im wondering is this worth my time doing or not

If doing shops for $4 to $20 works for you it may be. A shop generally includes
1) Signing up with companies
2) Finding available jobs you want
3) Self assigning or requesting the jobs
4) Downloading and studying the shop instructions
5) Going to the location in the correct time frame (according to the instructions)
6) Making the observations and any purchase required in the instructions
7) Entering your shop reports (usually on line) within the correct time frame
8) Being available to answer follow up questions
9) Waiting one to three months (usually 1 to 1 1/2 months) for your pay and reimbursement.

The fee offered with the job is the fee you will be paid if you produce a shop according to instructions that they can send on to the client. Rarely is there an allowance for gas, parking, tolls etc. You are considered an independent contractor so are expected to provide any and all materials and supplies you need to do the shop yourself (except in some rare exceptions).

Jeeze, Flash- Your description would have made me run the other way.



You mean to tell me that I have to actually do work?

All kidding aside, it's everyone's individual situation that determines whether or not it's worth it. For me, it is. I need the flexibility in my schedule. The $$$ isn't fantastic but, if you find ways to bundle jobs, after awhile you'll only be marginally insane (like the rest of us) and loving it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2008 10:16PM by JoanG.

Sorry, but is the description inaccurate? Yes, once you have done this a while and find it "clicks" for you the parts become second nature. And yes, bundling them helps. While I love a lot of it, I also am looking at my shop sheet for this month and realizing how much work I have been doing for how little reward. Compared with this month last year I have done 20% more jobs, more than half the jobs are the same ones done last year at higher fees, I have had higher expenses, I have added new MSPs and my bottom line for April 2008 is about half what it was in 2007. So while I like mystery shopping, I also like puppies and kittens and from what my shop sheet looks like this month I should probably be a volunteer for the ASPCA instead of for the MSPs.

Your description was right on the mark. I keep doing this because it does work for me and my situation. "Volunteering" is about right for most jobs. Time to sit back and wait for the end of month bonused jobs again.LOL

I know we're all cynical, but you're both going to chase April away. You didn't ask if she's aiming to make a lot money. Ask probing questions about her needs. Then see if the product fits her financial goals.

sneaks, you've been shopping too long already. Just lie back here on the couch and tell me about your childhood. Your first or second childhood--either will be fine.

Flash, I think your job decription is right on! But, I think there are 2 missing steps that add more time preparing for your shops.
#4.5) Bundle jobs together (mentioned by JoanG) so you have the maximum # of jobs
in the smallest territory.
#4.75) Map out your routes so you know the most effecient ways to get from
location A, to B, to C, to you get the idea.
Both steps take more time to add to your planning and organization
I think steps 2, 3, 4, 4.5 & 4.75 take up about 1/4 of the time it takes to complete the shops. Of course, once you have maps printed out for some job routes that you repeat, you don't have to do those again. I don't know Charlotte well enough yet, so I can get lost in a NY minute, if I don't have a printed out map of the area.
(BTW - The location at YGTI - "You Get The Idea", is the best paying job, with the easiest report, I've ever done)!
I have to say that in April, I had a couple of nightmare weeks, complete with clarifications, (I tell you, some of the editors can't read, are blind or wear
black striped glasses, so they are only able to read every few lines of our reports), and power outages for some reason unknown to mankind. However, I was able to come out in the end with a few $$$ profit. Halleluejah! Most months I work pretty much as a volunteer, too.
We're all nuts to be doing this, but most of the time I really enjoy it. I wonder if I'll be aware enough to quit when I'm not liking it anymore, or if I'll keep telling myself, next week will be better. Shudder!

"Ask probing questions about her needs." I have nightmares about these.

"We're all nuts to be doing this. . ." Yeah, but at least we realize it.


Seriously, we do love it. It is worth it. We @#$%& and moan, but that night we're online looking for more jobs, and the next day we're out there doing our shops again. Does the word masochist come to mind? It's the thrill of the chase to get the jobs, and challenge of getting them all in on time without any clarification emails.

This is not an easy question to answer.

Some jobs are good paid, some are not.
Some jobs are available in your area, some are not.
Some jobs are easy, some are not.

I started out not knowing anyting with a $5 K-Mart shop.
What a waste of my time.
A lot of work at the job, a long report and technical problems.

But I said, it's experience. Now I know, I'll never take it again.

Since 02/29/2008 it did around 120 jobs with 7 companies

My last 2 route jobs, done each in one day:

8 merchandising assignments in 1 small town, each assignment took me between 3 and 12 minutes, the report had around 8 questions, all yes/no, the pay for this day (actually 3 hours) was $80.


14 gas stations and 1 restaurant, 160 miles, 5 hours report, $140 plus a free meal for my daughter and me ./. gas = $100.


With the help of this forum, I learned a lot the last 3 weeks.

When a new kind of job is posted, I'll try it. This is the only way to see if I like this kind. When I do this I don't care a lot how much will be paid.

I did 2 appartment shops, $25 each. It was fun and I liked it, but then after reporting the follow ups, I got 4 e-mails, with questions I had answered before.
I think I rather do the $10 merchandising.

You should give it a try.

If you don't want or have to do it full time, sign up with the companies, and when ever you want to go shopping or eating, take a gas station job nearby, or take the restaurant, then your meal and or gas is free.

Good luck.

PS: I love it, but I still have to learn a lot.


You want to hear a joke?

Last week I went to the grocery store. When I left I asked my daughter, If she was able to read the small handwritten name tag.
She answered: "Mom, we are not doing a job" !!!!


Today, we went to a copy store.
I told my daughter: "Look, there is a lot of trash and weeds in the parking lot.
Look at their ceiling vents, how dirty they are."
Her answer: "Mom, we are not........


You get hooked.

You're right about getting hooked. It becomes impossible to turn it off. Most of us have gone "real" shopping and have come out saying, "Boy, I sure wish I had been shopping that location."

That's right. Most of the time, when you do a job 90% is perfect.
But when you go on a normal shopping trip away from work, Associates are rude, items are out of stock, waiting in line is long, no smiling faces etc.

You better go to bed now.........

Part of the point of the whole exercise is that the stores we "shop" generally are higher price than their competition and therefore must provide an outstanding customer experience. So whether we are there for business or personal reasons the place needs to be close to perfection.

I find most of my personal shopping is done at other stores where the value is better. I really don't care if the associates greet me within 10 feet, smile and give eye contact. Rarely, if ever, do I use public restrooms except on a shop. Most of the time I know what I am there to get and read labels and signs rather than ask an associate (who even on a shop is likely to give terrible information, but give it with a smile). And although I won't go to a place that is disgustingly maintained, a little trash in the landscape is not a criminal act.

Hi Flash,

we have only 2 grocery stores in town. They are not high end.
When I go there for a job, they are great, but when I go there away from the job, they are s.....

They are no mom and dads stores, they are big chains.

I think we chased April away. She hasn't posted since 5/2. Maybe we should have all told her what we make in a month, despite all the aggravation. She DID ask "Is it worth it?"

I'm very proud of myself. I started only Jan 20. In spite of having to wiggle my shops around my primary job with its unpredictable hours; in spite of the crazy travel problems I have here; and despite all the other problems you guys outlined, I made about $530 in April. I could never have done that in retail or some other traditional unskilled part-time job. It's the flexibility that keeps me going.

I disagree, vero, about the supermarkets, or at least about mine. The two near me are overcrowded, understaffed, and often rude, and the two of the SAME client in the upscale area (near where Hillary Clinton lives) are heavenly whenever I go in. I was shopping a bank this week, and stopped in one to shop for myself. It's the most beautiful market I've ever been in. Japanese fountain in the hallway, special lighting on the produce and meat, spotless meat and fish men, attractive shelving. The meat men in my market always have dirty coats.

Supermarket staff are unaware of being shopped, whereas bankers and smaller stores might suspect.

Banks are a real problem in terms of being a shopper. I did 5 of them today and have just finished getting in all the reports. Every report has in it something to the effect of "There were no other customers in the bank during this visit. One or more vehicles were seen using the drive thru." Perhaps they are doing great business with direct deposit and ATM use and online bill paying, but they sure have a lot of real estate and staff for a few vehicles in the drive thru during the 15-20 minutes in the bank. The problem for a shopper is that they are so delighted to see a customer that they want to visit with another human being and that makes you special enough it is tough to stay unmemorable so that you can go back and shop them again.

OMG-5 at once. I am so tired of writing the same thing over and over. My brain just gravitates to the same sentence structure and wording. I have made copies of my narratives so I can try and mix it up a bit, but there are only so many mathematical combinations of words that you can use to say "the ATM was clean."

These were for different banks and I knew by the time I was half way through I would be trying desperately to remember what the scenario was supposed to be. Luckily I had written in on my map the times I could shop each location and what I was supposed to be asking about. I was dictating the narrative of the visits to the DVR between shops so I really didn't have to remember whether the hag in the faux leopard vest with the faux leopard dangle earrings was Janice, Marcy, Susan, Rebecca or Dorothy.

I keep a lot of good repetitive, and only occasionally, creative bank sentences in my Clipmate program, categorized as "Introductory," "Main topics" "Closing." There's a separate section for teller shops.

I DON'T try to find 50 ways to say "The ATM was clean." I think bank editors forgive you for repetition there. In fact, I do banks for 5 MSP's, I've had only one request for clarification for all those banks, and it was a legit question. They say they want creativity, but I think they're more concerned with accuracy in reporting and mechanical writing skills. No one's complained yet that my writing is accurate but dull and repetitive.

The ATM was spotless, The ATM was immaculate, The ATM was clean, The ATM was clean, The ATM was clean...

Speaking of banks, I see them springing up like daffodils lately. Always different companies, some new branches up from the city, and others totally new. 3 more just this week. I never would have noticed it until I started MSing.This is a recession? Hasn't hit my county (YET.) Would I be correct, Flash, in saying that banks make most of their profit from mortgages and loans?

Yes, I did go to a bank last week where they practically pulled me in. The security guard became my best pal, offered me a seat at the CSR's desk, complimented me on my sunhat (the one I was trying to hide my flaming red hair under.) The CSR was all smiles and sunshine. I may have been her only customer that day.

Now that they have gas stations with no repair shops, they can have rows of just ATM's, with no bank attached. The former CSR's can work at cleaning the graffiti off the ATM's and keeping them in good mechanical order.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2008 05:51AM by sneakers.

The first time ever, I did 3 banks today in one day, all for the same company, at STN. 3 diff scenarios. TG for the DVR. As soon as I leave, I talk into it with the height, hair color, etc. STN closes its report section daily from 11:30PM to 3 AM, so I raced to get them done by 11:30. Does anyone know if they have a 12-hour or a 24-hour window for reports? I couldn't find it.

One wonders anymore just where they make their money. There was a time when they made income on their loans and had the expense of paying interest on the deposits to fund those loans. Today I had a particular bank offering me in essence a buying club membership with discount coupon books, pharmacy and eyeglass discounts, cash back points when I used my DEBIT card, identity theft insurance, companion airline tickets etc. etc. Can not for the life of me figure out why THAT is a bank product now. If I were a banker I would be mortified at selling that stuff. They even have established a "club" for folks with more than a certain amount on deposit with the bank that offers a newsletter, seminars and social events like "Bingo Night". But of course banks have now decided they are brokerage houses (and the brokerage houses have decided they are banks). The only thing missing at this point is an in-house Starbucks with free wi-fi or perhaps an extra window in the drive-thru for your burger and fries order.

Remember one of the banks in my city was grilling hot dogs on the porch 2 weeks ago? Another serves bagels and cream cheese on Fridays, one has coffee machines, and 2 are open now on Sundays. Today I also shopped one that had free airline tickets. But what for? We're all using the ATM's or doing online banking, and hardly anyone ever goes inside. Not too many drive-thrus here either

Write me privately and tell me which bank has the coupon books. (Don't mention the MSP, of course) I might want to open an account.