Paid more for quality work:
Every MSC is different, but...
* I work with an MSC that gives "expert shopper" status to some folks. Monetarily, this means that I get an extra $10 for every assignment.
* At the end of the month, when an MSC simply needs work done and is willing to add a bonus: who gets called: The shopper who always turns in great work that needs little to no editing or the shopper who does adequate work?
* If a shopper is known to do outstanding work, they are the shoppers that will get contacted first for new projects that required more complex interactions and narratives.
* Sometimes, and MSC will do just a small handful of shops with a potential new client as a way to sell their business. They will then pay a premium to the right shopper, so as to get the result that will allow them to push for their desired contract.

I am certain that quality work does bring in more earning potential. However, it may/may not be rewarded by every MSC. It depends on their needs. (i.e. if their client only needs/expects "C" level work, they may not care that you turn in "A" work.)

I crop all my receipt photos to get rid of the dead space to either side. Some FF photos the same way, and to get rid of items that aren't supposed to be in the photo. Some MSCs want photos renamed. I don't crop/rename all my photos, or even most, and I may do some that don't require it, but I do enough so that it came to mind when I was writing that post.

@89lulalula89 wrote:

Which jobs require cropping and renaming photos? In the 21 years that I've been in this business I've never needed to do that. Just curious really.

It also depends upon where you live, whether you do video or not, the types of shops you're comfortable with, how many other shoppers are in the area, and a myriad of other factors. You can be an excellent writer and completely reliable, but if there's a newbie or substantial competition, many schedulers will simply give it to the lowest bidder. The key is developing relationships with the ones who actually have your back (and, as I've recently learned, whether they'll always have your back is questionable for some.)

I don't, as a rule, make $20/hr when taxes, expenses, and report time are figured in. My end of the month looks far better than that, but I'm currently working and have a few other irons in the fire so I don't shop full time. Don't be discouraged if you're not netting $20/hr. That might not be the norm in your area. OTOH, I'd be surprised to hear that someone living in Manhattan is only making that.

No idea what I average. My rates vary quite a bit.

I make $500 for a weekend bar audit at a resort or a hotel, plus travel and all expenses paid. There's no way I spend more than 8 hours working doing these. Plus, it is always nice to have a job where there are no reimbursement limits. I was a bit worried when I ordered a $24 whiskey. The boss did not care whatsoever. I try to keep it lower than that though. I spent $24 on avocado tacos too.

I don't do fast food, cell phone shops, basic retail, gas station audits, etc. Those are an absolute grind. The last time I did a cell phone shop (last year), it paid $75. I guess they really needed somebody that day? Glad it was me.

Well, SoCal/Mama, will you adopt me? I need some motherly advice Mama on how to get $500 for a bar shop. I would be glad to get $100 plus reimbursement. But wait, you spent less than 8 hours on this bar shop? Does that include the time to sober up so you can write your report? Or did you need to travel to Arizona or Baja or somewhere far away to do it?

I'm one of the shoppers who may drag down fees. I have no idea what my hourly rate is, nor do I care. I pick and choose solely on what benefits me, for numerous reasons. I make no apologies.

@sandyf wrote:

Well, SoCal/Mama, will you adopt me? I need some motherly advice Mama on how to get $500 for a bar shop. I would be glad to get $100 plus reimbursement. But wait, you spent less than 8 hours on this bar shop? Does that include the time to sober up so you can write your report? Or did you need to travel to Arizona or Baja or somewhere far away to do it?

Weekend bar audit is not a "bar shop".
I might hit 8 bars in a weekend at the hotel. Jobs take anywhere from 3 minutes to 45 minutes. I don't need time to sober-up. I don't shop in Mexico. I also am not licensed to do these in Arizona. It is illegal to do integrity audits in AZ without a license. Strange that you would choose those locations? 90% of my shops are in CA.

Ha Ha, I was not choosing Arizona or Mexico just asking if that is where you had to go to explain why a bar shop took 8 hours or so. Travel time? Doing 8 bars explains why it took so long. That is all. I know you live in So Cal.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@sandyf wrote:

Well, SoCal/Mama, will you adopt me? I need some motherly advice Mama on how to get $500 for a bar shop. I would be glad to get $100 plus reimbursement. But wait, you spent less than 8 hours on this bar shop? Does that include the time to sober up so you can write your report? Or did you need to travel to Arizona or Baja or somewhere far away to do it?

Weekend bar audit is not a "bar shop".
I might hit 8 bars in a weekend at the hotel. Jobs take anywhere from 3 minutes to 45 minutes. I don't need time to sober-up. I don't shop in Mexico. I also am not licensed to do these in Arizona. It is illegal to do integrity audits in AZ without a license. Strange that you would choose those locations? 90% of my shops are in CA.

@2stepps wrote:

I started out doing this because of the medical act that said any work more than 28 hours meant the company would pay for insurance. I went from making 6 to 7 hundred a week to barley 2 hundred. So I had to pick up some cash. This was back in the day when you were offered $30 to $50 for a Hamburglar shop dine-in and drive through. But alas those days are long gone and we have to do other shops for other companies. Since I am on disability I can only work and make $800.00 a month or I lose my SSI so I have to keep it short. I have finished this month already. I could probably do more but I do not keep a running track of the deductions that I am allowed.

There are probably numerous deductions you can take because of your independent contractor status: computer/laptop, internet, printer, paper, ink, fuel cost (pretty much any vehicle cost) because you have to be able to drive to the different locations. Also, space in your home/apartment, electricity, a desk, software, You might also be able to write off cell phone and plan (or at least a percentage, especially if you use it for mapping your directions for driving, taking notes, making phone calls, etc) and for the shopping apps; if you have to dress professionally and have to buy any type of clothing it is a deduction. There are many things that are deductions per se - but actually it means you can do more shops. You just have to make sure you know how much it is costing you each month to do each shop and keep up with that and add it to the $800 you stated is your max. For example car payment, insurance, fuel, auto maintenance, and all other costs may be $800. Therefore, you can make the original $800 plus an additional $800 because that is what it costs you to work. You can make an appointment at your social security office and meet with their advisors and get it in writing as to what is considered the "cost" of working (all the specifics). Also, not sure about your disability, but if you require additional medication or specialized travel those items are deducted from the amount you make.

Good luck

I average around 24 - 26 an hour + reimbursements for the company I work for - that is for runs that reach 8+ hours. I have made 500+ in a single day before...

Hourly rate means little if you are not doing a route of shops...

@2stepps wrote:

This was back in the day when you were offered $30 to $50 for a Hamburglar shop dine-in and drive through. But alas those days are long gone and we have to do other shops for other companies.

I can only imagine those days. I started in Dec. 2016. A familyl friend of our's has done this for probably decades and she's said in the old days, you expected PAD/travel pay whenever taking and negotiating a shop.

Nowadays, it feels like you're getting something extra or are lucky to get it. She's definitely said shops were much more worthwhile (at least, up front) back then.

I've been denied tiny travel bonus requests before (just a few dollars, from as little as $3 to $5) as shops sit.

I've found that if you do a lot of quick shops that are $10 each, it's very easy to earn a quick buck. For example, a certain company pays $10 to take photos of gas stations at night. This year, I did about 20 on the way home from a town an hour away (that I also had a few shops in).

@sealford wrote:

I've found that if you do a lot of quick shops that are $10 each, it's very easy to earn a quick buck. For example, a certain company pays $10 to take photos of gas stations at night. This year, I did about 20 on the way home from a town an hour away (that I also had a few shops in).

I'm jealous of you gas station routers. My area doens't have them in the city. They are on the outskirts and quite far away. We, of course, have LOTS of gas stations, but they are not shopped. I'd have to drive 45 minutes minimum to do the sorts of routes you're talking about.

Actually, we do have gas station shps that are a purchase something from the hot foods type (sub, bagel, coffee, etc.). However, someone takes them all in advance from what I can tell. I used to be able to route 5 or 6 of them. Now, they are all gone on release dates it seems and only the orphans are available.

I do know what you mean, sealford, when those types of jobs are available. These were $8 shops witih reimbursement and it added up!

And the routing was so simple. They perfectly lined up down the street one after the other.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2020 04:20AM by shoptastic.

@89lulalula89 wrote:

Personally, I shoot for $60 an hour. Most of the time that is my pay or higher. But then again I won't usually take a job at the starting rate and I'm willing to do jobs that many others are not.

Impressive. Assuming you get $60 an hour for 8 hours a day and for 5 days a week. And you include the drive time when you go to places nobody else would go to.

self-deleted

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2020 05:03PM by shoptastic.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I don't shop in Mexico.

And that...is the main difference between us. I'll take the Mexico shops. I'll also take the Ruth's Chris shops so that's another difference, but I digress from the OT.

The problem with seeking a high hourly price is that you end up forfeiting the potentially valuable shops. The shop I completed this week (ironically in Mexico) came in at my average of around $25/hour for the work, but the payoff was just a free lunch. My next shop will probably net me less than $5/hour, but it's highly desirable, includes full travel reimbursement and thousands of dollars in reimbursement.

The lower paying shop is clearly the better value for me.

When I was an employee shopper, I was paid $18 hour. The company I worked for had spent a lot of effort figuring out the true hourly value of shoppers, so I have always trusted that it was somewhat accurate. That said, it was a standard employee job where taxes were taken out, and I have always followed the rule that IC rates should be 150% of employee rates to cover the added expenses, so $27/hour would then be a fair IC rate. That's what I would strive for if doing a job just for the $$...

What's YOUR secrets to those making $20+hr?? I'm in SoCal too!

I've been currently MSing for about a year now & I don't do that many to average any HOURLY pay. The most I might do is about several shops in a month. The most I've ever done was 10 in Nov 2019, but I try to avoid doing them the last couple of wks of Dec to avoid the Christmas crowds.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

I don't shop in Mexico.

And that...is the main difference between us. I'll take the Mexico shops. I'll also take the Ruth's Chris shops so that's another difference, but I digress from the OT.

The problem with seeking a high hourly price is that you end up forfeiting the potentially valuable shops. The shop I completed this week (ironically in Mexico) came in at my average of around $25/hour for the work...

I’m not against shopping in Mexico. I used to live in Mexico and just recently was re-certified at work for the bilingual stipend. I like the jobs with all travel paid for two people, no expense limit, and high hourly rate. Do you blame me???

BTW it looked like a fantastic trip.

@Forever Blue wrote:

What's YOUR secrets to those making $20+hr??

I think there are 2 main components:

1. Don't take jobs that pay less than $10
2. Work fast.

At a year, you are still basically new at learning the ins/outs. You need to keep signing up for companies until you find all the jobs in your area, then carefully cull the ones that have little value. At that point you will be able to easily pinpoint and select the valuable assignments.

I'm just starting out with MS and I'm EXCITED if I can average $10/hr, considering minimum wage here is $7.25. I have a good paying full time job & just look MS as a way to earn some extra income. The other option for supplemental income in my area would be to get a part-time job, but then I would be at the mercy of having a work schedule, another boss, dealing with co-workers, possibly not having weekends off & the added hassle of scheduling time off between two jobs With MS, I work when I want, and as much or as little as I want. If I go visit family that's several hours or states away, I could go do a job if I wanted, which is what I did at Christmas. There is no stress about having to work late with my full time job & not being able to make it on time to a 2nd part-time job. I like the variety of jobs that are available for me to choose from, if I find that I like something then I'll grab as many as I can, if I didn't like a job/report then I can choose to pass on it. I'm not endlessly stocking/fronting shelves, dealing with Jo Q Public and their bratty kids or coming home smelling like fried chicken, all of which I did for YEARS before I found my career. With all that said I do agree with Steve SoCal, I write down my In & Out times wether its required or not for the report AND I try to work as fast as I can because I want to make sure that I'm keeping my $$/HR as high as I can for time in the field. I don't drive time because I try to schedule jobs for areas that I will be in for personal stuff. I also don't count the time spent on reports at home because I probably would have been just wasting time watching TV anyways.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2020 06:54PM by Walters Mom.

But don't forget income tax, SE tax and social security on the money you are making, Walters Mom. You should be trying to keep track of any mileage or other expenses you can use to write off on your taxes to minimize how much you might get whacked by the IRS.

Oh I am tracking my mileage also, should have added that in. But for me, I'm still of the attitude that averaging $10/hr (minus taxes at the end of the year of course) is still better than working a scheduled part-time minimum wage job for $7.25. My full time job is salary & I can't always count on only working 8hrs a day, sometimes its 10-12hrs. A few hundred dollars extra per month is nothing to scoff at in my opinion. I look at every job as this: If that amount of money was just laying in the street, would I bend down to pick it up? Answer for me is, heck ya!

I agree. Everyone shops for different reasons and no one is scoffing at your shopping choices. Just wanted to put that reminder in about keeping track of anything you can write off.

Forever, it is more difficult to justify some of the shops I find living in the city. They are rarely bonused and based on where I live it is difficult to find them close enough in driving time from each other to make sense. If you work full or close to full time and you schedule 8-10 shops in one day and are willing to do retail and gas and banks you could earn more per hour than you seem to be earning as you have travel time for each of your shops as they seem to be not done in the same day. The other issue, at least in my part of town is the congestion inside the stores and parking lots where for banks and cell phone places there is often a wait of 30min to 2 hours for service so quick in and out is not possible. But mystery shoppers who do not live in the highly urban areas can do routes to the smaller towns around them. There are no smaller towns around me. So grouping shops and making an urban route would help with driving time...Or living where a drive east or north or south of our biggest city in so cal is not very far. For me just a 5 mile drive to a shop eats up almost an hour round trip if I am lucky in traffic. Then you need to add the time to shop and read and write up the report to that.. There is no way to earn $20 an hour on the majority of shops when just the driving time alone eats up the minimum wage of almost $15 an hour for an indiv shop.

@Forever Blue wrote:

What's YOUR secrets to those making $20+hr?? I'm in SoCal too!

I've been currently MSing for about a year now & I don't do that many to average any HOURLY pay. The most I might do is about several shops in a month. The most I've ever done was 10 in Nov 2019, but I try to avoid doing them the last couple of wks of Dec to avoid the Christmas crowds.

I figured I’d spark some ideas for you guys for those finding a road block on increasing your hourly rate in this industry:

For shops and projects in general you do often and in rotation with little to no changes on the shop form month after month, consider front-loading time into forms of automation to save on the busy work. I’ve gotten sick and tired of typing the night away, that I’ve dedicated some time to build code to uniquely transpose my experiences into narratives specific and unique to my writing style, but also in a way that is NOT a copy and paste of my previous work. The coding is obviously different depending on what I need my end-product to be and varies for each MSC, their specific way of doing shops, their client’s specifics with their shops, etc. but it only makes sense for certain types of shops... Crazy, right?

Anyways, I’ve started doing this not too long ago for many different projects where it made sense. As a result, I have DRAMATICALLY increased my productivity as a result and also saved my sanity.

Also as a side thing I do when I’m bored before bed, I’m still brainstorming other scripts and other forms of automation to again, save even more time and increasing my productivity and overall hourly rate ????

@shoptastic wrote:

@89lulalula89 wrote:

I think this is right on point. I've carved out a niche for myself and I work my niche well. On the other hand, I do not use video equipment, I loathe lengthy reports and especially long narratives and I refuse to enact a scenario for two hours. So although there is a lot of work in my area, I don't even pick up any of those types of jobs.

As far as being super-reliable, shouldn't we all be? If anyone here cancels jobs often then they cannot be unhappy when they don't receive those better paying gigs from schedulers.

.....
I've been told by an MSC that the client's project coordinator was highly impressed with my work and that I was able to provide unusually high level of detail and also get the most out of a banking worker taht others had not.
Was told I set the gold standard for narrative reports for a well-known, major MSC.
Had another well-known narrative shopping MSC's owner compliment me for being a talented writer.

When I asked for bonuses from these same MSCs, I was denied. So, I stopped working for them (except for one, which has decent projects at a price I'm willing to accept).

In my experience so far, I haven't found that doing better work as led to higher paying gigs. I've found the slight "opposite," in which having no experience with an MSC, but being willing to take far away shops as led to higher bonuses. My most frequent and best bonuses have been in places people didn't want to do. For those MSCs, I had little experience and/or wasn't previously complimented for my work with them.

I had the exact experience all this years. I put all the glowing emails about my exceptional writing to the same trash bin I place the Intellishop Hero citations. They are from the same MBA manual that suggests to give meaningless verbal accolades and encouragements to your employees instead of monetary rewards. If you want me to perform a shop, especially at an out of way place, or last minute, I will do it for cold cash. This is not college where your great work will get you higher grades. As long as it has the information needed with good detail and written in an average manual, you are fine. It does not have to be a masterpiece.

As for how much you can make per hourly rate, it really depends on your personal needs and the geographical area you are shopping. I shop a few metropolitan areas that have fine dining places with $150+ reimbursement that theoretically I could go out at least four times weekly and never hit rotation restrictions. With my family we would normally go twice a month in such restaurants so I see the reimbursement for these shops as an addition to our income even though the fee is very low. I have actually made it an art to use the multi guest fine dining shops, or some of the amusement parks and entertainment shops, or hotel stays, with friends and guests without letting them know that I was shopping as nobody knows it beyond my immediate family. I spent ~$30K per year on various reimbursements for the shops and I only do reimbursement shops for things we need, exceptional bonuses, and great family experiences that allow us to enjoy something that we might not be willing to spent that much or not do it at all. There are other people who need a few hundred dollars per week or month, cash, so they would be happy to do other shops or at a lower rate, or there are not any high paying shops in their area and they can not drive far, or they do not own a car. Some shoppers are caregivers and can only do phone shops so even what some might consider very very low fee, it is a god sent for them. Everything is relevant.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

.... are 2 main components:

1. Don't take jobs that pay less than $10
2. Work fast.

I totally agree with #2 - provided you don't skimp on quality.

#1 is a bit more nuanced. I do not *schedule* low end shops into my routes. However, when I am on a long day or out-of-town, I keep a list next to me of quick shops that I can self-assign should I have some dead time or get ahead in my schedule. Consider: I fairly commonly will be on a route of apartment shops, each with certain appointment times. I'll always leave a little flex time between visits so that I don't find myself needing to cancel should something go sideways (traffic, super-talkative, leasing professional, leasing professional making me wait to be seen, etc.) So, I sometimes find myself running early for my following appointment - too early to just show up, but not early enough that I can go find a coffee shop and get any meaningful work done on my reports. So, I sit and simply veg for 15-20 minutes. Unless, I can self-assign myself a quick shop near my next appointment. Suddenly that 15-20 minutes of dead time turns into a little bit of cash. Admittedly, I generally keep my list to $15-$20 visits, but, if the only thing available is a $8 quick shop, so be it. $8 is better than $0. Adding four or five such stops on a long day adds up. To be clear: I only use these for "fillers" to be added at the last second should I find myself with a little dead time.

Mert shares--I'm one of the shoppers who may drag down fees. I have no idea what my hourly rate is, nor do I care. I pick and choose solely on what benefits me, for numerous reasons. I make no apologies

Bob's comment--Great post Mert; it is concise, candid and logical.

@MFJohnston wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

.... are 2 main components:

1. Don't take jobs that pay less than $10
2. Work fast.

I totally agree with #2 - provided you don't skimp on quality.

Mind you...I take shops that pay less than $10 as well. I was mainly just answering the question about how to average $20 hourly. If you simply focus on shops paying $10 or more that take 30 minutes or less to complete....voila!