Recently I got $40 for a hard-to-fill location. That's the most I've gotten in about 5 years. Back "in the day," the most I got was $45, I think; maybe $50. I can't remember. However, since things opened up after the pandemic, I'm averaging $25 to $29, with the occasional $30 and, on the low side, I've done my local one for $$20 or $22, when I'm in the mood for 5G and it's not the end of the month! I will never do any 5G shop for less than $20.

Most of these higher fees have been through MAO, but every once in awhile, Samantha will offer one that'll be worth taking. Doesn't happen often, but sometimes.

I disagree that you won't see a fee higher for a specific location than you've gotten in the past. I have gotten higher fees for some locations than my past fees. I guess it depends on the difficulty of filling the location and how late in the month it is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2023 10:51PM by BirdyC.

Fee aside - one location seems to have disappeared off the 5G list.I've watched it closely and done (3) FG in the last 3 weeks. 1 of them is right by my house. Now I see a bunch of new 5G shops loaded - for those same locations, only the one by my house isn't there. So either someone took it for the lowest fee possible, or it's just not on the list. I've been checking it multiple times daily - I dont think I missed it so I'm curious why a certain location wouldn't get shopped again.

if you provided the location you were looking for....someone else here could tell you if they see it (doing a search by zip code).

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Fee aside - one location seems to have disappeared off the 5G list.I've watched it closely and done (3) FG in the last 3 weeks. 1 of them is right by my house. Now I see a bunch of new 5G shops loaded - for those same locations, only the one by my house isn't there. So either someone took it for the lowest fee possible, or it's just not on the list. I've been checking it multiple times daily - I dont think I missed it so I'm curious why a certain location wouldn't get shopped again.

Could the location have closed or moved? I know the 5G near me moved around 2 years ago.

It's open, I drive by it most days of week. I used the zip code, even neighboring zips on the MSC site and multiple 5G shops for other stores come up - just not this one. Go figure.

I have occasionally been excluded from a particular 5G. No explanation. Then a month or two or three months later it reappears. No explanation.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

It's open, I drive by it most days of week. I used the zip code, even neighboring zips on the MSC site and multiple 5G shops for other stores come up - just not this one. Go figure.

Big Daddy's post got me thinking: Maybe I'm excluded from that location cause I did it too recently. In that another location I had done - also doesn't show up on my list right now - - what a coincidence. I feel maybe it's a mechanism to make sure same guy doesn't do same store too quickly. OR in the case of my preferred location - maaaaybe I was too praise-worthy of the manager? Although I meant every word. If I see these locations magically re-appear I will make note of it on this thread.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2023 05:01PM by BabyBooey19.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Big Daddy's post got me thinking: Maybe I'm excluded from that location cause I did it too recently. In that another location I had done - also doesn't show up on my list right now - - what a coincidence. I feel maybe it's a mechanism to make sure same guy doesn't do same store too quickly. OR in the case of my preferred location - maaaaybe I was too praise-worthy of the manager? Although I meant every word. If I see these locations magically re-appear I will make note of it on this thread.

Yes, there is definitely a rotation of some sort, so that is most likely why it's not showing yet.

There's another company I work with that will block you from seeing the location if you did it the prior month. The scheduler at that company can override it though, if its hard to fill.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Big Daddy's post got me thinking: Maybe I'm excluded from that location cause I did it too recently. In that another location I had done - also doesn't show up on my list right now - - what a coincidence. I feel maybe it's a mechanism to make sure same guy doesn't do same store too quickly. OR in the case of my preferred location - maaaaybe I was too praise-worthy of the manager? Although I meant every word. If I see these locations magically re-appear I will make note of it on this thread.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Big Daddy's post got me thinking: Maybe I'm excluded from that location cause I did it too recently. In that another location I had done - also doesn't show up on my list right now - - what a coincidence. I feel maybe it's a mechanism to make sure same guy doesn't do same store too quickly. OR in the case of my preferred location - maaaaybe I was too praise-worthy of the manager? Although I meant every word. If I see these locations magically re-appear I will make note of it on this thread.

I don't think there's actually a rotation on 5G shops, but if the MSC thinks the location may have identified you as or suspected you to be the shopper, they'll exclude you from shops for a period of time. Several folks here have had that happen, I believe. I got blocked from all my local locations a few years ago. While the MSC won't tell you the specific reason, the wording they gave me was pretty clear in its implication. They said I'd be unblocked after a certain period of time, and I was. I think what happened in my case is that the same manager was at both locations I did within a very short period of time. He looked at me oddly, and I assumed he recognized me from the other shop.

In your case, if you've done that location frequently, you may have been recognized as the shopper, and this is probably why you're not seeing it on your available jobs.

I would think 5G corporate would not allow or block footage from the restaurants of going back to review. If they always are going back whether good or bad results...then the shopper eventually will no longer be a mystery as they will have basically identified anyone/everyone who has shopped them. The only way they won't know is if a new shopper does it, but then they will be identified.

I wonder if 5G executive management knows their mystery shopping program is jeopardized by the local stores because if they identify and recognize shoppers...that will mean they are more on their toes the next time they visit and less likely to have something be identified that could have been had they not recognized.

The smart play is definitely to learn who your person is, and do everything you can to not blow it. I definitely got ID'd today -I presume from security footage from a previous visit (different restaurant) as the employees were communicating secretly about my order number and saying things like "that's the one, right?" That location had a few dings last time.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I would think 5G corporate would not allow or block footage from the restaurants of going back to review. If they always are going back whether good or bad results...then the shopper eventually will no longer be a mystery as they will have basically identified anyone/everyone who has shopped them. The only way they won't know is if a new shopper does it, but then they will be identified.

I wonder if 5G executive management knows their mystery shopping program is jeopardized by the local stores because if they identify and recognize shoppers...that will mean they are more on their toes the next time they visit and less likely to have something be identified that could have been had they not recognized.

Exactly why 5G should block this footage. Now they are paying for information that has been skewed/altered because the employees knew to treat your order differently than they would have normally.

Being new, it was my first shop or even first visit to that location. (It's my backyard - but I'm more a Burger King guy). Could be they ID'd me...... but I did best I could. Read a newspaper while eating, I even ordered a bit more expensive than the suggested reimbursement. Time shall tell...

BabyBooey19,

Didn't you see this post? I'm guess Sherri is from the MSC, hence her screen name.

What about all the other people that have said there are certain rotations where you cannot see the shops until you clear that rotation period?

@mfisherri wrote:

The shopping rotation depends on how many shops are in between. For example, if you do one today, you can't do it again until X # are completed by other shoppers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2023 12:22AM by wrosie.

@wrosie wrote:

BabyBooey19,

Didn't you see this post? I'm guess Sherri is from the MSC, hence her screen name.

What about all the other people that have said there are certain rotations where you cannot see the shops until you clear that rotation period?

@mfisherri wrote:

The shopping rotation depends on how many shops are in between. For example, if you do one today, you can't do it again until X # are completed by other shoppers.

@wrosie, thanks for posting that. I hadn't seen it, but it does make sense when you factor in what shoppers have experienced as far as availability of certain locations.

Thanks for reposting! Honestly I did not see that post. I just scrolled up and down, still dont see it. But thanks for copying it, and thanks Sherri for the insight.

Well, I just ordered a hat. Yep, a baseball cap. Never ever worn one in my life. Can't even stand party hats. The only saving grace is, it's a Star Wars hat. If I start doing more 5G or similar shops, I figure maybe the hat, no-hat might throw them off after looking at my security footage. But I won't do a sideways or backward hat. The MSC would have to give me a Five Guys Franchise for free in order for me to go that far. May the Force be with all of you.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Well, I just ordered a hat. Yep, a baseball cap. Never ever worn one in my life. Can't even stand party hats. The only saving grace is, it's a Star Wars hat. If I start doing more 5G or similar shops, I figure maybe the hat, no-hat might throw them off after looking at my security footage. But I won't do a sideways or backward hat. The MSC would have to give me a Five Guys Franchise for free in order for me to go that far. May the Force be with all of you.

I'm a hat wearer but definitely change hats whenever you make a repeat visit to a certain location. Or go bareheaded.

Also I am with you on backwards baseball caps. Looks like hell lol. Unless you're in a game and playing catcher.

@BirdyC wrote:

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Big Daddy's post got me thinking: Maybe I'm excluded from that location cause I did it too recently. In that another location I had done - also doesn't show up on my list right now - - what a coincidence. I feel maybe it's a mechanism to make sure same guy doesn't do same store too quickly. OR in the case of my preferred location - maaaaybe I was too praise-worthy of the manager? Although I meant every word. If I see these locations magically re-appear I will make note of it on this thread.

I don't think there's actually a rotation on 5G shops, but if the MSC thinks the location may have identified you as or suspected you to be the shopper, they'll exclude you from shops for a period of time. Several folks here have had that happen, I believe. I got blocked from all my local locations a few years ago. While the MSC won't tell you the specific reason, the wording they gave me was pretty clear in its implication. They said I'd be unblocked after a certain period of time, and I was. I think what happened in my case is that the same manager was at both locations I did within a very short period of time. He looked at me oddly, and I assumed he recognized me from the other shop.

In your case, if you've done that location frequently, you may have been recognized as the shopper, and this is probably why you're not seeing it on your available jobs.

Just say Manager "John" is the store manager at Five Guys on Main Street and you go in there for lunch..


Three weeks later the same Manager "John" is filling in at Five Guys on Sunset Blvd the supper shift.. You go in there for a supper shop.

The reason you are at the Sunset Blvd location because it is in a strip mall and you just finished shopping and you wanted a bite to eat before you go home..

I know some managers fill in at other locations.. Why would the manager look at your oddly? Because you are at an different Five Guys shop that you don't usually visit?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2023 04:39AM by Isaiah4031a.

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

Just say Manager "John" is the store manager at Five Guys on Main Street and you go in there for lunch..

Three weeks later the same Manager "John" is filling in at Five Guys on Sunset Blvd the supper shift.. You go in there for a supper shop.

The reason you are at the Sunset Blvd location because it is in a strip mall and you just finished shopping and you wanted a bite to eat before you go home..

I know some managers fill in at other locations.. Why would the manager look at your oddly? Because you are at an different Five Guys shop that you don't usually visit?

Not sure why this sounds implausible at all.

At the first location, there were maybe one or two other customers who were dining in, so it's not like I could blend in with the crowd. There was an extremely long wait for my meal, due to a large number of take-out orders and possibly staffing issues. I may have been the only customer in the store by the time I got my food. And there were other issues. So my report wasn't "run of the mill"; it wasn't very positive. It wasn't a stretch to think that the manager remembered me once he saw the report. Or that he noticed I was eyeing the fries basket--LOL. Even if he didn't, I'm sure he noticed me at the time. How could he not notice a customer who waited almost 20 minutes for a burger?

At the second location, the same guy was there. Nothing unusual happened during that shop, but I wasn't dreaming that he scowled at me and kept an eye on me during my visit. It was very uncomfortable. These locations aren't in the same city. Different cities, almost 20 miles apart. There's nothing in location #1 that I don't have here in location #2; the area's best shopping is here. It seems unlikely someone would travel to location #1 to shop. Of course, one could be passing through, but given the issues on the first shop, it's probable the guy remembered me, and it was shortly after that I was banned for three months.

We used to have three 5G right here in town, so it wouldn't seem odd to see the same person in two or more locations.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2023 01:57PM by BirdyC.

I did a retail shop with a bumped fee ($30) this week. Anyhow - the same kind of shop is available with a bumped fee of $30. and the MAO is on it this time. ....but this one is sort of far from me. So if I factor in gas.... etc....I'd need $62.00 to do it. My question is - that's double what they are offering. if I click MAO $62 - I hope I'm not burning a bridge or ticking them off in which case I'd just leave it alone in the first place. Is it ok to have MAO rejected but continue a good relationship with MSC? Thanks

You're not limited to one MAO. If it's rejected, you just have to lower your next offer by at least $3.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Is it ok to have MAO rejected but continue a good relationship with MSC? Thanks

Sure. Even if you don't come to an agreement on a particular shop, you're fine. I've had several MAOs rejected and not counter-offered. Doesn't seem to have affected my relationship with the MSC.

But I don't think you're going to get $62 for a 5G shop! What I usually do in a case like this, is see if I can find another shop or two in the same area and form a small route. I actually did a route for this MSC several months ago--two retail shops and a 5G, all in the same area, with increased fees for all three. Did another one a few weeks ago, a 5G and two shops for another MSC. That's made it worthwhile to go quite a distance.

I did a 5G about an hour from me 45 days ago. The US scheduler called me and we agreed on an $85 shop free plus reimbursement.

So it might be possible to get the $62, just don't hold your breath. They apparently really needed my shop done since the call came from a US based scheduler, not the overseas ones.

Now I get Samantha offers for the same shop with a $25 shop fee every week.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2023 04:03PM by wrosie.

@wrosie wrote:

I did a 5G about an hour from me 45 days ago. The US scheduler called me and we agreed on an $85 shop free plus reimbursement.

Wow! That's fantastic; congrats on that fee. I've never even been close to that! It seems like for the consistently hard-to-fill locations they're willing to go pretty high.

Just to clarify, the MAO I'm considering to try is retail not 5G. Just wanted to make sure I'm not upsetting the MSC if I don't take the job.

@BabyBooey19 wrote:

Just to clarify, the MAO I'm considering to try is retail not 5G. Just wanted to make sure I'm not upsetting the MSC if I don't take the job.

I think I know what shops these are. I've had plenty of MAOs rejected for these but have also done several. So I don't think you'd be upsetting the MSC. In my own experience, the bonuses to be had on these aren't as high as on the 5G shops. But, again, it may depend on the location.

I believe that MAO submissions are handled by an automated system, with occasional ones triggering a counter-offer that might involve a live person. I have had far more MAO not accepted and accepted.

I'm averaging $24 to $28, occasionally I'll do one for $15-$20 if I'm in the mood for Five Guys and one is near my travels, but that is rare.