG have you tried those Reese's sticks?

No...but I have about 50 king size Reese's Sticks left. It was a purchase requirement at some convenience stores I did for the last couple of months. It was that or some sports drink thing. I have a lot of those, too. But I prefer chocolate I am trying to give as many of them away as I can (I probably had 100 of the candy bars not long ago). I was mailing them to my cousin in Phoenix but now it's too hot to ship candy there or to my friends in Florida. Having them in my pantry is hard. I am being pretty good, I probably only ate 10 packages of them in the past 3 months, LOL. I am thinking that they would make a great milkshake with some vanilla ice cream, though.

@kimmiemae wrote:

Have you tried chocolate covered Nutter Butters?

@JASFLALMT wrote:

OMG have you tried those Reese's sticks?

@Jenny Cassada wrote:

@BirdyC I used to live outside Philly, it's a great area and so nice to be close to bigger cities on the NJ/PA border.

We'll still be almost an hour from Philly, but we'll be near King of Prussia, Allentown, Pottstown, etc., and there seem to be a lot of shops in those areas. Several restaurant chains I shop have locations up that way, so I can continue to eat well. Not that I need it -- LOL. Being near KOP opens up the mall boutique and upscale store shops, which I've always wanted to do, but I'm 1 1/2 hours away now, and can never put together a route that's worth the drive.

I am on back on hiatus and loving it! Right now, the money is perfect for tax time. I would have to calibrate every mystery shop moment in order to keep this condition and not have a tax bill. Do I want to do this? Nah, not right now. If I wait for a few more months, I can do all wanted shops in a five-six city radius within the same month and only do one big planning session for tax purposes. How odd this is!

I did those same convenience stores and I got the Reese's Nutrageous. My coworkers loved me.

I was on the good food wagon until I saw the chocolate covered Nutter Butters. Then I fell off. Actually more like jumped off!

That's a great idea about the milkshake.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

No...but I have about 50 king size Reese's Sticks left. It was a purchase requirement at some convenience stores I did for the last couple of months. It was that or some sports drink thing. I have a lot of those, too. But I prefer chocolate I am trying to give as many of them away as I can (I probably had 100 of the candy bars not long ago). I was mailing them to my cousin in Phoenix but now it's too hot to ship candy there or to my friends in Florida. Having them in my pantry is hard. I am being pretty good, I probably only ate 10 packages of them in the past 3 months, LOL. I am thinking that they would make a great milkshake with some vanilla ice cream, though.

@kimmiemae wrote:

Have you tried chocolate covered Nutter Butters?

@JASFLALMT wrote:

OMG have you tried those Reese's sticks?

I had the same thought you did. I do not understand why someone trying to stay under a certain $ amt to keep benefits would be better off taking low pay jobs. If there is a reimbursement attached to it then in my mind it is not necessarily a low paying job. A fee of $3,4,or 5 is definitely a low paying job but if it is with a $20 reimbursement for something I need or want then to me it is not a low paying job at $3. That is a very different thing. Unless the person on benefits has to report 40 hours of work a week and just cannot type slowly enough to claim that, like I could, I do not see benefits as a reason to take a job that pays $3 an hour. If you are in an area with only $3 jobs that could be a reason. The benefits story has nothing to do with job availability in your area. And if you are bored after meeting your benefit max earnings you can volunteer somewhere.
\

@rickgrossman wrote:

They can still keep under the limit and be paid more per hour....then work fewer hours.

KoP has lots of shops, and more in the area. I tended not to go there because it was an hour drive without traffic, and even longer for me now. But if you get to where you know where to park for a given store, the fees are reasonable. It is now the largest mall in the US in terms of leasable space. Wear comfortable shoes!

@BirdyC wrote:

Being near KOP opens up the mall boutique and upscale store shops, which I've always wanted to do, but I'm 1 1/2 hours away now, and can never put together a route that's worth the drive.

Honny would tell me to add bacon.

@kimmiemae wrote:

That's a great idea about the milkshake.

Theoretically, anyone can work in this way. But think about the variety of places where shoppers live and how easy or difficult it is to reach each shop. Everyone does not have an equal access to mystery shops. All shops are not available everywhere. Some shoppers are too young or too old for various shops. Some people are not available during certain shop times. Some people are stymied (occasionally or chronically) by childcare issues. Sometimes there are transportation issues. Some people have other incomes in the household besides mystery shopping money. Some people do not have a need to make mystery shopping a big money making event in their lives. They might be satisfied and solvent with a few shops and little revenue from them. Why should these people be subjected to or wedged into shopping experiences that mimic the same "rules" as people who have decided that mystery shopping must provide a certain level of income or lifestyle? People who choose that for themselves have no right to dictate how others should conduct their mystery shopping endeavors. People who choose otherwise should be seen as free to do what they want or need to do. Except for certain exclusive situations, the feedback from a broad cross-section is best. Shouldn't the mystery shopping world be free to include the gamut of people whenever possible?

I think it's best to let each shopper figure out what they are going to do because they are the only people who know what all the factors are and how everything plays out in their situations.

@sandyf wrote:

I had the same thought you did. I do not understand why someone trying to stay under a certain $ amt to keep benefits would be better off taking low pay jobs. If there is a reimbursement attached to it then in my mind it is not necessarily a low paying job. A fee of $3,4,or 5 is definitely a low paying job but if it is with a $20 reimbursement for something I need or want then to me it is not a low paying job at $3. That is a very different thing. Unless the person on benefits has to report 40 hours of work a week and just cannot type slowly enough to claim that, like I could, I do not see benefits as a reason to take a job that pays $3 an hour. If you are in an area with only $3 jobs that could be a reason. The benefits story has nothing to do with job availability in your area. And if you are bored after meeting your benefit max earnings you can volunteer somewhere.
\

@rickgrossman wrote:

They can still keep under the limit and be paid more per hour....then work fewer hours.

Shopper8....My town has free parking (not one meter) and bank jobs pay the best at 30.00/lowest to 65.00.
Tons of banks within three miles, my problem is there are only so many one can do before being reconized, as everyone in town knows me and they change bankers around, so doing a new bank may bring a banker
from the location you did last month, very tricky.

Nobody is "dictating" what others should do, merely questioning why someone would do a shop where there is no or very little ROI. I do restaurant shops and am often a few dollars upside down on fee and reimbursement. But the return is being able to enjoy a meal and treat my kids and/or my husband to a nice meal at a fraction of the regular price. We otherwise would be unable to eat as well as often. Some people see such shops as not worthwhile. But why someone would take a fee-only job of, say, $8 or $10 that involves 15 minutes or more of prep time, travel time, 20 or 25 minutes on site (or more, depending on the interaction), and another 20 to 30 minutes of reporting time is a little mystifying. It's a money-losing proposition. Unless those shops are part of a route and you can pare that time in half.

@BirdyC the best is that you'll be close to the highway, either 476 or 76 and can get to any of those places easily from the other places. I remember going to the KOP Mall when it was new and went a few years ago and was like HOLY MOLY what happened. I hope you enjoy the move and new "territory".

they catch people who are bored and or desperate for money. Yes there are people who will go out and do 20 10 dollar shops a day in a route and come home and spend all night putting the info in. When I got divorced I was grinding hard. However, now, I work smarter not harder and wait for those 10 dollar gigs to have a 20 dollar last minute bonus... I refuse to leave home for less than 25 per assignment, I do not do crazy audits where I am paid 25 bucks to put in 200 items on an app that goes in and out, I look for fun, well paying gigs. Hotels, Casinos, nice stores with pay and reimbursement ( I ask can I take it back) etc. I even talk up on some of my own ms and cleave out the middle man, especially in small businesses... Why get paid 20 bucks when you can earn 100 by going direct. Little shops in little towns... call on the owner and tell them you are a pro ms and ask how you can be of service... some will take you up on it, they dont want a contract with a bigger company and unknown shoppers... they just want someone to go in and see if the staff are doing right by the customers and if not, how they can improve.

Have you had much success going direct to merchants?

What does that even mean?

@maryanncostello wrote:

Have you had much success going direct to merchants?

Well FUNWOMAN posted that she markets herself to companies that could be interested.
"Why get paid 20 bucks when you can earn 100 by going direct. Little shops in little towns... call on the owner and tell them you are a pro ms and ask how you can be of service... some will take you up on it, they dont want a contract with a bigger company and unknown shoppers... they just want someone to go in and see if the staff are doing right by the customers and if not, how they can improve."

Ok. I didn't read back through all of the posts, so without a quote used I didn't know what you were talking about.

Edited to add that I was on my phone when I posted that, so even though you posted directly after her I didn't see it. Now that I am on my desktop I get it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2019 05:00PM by JASFLALMT.

Wouldn't you like to hear from FUNWOMAN to see how she does it?

Sure, why not. It's not something I will do, but it might be informative and useful for others. I don't live in a small town and really don't feel like putting in the extra time of pursuing leads to gain local businesses as clients, becoming my own MSC. I also don't want to pay for the city and county business license that goes along with that. I'd much rather contract with a larger company than try to become a MSC. That's a lot of work and added expenses.

I too do not take low paying jobs except for a particular brand convenience stores I do, but since there are about 50 of them within 20 miles of me and they take 5-10 minutes (including report time) it comes out to over $30 per hour, so I am easily able to make short day routes without putting a lot of miles on my car and can make a fair amount of money. I add other types of shops in, none with much reporting time, and also will pick up nearby stragglers with bonuses, but I don't like to put a lot of wear and tear on my vehicle (still driving a 2013 in excellent condition with less than 50k miles on it).

Interesting concept, that bit about applying to be 'the' mystery shopper. I would never EVER market myself as a mystery shopper to any business! This is a small town, some merchants and I recognize each other, and there is one missing element:

With one shopper per location there is only one perspective. The locations need multiple shops and multiple sets of information. With more shoppers, there is a better chance of testing multiple day parts, multiple job types, multiple job functions which might require certain shopper ages, and other features and factors. One shopper cannot provide sufficient information, even though they might provide excellent and accurate information for what they can do in their limited time and based upon their unique demographic information.

I guess it may change depending upon geography. The apartment shops around here are going for For less than that. Jobs than I did last year are now paying $10-$15 less.

When you referred to $100, are you speaking with the knowledge as to what the MSC’s get paid, or Is that an educated guess?

Removed

@shoptastic wrote:

Although, I do wonder if just volunteering wouldn't be more fulfilling?

I'm not a senior and can't comment on whether seniors are bored, want interaction with others, or want the money, but I can comment on whether "just volunteering wouldn't be more fulfilling." No, I think it would not. As one who volunteers (in addition to my full time job and mystery shopping mostly for food), I will say that volunteering is like a real job with no pay. Volunteers don't just get up one or two mornings a month and say "Hmm...beautiful weather .... and I'm feeling bored. I think I'll drop by the hospital and work a couple of hours before lunch." Most volunteer organizations want a specific commitment of time. Most volunteer jobs are like "real jobs." I tried to volunteer to Meals on Wheels but that didn't work out because they need a commitment of a specific 2 days and specific times each week. I travel for my day job so that wasn't going to happen. I put in 4 hours of accounting-type work for a church because I can work any 4 hours during the week and do most of it at home. A homeless shelter here in town is so desperate for help they let me work any 2 days a week I want, and sometimes I miss weeks when I travel, but the daily work is 2-3 hours of standing, heavy lifting, serving food ..... it may be too physically taxing for a senior. I would not want my Mom or Dad doing it. It's fulfilling but very hard and pays nothing. And it actually costs me money to do it. I'm not complaining about the cost, because it's my choice, just stating the fact that volunteering is not only hard, but it costs money out of pocket in many instances.

Compare Very Hard 2-3 hours Pays Nothing (volunteering at lunch at a homeless shelter) to Very Easy 10-15 minutes Pays a Little (doing a cell phone shop for $9). Both might be fulfilling. One is very hard. One is very easy. Both offer social interaction. One pays a little something. One pays nothing.

Hello rofkwifk-
My read of shoptastic is a little different than yours. My read is she is saying that those that accept such small fees-or no fee depress the earning potential of those of us who rely on mystery shopping for income. Also, I am a senior citizen and find outside employment farcical. On paper age discrimination is illegal. That’s the same “paper” they use to justify their exclusion of older people. It’s a game. That said, I need to generate the best cash flow I can.
I wish I could complete shops as efficiently as BirdyC wrote.
@BirdyC wrote:
"But why someone would take a fee-only job of, say, $8 or $10 that involves 15 minutes or more of prep time, travel time, 20 or 25 minutes on site (or more, depending on the interaction), and another 20 to 30 minutes of reporting time is a little mystifying. It's a money-losing proposition. Unless those shops are part of a route and you can pare that time in half."
I wrote earlier-
"I don't find mystery shopping for fun. I don't accept mystery shops, et.al., as a charity gig. Why do marketing companies believe otherwise? I separate each shop into 1. review and research, 2. fieldwork, 3. report preparation and writing. Each step requires time and most travel. I find if I'm completing a $12 shop for one company then I am not looking for or completing another shop that pays much more. When one sacrifices one shop ($12) for another shop ($12+) the + is called opportunity cost.
The reason I mystery shop is simple, I'm old(er) and my availability to work outside the home is limited. Also, I want the extra money. What I don't want is to be taken advantage of, ..."
Each step takes considerably more time that Birdy suggests. I have to go or I would finish my thoughts.

I am not a senior, but I think that's a rude post.

Also, "many" people on this forum have offered that as a reason? Really, I don't recall seeing that. At least not from "many" people.

@shoptastic wrote:

b.) These people are bored seniors, as many people on this forum have offered as a reason.***

As for b.), I really wish these bored seniors would watch TV, play bridge, volunteer locally, etc. vs. taking on mystery shopping jobs to fill their time. If there really are that many bored seniors willing to work for pennies, then maybe they can take up a new cause of fighting for higher wages of this work instead. Maybe volunteer for Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren or something.

Although, I do wonder if just volunteering wouldn't be more fulfilling?

Depending upon whom you ask, I am and am not a senior. Eventually, I will be old enough to be a senior everywhere. For sure, I am old enough to have worked through the 'everyone and everyone else somehow impacts on me and therefore it is my business because I am a nutty friggin' narcissist and therefore I am obliged to interfere' nonsense.

Thus, I have only one question: when did anyone start thinking that my mystery shops and my entire life are their business?

Time for peach melba.

Shoptastic's post is rude and a put down to all seniors who want to be productive, keep getting asked to continue taking jobs, and make as much as one wants....doing a 60.00 job this week. I feel her post to be inefficient, inept and inequality as well as ignorant. When you get my age, I wish you a sound mind, because at the rate your going, not happening, you are vicious. and need to be removed.
#stirring the pot.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2019 06:29PM by Irene_L.A..

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Thus, I have only one question: when did anyone start thinking that my mystery shops and my entire life are their business?

Time for peach melba.

You GO, girl! Can I join you? Only I want a peach bellini.