Referrals?

Is there a list of which MSCs pay for referrals?

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Not that I know of. If anyone wants a referral to any company that I work for, please PM me!!!!!

You won't make any money refering people to mystery shopping firms. Don't even bother using energy on it.

You can make more money per month by just doing 1-2 shops. So, not worth the hassle.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Referring people you don't know (and even some you do) could backfire on you. What if they turn out to be flaky or in some other way incompetent? MSC might frown on you for that.

I would only refer someone I know to be reliable. I don't even 'friend' people on FB that I don't know (although I have had many asking).

I learned the lesson at the tender age of 16 after recommending my best friend for a job. She was terrible.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

My dear friend and neighbor asked me about it. She has a regular full-time job. I love her dearly and she really doesn't need the money, but even if she did I would not have been able to recommend her for the simple fact of her vocabulary and writing skills. She writes "prolly" instead of "probably" (even though she is in her late 40s), writes "Wensday" instead of "Wednesday", and told me that she "pacifically" told her son not to stop at McDonald's on his way home from school when he wrecked the car in their parking lot.

One of my best friends tried to get me to help her while I was still in my first year or so. At that point my MSC list was small so I was scratching for every dollar. She didn't get the concept of a finite amount of jobs and her only need was beer money.

Yes, well if she needed the money I might have shared one or two companies with her that have major date rotation restrictions, because like I said, I have other avenues of income. I gently explained to her that it wasn't as fun as she thought it was, and that there was a ton of writing involved and reports could take between 1-2 hours at times, as well as having to be on the ball checking email and job boards constantly (which she didn't have time for with a full-time job and two teenagers). When I explained that there was a lot of writing involved she was immediately turned off. Two of my husband's relatives know what I do and asked me to help them get started and I was more like, "No way. I don't need anymore competition in this area."

I write 'prolly' only to good friends who know I speak properly. In fact, I learned it from an English professor (he's in his 60s).

I will have to explain to my referral about the proper writing (a lot of it sometimes).

Bumping.

I know that North Fork Research is paying $10.
Anyone else?
Is Bestmark still paying?
I think that New Image Marketing stopped in July.

Yeh, I sent one to North Fork but I don't know if my friend did anything about it.

This thread is a typical example of why nobody gets rich doing mystery shopping. Why use your energy referring someone for $10 or even less?

Sure recommend your cousin cos she lives 100 miles from where you usually shop. Easy $10 right? But wait a few months then she might refer a bunch of people in the area where you shop. Suddenly you are whining on Internet boards about: all the best shops being snapped up, your favorite MS firm deactivating you and ever lowering fees due to a glut of shoppers.

People in most occupations strive to protect the interests of fellow professionals in their fields. Mystery Shoppers sell out fellow 'independent contractors' and ultimately themselves for the price of a cup of coffee. Truly fascinating!

There are so many variables involved. With rotations lasting several months to a year, there are many shops you just don't qualify for. If the referral is a new shopper, they are only competition for existing shoppers who take entry shops at base fee. If the referral is experienced, they might not be a good reliable shopper, and now you get higher fees because your work has greater value to the MSC. If the referral is a good shopper, and the MSC prefers them to you, then you need to up your game. It might be time to sign up with more MSCs. If the person being referred was going to sign up with the company anyway, then you're out $10 needlessly.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

If the referral is a new shopper, they are only competition for existing shoppers who take entry shops at base fee.

What about when the new shopper becomes an experienced shopper and starts talking all the best jobs?

@ChrisCooper wrote:

If the referral is experienced, they might not be a good reliable shopper, and now you get higher fees because your work has greater value to the MSC.

Why would the MSC pay higher fees, just because there is a flake in the neighborhood? There are still the exact same number of reliable shoppers in the area. If someone flakes they will soon get blacklisted by the MSC.

@ChrisCooper wrote:

If the referral is a good shopper, and the MSC prefers them to you, then you need to up your game.

I'm sure most shoppers work to their highest standards. So if they can't up their game, they will just have to accept losing all their best jobs I guess....

Not giving a referral does not mean that the person won't sign up with the MSC anyway.

They always pay me more when someone else flakes. I know when they've flaked because the shop will be gone from the job board and then they're emailing, calling or texting me about it; oh, yeah! = higher pay!

@ChrisCooper wrote:

Not giving a referral does not mean that the person won't sign up with the MSC anyway.

Fair comment. But in general, a wise mystery shopper shouldn't be encouraging anyone else to start shopping.

@moosehoose wrote:

@ChrisCooper wrote:

If the referral is a good shopper, and the MSC prefers them to you, then you need to up your game.
I'm sure most shoppers work to their highest standards. So if they can't up their game, they will just have to accept losing all their best jobs I guess....

Exactly! If you're not competitive with a newbie, you're toast!

@ChrisCooper wrote:

Not giving a referral does not mean that the person won't sign up with the MSC anyway.

But if you didn't tell them the name of the MSC they have a long list to work through, LOL

My BFF is currently underemployed and lives 60 miles from me. She won't be doing the same jobs. She has done some BIG shops with me and has also done some intensive restaurant shops (with $75 fees) on her own. I hooked her up with those. She'd prefer quick and easy jobs right now, as she works 40 hours. So, the basic $10 + $5 jobs are fine for her right now.

I've given her a list of companies that I know have work in her city. I was just wondering if anyone knew of any that were currently giving referral fees.

I am not worried about everyone snapping up my shops.

I told a friends daughter about an MSC as she wanted to try this over the summer, being a teacher this would be perfect to earn a bit of money and take hubby to dinner. She forgot to say I recommended her, oh well, no biggie.
She ended up saying it takes too much time, but is envious of my "free" meals. I see many companies asking for referral's, they almost all do.

Live consciously....

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2017 03:41PM by Irene_L.A..

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