You are probably remembering correctly, Bob. They had a banking client for a while that needed the normal account opening inquiry in person without actually opening the account. It involved sitting down with the banker and talking about possibly opening a checking and savings account doing a full report on the process. This is pretty much run of the mill for many banking shops. They had three remote locations that were far from major population centers. I often did work in that area, and I was getting anywhere from $50 to $100 per location to do banks, gas stations, the restaurants, and retail in that region. They reached out to me and said they needed a shopper to do these three locations. I matter of fact they told them that I could do them for $75 each, which was right in the middle of what I normally got paid to do work in that area. They emailed back and said they couldn't do more than $25 per location. I politely told them that I appreciated them reaching out to me, but it just wasn't worth me doing it for that amount. They came back later and asked me if I could do it for 35 for location. I told them that I could go down to 60 per location. I explained that I had been receiving anywhere from 50 to $100 per location to do work in that area. I also told her that the banking clients tended to be at the higher end of that, and I had received up to $200 for banks at times. They agreed to that and assigned the locations. In the email that I received, Nikki told me "other companies are not paying that much, and you certainly aren't getting that much." So, she called me a liar. After I did the shops and got paid, I sent her an email back saying that I did not appreciate being called a liar. I attached my pay statements from other mystery shopping company showing exactly which locations I completed and exactly how much I had been paid. It showed that I was not lying. I certainly was getting paid between $50 and $100 per location in that region. I also had a couple of banks on there that paid $200 each. After she received that email, she emailed me back saying that they got in trouble for paying that much, and they no longer needed my services. I did not receive any kind of apology or mention of the fact that I was wrongly called a liar.
That banking client was back on the job board a couple of months later. Those three locations sat there for about 3 months and never got done again. Then the overall project ended for whatever reason. Either they lost the client or it was simply not renewed.
And honestly, I didn't mind being terminated. I did not appreciate being called a liar. I'm a professional, and I don't like to deal with people that treat shoppers like they are anything less than that. I think that when they saw that they were dealing with a professional that was not going to allow them to treat me like crap, they decided that they needed to deal with shoppers that were going to be more meek, weak, and accepting of unprofessional treatment.
@shopperbob wrote:
Thunder,
Are you the shopper who posted Reality accepted an offer to complete work, but then terminated his/her contract due to an excessive fee? Whomever it was, it stuck in my memory as being an illogical reason to end a relationship. Obviously, the contractor saw an opportunity to profit AND the MSC had a need filled; the shopper's demand was accepted. It is STILL called business!