OK, so we all know gas prices have gone nuts and I have been working with a company for a long time on a dedicated route that was shut down last year, I get it things happen and I was thankful it lasted as long as it did. I went with the flow and found work else ware, including taking some of the same shops I did off the board when they popped up randomly during the month or when they had a couple of shops together and they offered them to me for a small route . So I was pleasantly surprised when they offered me a decent sized route for April, until I looked at what the price was that they offered the route for. It was less than what I was getting previously, so of course I asked for the previous rate that I got when gas prices were significantly lower than what they currently are and I was told no they don't have money to work with, that the offer was the offer and that was it.

It's extremely frustrating when companies expect you to drive in this case hundreds of miles for them and they don't even acknowledge that it's insulting to ask people to do the same amount of work for less money when you know it will cost those same people more money to do the job, because of the higher fuel costs. I wasn't even asking for more money than what they offered me over the last 2 months, just the same amount of money because I sympathize with their situation of working with a company that has them on an extremely tight budget, but at the same time I feel like the company that I have worked a lot with, really doesn't give a crap about any of us. Even though the CEO is on here responding to us when we have an issue, some of his staff seems to really not care. I think I'm going to grab the places closest to me and say screw it for the rest. They will sit on the board because they always do, nobody wants to voluntarily drive rurally unless there is work and 1 shop isn't work.

Here's my question, what would you drive 600 miles for? because that is about the size of this route spread out in several different directions, so they can't all be done in a single day.
How would you handle this, would you just say no, take the ones closest to you or just do them and take the loss?

Why would you do them and take a loss? You are running a business. The MSC is also running a business - they are not a charity. The MSC is trying to maximize their profit, and so should you.

The minimum I would accept is 600 miles x the IRS mileage rate, so 600 x $0.725 = $435. Then add your hourly fee for all hours portal to portal. Due to traffic, I probably average 40 mph [estimate your total driving time using Google maps], so 15 driving hours x $20 per hour (not much more than minimum wage in NJ) = $300. Now add number of hours performing the actual shops. Let's assume 20 stops at 15 minutes per stop = 5 hours, 5 x $20/hour = $100. This adds up to $835 already. Plus tolls. Plus you may need to add time for doing the reports at home. Also, you need to eat, so factor that in also.

BTW, in a post, last week I estimated that the increase in gas prices currently adds $0.06 per mile to the IRS mileage rate, so add another $36.

Edited to reflect 600 miles rather than 400 miles.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2026 03:58PM by myst4au.

You say no and then they post them later at a higher fee. Its a slap in the face. I said no, someone else took them, now i see that they dropped them and i just picked them up for 25 instead of 10. Its a game and a business as well as a gamble. Sometimes it pays off to wait.

Never, never bid against yourself. MF is notorious for offering me less than my "standard" fee for a given "Many Men" location. I tell them that I understand, and to call me back when the fee reaches my requirement. Often they do. Some of the MF schedulers have confirmed that if I ever drop my fee, they will not give me more in the future. I play the long game, and so do they. The difference is that they have deadlines.

Don't accept crap pay because you feel sorry for them! They sure the heck aren't going to give you more pay because they feel sorry for you.

When they weren't interested in negotiating, I just let the jobs sit until they got desperate enough to make a reasonable offer. They eventually offered MORE than I had initially asked so I did those hard to fill tasks and got as much for two visits as I would have for 10 when they wouldn't negotiate. Do I feel badly about that? No, not at all.

Trying to inject emotions into business transactions gets you nowhere. They are going to do what they always do. There are no warm and fuzzy feels nor special treatment for "helping" them in a "difficult situation".

Do not do it for less. Wait and see but do not accept for less than you want/need.
I have not been on a mystery shop outside of USPS for weeks.

One common scheduling tactic, which is much worse with some companies than others, is to call to emotion. Like saying, "can you help?" Or "these shops need you!" We are contracted business people, and emotion should have nothing to do with our decisions. Companies are generally going to do whatever it takes to try to get their work done as cheaply as possible. In many cases, there's an infinite pie. However, in mystery shopping, there is a finite pie. Mystery shopping companies get set fees from their clients for the jobs. Therefore, every dollar less that you get for your work is one more dollar that they get in their pocket. It is an exact one for one ratio. So just remember, if you allow emotional tactics to convince you to work for less, you're just giving them more money.

As the shopper, you are the one doing the work. You are the one driving to the location completing the inspection, or completing the merchandising task. When you accept less pay, you are putting more money in the pockets of the people that aren't even doing any work! Be firm and be strong. There is a point where the jobs just aren't worth doing.

If you really know your area and know those jobs won't get done without you, hold out for what you are worth. If you feel the jobs may have a chance of being taken, think if the route is actually worth your time and effort. If the overall amount is sufficient, take it.

I've taken low-paying jobs just so I can get a route. Then, I find other jobs to mix in. I end up making really good money, even with the low-paying jobs. I will also take low-paying jobs if I can find some good gas jobs to pay for the gas. The rest is just profit.

I don't consider food as something to negotiate in my rates. I will have to eat whether I am at home or on the road.

There was a morning show; I think it's the one with Oprah's best friend. They had a segment the other week about gig jobs. They talked about mystery shopping. I am sure that got a lot of attention.

myst4au replies--Why would you do them and take a loss? You are running a business. The MSC is also running a business - they are not a charity. The MSC is trying to maximize their profit, and so should you.

Bob agrees--I could not have stated a logical position more accurately or concisely,

I have driven almost that far to do a single Phillips 66 shop for $500 + $10 reimbursement, so that kinda represents my baseline when looking at other situations.

For those that factor in drive time when computing pay (I do not), it still comes to about $60/hr, which I'm guessing most would find acceptable.

For me it was a day spent driving through some of the most gorgeous country in the lower 48, a super yummy burger* at the little stand next to the gas station, and huge pay for easy peasy work. The mileage almost offset the fee, so I had some tax liability, and I had to pay for some of my own gas, but it was still totally worth it to me.

As for CI in particular, screw them. I told them to take a hike years ago when they refused to pay extra for a multi-hour setup that was advertised as a refresh.

*Char-grilled patty with sautéed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and homemade raspberry jam. Sounds weird, tastes killer! The fries are really good as well, but I can't do them anymore. The jam is more than enough carbs for lunch.

I’m dealing with the same issue with the west coast RD for scheduling who wants another promotion.

I can’t afford to drive 3 hours each way for locations I previously did for 50%+ more compensation. The new formula of paying less for more work, paired with rising gas and double the toll costs this year doesn’t work for the contractor anymore.

It’s deadline time and they’re still not done because others have reached the same conclusion, and assignments I applied for are sitting undone on the board out of spite.

There’s plenty to do locally, the Director is just disappearing my apps and preventing access by micromanaging and rescheduling offered/accepted assignments to others without the schedulers knowledge, schedulers who know they can depend on me to do what I commit to, build good relationships with site management, and do the job right.

The reply that they have no $$ is baloney. I worked my butt off from Aug-Jan with the promise it would yield regular routes if they won the contact with one of the largest retail distributors they were vying for…with our help. They bonused and loaded me up so I was working 12 hour days during to get the contract.

I got highly neglected locations up to speed and built rapport with employed personnel, who are so understaffed, they expressed genuine appreciation and asked me to come back. They also complained about the previous providers who sent someone different every time they had to spend more time orienting.

Then there was nothing for 3 months except $7 jobs that wouldn’t even pay the cost of gas required to do them.

Well, they got the contract, and it’s big $$…but the goodness is not being passed on.

Instead the RD is cutting assignment hours for very detailed, labor intensive work ignored for those interim months, and paying us less per hour for the same expectations done in less time. Thats 2 downgrades.

Meanwhile our housing, food, clothing, and fuel prices have risen considerably due to greed and tariffs all over the US, more so since the…Middle East mess… not to mention the differences from state to state.

They don’t work in the field, I highly doubt they factor in the high costs of living in different places, and really don’t seem to care that we were already pushing our limits before now.

Here’s a breakdown comparison of foundational numbers for 2 states:

1- The company mentioned is located in Texas where minimum wage is also the federal minimum of $7.50/hour and current gas prices average $3.50/gallon.

2- In California gas is climbing to $7/gallon. The state’s base minimum wage is $17.50 (to $22/hour in the most expensive cities), and it’s still a struggle to make ends meet with dual incomes plus gig work.

I think it’s safe to say we’re not all in Texas.

It’s the end of the month and they’re scrambling thanks to the … new internal management style that’s alienating loyal contractors who helped them land a huge contract who can also do the math.

Here’s an example based on the original post in this thread:
They were offered the jobs for $7.50 each (regardless of how far away), no bonuses and or reimbursing tolls now. 2 weeks later they raised it in 50 cent increments to a dollar more. They still sat there.

Friday the job board was full, and the RD was personally sending emails marketing bundled routes for a flat fee…that worked out to $7 each (which is 50 cents less than the initial rate offered).

And, to top it off, printed in BOLD with exclamation points In the guidelines for the new contract jobs is the addition:
“ if you don’t utilize the entire time allowed (not even realistic), your pay will be reduced. That means a gig that didn’t meet minimum wage requirements will be further reduced if…you do a good job.

The entire MO is just … (you fill in the blank).

You’ve got to do the math and read the fine print for everything, and don’t believe them when they tell you your hard work will earn you anything.

No, I’m not going to pay to work, especially when you cut the hours and the rate, expecting more then say you’ll dock us if we work harder.

It’s a gaslit landscape with glittery taglines and the thinnest coat of shiny veneer that wears off after first contact.

We have families to feed and bills to pay. We can’t do that if we’re not making profit while we wear out our vehicles, devices, and services to keep it all going.

Be smart, safe, and never pay to work a gig thinking it will inspire loyalty.

That fits definition of conditions that were made illegal in this nation over a century ago.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2026 05:14AM by SBP.

Yesterday CI sent me a list of prestaffed rebate visits to accept or decline. At the end of the subject line read, 'LOCK IN NOW!", which I found amusing. Three shops in my area, one of which I've done twice. The offer was $10 per shop. Had previously done them at $20 each. Declined it.

Thanks for the Advise everyone, I'm going to pass on the route. I agree with a lot of you, it's like they suck you in emotionally and it's an extremely crappy way of doing business. The company that is hiring them is a multi million/billion dollar company and I think it's crappy that the mystery shopping company put themselves into a position where they need to lowball the people doing the actual work while at the same time making comments about how desperate they are to get the work done or how tight their budget is.

Yes, I need the work, but at the same time I'm not going to be a doormat. Thanks Everyone, Happy shopping!

There's a project I've done several times over the years, and it has become more and more disorganized, add'l tasks get added, the issues we report get ignored, and they want you to work for less than you have in the past.

My last experience with this project didn't go horrible (since I've done these many times before) but it didn't exactly go well - several stores had the wrong planograms, new things are added two days after the project starts, and the directions are spread across 5 different emails instead of in one consolidated set of directions. I reported that the wrong planograms were assigned for each store and it was basically dismissed.

From past experience, when I do this project, I wait two days after the project starts before I even go to a location because they ALWAYS send out last minute changes/updates. This project normally runs every 6 mths or so and the emails always urgently push that they want the project completed quickly, but there's always so many various things that come up, its like um, maybe you guys should finalize all the directions rather than push to finish quickly and have a bunch of haphazard last minute changes?

Anyway, stand your ground. I have already decided if I get an email in October for this project, I'll either pass on it or wait till the fees go up. Someone else can "get locked in". I'll go do some gas stations that pay the same for less hassle and travel.

I just took a bonused shop for them in an area I was already going to be in so I was like.. ok, why not, lets make it a more profitable trip. I haven't done a stuffed animal shop since the majority of the project was nixed. So now only the large drug store chains remain, for the most part. Anyhow.. I walk in, ask the manager if she has inventory, she doesn't know but she will check. 3 damn boxes. UGH. ok, no biggie, walk over to the display. INSTANT REGRET taking this one. What a mess. They had a large display, a ball display and an end cap display. All total messes with tons of crap on it. But I had to get that Easter stuff out so I just dug in. I completed it because that is who I am but I certainly think that job was worth more than what I was paid and that seems to be their higher side these days. Such a shame because I will not likely do that again for anything less than $40 and I don't see them pushing out that kind of $$ anymore for that program.

I completed my first shop on Apr. Fools Day of 2003; at that time, I do not recall a single shopping conglomerate. The demise of the smaller MSCs has ruined this business for we who complete the jobs. Unfortunately, that is business and some folks must "grin and bear it." Others, though, can just say NO and REMEMBER THE ARAB/CAMEL!

I dont know anyone who wanted to be a Mystery Shopper when they grew up. I would not rely on it as primary income.