Hello! Let me start off by saying that I have been a part-time mystery shopper since 2003/2004. I know that I was Gold certified in 2004. I have done out of the way shops, route shopping, etc. However, the one thing that I have noticed is that pay has not increased by more than a few dollars with most shops. Some have not increased at all in 18 years!! Seriously, if you are accepting $5 as payment for a fast food shop you are not making any money at all. When you factor in time for shop and report, printing or computer repairs, gas, etc.; you are probably losing money. I am just trying to understand who and why does these for this amount. I have done routes for $10 each but that was back in 2015.

A good example is when I was contacted to do oil audits yesterday. They wanted me to drive 45 minutes one way, spend 1.5-3 hours at the audit, plus the time to do the report. But when I quoted the scheduler $15 an hour approximately for the shop, she seemed shocked.

I guess what I am getting around to is we deserve better. You would not expect any other consultants in any other field to work for $2 an hour! So why are we accepting this?

My scheduler would send out Emails about far away shops (even in other states) that need to be done. She would say any reasonable offer would be taken.
I used to offer my reasonable offer. And, they were not outrageous amounts to begin with!
The scheduler would ask me questions about distance, reasons, etc. I suppose it was to justify the offer to the higher ups.
I used to explain my reasoning. But, I was never given the shop or the amount. Often, the scheduler never got back to me. I would have to ask again about my offer. She would reply about it being too much. There was no give and take. Yet, I continued to see that lonely shop sitting there.
In the end, I have decided to stop asking or offering to do those shops. I really see no reason to justify my offer. They can put it on the Job Board or whatever they call it for all to see. If they want it done, I'll do it if they bonus or pay for it in accordance with my own, personal justification.
Which, by the way, is my own business, not theirs.

I have had that happen a lot in the past. Now I really do not even bother unless they offer first or call. I used to live in an area that had a lot of out of the way shops. So I kept pretty busy.

Here is a perfect example:
There is a revealed Yellow gas station shop that is paying $11. I've seen them from time to time. There is no purchase required. The description is that they want you to drive there, take photos of certain elements, all the pumps and certain offerings inside the Cstore and then file the report.
Even if the place was next door, and you could walk there, even if it was on your route of other, better paying shops, how can anyone justify doing this shop that will obviously take at least 1 hour for 11 bucks?
Where do they come up with that pay scale?
SMH.

@French Farmer wrote:

Here is a perfect example:
There is a revealed Yellow gas station shop that is paying $11. I've seen them from time to time. There is no purchase required. The description is that they want you to drive there, take photos of certain elements, all the pumps and certain offerings inside the Cstore and then file the report.
Even if the place was next door, and you could walk there, even if it was on your route of other, better paying shops, how can anyone justify doing this shop that will obviously take at least 1 hour for 11 bucks?
Where do they come up with that pay scale?
SMH.

Don't forget your tape measure because there are a lot of measurements to be taken. It is not as "Simple" as they claim.

@sestrahelena wrote:

@French Farmer wrote:

Here is a perfect example:
There is a revealed Yellow gas station shop that is paying $11. I've seen them from time to time. There is no purchase required. The description is that they want you to drive there, take photos of certain elements, all the pumps and certain offerings inside the Cstore and then file the report.
Even if the place was next door, and you could walk there, even if it was on your route of other, better paying shops, how can anyone justify doing this shop that will obviously take at least 1 hour for 11 bucks?
Where do they come up with that pay scale?
SMH.

Don't forget your tape measure because there are a lot of measurements to be taken. It is not as "Simple" as they claim.

Yes, these are actually harder than the others, plus the qualification test is a pain, and you get no gas reimbursement.

I am aware I have posted the same comment on several occasions.

One of the first posts I read on the Volition forum in 2003, dealt with decreasing shopper pay; the problem still exists. Until there are people who are not in need and/or unwilling to work for a pittance, there will not be a resolution to this situation. MSCs are businesses that exploit their contractors and have not the slightest responsibility to pay more than necessary to meet their goals. Folks, you can either work hard or work smart. Accepting a gas station for a client who has a market cap of hundreds of billions, for less than $20 is, in my opinion, not smart. Especially when the shop requires a few dozen pics, any of which can cause the job to de declined.

Another example is the dining jobs that no longer fully pay for the required purchases. At this rate, MSCs will soon begin charging shoppers for the assignments.

I agree. There’s one particular MSC who tells their schedulers not to accept an amount over what a shopper has done the same shop (store and location) in the past. Here lately I’ve been seriously thinking about that and attempting to push it up a little more, though it’s rarely accepted. I’ve just had to tell them no with the cost of gas as it is. I shouldn’t still be being paid the same amount I was 10+ years ago. Yet they always seem to get all their shops filled by deadline.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2022 09:20PM by MarionS.

I would never do a shop that paid less than the meal. I have told people, some of these fast food shops, you get a better deal using their 2 for 1 coupons, plus no report to file

If it takes you 3 hours to do a gas station audit (any brand) it's taking you WAAAAAAAAY too long.

Gas station shops, take a lot of pictures. make sure you get every pump. FIll out the form at home, when you look at the pictures.

@French Farmer wrote:

Here is a perfect example:
There is a revealed Yellow gas station shop that is paying $11. I've seen them from time to time. There is no purchase required. The description is that they want you to drive there, take photos of certain elements, all the pumps and certain offerings inside the Cstore and then file the report.
Even if the place was next door, and you could walk there, even if it was on your route of other, better paying shops, how can anyone justify doing this shop that will obviously take at least 1 hour for 11 bucks?
Where do they come up with that pay scale?
SMH.

We have a little ritual when it comes to these shops or audits. My son comes and asks me about them, He says can we do them, and I say no we cannot, we do not do POP audits. They cannot put a big enough bonus on a POP Audit for me to go out and do it.

There is a significant pool of mystery shoppers who are unemployable in “regular jobs.” People who are almost homeless, people with felony convictions, poor work history with resume gaps, on the registry for sex offenders, et cetera.

I’ve met several of them doing routes over the last decade. They are the ones who pick up jobs at low pay, because they are backed into an employment corner and have no other means for earning money.

Until you reach a certain level of mystery shop, there is no background check, no credit history or employment verification done by MSPs. If you have a SSN/EIN and a bank account or PayPal, you can go to work immediately.

The MSPs know this, and this is the pool they draw from when putting up their $5/hour shops. This group of shoppers has always been there and always will. It’s why there are reminders about basic hygiene, wearing deodorant, clean clothes, etc. on some shop instructions. They aren’t engaging with high-end, employable types.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2022 02:23PM by ColoKate63.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

There is a significant pool of mystery shoppers who are unemployable in “regular jobs.” People who are almost homeless, people with felony convictions, poor work history with resume gaps, on the registry for sex offenders, et cetera.

I’ve met several of them doing routes over the last decade. They are the ones who pick up jobs at low pay, because they are backed into an employment corner and have no other means for earning money.

Until you reach a certain level of mystery shop, there is no background check, no credit history or employment verification done by MSPs. If you have a SSN/EIN and a bank account or PayPal, you can go to work immediately.

The MSPs know this, and this is the pool they draw from when putting up their $5/hour shops. This group of shoppers has always been there and always will. It’s why there are reminders about basic hygiene, wearing deodorant, clean clothes, etc. on some shop instructions. They aren’t engaging with high-end, employable types.

I fall into that pool. And I still don't take shops that I am going to lose money doing.

I am 61 and disabled, I can't walk very far, I can't bend down, I can't get on my knees, and I can't stand up for long periods of time. I have a 8 year gap in my employment history currently, and it's just going to continue growing. I can't sit in an office, even if I was pretty enough to be hired, because I'm claustrophobic, I cannot be in an office breathing "conditioned" air, especially if it's over 72°F inside. And yes that means even in the summer.

I don't qualify for unemployment, and they won't approve disability for me because I am not under the care of a doctor, because I don't have insurance. If I go into a doctor the 1st thing they do is label me as a drug seeker, I am not looking for pain medicine. What I really want is help losing weight, and to have my knees replaced.. But as soon as I say that I'm in pain the next words out of their mouth are what kind of pain meds do you want. Even the industrial medicine doctor that did the surgeries on my knees before offered me pain meds, but not surgery to correct the problem, AFTER he told me that I will always be in pain without knee replacements.

I qualify for early retirement through the company that I used to work for, but that is either a lump sum, that is not enough to live on for the rest of my natural natural life, or pension of of $400 a month, and no medical benefits, because CWA doesn't negotiate for their retirees.

I still don't take jobs that I can't make enough to pay my bills with.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2022 10:12PM by Morledzep.

I have been mystery shopping as my sole business since 2008, and I've concluded that pay has remained low for one reason and one reason only. It's simply the business economics of supply and demand. In other words, the pay remains low because sadly, for one reason or another, there are a sufficient number of mystery shoppers who will work for low and even NO pay. It was this way in 2008, it has not changed in 2022, and I doubt if it ever will.

I just noticed a MSC has shops for one client for targeted loan officers for $8 and the others were starting at $20 I believe. People are taking them. I'm going to assume the $8 ones must be much simpler mortgage inquiries.

What is POP?

POP= point of purchase, advertisement and marketing materials

I have two different standards for pay. If i an traveling, doing a route, focused on shopping, I plan for $20/hr including my travel time, so if I am out of the house for 6 hours I expect pay (no reimbursement counted) to be at least $120.
My second standard is simply convenience. I might do a $5 fast food shop on the way to somewhere. Just grabbing a burger, some Chinese food, a sandwich, and I'll worry about the report later at home watching TV. Usually these are simple reports and don't require a lot of effort so I don't even count the time knocking them out during commercials.

There are also now other gig jobs that tend to pay lower than mystery shopping in most markets. So people take a $10 job because at Instacart you’d have to work more and drive more for the same pay. Plus you have less control over what jobs you do and the pay at the other gig jobs. So that’s another reason some shoppers do the work for too little pay.
Now there’s also the pandemic to consider. Less time in a mask, no vaccine requirement, etc, for those that those factors are important to. OTOH I guess some people didn’t want to go out that much in public for awhile so there was more demand and therefore higher pay for a while.

I think @candiwv is referring to an actual oil change facility and not a gas station. I have not done one of these audits before. I've read stories about them in the forum, and I passed the exam for the MSC, but it sounds like a complex audit. You have to enter the pit below where cars park when having their car serviced (wearing a hardhat, vest, and gloves) - but can only go to the bottom of the stairs. You then take photos while being online with a rep from the MSC to ensure that the photos are acceptable to the client and all required elements are captured. The entire facility has to be inspected - not just the parts seen by the customer.

Is this the audit you are referring to @candiwv?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

If it takes you 3 hours to do a gas station audit (any brand) it's taking you WAAAAAAAAY too long.

I barely leave my house until something is at $15 minimum. I recently made an offer for a smallish route and the scheduler told me she could ask, but for me to go ahead and apply at $12. Nope sorry I won't even apply at 12. This company tends to bonus things so I'll just wait it out and see if it goes up.

I’ve been working less for these reasons. Luckily I’m employed full time, but I make less than other professionals in my field.

There’s one particular MSC that’s been noted as underpaying -they’re not budging on anything even with their make an offer.

Ok so I’m supposed to drive 45 minutes with $6 a gallon gas in my SUV. Walk to the location. Order. Spend 20 minutes there. Then drive back 45 minutes with $6 a gallon gas. Then do a 30 minute report. For $25?

I even offered $35 and was going to make a small route. Nope! They’re sticking to $25. After two months they went to $28. Doesn’t their client want all locations in a somewhat timely manner?

I know exactly what you are talking about - they have denied requests this month for amounts they approved last month. I have pretty much skipped them this month. If I did a shop for $50 last month when gas was $3.89/gallon, I'm definitely not going to do it this month for $45 when gas is $4.29/gallon (you must live where I used to live with gas at $6!! NY?).

I'm beginning to wonder about their business model - it looks like they may be losing the only petroleum client that they have....one would think they would be "Upping the ante" to get shops done and keep the other clients satisfied but what do I know...

Never fear - at the end of the month, I'm sure the main character from Bewitched will be sending out emails offering higher pay for shops that have been sitting there for weeks

@Tanischri87 wrote:

I’ve been working less for these reasons. Luckily I’m employed full time, but I make less than other professionals in my field.

There’s one particular MSC that’s been noted as underpaying -they’re not budging on anything even with their make an offer.

Ok so I’m supposed to drive 45 minutes with $6 a gallon gas in my SUV. Walk to the location. Order. Spend 20 minutes there. Then drive back 45 minutes with $6 a gallon gas. Then do a 30 minute report. For $25?

I even offered $35 and was going to make a small route. Nope! They’re sticking to $25. After two months they went to $28. Doesn’t their client want all locations in a somewhat timely manner?

@AZwolfman... you are correct...... All business is supply and demand.... OK people, here is the sober truth... The Mystery Shopper (you and me) are at the bottom of the totem pole in the several linking connections associated with this business. Think of the Kroger Corporation and all levels from CEO to a bagger in one of their stores. You are bagger. We are not a corporate executive. We are not regional manager. We are not a store manager. You are not a cashier. You are a bagger. Guess who is getting paid the least. Even more than the supply of baggers for Kroger, the supply of mystery shoppers is countless. Mystery shop companies have more than enough shoppers. It is an endless supply. With the multitudes of people, with varied reasons or needs to mystery shop, and continuous entry into this field, mystery shop companies have a shopper for every fee offered. This is why the "pay" is what it is.