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RECESSION: Less amount of shops???

May 27, 2011 08:30PM
I see the same amount of shops, but others outside the NYC tri state area are saying the opposite.

What does everybody think??? Will clients cut back on secret shopping due to internal cutbacks??? Or do they need to continue it so they don't lose their dwindling, existing customers???

Some retailers, not all, are reporting increased customer spending.
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May 27, 2011 09:44PM
I am in a high number of shops area. I do not see any change and that is the problem. I see the same number of shops for the same minimal pay. There is no change to help us cover the rising cost of gas and other out of pocket expenses. The companies are making as much or more and we still get the same pay.
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May 27, 2011 10:53PM
I drive by the empty stores where once I did shops. They didn't relocate, they went out of business. I drive by stores that are still in business but no longer shopped. I drive by stores that used to have endless "Help Wanted" posters in their windows, and those signs no longer are there. I have companies that are still doing shops with the same MSP but have cut the number in half. There are very few new shops to replace those that have gone. A bank I used to do for $14, dropped to $12 and most recently to $11.50. I'm closing my account there because while it was worth it in the past, it no longer is. I have two banks with lots of locations in the area that are still with the same MSP but are not doing shops in 2011. Maybe you guys aren't in areas where the recession hit?
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May 27, 2011 11:30PM
I have noticed a huge loss in shops and posted this over a year ago. I lost Ann Taylor, Urban Outfitters (change in age), and many have lowered their fees such as Boot Barn, Beverly's Fabrics and the like... What keeps me in business is the high end retail in very elite malls or in Beverly Hills that pay well.
Restaurants are still aplenty, of course no pay, reimbursement jobs are out there, but I refuse to buy a 12.00 item that I don't need, like or want.
The recession has been going on for too long. The Bank jobs I get are paying $10.00, and you can only do one a day (ridiculous), so, driving prevents that.

This industry has definitely taken a hit and I don't see it coming back. Restaurants, oil changes, grocery stores are really the only thing worth doing as far as cutting your expenses....I may have left a couple out, but, you get the picture.

Live consciously....
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May 27, 2011 11:39PM
I notice. like everyone else here, that the same shops are paying less than they did last year. In addition, I feel there is more work on the screener to fill out. The phone shops are also paying less.

In addition, one mystery shop company I work for mentioned that a major client they have is slower in paying bills and therefore, they are not taking that much business from them now.
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May 28, 2011 12:09AM
I too have noticed a reduction in shop offers (thought it might be my age ...over 65) and/or saturated my limits. LA county, Calif. is so vast that it takes hours to get from one end to another due to traffic/parking etc. Suburbs just don't have the business either for whatever reason. Interesting topic...hope it doesn't continue especially for those that depend on it for a living.
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May 28, 2011 04:55AM
I almost did a shop last month I've seen several time before, but thought, no, I'll do it at a future date. Well, that won't be the case, because I passed the location yesterday, and they're out of business!
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May 28, 2011 01:15PM
New home builder shops are down about 75%. Fortunately, some big retailers are moving into the video shopping arena. Several banks shut down their MS programs. Others shut down many branch banks.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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May 28, 2011 01:24PM
True, and I have been to the FDIC auction of furnishings of several banks that I used to shop before they went under.
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May 28, 2011 01:45PM
Just about everywhere I go and purchase something, they ask that I go home and call in a survey. Some have similar *shop* questions and provide them with a freebee analysis. This certainly hurts our shopping efforts.
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May 28, 2011 02:32PM
I don't know that they really do. How often do YOU call in on their 'surveys'? I do when there is a reasonably substantial prize or discount on my next visit that would constitute 20% or more (and that is rare). I am tempted to when my visit was just awful. In either situation I can hardly be considered to be objective. For the prize or hefty discount my responses are the verbal equivalent of "Christmas Treeing" an exam. For the complaints there will be absolutely no balance about what their employee jerks did.
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May 28, 2011 05:12PM
I feel like the drop in retail shops/fees started happening well before any economic crisis started to be evident, so it may have just been inevitable with the expansion and competition in the MS industry. Obviously less stores = less shops in the current economy with businesses going under, however.

I work mainly on hospitality shops (hotels/dining) and have not seen a noticeable reduction in available assignments. I think those businesses are taking the approach of utilizing MSing to keep their customer base.
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May 28, 2011 07:01PM
Steve,

Don't you see a drop in hotel fees, I know I have in the 2 years I'm doing them, they no longer intrige me with the amount of work and lack of pay. I don't do the quantity you do, but the middle class of msing is having a tough time putting money out for hotels and waiting on payment, unless their going there anyway.

Live consciously....
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May 29, 2011 04:23AM
I do see a reduction in the amount of shops compared to today and 2005/06. I also do pretty much only hospitality shops (hotels, resorts, gaming and a little fine dining stand-alone) - and I feel like there is less now. I used to turn down quite a bit of work due to time constraints (i.e. the job/fee was commiserate with what I needed, I just did not have time to do the job within the parameters of what the client needed) and now I pretty much take everything that comes along that pays the fees that I want.

As far as has fees dropped - not really... fees are the same for the shops I do. There are some assignments/clients/hotel chains that have 1) eliminated their programs altogher or 2) gone from quarterly or monthly shops to 1X or 2Xs per year - thus reducing my opportunies, but I don't really see a significant fee drop. On the other hand, fees are the SAME as they were five years ago too. I have not seen any fee increases!
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May 29, 2011 02:49PM
MickeyB, a few months ago I went through the REAL inflation and rising energy costs (not the Government 'market basket' used for COLA which excludes things such as energy costs and healthcare costs). That overall rise is something like 18%. So a job that is paying the same as it was 4-5 years ago effectively is like taking an 18% pay cut.
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May 29, 2011 03:07PM
The other problem for me that I am just noticing is there are more shoppers in my town. I was it, then one other, now jobs are snached away, so, as my town is growing, my jobs are going....

Live consciously....
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May 29, 2011 04:21PM
I think it's more than the growth of your town, Irene.

I have noticed there are more shoppers in general with the current recession. Makes sense with the high unemployment statistics.
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May 29, 2011 05:08PM
I agreee Steve, as the L.A. school system is making more cuts, more families are moving up here for better schools, thus more part-time shoppers and jobs with low pay. I did however, just apply for my favorite steakhouse (1yr. rotation), so, I'm still in the game....this recession is not new, just not getting better. With all the desperate emails of "urgent" shops which are being taken by the newbies, why should the prices go up.

Live consciously....
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May 30, 2011 02:29AM
This is Ron:

Just got home from 3 days of gasshops plus a motel, 3 clothing stores, one big box hardware, 2 DQ's...all but the gas was heavily bonused. Drove nearly 800 miles in 3 days. Bad roads and gas stations many miles from the center of little towns made the places sooooooooooo hard to find. If they don't give me my home territory next quarter, the can keep their route and find another sucker. lol

Today I Will Choose Joy!

"Finally, whatever things are good, true, noble, lovely, of good report...if there be any virtue, if there be any praise...think on these things." ....It's a command, not a suggestion!
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