So my question is, Who is actually doing these shops? I live in Los Angeles and for some of these there are 30 or 40 locations. At the end of the month there may be a small number of out of the way or "scary" locations left that get a smallish bonus. So are all these being taken by new shoppers? or desperate shoppers who do not have time for being on a forum? The vast majority get taken at base.

My guess would be that 95% of shoppers are not on the forum and take the jobs at base due to desperation.

I have and will only do the car shop.

@callinectes wrote:

My reasons are a little different from yours:

I won't do any shop that is a revealed audit. I do not need that kind of drama in my life.

I'm intrigued.

What drama have you experienced doing revealed audits?

I totally prefer revealed audits over mystery shops because they present no drama, at least to me.

@bradkcrew wrote:

There are some shops that are always available that I have avoided, but wonder if I should give them a try?

2. The bank where you call a random branch and complain that an employee has opened an account you didn't authorize, but you won't provide details and you don't want your account closed. Really?
3. Go take a test and fail. Get there 30 minutes early and sit pretending to take the test for 1.5 hours. Seems too tedious and time consuming for the money.
7. Same big box $16 shops that require a selfie. This seems like it could take a long time to get help and too many questions/requirements.

#2 - I did this but my complaint was about the ATMs. They had me call a branch in NC (I am in NY). It felt completely random (I said I found the phone # online and didn't realize it wasn't my local branch).

#3 - I used to do these years ago and I liked them. Here's why I stopped: One of the requirements was to try to sneak a phone into the test room. The proctors always checked and double checked and it was always found and I left it in the locker as instructed. One time, the proctor did not find it. The requirements said to take a bathroom break and when asked to empty my pockets before returning to the test room, show them the phone and say I didn't realize it was there the whole time. WELL. The proctor looked like she was about to cry when that happened. I don't know if she got fired, but I felt very guilty that I may have cost her a job, so I decided I couldn't do those shops anymore. I'm tempted sometimes when they are heavily bonused, though.

#7 - I did one that did NOT carry appliances. I walked up and down the store, took the photos, and reported that the location did not carry appliances. The scheduler went back and forth with me over two days insisting that EVERY location carried appliances. I called the store and even went back to verify. Eventually they believed me and paid me.

I salute anyone who did the 3 letter car shop. I tried it and just gave up. Way too complicated. But it often seems to me like that MSC over-complicates things on their instructions. Maybe if the big “I” were to have a nice .pdf of what is expected it may be easier for me to understand.

I’m strongly considering doing the vest shops. Lots of ducks on the pond right now. I still worry about the guy who doesn’t want to be audited.

@metro25782 wrote:

I salute anyone who did the 3 letter car shop. I tried it and just gave up. Way too complicated. But it often seems to me like that MSC over-complicates things on their instructions. Maybe if the big “I” were to have a nice .pdf of what is expected it may be easier for me to understand.

I’m strongly considering doing the vest shops. Lots of ducks on the pond right now. I still worry about the guy who doesn’t want to be audited.

The KIA shop honestly turned out to be pretty easy! They don't want you to ask questions, so there isn't a whole lot to remember when you are there, you just go on the test drive and get the pricing. If you can get a nice bonus it is well worth it, IMO.

#8 is no big deal. But wait until the bonus goes up. I’ve done them for $100+ bonus. I guess depending where you’re at.

Give them a try. You may find that they are for you.

I found those 3 letter car shops to be pretty straightforward - what seemed daunting however was the reporting format - unnecessarily complicated....once I realized most of it did not apply to the shop I was doing (the way the dealer responded etc) - it became much easier. The only thing tricky was trying to get a pic of the sticker pricing....there always seemed to be somebody around or else it was raining like crazy.

I did number 4 a few times wasnt that bad on most..and pay was decent when I did them. Only had issues once and took an hour to get it cancelled but every other time was very smooth

1. may do i pay is high enough
2. never have probably never will
3. I used to do regularly but they just won't pay what I need due to the time it takes for the shop. I was getting $70 for my local locations realized I need $100.
4. did one never again was out $20 as could not get refund. made like what ended up being $5 for an hour of my time.
5.have done a few but generally avoid. Agree with OP.
6. Never went thru getting background due to this forum and people who have done them just better pay to work ratio jobs.
7. An example of a better pay to work ratio. about 10 to 20 mins in store and 5-minute report. I have great memory so only have to note down name and its just do to so many shops in a day.
8. yes but only at $40 and above.

My two cents:

1. I did one months ago, hated it, labor-intensive and a rotten report, but $130 is $130. To this day I'm still getting texts from the salesman - "Are you still thinking about that car??"
2. I do these almost like clockwork every ten days but with either the broken ATM or appointment scheduling scenarios. There is a very good reason why they have the fraudulent account scenario - the bank got into HUGE trouble last decade because they had (ridiculously high) new account quotas the bankers had to meet to keep their jobs, and employees resorted to opening accounts without people's consent/knowledge. [google "Netflix The Wagon Wheel"]
3. Labor-intensive, narrative-intensive, and you almost need a photographic memory because there is no taking notes or sending yourself a text with times and things you need to remember for the report. Unless it's over $100 and you like a challenge, put it in the 10-foot-pole column. (I was successful in sneaking my grocery list in once, but my implied bribes met zero interest.)
4. These aren't fun. Half the time the machines are down when you arrive. If they work but you get a clerk who doesn't know what they're doing, you're screwed.
5. Nope. My experience has been they always want more than $4-5 worth of work out of you.
6. 10-foot-pole. It may be $65, but that MSC is going to squeeze you like a juicer to get every bit of that out of you and then some.
7. These actually aren't too bad if you can get past the selfie requirement. $16 a pop turns into a nice little chunk of change when there are a bunch of locations close together.
8. Done all these, too, but only when they were heavily bonused ($100 or more.) I threw my safety vest in the trash when a bus almost plowed me over while I was trying to snap an overall photo of the station at a distance (which would sometimes require you to get exceedingly close to the road.)

I think there needs to be a #9 and #10:

9. The four-company car insurance website screenshot shops. There's a reason they pay $40 - that's four times your credit gets pulled.
10. The $12 cell phone shops that require you to write way too many narratives about "they/them/the associate." I do these begrudgingly to keep food on the table.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

I found those 3 letter car shops to be pretty straightforward - what seemed daunting however was the reporting format - unnecessarily complicated....once I realized most of it did not apply to the shop I was doing (the way the dealer responded etc) - it became much easier. The only thing tricky was trying to get a pic of the sticker pricing....there always seemed to be somebody around or else it was raining like crazy.

I took the pic right in front of the salesperson--seemed like a normal thing a car buyer would do.