I ended up taking a delivery shop near me for $5. I figured I could have waited until later today to see if it was bumped to $10 but I really want to do it today since we have some leftovers for one person and this way, we'll have a burger and fries to go with it. Plus, I have a 5% offer on my Bank of America card that's expiring soon and if I did not take this one, I probably would not be able to redeem it, so that's another $1.50. After I'm back in rotation for the in-store shops I guess I'll need to rethink my $25 minimum policy.

So I made an offer, it was accepted, but they deducted 36 cents from my offer. lol - What's up with that?

They had a maximum they could schedule without an over-ride that was 36 cents lower than your offer.

Yes. They won’t accept any offer and the ones in northern RI that I’d usually get for 20-25 disappear quickly at lower pay now.

I am thinking the agreement between the MSC and client has changed in some way.

Instead of bonuses and MAO, shops just disappear and aren't carried forward to the next shopping period.

Shops around me max out at $18 with MAO but the amounts I used to get are never accepted.

@Susan L. wrote:

They had a maximum they could schedule without an over-ride that was 36 cents lower than your offer.

I've never heard of a payment in anything other than full dollars, so that makes no sense. Have you?

Unless, of course, the offer was in something other than full dollars, which would be ridiculous.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2024 04:36AM by MisterBill.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

So I made an offer, it was accepted, but they deducted 36 cents from my offer. lol - What's up with that?

The system only allows whole dollars. So, yes, it was cut off, but the MAO approver didn't do it intentionally.

@wrosie wrote:

I am thinking the agreement between the MSC and client has changed in some way.

Instead of bonuses and MAO, shops just disappear and aren't carried forward to the next shopping period.

Shops around me max out at $18 with MAO but the amounts I used to get are never accepted.

You are probably right. OTOH, it could be a typical and cyclical increase of new shoppers who excitedly take shops for FOMO not knowing how to get more than the minimum. It's been a long time for most of us, but I can certainly recall eagerly taking shops and thinking what a good deal I had stumbled on to earn a few dollars and (almost) get a free meal. Tolls and parking were paid in those days, too.

The client, which is presumably the franchisor, and this MSC have been together for a very long time and little has changed in the shop scenario.

Burnout can set in, and I don't think that anyone will be surprised to learn that the franchisees almost certainly know who the mystery shoppers are.

I'm surprised that the client has not changed MSCs or dropped it altogether. It would not be the first one to realize that the benefits of mystery shopping do not warrant the cost -- especially one that's been largely unchanged for many years. The golden arch company and the spicy charred pepper company and nearly all airlines and hotels come to mind.

In this case, I believe that it's the franchisees that must pay for the mystery shops, perhaps as part of their franchise agreements, but they may be protesting and demanding to pay less.

It's also likely that this burger concept is maturing or in decline. The willingness of customers to pay ever-higher costs, and tips, for a burger and fries may be waning. More than a few Five Guys have closed near us.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2024 12:36AM by gukka.

I just picked up an online shop for the highest sum I have ever seen in my area. I rarely check the website anymore because it's the same two clients in my area. Super early in the morning, so early bird got the worm. I created an order and - "shocked face" - the prices have gone up considerably since the last time I did a Five Guys. And I have to get a milkshake. Ugh.

So apparently their system is broken again and doing a delivery shop is taking you out of rotation for in-person shops. I did a delivery shop a week ago Monday and don't see any other shops for that location.

I thought they had fixed that?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2024 03:44AM by MisterBill.

my MAO was done in whole dollars. The previous response explanation makes sense.

In the Indianapolis area, they seem to be going faster than in the past. I used to get them bonused in the $20's. Did one last month for $19. First one in months.

I'm showing MAO starting when the shops get to $15. They used to hit $20 or $25 before I would see MAO. Now when I offer $30, like in the past, they aren't accepted.

I'm showing MAO starting when the shops get to $15. They used to hit $20 or $25 before I would see MAO. Now when I offer $30, like in the past, they aren't accepted.

I'm showing MAO starting when the shops get to $15. They used to hit $20 or $25 before I would see MAO. Now when I offer $30, like in the past, they aren't accepted.

Yay!I finally got a call from the scheduler and was able to get $25 for a couple of shops near me! They were $20 online and I was offered $22 but when I told her that I always got $25 she said she would put in for approval, which oddly occurred instantly, and she scheduled them for me. I had tried to do a different one yesterday since I was going to be nearby. Put in for $28 expecting to get a $22 offer, instead it got rejected. Then tried $25 and it was also rejected with no counteroffer. Didn't bother trying again since it was only at $18.

@MisterBill

I think you need to change your handle to Mister5guys :-) I wish i could shop them as much as you do. Too many shoppers near me take them at the $9.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

@MisterBill

I think you need to change your handle to Mister5guys :-) I wish i could shop them as much as you do. Too many shoppers near me take them at the $9.

I haven't done one in over a month because I've held firm to my $25 fee (in fact, I just checked my email and it's been three months since my last in-person shop). I could be doing many more of them if I weren't so picky about the price and were willing to do them for $18. since I know that once they won't give me $25 the next time. The good news is that I am unlikely to get a 1099 from them this year.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2024 03:23AM by MisterBill.

I am suddenly seeing $25 offers. After months of seeing offers of $15 max.

The MAO - when I put in an offer , *not* at an artificially high price - but rather, within $1.00 of what I"ve done the shop for many times - and they just decline it with no counter....I sort of take a pass on it. Since then I've seen them pay $3-$4 OVER my MAO when they had to do it at the last minute. Oh well they win, I guess.

I used to do 4-6 Five Guys per month. Last month did 2.

@Susan L. wrote:

I am suddenly seeing $25 offers. After months of seeing offers of $15 max.

What shop? I am only seeing $20. Maybe it's a late-night shop? Or leftover from last week?

In the "I'm shocked" category, I just had a $28 MAO immediately accepted for a shop that was posted at $25. My local FG still had both shops available, and I had just gone back into rotation since I did not see them on Thursday. Decided t take a chance at $28 and it was accepted when I looked a minute or two later. The only thing that would have been better was an online shop, but I'm not complaining since this is the location I always get $25 for.

Just in time to use my Chase Freedom card with quarterly 5% back on restaurants and a 5% Chase Offer for FG. An online shop would not have worked for that, since online charges from the app code as grocery rather than restaurant.

I got a call at 8:19 AM on Saturday from a scheduler trying to get me to do a different location. From what I recall (since she woke me, and I was not fully awake during the call), she seemed excited to be offering me $25 for a different location dinner, which I turned down. She did not mention this location.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2024 05:07PM by MisterBill.

I noticed that the shops now say "Who wants a burger? Review for changes!". Does anyone have one scheduled and can say what changed? It doesn't seem to be asking me to answer qualification questions again if I take a shop (which I don't at the moment since there are none at decent prices).

Now you order just a burger and wait for them to offer either fries or a drink. Before you could order one of them them and see if they offered the other. That's the change I noticed.

The first MSC for whom I completed a 5 Guys was purchased by the current company. As they fired me in 2010, I just vaguely recall the burger was tasty. My reason for this post was online and is pasted below:

..........A recent fast food study found that the most expensive meal price was Five Guys, at $20.84, a 13.7% increase over the 2022 average.

...And Five Guys isn't really fast food, it is fast casual. That's a category that includes Dig Inn, Chipotle, Field's Good Chicken, various organic burger places, etc. I'll bet a meat-based meal at Five Guys costs more than a meaty meal at all these places. (Before tips and taxes.)

(Ed. The last sentence, in parentheses...)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2024 10:31PM by Susan L..

I got a milkshake shop this week!

I canceled a $22 shop today due to a minor illness. A few minutes later, a scheduler called and offered $35 for the same shop, due tomorrow. I took it.

Very surprised they don't have coding in place to prevent same shopper from doing that (even if it's a legitimate reason). MF seems to have lots of things in place, but this one must not have been important to them. Obviously they need the location shopped, so they can't really be super-picky if there are not many other options.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

Very surprised they don't have coding in place to prevent same shopper from doing that (even if it's a legitimate reason). MF seems to have lots of things in place, but this one must not have been important to them. Obviously they need the location shopped, so they can't really be super-picky if there are not many other options.

I'm pretty sure that you don't see the shop again once cancelling, but obviously the schedulers still see it available for you.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2024 04:27PM by MisterBill.