@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.