I get so angry at this job! Between the schedulers and editors, not getting the jobs I want, having my correspondence ignored etc etc ~ there are many things that just piss me off royally. As a result, I take a full 30 to 60 days off when I just cannot take it anymore. Anyone else?

Nope. I don't take it personally when I don't get a job. I don't hate it either, I enjoy what I do.

I need to work, I can't just a month or 2, we wouldn't eat, Or have any utilities or phones or computers.

Must be nice to have the luxury to sit around and do nothing for a month just because somebody didn't jump through the hoops you wanted them to.

I try to give myself days off just like one gets with a regular job. Or planning a shorter day the day after a back-to-back day. For me its keeping a work and life balance. Life is too short to be pissed off.

In that I do not have a need for money, I am able to be selective and generally avoid any work that does not meet my criteria. In addition, I recently cleared my list of MSCs for whom I had worked but that no longer exist; there were 47. Unfortunately for me, my #1, considering shops completed, the pre-2022 Strategic Reflections has folded their tent.

I took most of 2 months off because a family member needed constant care and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss too much. Luckily I have enough socked away to cover my very frugal living expenses for a while.

If I got that angry I would find another line of work. Well being has a price too.

@Morledzep - it is!

No, I just move on to the next mystery shop on my schedule.

Although I have shopped off and on for years, it was never my only source of income. When I first started, it was to get out of the house when things were slow at my day job. I'm an editor (not MS) and writer, often but not exclusively technical. Mystery shopping was both a break from the grind of the other and to fill in the schedule when things were slow. Early on, my focus was on hotels (i.e., funding travel), retail, and restaurants, as high end as I could schedule. There are a lot of perks to be had in the MS business, but sometimes earning a living gets in the way of enjoying the perks. I started back again during covid, and this time it is more of a side hustle to earn what I can. Of all the jobs I have ever done in my life though, while the pay isn't the highest, MS has the potential for the most awesome perks. However, earning a living frequently gets in the way of enjoying the perks, and you realistically have to pull enough ahead to enjoy that aspect of the business. Nonetheless, sometimes it is time to move on from just about every job there is, otherwise I would have been full time at it a long time ago. For now, it suits me just fine. I've been making a little extra, and once more eyeing those perks. PS: I have also learned that a ten-foot-pole list can do wonders for your sanity in this business.

I only do the odd shop these days, so I'm mostly taking breaks from MS.

When I did more of it, I didn't get angry about things.

@cherokitty wrote:

I get so angry at this job! Between the schedulers and editors, not getting the jobs I want, having my correspondence ignored etc etc ~ there are many things that just piss me off royally. As a result, I take a full 30 to 60 days off when I just cannot take it anymore. Anyone else?

I don't think it was a "*$%@ you" break in my case as much as I just lost interest. Fighting for jobs just got too tedious, and after COVID-19 a lot of the shops I did have yet to come back.

If I had another opportunity like the Chipotle program, where I got offered 3 shops every month without the tedium of having to apply and hunt down jobs, I might get back into MSing. As it is I still read the job postings but don't accept very many.

I take a lot of time off because I need time and space between events. This is just me. This is also practical reality. There are few shops near me, and I don't always want to travel to the few shops that I can fit into available time. I am a very part-time shopper/merchandiser/auditor who is content in the middle of nowhere and unwilling to budge much in order to accommodate extensive travel, huge routes, and other methods of working it.

But I can understand about needing to step away and cool off after serious frustrations. There is nothing wrong with that!

I do get angry/upset/frustrated sometimes but never so angry/upset/frustrated to require such long breaks. It would not be good for my health or for my business if I let mystery shopping affect me so negatiely. Either I would need to change or I would need to change what shops I chose to do.

@cherokitty wrote:

I get so angry at this job! Between the schedulers and editors, not getting the jobs I want, having my correspondence ignored etc etc ~ there are many things that just piss me off royally. As a result, I take a full 30 to 60 days off when I just cannot take it anymore. Anyone else?

I am doing very very very few shops these days. I am engaging in activism against the local PD (known nationwide for sociopathic/criminal officers) and for money I am listing thrift shop finds on Mercari and the few nicer finds I find on Poshmark. For books I am listing on Pango. This is what I am doing due to decreased fees and from some MSC's - but not all - increased attitude. Increased attitude with decreased pay I can not and will not tolerate. So there's my workaround - but the few times I do find reasonably paying shops, I apply and if I get them, I do my best. I've learned that my best is worth more than many MSC's can deal with so they can whistle dixie, not my problem. Morocco77

@Morledzep wrote:

I need to work, I can't just a month or 2, we wouldn't eat, Or have any utilities or phones or computers.

Must be nice to have the luxury to sit around and do nothing for a month just because somebody didn't jump through the hoops you wanted them to.

That's unfortunate, to have to rely on MS shopping for basic needs.

I was on medical leave for vocal chord issues so I couldn't speak for a long time so it was necessary to take a break. I started to get back in when I healed up. It's a great change of pace from my job in customer service.

Why the attitude? You do realize that mystery shopping is a full-time job or the main source of income for some shoppers, right?

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

@itsbree wrote:

@Morledzep wrote:

I need to work, I can't just a month or 2, we wouldn't eat, Or have any utilities or phones or computers.

Must be nice to have the luxury to sit around and do nothing for a month just because somebody didn't jump through the hoops you wanted them to.

That's unfortunate, to have to rely on MS shopping for basic needs.

I think that some people should not be doing this full time. If it gets you that mad you should try flipping burgers or being on the front line in any fast food place. then you will quityourbutchin.