Ceasesmith its an app on android fir quick tasks

@mermaid3766 wrote:

Thats sad you feel that way. I take pride in my reports. If I accept a job I do the job right period.

What is sad is when you do great reports giving more than what the MSC wanted and they turn around and lower the fees. Your best meant nothing to them. They just want the lowest possible fee.

Mermaid, you are going to be fine. You have the right attitude to continue to be successful.
I wish you nothing but the best!

@mermaid3766 wrote:

Ive never had a single shop rejected. My rating average with all companies is 9.5 (mostly tens but a few nines) I only recently had one come back with a question. It was my fault and I recieved a nine on the report anyways. I only asked the question because if it was just me then I wouldnt keep trying to work with this company, I would just move on. If it was becoming the norm then I would shut my mouth and continue doing the work offered. Thank you everyone for your input.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Hmm. I was thinking of a different aspect of it. I have been following a bit of the business news for a few years to find out which locations are thriving, hanging in there, languishing, and closing.

- Does a reduced number of chain or franchised locations result in a smaller pool of funders for mystery shopping programs?
- Are any programs being revised?
- Is any on-site technology making it easier for decision makers to find out what is happening-- in some spots-- at their properties? For a gas station shop, shoppers should continue to evaluate restrooms, but tech could provide constant feedback about the sales floor or the pump areas. (I do not know about agreements between employers and employees and what is legal/possible.)

All good questions. Don't have any immediate answers, shopetal.

However, I had some q's myself:

1.) Do the clients know how much the MSCs offer shoppers (and the declining rates and/or increased work per shop in some cases)?

If I were a business owner, I would not be comfortable with a MSC paying out $8.00 for a mattress or self-storage shop, because I would question the integrity of the work being submitted, given the pay to the shopper. I might wonder if some reports might be "cooked" to quickly get them done or what not.

2.) Could there be negative favoritism in some cases, whereby a scheduler gives huge bonuses and/or prime jobs to someone they personally know or like (rather than based on work quality), thereby reducing the money and/or good jobs leftover for others?

I'm distinguishing this from acceptable favoritism, in which a scheduler sticks with a "SUPER SHOPPER," because of that person's superior skills and reliability.

Mostly, I tend to think there is a significant pool of desperate and/or financially illiterate shoppers, who are taking very low paid to money-losing shops. That feels like the most simple and powerful answer.

As for technology replacing some of shoppers' value, I could see that happening. But, I doubt it'd fully replace us. I'm guessing something as simple as a greeting and tone of voice (which is very important for first impressions of a business) can never fully be "measured" by tech (I could be wrong certainly). That's something seemingly only the shopper can give from his or her unique interaction perspective. It would be quite a bit of "privacy invasion" to have all these cameras everywhere in a restaurant, for example, and able to pick up the speech of everyone there. Would customers even want that - knowing a camera is in every corner taping you and recording what you say during your dinner? Then, you'd have to have a person (or A.I.) review the tape and analyze it.

Maybe one day technology and A.I. can do most of what a shopper does. Not sure. But, I think we're very far away from that.

not to mention the legality of voice recording us customers

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2019 07:08AM by shoptastic.

It should be noted that not everyone lives in or near an area where parking garage shops and $40 bank shops are common. We have like 4 parking garages in our entire community, and we're not hardly a suburban area. I doubt there are more than a dozen communities in most states, with high-rise districts that have that kind of sprawl. And most of the MSC boards only have a few jobs near me in any given month - hence why I am on SO VERY MANY. But like with most gig work, the question of whether or not mystery shopping and gig-merchandising are a good money-making opportunity all depends on where you are. The same has been said of Lyft and Grubhub drivers; sure the people in major metropolises and their suburbs can do well, but most everyone else is getting screwed.

It should also be noted that, if you read any articles on the current gig economy, you'll find it's all starting to falter in anticipation of legal limitations on what you can pay gig workers, what kind of work you can assign to a gig worker, your liability in case of accidents and who you can or can't qualify as a contractor. And while that pinch is being felt all over, Survey.com's business is particularly in line for those hits, as they push more and more to having reset crews and display demonstrators over the one-off items. I'm guessing some clients are paying as little as they can get away with, until they legally can't get away with it anymore.

I was an early user of Survey.com's system, to the point where I knew the cell number of the local assigning agent. But many of the things they've needed to implement have been overlooked for flashier nonsense - like the special routes notifications that you can't seem to customize in any rational fashion. For example, they're recent push to entire reset crews or hours-long restocking jobs have never included details about the amount of weight you have to lift or carry or other details about physical requirements. The settings to not be notified of reset jobs have never worked correctly. You have no way to limit your profile to what kind of jobs you're willing to do, or mark off what things you can't do.

And all that is before the fact that the pay rates have indeed been going down. At one point they were paying $6 a store for those stupid beef-jerky-like product merchandising, which took a bare minimum of 40 minutes to do. And it's not like you can build up enough of a route for them to be worthwhile, when you have at least 20 minutes drive-time between them.

They also have not been reliable on paying for buybacks on time, to the point where I once waited more than a month for reimbursement. And if they're running behind on payouts, they'll say so at the start, but they won't send updates as they catch up, so you have no idea when to start checking to see if your payout was missed. And even when it seems clear you were missed, they don't admit it. They act like you jumped the gun in asking, and they were just about to do it.

I used to prefer them overall, because they paid out at multiple times in the month and direct to Paypal. But now I avoid even opening the app, lest I am bombarded with push and SMS notices of jobs that I should be able to note on my profile that I am physically incapable of doing.

I still find it sad so many MSC's are lowering their fees. It just shows they don't care about the quality of reports or the shoppers. Most shops I now hold out for higher fees.

This is interesting. How do you get your information about shoppers and their reports? Are you and MSC insider?

@johnb974 wrote:

I still find it sad so many MSC's are lowering their fees. It just shows they don't care about the quality of reports or the shoppers. Most shops I now hold out for higher fees.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

This is interesting. How do you get your information about shoppers and their reports? Are you and MSC insider?

@johnb974 wrote:

I still find it sad so many MSC's are lowering their fees. It just shows they don't care about the quality of reports or the shoppers. Most shops I now hold out for higher fees.

It's human nature. You see the results of management's and corporation's actions.

@mermaid3766 wrote:

Ive been a shopper on and off for 12 plus years. I have cancer and because I never know how I will feel each day I cant commit to shops with future dates. I dont want to ruin my standing with any of the companies Ive shopped for so I only accept what I can do immediately. This app allowed for that. Thats why I went with them. I miss the kind of money I use to make. I was able to pay my rent and give my kids whatever they wanted (within reason) because of Mystery Shopping. I Love being a shopper and Im good at it. I hope that with all these companies doing surveys on the reciepts given, that MS's dont become a thing of the past. Thank you for your responses. We all need to help each other be the best we can be in the industry. We make a difference.

Hang in there, mermaid!! I've also had cancer (breast), and have gone through the whole schmeel...mastectomy, chemo, radiation, arimidex for 5 years, bloodwork, etc etc etc. It's been 6 yrs now since diagnosed, and I'm doing OK. The fatigue thing hangs on though. Most days I feel OK, but some, I have little energy. Take one day at a time, which it sounds like you're doing.

As far as not committing past "today" for taking jobs, I totally understand that. But there ARE ways to still take jobs TODAY if you are feeling up to it. Especially towards the end of the month/quarter, when schedulers are DESPERATE to get the jobs done. If you are signed up with at least the top 15 companies listed here at the bottom of each page with the "Official List" link below, you could still check each day that you feel up to it. You may just find that you can do a job or two each day that you have the energy for. (Or you might see even more opportunities if you are signed up with even more companies than the 15 most talked about).

One other thing I learned while going through this: Don't EVER apologize to anyone for how you're feeling while you are going through this. No one but YOU knows how things are going inside of you. Take each day as it comes, mermaid. You WILL get through this!! Hang in there. ~Hugs~

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2019 03:45PM by guysmom.

I feel for you, you being Anybody going through the horrible effects of this dreadful "cancer." Please take some time to Google it and then go watch all 9 episodes of "The Truth About Cancer."

It is the most informative documentary about cancer ever produced.

It contains interview after interview of Doctors, from around the World, whose lives have been destroyed whenever they dared to cure a cancer patient!

Big Pharma doesn't want the truth about cancer to become known. And the stories surrounding what lengths that they will go through is heartbreaking.

But the documentary also covers how cancer can, and has been, defeated, and all the ways one can successfully rid their body(ies) of this disease!!

There are stories galore from cancer patients where they explain in detail, how they were able to dispel the disease(s).

I am heartbroken every time I hear that somebody has been diagnosed with cancer.

I just want to shout it from the mountaintop to Everybody! PLEASE Go Watch "The Truth About Cancer!!"

It WILL save your life!!! Please!?!

I am sorry for going off topic but I just can't help myself whenever I hear about somebody being diagnosed with cancer...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2019 11:04AM by AuburnHarleyMama.

Also in human nature, you see what you are able to perceive.

@johnb974 wrote:

@Shop-et-al wrote:

This is interesting. How do you get your information about shoppers and their reports? Are you and MSC insider?

@johnb974 wrote:

I still find it sad so many MSC's are lowering their fees. It just shows they don't care about the quality of reports or the shoppers. Most shops I now hold out for higher fees.

It's human nature. You see the results of management's and corporation's actions.

I have been mystery shopping for 28 years now, starting when I answered an ad in my local newspaper and they would mail the survey forms and guidelines to me and when completed, I would mail the completed survey report and receipts back to them. Then I had to wait patiently for a check to arrive in payment many weeks later. A lot has changed since then, one of which is fees. I have seen a stagnating trend in fees over the last 3 decades. There are shops that I see posted today that are still paying the same rate as they were in 1990, believe it or not. The advance of technology has made many more people try out mystery shopping and as there are more people available, it has kept fees from rising much and in some cases, has driven the fees lower. Now that I am a lot older and hopefully a little wiser, I try to hold out for bonuses and have tried to keep a good reputation with the companies that I work for so that they know if I say I will take a shop that I will do it and do it correctly, making them more willing to give me the bonus I ask for. I still make a decent amount of income shopping, but I sure don't take shops that are an insult in regards to the pay offered.

I have been in what I call the "retail services" industry for about 16 years. I have held positions as a data collector, a merchandiser, and a "sales rep" for many companies both directly and for 3rd parties. I have talked to so many people in my lines of work and many of them, including me, have done MS work. And here's what I have found:

The vast majority of MSers pick up MS jobs as supplement to their retail services jobs, which are usually very low wage jobs and almost always part time. They'll pick up just about any MS job regardless of pay or will even just work for food (which, in the end is money in your pocket, but will usually add pounds to the belly/thighs, but I digress). Usually, they pick up any job that is on their route with the "regular job" so as to justify (at least in their own minds) working for such small pay.

So my point is that if you are waiting for MSC pay to go up, you may as well just find another line of "work" because the average MSer is willing to work for peanuts if they can pick up jobs that are on their normal route (which is usually the case).

So in other words, supply and demand. The # of MSers who will work for next-to-nothing is high enough and remains so, therefore there is no need for an MSC to pay higher fees. And when times are tough and the # of MSC shops available are down, then fees will go down.

And the bottom line is that MS work has never been meant to be anything more than supplemental income, so you're dreaming if you think that will ever change.

Although I will say that there apparently are companies out there that hire their own MSers onto their payrolls. I remember 3 years ago I cam across a job posting for a regional company that has hundreds of convenience stores in a 5-state area advertising they were hiring a FT job for a mystery shopper to travel to all their stores and be an in-house mystery shopper for them as a W-2 employee. So there are gigs like that out there, but probably not very common.

With the lower pay I'm sure the reports are also lower quality.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2019 05:58PM by johnb974.

John, not everyone has the same mindset as you do. You have posted more than once that you won't do a good job on your shop reports if the shops don't pay well. I definitely don't think the same way. If I accept a shop and it turns out to be more work than is worth the pay, I still give my best effort. I either ask for a bonus the next time or just won't do the shop. I think the majority of people think the same way I do. Your mindset on work ethics stinks.

@johnb974 wrote:

With the lower pay I'm sure the reports are also lower quality.

I don't know which category has the most comments on this forum, posts complaining about the low fees or posts giving excuses for doing shops with low fees.

This may all be a moot point. The new law in California, concerning Independent Contractors may change everything.

Glad I don't live in California!

John, I hope you and other Californian's stay safe from the fires. I may not agree with your ethics as a shopper, but I do wish you well as a person.

@johnb974 wrote:

With the lower pay I'm sure the reports are also lower quality.

I can see that possibly happening with someone doing the work for primary income. You just won't have time to put in a lot of extra details. It would be just math. You need x-$/hour to survive. You have to pick up x-# of shops to make that much. Only so much time to spare per shop.

However, if shops paid well, then you could presumably do less of them and put more effort into the ones you do have to do.

I think your contention wouldn't even have to presume lack of motivation (although, honestly, I could absolutely see that!!! - how motivated is someone going to be doing an $8 self-storage shop, who is desperate for the money and has to take them??). It just presumes lowered quality as a result of necessity for a lot of people.

My question was do clients know MSCs pay so little to shoppers sometimes? If I were a business owner and setting up a shopper program, I actually would want to see the shopper paid some decent minimum amount precisely to discourage possibly shoddy or inferior work.

I think the clients only care about getting the reports. If the reports decrease in quality or they are not completed, they might start questioning the MSC. We've all seen shops suddenly increase in pay at certain times of the month. This makes me wonder how much profit is the MSC making on the reports.

johnb974 shares--This makes me wonder how much profit is the MSC making on the reports.

Bob comments--Not me. The only profit that matters to Bob, is Bob's.

This is a very easy fix...stop. Just stop going on the site...putting in for anything, etc. waste of energy and time. No use complaining about something you can very easily control and fix.

A client pays the company you work for independently a fee. They DO NOT tell the company how much to pay a shopper. That 8s strictly up to the company. You already know companies are very cheap when it comes to shopper fees. The reason is, there are thousands of shoppers available, so if you don’t want an assignment, they know someone else is there to take it. Mystery shopping was never meant as an income to live on. Also depends how much of a populated area you live in.

Best of luck !

I used to do a parking shop for $20. The fee was reduced to $15, then $12 and it is currently being offered at $10. I am just shocked. Can you imagine the conversations in some of the MS companies where they discuss how much they can reduce fees? A lot of shops don't pay anywhere near the minimum wage, especially when you factor in the time to read the guidelines which as another shopper writes can take 30 minutes. It does show a complete lack of respect by some of the MS companies for those doing the work.

I often hear from veterans, who have 10+ years experience, that shops have often:

a.) gotten "harder" - as in more work
and/or
b.) cheaper or flat in fees

Would that imply the shopper base has risen dramatically? Or, the MSC is getting cheaper (both?)...Or, the client is getting cheaper? Or, all three?

Have you veteran shoppers noticed it getting harder and harder to get your preferred shops compared to, say, five or six years ago?

Just like the $4.00 dollar gas station visits.. Really? $4.00

Mermaid, I'm sorry to hear that you have cancer. I feel for you even though I don't know you. I hope that you have a speedy recovery and feel better soon.