@LisaSTL wrote:
From reading the forum it seems the shoppers in it for the money tend to outnumber the lifestyle shoppers. Even if it is equally divided, saying the majority of shoppers aren't in this solely for the money is misleading.
Basing your opinion of reasons why shoppers partake in this on forum participants or conference attendees is misleading. Please remember that I was director of operations for a MSC at one point in my career so I was privy to statistics about mystery shoppers that you may not be. My comment was not based on opinion.
The forum is a small percentage of shoppers. Less than 10% for sure. The number that partake in the conferences is even less...and the number can earn a living wage doing this is fewer still.
Just about everyone is interested in money...obviously. It's just that most shoppers do this for "free stuff", which is why we see the growing trend of reimbursement-only shops. Most shoppers also complete less than one assignment per month, do not partake in forums, training or conferences for shoppers either. They may not be our equals in terms of their knowledge of the industry, or desire to make money at this, but they are our peers, and they are a majority.
Most shoppers do not require MS income to sustain their household. More often than not, they are the stay-at-home companion to a significant other and shop to add value to their household. The next largest percentage are workers employed outside the MS industry that shop to add value to their lives (lifestyle shoppers included). If I recall correctly, the next group are shoppers who rely on the income to augment passive income they receive, followed by people who are unemployed and using MSing to help them get to through a hard time, followed by professional shoppers who make a living at this. I have been each of the later four at one point in my life, so I understand that plight.
As for the topic at hand; I have had access to the higher end properties offered by Regal and I can promise you that it's simply not the same experience as a Coyle shop when you are on assignment. I recently declined one of their shops because you are not allowed to check in as a member of the rewards program or receive any of those benefits during the stay. Don't get me started on the inability to order premium liquor...
The companies that pay $500 per shop are generally not lifestyle shops either. I have worked for those companies and did the shops that paid 100% of my travel, mainly for the money. The properties were not that glamorous, but I was guaranteed a certain amount of work annually and the assignments guaranteed my platinum status with my preferred airline carrier. That, in turn, made the lifestyle shops more...lifestylish!
If you have a company that can guarantee you 8 of those mortgage shops a month then kudos to you, but again, my point was that you are opening up a debate about how easy money can be earned, and I was arguing that there are wars outside of MSing to earn that type of money with even less work. Not everyone can do the mortgage shops, not everyone can do the high-end hotel assignments, and we each just need to find our own path that works best for us. Some full-time workers can call in sick 2 days a month, order a reimbursement-only pizza and come out way ahead from where a mortgage shopper or hotel shopper ends up!