I work for these reasons: maintain or learn little skills; have a little extra money; spend time away from devices at home; and be paid at least a little something for the privilege of driving through the wide open spaces. I love the wide open spaces! There is nothing that I actually need from food and other shops. Fast food shops are less fussy on some days than packing a lunch and losing it among all the work stuff that we have to bring. We learned this the hard I mean hungry way. Fast food shops are simplistic, and a few bucks plus reimbursement is the appropriate pay for the jobs. However, there should be an easier and consistent way to get the extra money (bonuses) needed to cover travel, lack of connectivity (and attendant difficulty of completing many or sufficient shops in a short time frame), and other costs that shoppers might incur.

I take my work seriously, and I keep it small. It is just something I do. This is the right proportion for me.

I'll occasionally take a reimbursement only shop for a restaurant my parents, brother, sister, and/or cousins like.

I just use it to treat them out. The shops aren't for me, but for them. These are $100 to $200 dinners. Sometimes there is a $20-ish fee, which is nice.

I usually hate myself afterwards, because the narrative reports are grueling, but my guests always love it and that is my motivation on those.

I always get fee and sometimes get bonus. There is a nearby fee plus $100 shop, but I need a new guest for that. (My current guest is not up to the role. They want to order what they want to order and they believe that they must criticize everything loudly during the meal. This does not work well with mystery shops.) Everything more expensive than that is too far away in light of the early job.

That's not possible where I live for a lot of shops (competitors take them at base/reimb.), but some have the opportunity for fee/bonus. I am okay with a fine dining shop (prime rib, lobster, calamari, etc.) for reimbursement only if a family member enjoys it. I usually get $20 or $25 for those, but not always. The ones I've learned I personally won't ever do again are the middle-of-the-road places (other than TXRH, which I will always do) with no fee/bonus.

A mid-tier restaurant that serves frozen pasta, fries, a two-week old chocolate cake dessert, etc. (hmmm, Applebee's or TGIFriday's types??) is an automatic no for me. Learned that the hard way. Food is not good enough for me to spend equal amounts of time on a report that I would for a fine dining shop. Even a $10 fee Sonic shop with a quick report is better than middle-tier casual dining narrative report for reimbursement only. Those are the worst on my list.

I occasionally will work for food if it's place that I like but wouldn't normally pay for out of my own money due to the expense. Also, I have done a few promo shops over the years that were reimbursement only. I felt like I was contributing to the general well being of mystery shopping because I knew I would be able to provide a great report (lots of experience) to get the client. I know that two of my reports convinced the client to sign on with the companies that I worked for. That made me feel great, and it sent more mystery shops out into the ms world, as these restaurant groups had not previously had an ms program. (and yes, they paid a fee on top of the reimbursement.) There are many reasons to take Will Work for Food shops, and I don't feel like I have the right to tell other shoppers how to run their business or their life.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2020 07:20PM by Sandy Shopper.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Yes. I think they do not have enough information to identify who is at greatest risk for the worst cases.

Using regression analysis of those who have died, they do have that information. By far the highest risk is morbid obesity, those with BMI >40. Death rate is also significantly higher for those with Type I diabetes (which was surprising since it was assumed T2 would be worse.) Among those who do not have T1D, cardiovascular disease is the greatest risk (which often accompanies morbid obesity.) According to insulinnation.com, an otherwise healthy 45-year-old has an 0.4% mortality risk.

To stay on topic, don't take too many fast food shops at any price if they're going to push you into a higher risk category, especially not for "free."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2020 04:04AM by iShop123.

What’s TRH?

Texas Roadhouse

@shaboykin01 wrote:

What’s TRH?

@iShop123 wrote:

Using regression analysis of those who have died, they do have that information. By far the highest risk is morbid obesity, those with BMI >40. . . .

I've been religiously following COVID since March. Some recent young deaths have been quite disturbing (including kids).

@shopperbob wrote:

AZwolfman posts--As long as there is a sufficient supply of shoppers who will work for free, the wages for shopping will never approach what some of you condiser a "real wage.

Bob agrees--I have nothing to add.

AZwolfman continues-- I also contend that you are not a serious shopper if you do not shop as if it is your business and necessary source of income. If that is you, then you are shopping as a hobby

Bob disagrees--To each his/her own. While I have been self-employed for almost 57 years, for me to state that others are not serious would be unacceptable.

AZwolfman concludes--If that is you, then you are shopping as a hobby and are not a serious shopper. A serious shopper would shop to earn income from shopping.

Bob again disagrees--Income is my primary reason for shopping, but my secondary is to defray costs from another activity, such as a non-shopping business trip. As for my tertiary reason, it is reward myself and/or others to whom I wish to repay a favor, as in a TRH dinner.

The above is not to criticize AZW's position, rather it's to state my opinion.

Bob, our views are diametrically opposed, and I suspect that we will always disagree on some of these points, but you have quite eloquently stated your response (views) in a civilized and intelligent manner. You have my utmost respect for that. I wish more social media posters were so civil. I also wish to compliment you on your writing ability. Your usage of proper spelling, grammar, syntax, and punctuation made is so much easier for me to read and understand. I usually do not even read posts that are poorly written and not segrated into paragraphs.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2020 06:45PM by AZwolfman.

AZwolfman opines:

@ wrote:

You have my utmost respect for that. I wish more social media posters were so civil.

SBob gets top civility marks from me.

Always polite, while maintaining honesty in opinion as well. Sometimes these discussions can get emotional - especially on fees - and some people avoid these tense topics altogether. SBob shows you can be totally fair, honest, and civil and create a productive conversation even in disagreement.

I agree with SBob on basic capitalist principles of supply and demand setting the fee structure in MS-ing.

I just think (and have said so many times) that we don't live in an entirely free market economy. So, there is a missing piece to this discussion and analysis. I think we live in an oligarchy and so do the top political scientists and many economists. It's not just free market supply and demand at work, but also a rigged economic system (for the wealthy) that has led to so many people desperate enough to take jobs at base or for only reimbursement.

I could go on for a lengthy discussion on this, but that would inevitably involve some politics, which is frowned upon on the forum (at least in this section). My main point is just to say that we cannot thoroughly and accurately diagnose this problem of low MSC fees with a supply and demand framework without acknowledging that our free market economy is really not so free (due to politics and power dynamics). Some people are "forced" (not by someone putting a gun to their head) to take these jobs at base by societal circumstances somewhat beyond their control.

I am fortunate enough to not have to do this and will fight for those who have it less fortunate. The COVID recession/depression is horrible. I hope my non-shopping gives others in my area, who are forced to do so, a chance at more shops and better fee bargaining power.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2020 04:53AM by shoptastic.

Thanks to both AZwolfman and shoptastics for your compliments. I shall endeavor to always be worthy of the kind words each of you has bestowed upon me.

I let my lady friend do the steakhouse because of the narrative reports but hold out for incentives to cover mileage. I only do food shops even the one that I like the food only with incentives or at least $ 15 plus remebestments

Doesn't doing these "free food" shops end up counting as a day of work for PUA-UI? I am not that familiar with UI but I thought I read each days 'worked' would reduce the UI by 1/4. I guess it's reimbursement only, the assignment won't count as a work day but how about companies like ACL that pay $5 nominal fee?

In my state the amt deducted from your unemployment PUA check is based on the dollar amt you earned that week, not on the number of hours or days you may have worked. So if you got a fee of $5 that is what may be deducted from your check. In my state I seem to remember that the first $25 of earnings in the week are not counted. Other states have different formulas but I believe they are all based on $ earned. . Last week i earned $12 and they did not deduct anything. And to top it off they do not deduct anything from the extra $600. I do not report reimbursable expenses to PUA but I do report all my fees even though some of them may be balanced out due to mileage and other deductible expenses.