@Jenny Cassada wrote:

That's crazy Sandy! Every shop I've been to for 5Guys says not to take the peanuts out because of allergies. One of my problems is peanuts in the shell. I will eat 17 of those boats if you let me and I will put them loose in my purse if I have to lol.

@sandyf wrote:

@Mum wrote:

@JASFLALMT..Wow, I just went through their menu and saw peanuts. I was only kidding about working for peanuts but just found out they do offer free peanuts. This was my first visit to Five Guys. I would gladly scoop some the next time.

The only time I ever did a 5G the manager encouraged me to take home as many peanuts as I wanted. He even handed me an empty bag to fill up. So I felt I got my fee in peanuts which is my fave nut anyway.

Jenny, I did that one shop several years ago. At the time there was nothing in the guidelines about the peanuts at all. So are you saying the guidelines say not to take the peanuts or the store says not to take them out due to allergies. I do not understand either unless the guidelines want you to tell the cashier you have a peanut allergy. If so I guess I will not ever do the job again. My locations I find the peanuts the best thing about them. They do not have milkshakes or that would be my favorite thing right behind peanuts.

@shopperbob wrote:

ob;s opinion--That says it all!

Mr. BOB , you are awesome!

Wasn't there previously a mystery shop Hall of Shame type of thread?

I can't remember the name...not the 10-foot pole list thread, but something else. It was a running thread of ridiculous offers.

Perhaps it needs to be revived for comedy.

@sandyf no, nothing in the guidelines, just at the store itself. I like 5guys, but admittedly, I've never gone while not on a shop. I haven't had a milkshake shop, even though our place has it, and I would love one. I really like the free peanuts, it's one of those rare things in life we get free.

"Well there ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees..." (Cage the Elephant).

...and neither do peanuts, but at least they are free (at 5 Guys and TR).

I'm allergic to nuts, no reason for me to go....free peanuts. is that all we're worth??????

Irene, they also offer $6, LOL. I do those 5 Guys for $24+ fee only. But honestly, if I knew I was going to be in the area and I had time, and I was hungry, I would probably do it for $6. As it stands, I never have time for $6 and I would rather just eat a granola bar on the road and eat something else when I get home.

Oh yeah, but I will do that Asian food shop on the cheap if in the area because I love that food!

I've actually stopped all burger places and lost 6 pounds...I love my Japanese BBQ, food is my fav., and reimbursement 50.00 plus 25.00 bonus, healthy and I actually make some $$'s. Why eat food that's just o.k., lose money and gain weight??? Fries are the enemy.

The peanuts disclaimer is in the certification.

Irene, I agree that fries are not great, but I also think that moderation is the key to everything. I bought some excellent ground round (not a shop) at Earth Fare (small regional place equivalent to Whole Foods on a small scale) and made some bacon cheeseburgers with fresh lettuce from my garden, along with some fab Vermont white cheddar and other stuff for dinner tonight. No sides, just that. Yummy. When I do go to restaurants and have burgers, I (we) probably only eat 4-5 fries. If I do 5-Guys as a shop, I hardly eat those fries at all.

I just can't eat 6 fries, will power goes out the window...like at home when I buy the "healthy" chips, I eat half a bag, so have been watching carbs and have fruit instead, I know boring, but thin is in...

@JASFLALMT wrote:

"Well there ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees..." (Cage the Elephant).

Cage the Elephant? Really? I wouldn't have pegged you for that one. I think I might have seen them a couple of times.

I only saw them once, when they first released that. You'd be surprised beyond that by my taste in music.

@bgriffin wrote:

@JASFLALMT wrote:

"Well there ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees..." (Cage the Elephant).

Cage the Elephant? Really? I wouldn't have pegged you for that one. I think I might have seen them a couple of times.

Nice pull in a lousy thread.

It's dwindling down to song lyrics, recipes soon to follow.

I would never write a post knocking shoppers like the OP did, but I am very disappointed in the fees being offered for most shops. Some of the bank shops that used to pay well pay much less now. In 2014-2017, I could get $100 for a credit card application shop, just for one example. Now it pays $50, and that’s the only shop I’ve done this year except some online ones. Nothing I’ve seen has paid enough for the time and work involved. I never think it’s worth leaving the house for less than $30. I probably should have gotten into the video shops because I know that’s where the money is for many shoppers. But I don’t have a car and can’t pay the parking costs in NYC to make owning a car worthwhile, and most video shops are for apartments not in Manhattan.

I’m really happy for the people who are doing well now. I was able to make an extra $400-$500 a month for about 5 years because there used to be a lot more better paying shops in my area than there are now. I used to get bonuses from a big MSC with a chain restaurant (not the arches), but another MSC got the client last year, and they only pay $5 for the shops I got $30 for from the old MSC. That MSC has had no shops that paid over $20 in my area in over a year.

If you live in an area where there are a lot of shoppers and the pickings are slim, MS as a whole can become a lot less lucrative and less attractive as a result. I’m not sure whether the clients aren’t paying or the MSCs are just keeping more for themselves..

I’m probably going to look into driving a taxi for awhile. It’s a guaranteed $15 an hour now at least in NYC (not counting expenses). I am sad that MS is no longer viable for me. Thankfully, I do have another source of income but it’s not enough.

Sorry this was so long.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2019 10:12AM by nycrocks.

So I have been wondering: How do they get the peanut sprinkles for sundaes without making peanut butter or just a mess?

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Ask me about cashews, pistachios, sesame seeds, or pine nuts, and you'll get a different answer. But be careful, it might ensue into recipes.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

What would you do for a peanut?

[www.youtube.com]

I did it also. I; was in the area (less than a mile away). I like bookstores. No bonus. That was the last one that I will do without a bonus."Once burned. Twice warned. Three times a fool." I learned my lesson.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I did that bookstore shop. $20 bonus though, and I was in the area doing other work.

Absolutely not!!!! When are you going to get it?

@shoptastic wrote:

Wasn't there previously a mystery shop Hall of Shame type of thread?

I can't remember the name...not the 10-foot pole list thread, but something else. It was a running thread of ridiculous offers.

Perhaps it needs to be revived for comedy.

Oh, it's absolutely a fair gripe. It's the "you people" and the "act pitiful" and the "work for peanuts" and the "no respect for yourself" that I object to. If the MSC and the shopper agree on a fee, so be it.

@shoptastic wrote:

@panama18 wrote:

If you don't want the shop, don't take the shop. There is no need to be a complete (_!_) about it.

I personally think it's a fair gripe. I agree that no one forces us to take these shops. I wouldn't do them for $5.

To me, it's still fine to point out the embarrassing fee. LOL. Some of them are so low it's actually somewhat funny.

eta: It's definitely a useful reminder, though, that we ought to ask for more if we find them rates inadequate. It takes more work, but you never know if you may get the bonus or not.

Ok, first of all. No one here is stupid enough to do the low paying [joke] shops. When I first started doing this I wanted to get free food. I wanted to eat out and get my money back. I didn't know about gas station audits, apartments, colleges, bank shops, or daycare centers. Any of the no purchase required shops. I quickly learned that I could buy some grocery store items, cash items like toilet paper and get my money back. This in and of itself is a godsend to someone struggling to make it on disability. Eventually, I discovered that I could do shops that didn't require reimbursements, I didn't have to spend any of my own money if I didn't have it. I was thrilled to learn I could make a hundred and fifty dollars just mystery shopping a college. A lot of money to someone struggling to make ends meet. I learned about the forum and learned about the many companies I could register with. I did and discovered gas station audits besides the orange one or the black and red one.
I now make more money than I ever made at any of the entry-level jobs I did during my life. I eliminated hard complicated shops, [like the full audit of the orange or black and red gas station] [or the full blue cell phone audit] and long narratives. I don't take assignments for a free cup of tea or other crazy amounts. I work just as hard as anyone at a regular job. There are good weeks and bad weeks. And I love it. The bad weeks give you a mental break. The good weeks drive you nuts, editors drive you nuts, schedulers drive you nuts sometimes. And I still do it. I will continue to do it as long as I have to or need to to keep bills paid. I have no regrets, and I don't care if the schedulers can find someone to do shops cheaper than me. If he pays a newbie 4 dollars to do a shop cheap, guess what? He can pay me the other $6 on top of the minimum 10 I would take, so I make $16 to do the same shop the newbie did [maybe at another location of course]. And I get to eat the same great burger and fries they did, only I've got the "dollar" to add bacon to mine!

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

Ok, first of all. No one here is stupid enough to do the low paying [joke] shops.

I don't know, TC. I'd guess that some people may actually take them. That's maybe why they are priced that way? ...b/c SOMEONE actually does take them? Just a guess.

I've taken rip-off shops before. Now, I thankfully know better from reading posts from experieenced shoppers here.

I forget to mention, that most of the people on this forum are pros and make much more money than I do. You can learn a lot from them If you listen more. [God gave us 2 ears, remember] and of course we went through the phase of taking a shop for low pay, back when we first started, but it does get better if you stick it out and build a good reputation with schedulers.

Sure, I took plenty of lower paying shops when I first started out, cutting my teeth, so to speak. You have to learn somehow. And there are some lower paying shops I will still do because they really are "quick and easy" LOL. Today I am doing some gas station shops that are kiosk shops for a regional grocery store in my area. No names, no descriptions, no narrative, about 10 questions and 1 photo...10 minutes or less each including report time on the app, reimburses $5 for gas and pays $6. I will go do 3 of them as soon as it stops raining and throw 2 post offices and a 10-minute merchandising assignment ($14) in the mix, with a round trip drive of about 16 miles and about 2.5 hours of my time (including drive time). Everything I am doing I can report on my phone so I can concentrate on cooking dinner and listening to music when I get home.

I am always surprised when I read complaints about how much certain shops pay. And yes, pay has definitely gone down in the 15 years that I've been mystery shopping. I understand how this happens and why, but what's the use of *itching about it. Take the jobs you can do well and for a profit, ask for a bonus for jobs you would like but can't do for the offered pay, provide quality work at all pay points (since no one grabbed you by the arm and forced you to sign up for the shop,) and when those msp surveys come along that ask why you don't take the TooCheapToTakeSeriously shop, tell them in professionally written language why those shops are still sitting on the job board. They know why, but they need something to take back to their client to justify a new contract with higher shopper pay and/or reimbursements. And when you see decreasing fees, be sure to "thank" the here-today-gone-tomorrow mystery shop companies that reach out to clients with proposals to get the same work done for 25% less in fees to the client. They are the root cause of lowered pay.

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

Ok, first of all. No one here is stupid enough to do the low paying [joke] shops. When I first started doing this I wanted to get free food. I wanted to eat out and get my money back. I didn't know about gas station audits, apartments, colleges, bank shops, or daycare centers. Any of the no purchase required shops. I quickly learned that I could buy some grocery store items, cash items like toilet paper and get my money back. This in and of itself is a godsend to someone struggling to make it on disability. Eventually, I discovered that I could do shops that didn't require reimbursements, I didn't have to spend any of my own money if I didn't have it. I was thrilled to learn I could make a hundred and fifty dollars just mystery shopping a college. A lot of money to someone struggling to make ends meet. I learned about the forum and learned about the many companies I could register with. I did and discovered gas station audits besides the orange one or the black and red one.
I now make more money than I ever made at any of the entry-level jobs I did during my life. I eliminated hard complicated shops, [like the full audit of the orange or black and red gas station] [or the full blue cell phone audit] and long narratives. I don't take assignments for a free cup of tea or other crazy amounts. I work just as hard as anyone at a regular job. There are good weeks and bad weeks. And I love it. The bad weeks give you a mental break. The good weeks drive you nuts, editors drive you nuts, schedulers drive you nuts sometimes. And I still do it. I will continue to do it as long as I have to or need to to keep bills paid. I have no regrets, and I don't care if the schedulers can find someone to do shops cheaper than me. If he pays a newbie 4 dollars to do a shop cheap, guess what? He can pay me the other $6 on top of the minimum 10 I would take, so I make $16 to do the same shop the newbie did [maybe at another location of course]. And I get to eat the same great burger and fries they did, only I've got the "dollar" to add bacon to mine!

You can “work just as hard as anyone at a regular job,” and “now make more money than I {you] ever made st any of the entry level jobs I [you] did during your life,” while you’re collecting disability? Wow!

OMG that is going to be some troll's new user name, LOL.

@Sandy Shopper wrote:

TooCheapToTakeSeriously

Why waste your time starting threads on what other people make, who cares.....

That hotly debated bookstore shop disappears off the board every month here. I have never seen it bonused even one dollar. Someone likes it.