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I employ a simple system. If I am required to purchase, the MSC must fully reimburse me. If, though, I am free to choose, any cost overrun is on me. The term FREE is scheduler speak; a rare sub dialect of English peculiar to mystery shopping.

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@heywave it sounds as if you need to find something else to occupy your time instead of doing mystery shops.
I am not following what you are saying by your quote "The bigger picture is why are you afraid of paragraphs? You don't have to tell us, just point to where they hurt you."

The bottom line, quit doing them if you don't feel you are being paid fairly. There are lots of others that love them and don't mind paying the extra 1.00 or less to do the evaluation.

The full-time shopper vs the hobby/part-time shopper dilemma will never end. There are those that look to make as much money as they possibly can (make a living) doing mystery shopping. They are competing with people who do it for fun and are just looking for a free/reduced cost experience/minimal profit experience.

Once you realize this (on either side you are on), then you can move on. I want shops to pay more, but wishing it to happen will not make it so. We all choose to take a particular shop for a particular price. So what? Let's move on to better things instead of fighting with each other over it.

Today's post will be predicated upon my 59+ yrs. as a self-employed contractor. If not the worst word that can infect, not a typo, the attitude of contractors, FAIR is certainly near the top..Work is either acceptable or not; dwelling of FAIR is non-productive, as it will not alter the outcome of a situation. As my grandmother mentioned to me, on several occasions, when I was a boy, "If you don't like the peaches, don't shake the tree."

@luvtwoscrap You have a habit of overlooking so much. Panda is not the only shop. I do factor in the travel time to the shop and the shop guideline review time if it is a new shop to me. I don't do Panda or other mystery shops that I find the pay is below what I am looking to make on a per hour basis. That is my prerogative and I don't need you to tell me what I should or should not do.

A month ago there was a Citgo mystery shop paying $7 and it required you to make a non-reimbursed purchase. I drove by the shop while doing a route, so it wasn't like I would've been going out of my way to get to that location. I chose not to do it since it was very low pay for the time required. The net would be at best $6.50.

Pardon me if I wasn't grateful for the opportunity. It seems that many were unappreciative too since no one else jumped on the opportunity. A month later, the job still sits despite it getting a bump in pay that is 40% higher than where it started. Talk about a bunch of ingrates.

I like to follow the mantra of intelligent seasoned shoppers here -- work smarter and hard.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2023 06:46PM by heywave.

acceptable/ "fair" pay is subjective and not objective.

shopping north west PA and south west ny

Oil companies that post billions of dollars in profits and we're supposed to jump at an opportunity to earn $6.50, (which we are supposed to still pay taxes on), use our vehicles and time and be thankful for it? Big fat nope here!

@heywave wrote:

@luvtwoscrap You have a habit of overlooking so much. Panda is not the only shop. I do factor in the travel time to the shop and the shop guideline review time if it is a new shop to me. I don't do Panda or other mystery shops that I find the pay is below what I am looking to make on a per hour basis. That is my prerogative and I don't need you to tell me what I should or should not do.

A month ago there was a Citgo mystery shop paying $7 and it required you to make a non-reimbursed purchase. I drove by the shop while doing a route, so it wasn't like I would've been going out of my way to get to that location. I chose not to do it since it was very low pay for the time required. The net would be at best $6.50.

Pardon me if I wasn't grateful for the opportunity. It seems that many were unappreciative too since no one else jumped on the opportunity. A month later, the job still sits despite it getting a bump in pay that is 40% higher than where it started. Talk about a bunch of ingrates.

I like to follow the mantra of intelligent seasoned shoppers here -- work smarter and hard.

This thread reminds me of the articles I read about Door Dash. Oh, if I don't get a 30$ tip, I am not picking it up. Or Uber drivers wanting a schedule and unionize, and higher pay. My goodness, this is a side gig. Do the job or not, but don't knock the little man that will.

mystery shopping is like the classic prisoner’s dilemma. if we all hold off, we will do better. i’m not saying $5 or $10 is bad… i’m just saying $20 or $30 is better… if we all work together.

but no, it’s too difficult for some ppl.

@LindaM wrote:

mystery shopping is like the classic prisoner’s dilemma. if we all hold off, we will do better. i’m not saying $5 or $10 is bad… i’m just saying $20 or $30 is better… if we all work together.

but no, it’s too difficult for some ppl.

Or maybe not. Maybe that would equal higher prices to the client and the client would deem the program not worth the cost.... resulting in less shops overall.
You never know......

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2023 01:33AM by luckygirl0100.

sometimes talking to you is like talking to my 12 year old. always disagreeing to disagree.

I admit it. I took a $10 MF shop to get $12 in tolls reimbursed.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

@LindaM wrote:

sometimes talking to you is like talking to my 12 year old. always disagreeing to disagree.

I'm so sorry you have such a hard time seeing a point of view other than your own. That must be such a frustrating way to live. (((Hugs)))

this post actually made me laugh because it lacks any kind of self awareness

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@LindaM wrote:

sometimes talking to you is like talking to my 12 year old. always disagreeing to disagree.

I'm so sorry you have such a hard time seeing a point of view other than your own. That must be such a frustrating way to live. (((Hugs)))

I've done 11 Casey's convenience store shops this month so far. They pay $7 plus up to $5 reimbursement. Why do I pick up one of these low fee shops? Here's why:

1) I'm already out on a profitable route.
2) Picking up one of these shops adds no more than 3 miles to the route, and most of the time adds only 1 mile.
3) I'm getting paid $10 or so in fees and meaningful reimbursements for a couple of extra miles of driving. That's an outstanding per mile rate of pay.
4) I'm adding 10 extra minutes to my route and 10 more minutes at home labeling pictures and entering the report.
5) I'm getting paid $10 or so in fees and meaningful reimbursements for about 20 extra minutes of work.
6) I like their breakfast pizza and breakfast burritos!

Everyone has reason(s) on why they would pick up low fee shops. I have enjoyed reading the stories on this thread about why others have picked up low fee shops. I hope my story has helped someone understand the phenomenon.

teacherguy,

I am an avid fan of old adages. Upon reading your post, the one such that popped into my mind was "One person's meat, can easily be another's poison." I completed my only Casey's for the current MSC in 2018. I was literally driving by the store AND in need of some form of enjoyable sustenance. I was paid $18+$5, with the job requiring two pics; one of the exterior and another of my receipt. According to the notice they sent me last month, they now require considerably more pics and, as you mentioned, the work pays $7+$5.
To paraphrase the 1961 hit record by Roy Hamilton, "You can have them, I don't want them."

I suppose it could be termed "each to their own".
I like the yellow gas station shops - buy 2 gallons max of gas and $2 max inside with full reimbursement.
They're a little bit harder, but, they work for me.
Each to their own!

French Farmer,

I agree with your adage and add "What ever floats one's boat." If you are referencing Shell, the last offer I received, before terminating the MSC, stated 25 pics for $12.50+$6. In addition, as my car requires a higher octane than their stated regular, according to the scheduler I would be docked the price difference.

@shopperbob wrote:

French Farmer,

I agree with your adage and add "What ever floats one's boat." If you are referencing Shell, the last offer I received, before terminating the MSC, stated 25 pics for $12.50+$6. In addition, as my car requires a higher octane than their stated regular, according to the scheduler I would be docked the price difference.

Bob, when I drove a friend's car (Mercedes), I did some Shell shops, adding that I would put in the premium gasoline he specified for his upscale car.
All I did was figure out the cost of 2 gallons of regular and put that cost amount into his car. It was less than 2 gallons, but they reimbursed me for the cost of the 2 gallon regular price.
I suppose that is what your scheduler was saying.
It was fun driving a nice car instead of my old, rusty SUV that smells like an old wet stocking and dog.

Does it even pay your gasoline to get them? Gas has gone done a little bit, but still way up there

@French Farmer wrote:

@shopperbob wrote:

French Farmer,

I agree with your adage and add "What ever floats one's boat." If you are referencing Shell, the last offer I received, before terminating the MSC, stated 25 pics for $12.50+$6. In addition, as my car requires a higher octane than their stated regular, according to the scheduler I would be docked the price difference.

Bob, when I drove a friend's car (Mercedes), I did some Shell shops, adding that I would put in the premium gasoline he specified for his upscale car.
All I did was figure out the cost of 2 gallons of regular and put that cost amount into his car. It was less than 2 gallons, but they reimbursed me for the cost of the 2 gallon regular price.
I suppose that is what your scheduler was saying.
It was fun driving a nice car instead of my old, rusty SUV that smells like an old wet stocking and dog.

Thanks, FrenchFarmer! I need high octane for the lawn machines and in all these years I always waited for a gas brand that reimburses $5 or one gallon. Never even realized that, with a little math (uh, oh), Shell could work!

@Sgtipt wrote:

Does it even pay your gasoline to get them? Gas has gone done a little bit, but still way up there

As teacherguy said, he only does shops that are one or two miles off his route. So if as he stated, it takes him 20 minutes to do the shop and complete the report for $10, that's a good use of these shops as fillers on a route.

I'd take $10 if my total time invested was 20 minutes for a shop, prep and reporting.. That equates to $30 an hour. Yes, I'd like more but I won't throw the baby out with the bath water. Sorry had to put another one of those old adages in as it seems that's all the charm on these boards lately.

@French Farmer - What a smartie you are! I appreciate the tip for how to get the reimbursement, even with a higher octane grade. Now, I will do that "at the drop of a hat."

The trouble for me, with low paying jobs, setting aside my time - is gas and wear and tear on my vehicle, UNLESS I am already planning to be at the location. With the advent now of soooo many ways to make money online, without leaving home - mystery shopping is far less appealing. Making $ online, is still using your time, but not your car expense.

@NM1962 wrote:

I sure miss JIB. That program was ruined by the shoppers who would only do bonused shops and purchase the least expensive meal ( breakfast). Now it's gone. Hopefully, other programs won't go away because of them.

We still have JIB in SoCal.

@CA senior

Are you saying you are doing Jack in the Box shops in Southern California? Or are you saying the locations still exist?

JIB isn't going out of business any time soon. Back when I was still in CA I quit doing JIB shops because all of the food tastes the same.. even the shakes..

My dogs miss the yumbo yuck meat and fries . I used to mix it in with the dry food. They would get excited when I walked thru the door with a paper bag.

Now they feast on Costco Rotisserie chicken with the dry food, or occasionally they get some panda express fried rice and teriyaki chicken.

I rarely ate the JIB food. It was about the $ I could make by doing as many bfast locations I could before they disallowed those. $20 shop pay (or more) and $6-$7 bfast combo would make it worth it for me.

@Morledzep wrote:

JIB isn't going out of business any time soon. Back when I was still in CA I quit doing JIB shops because all of the food tastes the same.. even the shakes..

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

@CA senior

Are you saying you are doing Jack in the Box shops in Southern California? Or are you saying the locations still exist?

No. I have never done JIB. I get emails for them.

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

My dogs miss the yumbo yuck meat and fries . I used to mix it in with the dry food. They would get excited when I walked thru the door with a paper bag.

Now they feast on Costco Rotisserie chicken with the dry food, or occasionally they get some panda express fried rice and teriyaki chicken.

I rarely ate the JIB food. It was about the $ I could make by doing as many bfast locations I could before they disallowed those. $20 shop pay (or more) and $6-$7 bfast combo would make it worth it for me.

The foods mentioned are high in salt, which can kill dogs. (They are much smaller than people.) We need to rinse the salt-saturated food before mixing it with their dog food and add the junk food in small amounts according to the dog's size.

Although I would worry more about the sodium, fried food adds fat that most dogs don't need.

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