How much do you think they get paid for our reports?
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It is very different... there are way too many factors to even try and guess. I was previously a manager (scheduling/ editing/ client relations) for a WONDERFUL MSC and there was a wide range of client billing rates, even for the 'same' shop just a different company.
For example if company A has 100 locations they want shopped the rate might be higher per location than company B who negotiated a lower rate because they have 500 locations they want done.
So to the shopper it looks like the same shop/ same report but the client billing is different.
For example if company A has 100 locations they want shopped the rate might be higher per location than company B who negotiated a lower rate because they have 500 locations they want done.
So to the shopper it looks like the same shop/ same report but the client billing is different.
I only know this: If they don't get paid enough to cover overhead, they'll go out of business.
We are a small part of overhead.
We are a small part of overhead.
I agree with Luckygirl0100; too many factors to really know. Aside from her examples, some MSC's are more savvy negotiators. While others may be okay with a lower profit margin because their goal is not only to win the business, but also to retain long term.
I don't really think about it much as I don't have any influence over was it is or isn't.
I don't really think about it much as I don't have any influence over was it is or isn't.
Probably about 99.9% more than the the starting fees they want to pay us.
I helped set up our company's mystery shopping program with Market Force many years ago. We no longer shop our locations, but at the time it was about $50 per location that we paid.
Several years ago, I overheard the owner of an MSC mention he charged $295 for video shops. As I never completed that category of work for him, I do not recall what fees he paid, but he was quite generous with non-video jobs.
Through the years, my concern has always been what I am paid; their profit is unimportant to me.
Through the years, my concern has always been what I am paid; their profit is unimportant to me.
@foodluvr wrote:
I helped set up our company's mystery shopping program with Market Force many years ago. We no longer shop our locations, but at the time it was about $50 per location that we paid.
Ooo any hints on what restaurant you worked for? Did you have any visibility to the reports? Are they as bad as I imagine they would be?
I had a gas station owner tell me that he pays $2600 for each shop. I don't know how much of that the mystery shopping company gets. But it really seems to me that we are not getting paid what we are worth.
@Morledzep wrote:
I had a gas station owner tell me that he pays $2600 for each shop. I don't know how much of that the mystery shopping company gets. But it really seems to me that we are not getting paid what we are worth.
This was about 5 years ago but that might explain why I was trespassed from one gas station by the owner and he called the police to prevent me from shopping his other station down the road.
@wrosie.....I'm not following the story. The guy is paying for shop reports, but calls the police on you to prevent you from doing the shop? Why is this?
Also, $2600 for EACH gas station shop? Does that not sound somewhat absurd? I could see the detailed audits (white glove) being several hundred dollars, but nothing in the thousands of dollars. Maybe the guy meant he was paying $2600 for the year for each of his stations? that would be a little over $200 each month which seems digestible. Gas stations are not that profitable to be spending thousands of dollars per report. They make the majority of their money on drinks/snacks. The fuel margin is not that significant.
It would be nice for anyone that does the gas station shop audits to ask the owner if they encounter the owner (not just some hourly employee) what they pay for this. I'm sure some smaller locations probably have the owner on site for many hours as they cannot afford to have a high payroll cost. Many of these are small businesses.
Also, $2600 for EACH gas station shop? Does that not sound somewhat absurd? I could see the detailed audits (white glove) being several hundred dollars, but nothing in the thousands of dollars. Maybe the guy meant he was paying $2600 for the year for each of his stations? that would be a little over $200 each month which seems digestible. Gas stations are not that profitable to be spending thousands of dollars per report. They make the majority of their money on drinks/snacks. The fuel margin is not that significant.
It would be nice for anyone that does the gas station shop audits to ask the owner if they encounter the owner (not just some hourly employee) what they pay for this. I'm sure some smaller locations probably have the owner on site for many hours as they cannot afford to have a high payroll cost. Many of these are small businesses.
@wrosie wrote:
@Morledzep wrote:
I had a gas station owner tell me that he pays $2600 for each shop. I don't know how much of that the mystery shopping company gets. But it really seems to me that we are not getting paid what we are worth.
This was about 5 years ago but that might explain why I was trespassed from one gas station by the owner and he called the police to prevent me from shopping his other station down the road.
I was told by an owner about 7 years ago he paid $50 per shop. Marathon brand.
Owner was super nice & always chatted with me.
Owner was super nice & always chatted with me.
@hbbigdaddy wrote:
@wrosie.....I'm not following the story. The guy is paying for shop reports, but calls the police on you to prevent you from doing the shop? Why is this?
Also, $2600 for EACH gas station shop? Does that not sound somewhat absurd? I could see the detailed audits (white glove) being several hundred dollars, but nothing in the thousands of dollars. Maybe the guy meant he was paying $2600 for the year for each of his stations? that would be a little over $200 each month which seems digestible. Gas stations are not that profitable to be spending thousands of dollars per report. They make the majority of their money on drinks/snacks. The fuel margin is not that significant.
It would be nice for anyone that does the gas station shop audits to ask the owner if they encounter the owner (not just some hourly employee) what they pay for this. I'm sure some smaller locations probably have the owner on site for many hours as they cannot afford to have a high payroll cost. Many of these are small businesses.
@wrosie wrote:
@Morledzep wrote:
I had a gas station owner tell me that he pays $2600 for each shop. I don't know how much of that the mystery shopping company gets. But it really seems to me that we are not getting paid what we are worth.
This was about 5 years ago but that might explain why I was trespassed from one gas station by the owner and he called the police to prevent me from shopping his other station down the road.
I’ve seen a few video shop invoices over the last dozen or so years. These numbers are a few years old, pre-pandemic.
Dental, Plastic Surgery Workups: $1000 and up
New home video shops: $400 and up
Automotive Sales video shop: $350 and up
Apartment video: $250 and up
Rent To Own: $200 and up
Storage unit video: $125 and up
Most video mystery shop companies don’t have tremendous overhead; they run out of small home offices. So their profits are quite substantial when (for example) they are offering $80 for a new home video shop or $50 for an apartment.
Keep these numbers in mind when negotiating bonuses and fees.
Dental, Plastic Surgery Workups: $1000 and up
New home video shops: $400 and up
Automotive Sales video shop: $350 and up
Apartment video: $250 and up
Rent To Own: $200 and up
Storage unit video: $125 and up
Most video mystery shop companies don’t have tremendous overhead; they run out of small home offices. So their profits are quite substantial when (for example) they are offering $80 for a new home video shop or $50 for an apartment.
Keep these numbers in mind when negotiating bonuses and fees.
@Capurato wrote:
@foodluvr wrote:
I helped set up our company's mystery shopping program with Market Force many years ago. We no longer shop our locations, but at the time it was about $50 per location that we paid.
Ooo any hints on what restaurant you worked for? Did you have any visibility to the reports? Are they as bad as I imagine they would be?
I did not work for a restaurant. And yes I saw the reports. I also helped managers dispute them. Once we ended our program I became a shopper. I mean It was market force so it was pretty obvious who the shoppers were because they asked the exact question that was in the report. Our managers could see copies of the shop and their results. So it was fairly easy to coach to and it became very easy to identify shoppers. For the most part, The scores were good.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2022 08:02PM by foodluvr.
Another thing I just remembered: those gas station audits that want photos of drug paraphernalia or porn? The MSC gets between $500-5,000 bonus from the energy company for collecting proof of their franchisees breaking their contracts. (The franchise pays a fine of $10K or more.)
We (the ones who actually go on-site and take the risky photos of drug pipes, synthetic MJ, and such) get $0.00.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2022 09:01PM by ColoKate63.
We (the ones who actually go on-site and take the risky photos of drug pipes, synthetic MJ, and such) get $0.00.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2022 09:01PM by ColoKate63.
Any company that does not want you on their property has the ability to trespass you. It basically states you are no longer able to set foot on their property. I believe it just takes them saying those words, "you are trespassed".
The police just have to enforce it. It happens all the time in Vegas for suspected card counters.
So apparently they gas station owner was really worried about a bad report.
The police just have to enforce it. It happens all the time in Vegas for suspected card counters.
So apparently they gas station owner was really worried about a bad report.
If I'm reading this correctly, you are saying that the owner was aware/suspected you were going to be giving him/his station a bad report, so he did this to prevent you from doing the shop?
@wrosie wrote:
Any company that does not want you on their property has the ability to trespass you. It basically states you are no longer able to set foot on their property. I believe it just takes them saying those words, "you are trespassed".
The police just have to enforce it. It happens all the time in Vegas for suspected card counters.
So apparently they gas station owner was really worried about a bad report.
The company who does the I-9 verifications charges $150 each to their clients. The MSC pays their shoppers $10 for these projects. For their business onsite inspections, the client is charged $200-$350. They pay $17 to the shoppers. They do have editors and schedulers to pay on the project, of course. But unless they pay them a lot better than the shoppers, their margins would still be pretty high if everyone does their projects at base pay.
@foodluvr wrote:
@Capurato wrote:
@foodluvr wrote:
I helped set up our company's mystery shopping program with Market Force many years ago. We no longer shop our locations, but at the time it was about $50 per location that we paid.
Ooo any hints on what restaurant you worked for? Did you have any visibility to the reports? Are they as bad as I imagine they would be?
I did not work for a restaurant. And yes I saw the reports. I also helped managers dispute them. Once we ended our program I became a shopper. I mean It was market force so it was pretty obvious who the shoppers were because they asked the exact question that was in the report. Our managers could see copies of the shop and their results. So it was fairly easy to coach to and it became very easy to identify shoppers. For the most part, The scores were good.
My bad, I assumed it was a restaurant.
I never ask the questions they ask me to ask in the way they ask me to.
This probably comes from my years of experience in hospitality, investigations and of course being a real human.
One would think that the companies who pay the MSCs would take the reports more seriously. There is a fast food shop--drive in/park at the stall/hit the red button in a neighboring town. I do the shop every month. Every month, I report the sidewalk is blackened with grime right outside of the kitchen entry/exit. I often do a car wash (has a duck on the logo).... reported in October that the light in the vacuum area was out in the 2nd stall. Drove by there last night...the light is still out.
This is off topic I guess but I really wonder why most of these companies hire mystery shoppers at all. Its clear that they don't heed the reports they are given since they are not addressing the deficiencies.
This is off topic I guess but I really wonder why most of these companies hire mystery shoppers at all. Its clear that they don't heed the reports they are given since they are not addressing the deficiencies.
does anyone know how can you become a scheduler for these mystery shopping companies? if so which companies are hiring?
@metro25782 wrote:
One would think that the companies who pay the MSCs would take the reports more seriously. There is a fast-food shop--drive in/park at the stall/hit the red button in a neighboring town. I do the shop every month. Every month, I report the sidewalk is blackened with grime right outside of the kitchen entry/exit. I often do a car wash (has a duck on the logo) .... reported in October that the light in the vacuum area was out in the 2nd stall. Drove by there last night...the light is still out.
This is off topic I guess but I really wonder why most of these companies hire mystery shoppers at all. Its clear that they don't heed the reports they are given since they are not addressing the deficiencies.
I suspect alot of companies have a shopper program for 1 of 2 reasons if not both.
1. To drive business to their locations from shoppers. You may have liked something on a shop and are more likely to visit again not on a shop or spend more than reimbursed for a shop. Example 5 Guys-- 1. You had never been to 5 guys and get to try them out on a shop. You liked them a lot and return on a non-shop to purchase on your own dime. 2. You do a 5 Guys shop as you like them and spend more than reimbursement figuring your getting a discount. Knowing this shop specifically let's just say you take your spouse, and they buy a meal separately as they have to per guidelines.
2. To fulfill some sort of checkbox so corporate can claim they care about their stores and the employees are doing what is required.
Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.
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