As a scheduler, we are always looking for ic's between the ages of 21-28 and they seem so few in number. Are other companies out there discovering there are major challenges with finding ic's to do your compliance shops? As an IC within this age range who either has tried them or steered away, what has made you reject the idea of doing these types of shops n a regular basis? I am just trying to get a pulse on the whole challenge of finding contractors for these programs as they can be SO lucrative for route shopping.

Florence,

There was just a thread where the shopper was asking where all the tobacco compliance shops went to. You might want to search for it and get in touch with the original poster.

I wish I had known about mystery shopping when I was in my 20's. I am late to the game. I started slowly when I was 31. If they had compliance for 17 year olds, I could have my daughter do some. I think in CA, they raised the smoking age to 21 (used to be 18). Maybe that is why there are no 17 year old compliance shops like there used to be. So now my daughter has to wait 4 more years to participate. Unless someone knows of any age 17 shops in California.

I too, have maxed out the age for compliance shops. In my area they're required to card everyone for alcohol, but they usually stop the compliance shops at about 40.

The previous poster made a good point about the age of tobacco increasing to 21, making the previous pool of shoppers disappear if they were under 21.

As someone who doesn't smoke, I would need a hefty bonus to do a compliance shop for something that I have no desire to purchase or use.

I really appreciate this input. Thank you!

My son is 21. He lives near Chicago and all the shops I've seen only pay $12. It's not worth it to him as his full time job pays more & he doesn't want to bother for only $12. Never see bonuses either.

@fmitchell I have someone that is planning on joining the ranks to do compliance (A/T) shops very soon. One thing I would share is that others that did them in the past have said the pay used to be more. Someone posted that the he got paid $30 per stop and he did 8 of them before the morning was out. Now, almost all of those shops I see listed pay at most half of that. There might be an outlier out there. I saw one shop that is paying $35, but for the most part the range is $12-$15.

Can you share a few things about these shops? Is it possible to do 10 or 15 of these compliance shops in a day? Do these shops re-list on a bi-weekly/monthly/quarterly basis if someone does that location the month prior? If someone does the alcohol compliance shop in November, are they eligible to do the shop in December or are they locked out for a certain period of time?

I see these tasks sit and sit for the longest time. Is it wrong to ask who you schedule for?

These are great questions. So I would say that each company varies in what they offer for compliance. We have shops in New England that are quarterly so what we have is out there for three months but there are clusters of shops in towns that would be great for route shoppers. We also have a program in MD, DE, NJ, PA and FL for a chain of stores that we do monthly and there are shops EVERYWHERE! So we have been working with students for years, and they can do them every month, not only because of the flexibility to work within their schedule, but also because it is entirely possible to do a large route accurately in a day purely based on the fact we do not ask for much by way of shop form expectations and there are literally stores across the street from each other. That being said, I do agree that shop fees might not be what they used to be and maybe the bigger the program (less remote locations) the lower the fee is but I can't really speak for other companies and what their fees are. I hope that answers some of your questions.

I also schedule compliance shops and it is really tough to get reliable shoppers in the age ranges. One of my projects is 21-25 years old only. It is nearly impossible.

The ones I have range from $12-$15, depending whether it is alcohol or tobacco (the tobacco ones pay more because they are a bit more difficult to fill). They allow 18-20 year olds to shop for tobacco.

Like Florence stated, route shopping is the way to do these projects. I know $12 doesn't seem like much but it is extremely possible to do between 10-15 per day, especially when there are a large group of them within a mile or two of each other in a major city. Many shoppers in those cities can do 20 or more per day. They aren't at all time consuming, even when they are revealed and you need a manager's signature. If you have to wait for a manager, the shop maybe takes 15 minutes (less if one is available right away). The reports for most projects are short and can be done in less than 5 minutes.

The biggest issue is that there is usually a limit of how many can be done by one shopper each month, and some projects only shop each location once per year.

Compliance shops won't get you rich by any means, but they are a quick and easy way to supplement an income whether the main source be mystery shopping, or something else full time.

Great info by @fmitchell @KSSPete Thank you both

Part of the reason why it may seem impossible to get reliable shoppers in that age range is the pay is considered low. @luckygirl0100 was generous enough to share that her 21 year old son doesn't think it is worth it and doesn't want to bother for $12 and there are a lot of shops in his area. My guess is that others in that demo feel the same. How do you slash the fee by 60% from a few years ago when wages have risen?

It seems that the fee needs to go up and the cap needs to be lifted on the number of shops that one person can do to entice reliable workers. It is clear that filling these shops is very challenging since they just sit and sit every month.

@heywave wrote:

How do you slash the fee by 60% from a few years ago when wages have risen?

It seems that the fee needs to go up and the cap needs to be lifted on the number of shops that one person can do to entice reliable workers. It is clear that filling these shops is very challenging since they just sit and sit every month.

I'm not sure which ones were $30+ in the past, but it definitely isn't the ones I schedule now or in the past. The ones I schedule now were $10 each prior to the pandemic, and were raised to $12 this year (right this moment a bonus is bringing half of them to $15). I know it isn't a huge bump, but those wages went up not down.

I don't know every compliance shop out there, but I have never seen any for $30+ myself, and that is definitely not the norm for pay on this type of project. The majority I have ever seen range between $9-$15 for base pay, with those lower paying ones offering bonuses to bring them to $15 after a certain amount are completed at base pay. My guess is that there is a lot more involved if a client is paying a shopper $30 per compliance shop (long detailed report, checking the bathrooms, making sure the whole store is stocked, asking about a product, requiring a purchase even if not sold a tobacco/alcohol product, etc).

@KSSPete I was repeating what another poster here had said they made a few years back. He was pleased to have done 8 of these shops by noon at $30 a pop. His comment stuck with me. It might've been a case where the MSC had to get certain ones done by a deadline, but he never said so. I just presumed that was the rate a few years ago.

About 10-15 years ago, the pay for compliance shops ranged from $20 to $30 per shop. Like lots of nominal shop pay rates they have decreased substantially over the years. Add in inflation and it's even worse.

Newer shoppers (those who signed on less than 3 years ago) may have be shocked at how much certain shops used to pay.

If MS companies are having trouble finding shoppers of the right age, they need to increase the pay.

I have done many age compliance shops, but have never smoked so I do not do yhe tobacco ones. There was one that I think I could have gotten alcohol, but the guidelines were unclear so I asked the scheduler to confirm that I could buy alcohol. They told me to look at the guidelines, which told me that they weren't really concerned with having the shop filled if they weren't willing to answer my question.

I know of one compliance project, which isn't around anymore, where the pay went down. But so did the requirements for the shop. Shoppers once had to go through the entire store looking to make sure everything was stocked properly and check the bathrooms as well. When it ended earlier this month, all they had to do was go in to buy cigarettes and leave. Then answer 13 multiple choice questions, one of which was asking if you were asked for an ID for the purchase. I'm willing to bet that any project where the pay went down, the requirements and time to complete the shop did as well. Or, the project switched companies and that company promised the client they would get them done for less.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2022 01:23AM by KSSPete.

It seem like I saw a compliance shop the other day

Presto has some tobacco compliance shops, but the poster looking for them was looking for something other than tobacco, alcohol perhaps.

Consider the age group demographics. These are college aged kids. They don't smoke as much as they did in past generations. They are likely attending college classes on mom and dad's dime. They are more likely found online texting friends about a Tik-Tok short video, gaming, speculating in crypto-currency and ordering a Starbucks drink than mystery shopping. A convenience store like Wawa is just a place to get a quick bite to eat after class. When you get spending money from mom and dad, a compliance shop is pocket change. They primarily hang around campus towns and are not interested in route shopping.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2022 10:59AM by maverick1.

@KSSPete wrote:

I also schedule compliance shops and it is really tough to get reliable shoppers in the age ranges. One of my projects is 21-25 years old only. It is nearly impossible.

The ones I have range from $12-$15, depending whether it is alcohol or tobacco (the tobacco ones pay more because they are a bit more difficult to fill). They allow 18-20 year olds to shop for tobacco.

Paying only $12 for a shop where you have to reveal yourself and get a manager's signature might be why it's hard to find people. Other shops pay similarly with no reveal. Also, you only get the beer if the employee doesn't ask for ID. In other shops, you get a reimbursed purchase either way, so more total compensation (Having said that, I drink beer but have no use for all the tobacco I get from tobacco-only compliance shops)

MSP in 2018: “We need more shoppers for this project!”

Shopper in 2018: “Sure! Increase the pay and I’ll put you in my schedule.”

MSP in 2019: “We need to finish this project ASAP!”

Shopper in 2019: “Absolutely! But your offer is 20% lower than this project paid last year, so… sorry, can’t do!”

MSP in 2020: “Yikes! A pandemic! But we need you to go out and visit stores- without any additional pay, while we sit here safely and WFH at our desks!”

Shoppers in 2020: “LOLOL not a chance!”

MSP in 2021: “Still a pandemic, almost a million dead! We desperately need you to risk everything to fill our shops, while we cut your fees and WFH in our cozy offices!”

Shoppers in 2021: “$&@!!”

MSP in 2022: “Where have all the shoppers gone?”

There were a bunch of juul compliance shops that were up to age 31, and I've seen alcohol ones that go up to 40. If you can expand your age range a little that might help.

If there is a purchase requirement, remove that. Most shoppers would rather get more pay than get a purchase reimbursed.

Shopping does not generally pay enough to be a full time job and the pay has severely lagged behind inflation. If these are the $12-15 shops that is at the bottom of what most people will consider doing. I would at least double that pay if you want to seriously compete with other gigs that draw young people/students like uber, lyft, rover, doordash, etc

Additionally in these economic times, income security is increasingly important. If you can't guarantee a steady flow of shops at a certain pay rate, shoppers will be less likely to use your platform. Be transparent with your shoppers, let them know this contract will last for two years and we release shops every quarter or whatever it is.

@rarararara wrote:

Shopping does not generally pay enough to be a full time job and the pay has severely lagged behind inflation. If these are the $12-15 shops that is at the bottom of what most people will consider doing. I would at least double that pay if you want to seriously compete with other gigs that draw young people/students like uber, lyft, rover, doordash, etc

Great point. I do not think that they realize that gig workers doing Uber Eats, Door Dash, etc. are making $25+/hour.

I appreciate @fmitchell @KSSPete sharing information on these shops. I am not trying to debate them. It seems that when you can't fill shops with such a small pool of shoppers in that 21-25 demo, the logical step is you offer a higher fee. If you can't find enough reliable shoppers, then you go to a bonus situation for number of shops completed so fewer shoppers do more.

It seems that with what is at risk for failing an ID audit (fine/loss of license/etc.) that the fee would be higher. You want clerks to check for ID and be tested from time to time by mystery shoppers.

Maybe it is a situation where the actual company being shopped doesn't care either way if the shops get filled? They just want to be able to tell regulators that they have a program in place to have cashiers tested and conveniently leave out that the test rarely takes place.

I wish I had known about this type of shop when I was that age. I would've done as many as I could.

Mid-20-something here! I'm brand new to mystery shopping but I can't say I've been tempted much by the tobacco/alcohol compliance shops. I already have a professional full time job so mystery shopping is a bit of spending money on the side that I can pick up because of my flexible schedule. The reality is that $10-12 shops just don't come close to my hourly rate in my full time job. I really don't mean to be rude at all, but they don't seem worth my time comparatively. The closest I've come to this type of shop is a couple of covert bar audits to make sure they checked IDs, but was payed $30 for fairly simple reports and also had a $30 F&B allowance.

Plus, as someone who is new to mystery shopping, all revealed shops (gas stations, 18/21+ audits, etc) truthfully seem a little intimidating. Especially considering that the pay is typically fairly low compared to other covert shops I could be doing, these revealed shops don't seem worth the potential embarrassing situation. I'm willing to be convinced that I'm wrong, though! I haven't done any revealed shops yet, age compliance or otherwise.

You already have a lot of good answers here that I agree with (except the person that said we're all living on our parents money and too busy on tik tok - that was pretty dismissive and rude). I think there are a number of factors and I hope I can provide some insight as someone in the target age group. Ask away if you have any other questions or feedback! Like I mentioned, I'm pretty new to mystery shopping, but happy to help if I can.

Well said @mgulis. That first revealed shop can be very intimidating. My first one was a gas station audit and I made the cashier cry! Although I deal with strangers all the time, there was something about giving up my perceived anonymity that was a bit daunting.

@mgulis wrote:

The reality is that $10-12 shops just don't come close to my hourly rate in my full time job. I really don't mean to be rude at all, but they don't seem worth my time comparatively.

I don't think you're being rude at all! I don't think there's many out there that would do something they didn't feel was worth their time.

You have brought up a lot of great points. Reveal shops can be intimidating, especially for new shoppers. I won't tell you that "embarrassing situations" never happen, but they are very rare (judging by how rarely they are reported to me, but I understand that maybe they aren't always reported to me).

$30 makes sense to me for those bar audits. Generally, there's a bit more to it than just making sure they check ID's (cash handling, service, etc). The reports are fairly easy, but if you saw one of these tobacco/alcohol compliance reports I think you'd agree that they are even easier than those bar audit reports. The bar audits, like regular restaurant shops, usually require a narrative of the visit and these do not. An experienced shopper can likely do a bar audit report in 10-15 minutes, whereas the compliance ones that I have are less than 5 minutes for even new shoppers to the project. I know that "less than 5 minutes" is something all schedulers say, and sometimes isn't true, but it is absolutely true for these.

I can't really say much about pay other than everyone has a different feeling of what their time is worth. It is totally understandable to me that a shopper in a suburban or rural area would be turned off by $12-$15, considering they have to travel 5-10 miles in between each location, or further. City shoppers though, can realistically do 3 of these an hour (or more), with very little travel in between. That puts them at $36-$45 per hour and very low expenses. Those are the shoppers I try to target, since the $12-$15 pay per shop can add up to an above average hourly wage.

"...(except the person that said we're all living on our parents money and too busy on tik tok - that was pretty dismissive and rude)."

The words I chose were, "more - likely."

Facts:
85% of parents pay for a portion of their child's college tuition, according to Sallie Mae's How America Pays for College 2021.

"41% of TikTok users are between 16 and 24-years-old, a prime demographic for Higher Ed."

How much time do college students spend on TikTok?
The most popular answer was 3-4 hours, with the majority of respondents falling between 3-7 hours a day.

3-4 hours a day seems like a good window to actively pursue a money generating capitalist activity.

Awaiting apology from @mgulis

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2022 09:10PM by maverick1.

I have ladies here within the age range. They are so not interested.

@maverick1, I want FIRE! I think our offspring understand.

@maverick1 wrote:

"41% of TikTok users are between 16 and 24-years-old, a prime demographic for Higher Ed."

How much time do college students spend on TikTok?
The most popular answer was 3-4 hours, with the majority of respondents falling between 3-7 hours a day.

Great information. I’m in charge locally of attracting and retaining new young progressive and liberal voters. I’ll be sure to use this data in my slideshow next week.

TikTok it is!!