I hope I'm not duplicating a discussion... I couldn't find one like this.
For the last four or five months, I've been able to ask and get bonuses on all of my Kroger store shops, Sonics, Taco joints, gas stations and on site inspections. Not always a lot, but I hadn't done a base pay job in a while.
I slowed down my jobs during April, only doing nine total and noticed that some of those wouldn't accept my bonus request. All the more reason to stay home.
Now it's early May and I've been watching the boards and Krogers, Aldi, Sonics and on site inspections are all back, but they're not taking my bonus requests at all. Looking a day later and most of the jobs are claimed, even the small town ones twenty miles away! I gave up on waiting for bonus approval and re-requested a couple of Krogers at base with eight hours left on the clock for the jobs, just because I need a few things.I think somebody must have cycled out on them, that's why they're still open. I'm getting called once every few days to pick up a stray Sonic with a $5 bonus instead of the old $10.
Are there so many new shoppers out there, or are the existing ones just grabbing up all the jobs at base, just to get the work? Is anybody else running into this, much?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2020 06:56PM by JW.

There is massive unemployment...hence a massive amount of new shoppers. Depending on the MSC and shops, that's potentially a lot of competition.

It's frustrating to watch, but I understand why they take the shops at base pay They were probably scrambling to do anything to get food on the table and they probably don't know about bonuses. Hopefully this pandemic ends and you'll be able to get your bonuses again.

It is not just the new signups to mystery shop. There are very few shops out there for all of us who have been shopping for years. As the time wears on more and more of the long term(meaning before the coronavirus) shoppers are wanting or needing to increase their income or get out of the house. So I think even if there was not one new shopper in my neighborhood it would be harder to get those few jobs that are out there. I expected to see bonuses on shops here as we usually do not have them. Those very few that used to have bonuses now have smaller bonuses and the rest never had bonuses before and still do not seem to.

... but how do you know they are taking the shops at base pay instead of making arrangements for a route or something?

People who aren’t getting the unemployment plus $600/week. It’s quite a deal if you don’t need to buy health insurance.

Besides the high unemployment rate, new shoppers and desperate people, many of these MSCs are SMALL BUSINESSES and they are hurting. Many of their employees have been furloughed. I think it is time for shoppers to have a reality check, If we try to bleed these small businesses dry, they might not survive in this current climate and then you won't have any work, nevermind bonus pay.

@LuvsTraveling wrote:

I think it is time for shoppers to have a reality check, If we try to bleed these small businesses dry, they might not survive in this current climate and then you won't have any work, nevermind bonus pay.

I disagree. The reality check is coming to the MSC's. The industry has been oversaturated with companies for years, and that's what hurts our pay. They have ben eating other to stay alive and all using the same shopper base. There's a singular shopper base for all competing MSC's. That has simply expanded now.

If there are companies that need to be mystery shopped, there will be work. Even if it all consolidates to a few large companies that can live through the recession.

@LuvsTraveling wrote:

Besides the high unemployment rate, new shoppers and desperate people, many of these MSCs are SMALL BUSINESSES and they are hurting. Many of their employees have been furloughed. I think it is time for shoppers to have a reality check, If we try to bleed these small businesses dry, they might not survive in this current climate and then you won't have any work, nevermind bonus pay.

I was never one to "bleed" the MSCs. I definitely want to see them succeed.

Trend Source grocery shops were merely a "coupon" for me when you factor in the work/time/mileage involved.

I often went over budget for my Texas Roadhouse shops, so that was a coupon essentially. Never complained, though, because WE LOVE TXRH!!! *STILL SO SO SO SAD I DIDN'T BUY THEIR STOCK AT $25 A MONTH AND HALF AGO....SNIFF....IT'S CLOSE TO $50 NOW*

All of my fast food shops were mostly minimum wage money makers and a way to save on food costs for me.

I don't know how much the MSCs made from me, but I always tried to be fair with them. I mentioned this before, but I use Steven K. Scott's (author of __The Richest Man Who Ever Lived and__ an industry record setting direct marketing millionaire - famous for creating Lori Davis hair, The Total Gym w/ Chuck Norris, and many other direct marketing commercials) definition of "winning" in my negotiations for fees/bonuses.

According to Scott, winning is when both sides gain and get what they want. In his book, he gives examples of so many tragic lost business opportunities from greedy or inflexible businessmen, where if they hadn't asked for so much (including employers not wanting to pay talent) they'd had made much more money on projects/deals. Scott says the "worldly" view of winning can be one side getting all that it can. However, this is wrong and often comes at a steep price. It's when both sides stand to gain that you have truly winning deal. There are many famous examples like Ford and Disney (I believe) that he gives, where if management had retained them, they'd have made the companies so much more money instead of becoming competitors and knocking them off at a rival.

Sometimes I wonder if MSCs have lost out on my fair bonus offers. I've had times where I asked for $2-8 more. I've been denied only to see the shops posted for a higher rate shortly afterwards. I can only take them when they fit my schedule, so I don't take them sometimes even with the higher rate. I dunno if they didn't offer me, b/c they were reserving them for a router or not. But if they were just messing around and trying to see if I'd go lower, then, yeah, they lost out from having to pay someone else more.

That would be an example of both sides losing according to Steven K. Scott. I feel I always tried to give fair offers. The ONLY time I asked for crazy bonuses was when a shop was posted to be done like the same day or the next day or something and I was busy and it would be a massive hassle. Only then would I go for what might be considered "blood sucking" fee.

Often, I've felt the base rates on MSC boards to be blood sucking of us shoppers.

I don't know if rates will go even lower, but I won't be taking them below my personal standard.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2020 07:06PM by shoptastic.

Exactly. This is also a trend that happens after the Christmas holidays

@SteveSoCal wrote:

There is massive unemployment...hence a massive amount of new shoppers. Depending on the MSC and shops, that's potentially a lot of competition.

i mean shouldn’t we be asking for more than ever considering we’re putting ourselves in danger of catching corona every time we enter these stores?

Well, we're ICs and not employees, so we always have the option of refusing any work or taking what we feel is fair to us. And being ICs, the MSCs are not under any sort of obligation to give us more money. It would be NICE, for sure, but I sure don't see that as being the norm for us post-Covid.

As shopperbob tells us, this is business, plain and simple. The decision to accept or to reject any given job is of your free will. The MSCs--just like us--are in this business for one reason. To make money. If someone accepts an assignment while I'm waiting for the fee to increase, that shopper has made some money, and I have not. You are entitled to request a bonus on any given assignment; the MSC is entitled to find someone else to do it for less money. It's business, nothing more.

Don't worry this too shall pass. The plus side as the jobs become available again with all the new shoppers because of unemployment is the number of flakes that will happen. This will result in jobs needing to be done last minute and going to us veteran reliable shoppers for higher rates. You will just have to ask. Stand strong and ask for what you need. If they say no move on. If you take them at base you are only hurting yourself in the long run. MSC's don't give a @#$%& about you. Schedulers may as their lower level (and only to a point) but the owners and managers running the MSCs don't. I am nice and cordial but also understand its business. I ask for what is good for me and within reason. Ex a local motorcycle shop base is $25. This is peanuts I need $40 min if I have open schedule and its early in month. The later in the month or closer to deadline the more I need. I'll ask for $100. I am not going to ask for $500 as that would not be reasonable.

Most people on unemployment are getting the $600 plus whatever the state pays out. So I doubt that they are actually doing anything for more money now. Whereas someone that is on disability and can't get PUIA because they make to much on disability would be taking them because when you come down to it money is money.

I took a couple of Drive-thru FFs at base to get back in the swing of things. A week later, I now see some other locations offering a bonus.

I haven't taken any shops, at base or otherwise, and will not until at least the end of July when the PUA runs out.

I am not receiving any unemployment benefits. That money is not a factor in my world. I am completing few assignments because I planned 2020 to be this way. I applied for a recurring gig today. If I get it, great. If not. that is great too. The pay is decent, unlike some others that I have seen recently.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2020 01:29AM by Shop-et-al.

I'm just starting out mystery shopping in Colorado and am curious about the context. It sounds like it's common to ask for a bonus? Do I just self-assign a job, and once it's approved, email asking for a bonus? Do I specify how much?

Welcome aboard, Colorado! This is business, and it is important that you treat it as such. Only you can determine if a posted fee/reimbursement is suitable for you. If you want a bonus, ask BEFORE accepting the job at the posted rate. Once you accept a given job at a given price, it's a contract; you are duty-bound to conduct the assignment. Your reputation is everything. Have fun! Read the many threads on this Forum; there is a wealth of information at your fingertips.

After starting this post with some level of frustation, I'm happy to report that I am now receiving phone calls from the companies I've done the most work for and each of them offered me multiple projects at the rates I was getting before.
In response to the question by ColoradoShops, I really believe that if you do good work, eventually you'll be offered jobs with a bonus of some level included.
For instance, one fast food place that starts at $4.50 plus reimbursement became $6 when they contacted me after doing them for a couple of months. A month later, they began to offer it to me at a straight up $8. Today, they called and said they had 12 on the board over the next 8 days that I could have for $10 each if I wanted. They weren't even up against a deadline, so that's nice. However, I do have my limits on how much fast food I can and will consume, so I didn't take all of them. The scheduler DID sound pretty tickled though that I cleared half the board for him.

@JW wrote:

After starting this post with some level of frustation, I'm happy to report that I am now receiving phone calls from the companies I've done the most work for and each of them offered me multiple projects at the rates I was getting before.
In response to the question by ColoradoShops, I really believe that if you do good work, eventually you'll be offered jobs with a bonus of some level included.
For instance, one fast food place that starts at $4.50 plus reimbursement became $6 when they contacted me after doing them for a couple of months. A month later, they began to offer it to me at a straight up $8. Today, they called and said they had 12 on the board over the next 8 days that I could have for $10 each if I wanted. They weren't even up against a deadline, so that's nice. However, I do have my limits on how much fast food I can and will consume, so I didn't take all of them. The scheduler DID sound pretty tickled though that I cleared half the board for him.

Glad to hear you are doing well Sounds like business is picking up.
Sometimes I get the food, eat a few bites, and then leave some for animals in the woods because too much fast food gives me a stomachache! I remember being excited about getting Five Guys (my co-workers kept talking about how awesome it was) and when I finally ate it I couldn't move for hours!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2020 09:34PM by chiffon cupcakes.

People are doing grocery stores for $14 and ink audits for $10 and less. Laughable.

The tasks are easy. Easy tasks should not be paid at the higher rate of more complicated work. What if some people can put together work days which include these shops and others conveniently located near each other? In that scenario, they would not incur much cost-- and they should not charge much for their little cost to accomplish the shops. (This is just hypothetical and it will never happen for me because that combination of shops for one day involves a road trip and little time for multiple shops and reports before early work the following day.)

@SoCalMama wrote:

People are doing grocery stores for $14 and ink audits for $10 and less. Laughable.

I've done 10 of the ink audits at their base fee + reimbursement. I'm in the store (CVS, they're the easiest chain, but NOT the Client) for maybe 12 minutes tops. The reporting is super easy, even with photos of the OOS. Worth it for me.

Good thing gas is 40% cheaper for those who route grocery store shops.

Grocery inflation is very palpable.

Trend Source shops fly off the boards here in VA. When I used to do them, I'd always get denied bonuses/PAD.

@shoptastic wrote:

Trend Source shops fly off the boards here in VA. When I used to do them, I'd always get denied bonuses/PAD.

An email was sent yesterday for a grocery store in a location where the average house is $950,000. I have done this location at least 20 times with a minimum of $6 PAD, usually $8. The email said NO PAD.
So there it sits. I won’t do it for less than $10 PAD at this point. I know the other shopper for this location; it’s my husband. He’s high risk, so he’s no longer shopping.

I refuse to contribute to poverty wages. People need to work smarter, not harder. $8 shops perpetuate poverty. Wasting time doing these, keeps you from doing something better, even if that means doing nothing. A $20-$25 job is out there. Don’t miss it because you’re doing an $8, “because I was there anyway.” Penny wise, pound foolish.

@SoCalMama, what did grocery shops used to go for? I've only been shopping for a month, so I don't know the context. I've done a few of the $14 grocery shops; I asked for a bonus, but they cited budget cuts.

@SoCalMama wrote:

People are doing grocery stores for $14 and ink audits for $10 and less. Laughable.

@guysmom, that's helpful to hear. I was avoiding those shops because I figured there were 30 things to do and it would take 30 minutes.

@guysmom wrote:

I've done 10 of the ink audits at their base fee + reimbursement. I'm in the store (CVS, they're the easiest chain, but NOT the Client) for maybe 12 minutes tops. The reporting is super easy, even with photos of the OOS. Worth it for me.