My husband and I are route shoppers. I am really upset about this chronic reduction in shop prices. All year long they have been steadily dropping shopper fees. It seems to me that they (MSPs) do NOT appreciate shoppers. They want us to go to a location and use our skills to thoroughly look for infractions. How can you possibly expect that when you aren't even willing to provide an adequate fee? I have been shopping for 7 years. I am not going to drive an hour and do an Exxon for $10 (Hawkinsville, Ga) and then drive an hour back! The entire route would be 3 Circle ks and 2 Exxons! If you think about it 1 hour driving time plus 1 hour driving time plus up to 30 minutes for the Exxon and another 15 minutes to input. At a shopper fee of $10 you are paying approximately $3.33 an hour. No way jose!

I am a route shopper, too. I've noticed the same thing. I am now doing more smaller jobs on a route to make ends meet. I will do 9 Circle K's, 6 Exxon's, 1 Goodwill, and a few bonused jobs. With the gas stations, a lot of my gas is paid for, so that helps. But, just 9 Circle K's at $10 each, 6 Exxon's at $12 each is already $162 and probably didn't spend 3 hours doing them all. Then, I still have the bonus jobs and the Goodwill. I will also look through Presto in each area I go to see if there's something I can do quickly. I could also do a Sonic in one of the areas for a quick free meal. With the gas paid for, it makes a lot of sense to me to do the quick and simple jobs and make more in the long run.

If I did an apartment video shop and have to travel for it, the job itself with the report would be around 3 to 4 hours. And, the travel would not be paid for in gas. How many $10 jobs can I do in 3-4 hours? A lot. That's my way of thinking, anyway.

It is unfortunate that shop fees have decreased in some cases. This isn't the case in every case. The number of shoppers in a given area plays a role, among other factors. Supply and demand very much apply to this line of work, though the application is a little backwards. In this case, a large supply of shoppers makes jobs in demand, leaving room for the MSC to lower fees until they find the happy point where the demand for shops drops off, but there are enough people still willing to do them for a base fee. You can't fault the MSC for running their business economically prudent.

Another thing to consider is that many businesses have cut their budget, and I imagine that would include mystery shopping as well. If the client is only paying Y dollars instead of the X dollars they under last year's contract, then the MSC has to reduce the pay.

The great thing about this is that you are not an employee. While you are disappointed, the MSC is under no obligation to pay a fee you feel you deserve. Likewise, you are under no obligation to go out on a long route and make $3.33/hour. Some people would do that, so don't be shocked when the shops get picked up. It could be someone already going that way, someone more desperate than you, or someone just trying to pick up some extra beer money. Most people are not doing mystery shopping for a living nowadays. That shift has benefited the MSC and clients, and put career shoppers at a significant disadvantage. I shifted away from shopping and towards my reselling business in January. It is a move I'm glad I made. That business has nearly quadrupled over a year ago, and I've already outdone what I made mystery shopping last year. I truly work for myself, and it is freeing. I'll still pick up an occasional shop if it pays well and I don't have to travel out-of-town.

do I need to point out that F and L hasn't read the shops. The $10 Exxons are dark audits, the $12 site experiences are posted also. You can do both at the same time as long as you don't use the same pictures in both shops. That's IF you don't wait for the pay to increase, which it will, if you leave it alone in just a couple weeks.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2024 07:27PM by Morledzep.

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

If I did an apartment video shop and have to travel for it, the job itself with the report would be around 3 to 4 hours. And, the travel would not be paid for in gas. How many $10 jobs can I do in 3-4 hours? A lot. That's my way of thinking, anyway.

At a minimum app wage of $20 per hour, that would be $60 to $80.

And what are "career shoppers" to do the weeks the shops do not pay. If this continues i will allow my husband to get an outside job and I'll do only the intown shops. Yes i realized they were darks after posting but that is irrelevant when i can't make enough to justify any routes except occasionally or even just make a living they are TRUELY turning this into a side gig especially since one MSP has a monopoly on most of the gigs.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2024 07:29PM by F and L TeleComm.

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

i will allow my husband to get an outside job

:-o



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2024 08:34PM by ServiceAward.

It takes you 45 minutes to do an Exxon?

Not too many months ago I was advocating for waiting for bonuses or pay increases. depending on the shop and platform. All the while F and L was saying that if you did enough shops they would pay enough to get by. The base pay hasn't changed, in some cases the base pay has increased $1 or $2. But now working at base pay is an issue. Shell station base pay has increased from $12.50 base pay to $14. Exxon used to be $15 but you had to take pics of every pump. For $3 less you only have to take a pic of the pump you pumped your $2 worth of gasoline at, and all the extraneous pics of koalas and waves went away, now you only have to take pics of them if there is a problem. You're taking half as many pictures for only $3 less, and they are monthly, so at the end of every month the bonuses get pretty ok. My son and I have done them at $30 - $60 almost every month, and we don't do just one, we normally do enough of them to pay all of our monthly bills. And my son does Shells at the end of each round for nice bonuses, so we can get other things.

I understand living on mystery shopping all too well. Up until last October mystery shopping and door dash was our only source of income since 2013, when I still had a $700+ mortgage payment and $2300 semi-annual property tax bill that was NOT part of my mortgage payment in CA, while my son bought and sold stuff from storage spaces. We realized that one bad month and everything was going to come to an end and we would end up living in the motorhome. So, in 2016, we sold the house and most of everything we owned, and used the proceeds to buy this 5 acres (no mortgage) with $300 annual property taxes.

Now the MSC's aren't lowering the base pay. Except for the naked folks.. But they are waiting longer before they start increasing pay or bonusing shops, trying to force desperate folks into taking jobs that will end up costing them money in the long run, so they can get an infusion of cash for immediate needs. And folks like my son, can't see that. He sees a bright shiny $20 bill and thinks it's a lot of money, this is part of the reason he needs someone to watch over him, and why he still lives with me.

It sounds very possible for some of you who do route shopping that this is the time to consider another way of earning money. I am sure the amount you can earn varies a lot from one shoppers route to another shoppers route depending and how desperate the msc is for those particular locations.
I have found the opposite where I live. Where almost every shop disappeared at base pay a few years ago now, since the pandemic , I actually do see bonuses occasionally. It could be because other jobs started picking up or it could be because there have been significant hourly pay increases for employees these past few years so people have left mystery shopping to get a chance at $20+ an hour with health insurance elsewhere. '
Whatever the reason for these changes if you are starting to doubt your ability to meet your budget with mystery shopping this may be a good time to think about making a change. You can always come back to mystery shopping if things do not work out or for some extra money on the side.

Folks, to be successful as ICs, you must accept that supply and demand is usually, when considering profit, a paramount factor. Read SA's post, as it outlines his/her decision and then Morled's recount of adaptability of prior yrs. An IC must be adaptable, realistic and a self-starter. Without those traits, one is doomed to either mediocrity and/or failure.

In 2007, I was able to rescue my shopping from complete failure to success; I KNOW it is possible.

I am just curious, for those who find the fees to be too low, when you get an offer for a job with low fees, do you ever provide that feedback to the MSC?

I did a shop this weekend where the client had a required purchase and reimbursement, but the listed item prices in the shop were different when I got to the location. It was about an extra $2 out of pocket, but I added commentary in the report 2x that the pricing and reimbursement was not accurate.

Anytime I receive an offer for a shop (and there is also a FB group of shoppers that interact with schedulers) and the fee is too low, I will respond and tell the scheduler that the fee is too low for the work involved.

Sandy is spot on - at some point, it might make more sense to find a different line of work if the MS around you is no longer a lucrative endeavor.

@joanna81 wrote:

I am just curious, for those who find the fees to be too low, when you get an offer for a job with low fees, do you ever provide that feedback to the MSC?

From my experience, it's more likely with smaller MSCs. I've had some actually proactively reevaluate the reimbursement amount based on my purchases, in comparison to current prices and adjust. In terms of pay, only if I really did have valid reasons and can articulate the complexity/effort versus the requirements. I had one scheduler recognize the different amount of work required between two of the same projects that paid the same but with different clients, and would adjust pay given the number of required photos and documentation a project required let's say. Also, in some ways, while I don't work with them as much, I do like Coyle. I've had some applications accepted and some rejected with my proposed rate and reasoning, and sometimes feedback given. It's been professional, where no offense or slights have been taken either way. In all of these examples, I would work with these MSCs more because of how easy they are to work with, open to communicate both ways, and willing to listen and make adjustments.

Going to go a little off topic now. Not really related to routes. Sorry for the length. During my period of unemployment earlier this year, I was getting both severance and unemployment. I do a lot of trading with excess funds. Some individual trades alone are going to be weeks of mystery shopping. For me, I was aware of that and that made financial sense. However, personally, and I think others have mentioned, I realized mystery shopping to me, was also a good way to get out of the house and to stay sane. Getting out of the house and having interactions were important at the time. The only interactions I was having was with my girlfriend, a couple of close friends, and service appointments. That's personally up to everyone to determine what works best for you (you know yourself the best versus anyone else on the forums).

Also, I read a post on the forums that really made an impression on me. You take the feedback and advice from everyone to be a better version of yourself and improve, whether it be as a mystery shopper or person. You can take away something from everyone. Try to emulate certain shoppers and philosophies you agree with, and apply it to your own situation. If you like the way a forum member treats other members, let that be a takeaway and strive to be better and like that. Other shoppers where it doesn't work out for you or don't really want to emulate, it just serves as a reminder and example of what you don't want to be. Take something positive from that. (I really hope this doesn't come off as offensive or sounds like it's targeted at anyone. That wasn't my intention, but rather take everything with a grain of salt and best apply it to your own personal set of circumstances and situation. Also, there's some good examples and people out there.)

Monetarily speaking, I agree about decreased returns and less than ideal conditions. I hope I didn't get too off-topic and weird with my previous post.

@Okie wrote:

@joanna81 wrote:

I am just curious, for those who find the fees to be too low, when you get an offer for a job with low fees, do you ever provide that feedback to the MSC?

From my experience, it's more likely with smaller MSCs. I've had some actually proactively reevaluate the reimbursement amount based on my purchases, in comparison to current prices and adjust. In terms of pay, only if I really did have valid reasons and can articulate the complexity/effort versus the requirements. I had one scheduler recognize the different amount of work required between two of the same projects that paid the same but with different clients, and would adjust pay given the number of required photos and documentation a project required let's say. Also, in some ways, while I don't work with them as much, I do like Coyle. I've had some applications accepted and some rejected with my proposed rate and reasoning, and sometimes feedback given. It's been professional, where no offense or slights have been taken either way. In all of these examples, I would work with these MSCs more because of how easy they are to work with, open to communicate both ways, and willing to listen and make adjustments.

Going to go a little off topic now. Not really related to routes. Sorry for the length. During my period of unemployment earlier this year, I was getting both severance and unemployment. I do a lot of trading with excess funds. Some individual trades alone are going to be weeks of mystery shopping. For me, I was aware of that and that made financial sense. However, personally, and I think others have mentioned, I realized mystery shopping to me, was also a good way to get out of the house and to stay sane. Getting out of the house and having interactions were important at the time. The only interactions I was having was with my girlfriend, a couple of close friends, and service appointments. That's personally up to everyone to determine what works best for you (you know yourself the best versus anyone else on the forums).

Also, I read a post on the forums that really made an impression on me. You take the feedback and advice from everyone to be a better version of yourself and improve, whether it be as a mystery shopper or person. You can take away something from everyone. Try to emulate certain shoppers and philosophies you agree with, and apply it to your own situation. If you like the way a forum member treats other members, let that be a takeaway and strive to be better and like that. Other shoppers where it doesn't work out for you or don't really want to emulate, it just serves as a reminder and example of what you don't want to be. Take something positive from that. (I really hope this doesn't come off as offensive or sounds like it's targeted at anyone. That wasn't my intention, but rather take everything with a grain of salt and best apply it to your own personal set of circumstances and situation. Also, there's some good examples and people out there.)

I completely understand and agree. I appreciate the companies that will treat an increased fee request professionally, no hard feelings.

I started MS'ing back in about 2006/2007 when I lost a job and agree that getting out of the house, having something productive to do, having interactions, etc are all valuable in other ways besides just profit, and learning from others can be either in negative or positive ways.

Joanna,

I did try to talk to a scheduler one time about the differences in reimbursement and the actual cost of the required purchases, I was told that I committed to the job so I had to go and do it, even if it cost me money. I didn't.. got a "1" that I deserved, because I wasn't going to drive to the OC to do a job that wouldn't even cover the cost of the gasoline to get there, let alone the cost of the gasoline to get back to Riverside, and I would be out of pocket on the required purchase too.

I am much more careful about choosing which shops I want to do now. I make sure that I'm going to make a profit, whether it's one shop or a route, I need to cover all of my costs and get paid too.

I do still occasionally take jobs that will cost me more than I'll get paid in the long run. But they are places that I want to go, and they aren't the jobs that I'm trying to use to make ends meet.

I think it’s possible that the MSCs have tracking set up on certain email addresses associated with taking low paying shops. They may restrict bonus offers to these addresses or provide differing pay for low population areas where they have enough shoppers willing to take the bait. I doubt it has anything to do with less demand/customers the MSCs have at any given time. If that was the case, conversely they would be willing to pay the ICs more if demand increases - which they never do. These companies are versed in performing data analytics in every form, and would rather pay their IT geeks big money over their lowly, stupid shoppers. Since they heavily rely on the ICs, keeping that segment of their company financially stable is key. Showing no respect for them, as if they don’t need them, is part of their repertoire.

Taking low paying shops will never be to your benefit. When you factor in admin time searching for shops, training and gas used to go to several locations, you can’t win. The free gas gets you to the next location, not to your next vacation.

The OP’s time would be better spent complaining to their state labor dept. instead of a MS forum. It’s very easy to prove that several MSCs are still not meeting minimum wage requirements. They’re just banking on no complaints from ICs (who may not be claiming their income) to step forward. I think they’re monitoring certain areas where they’re less likely to get away with offering below minimum wage pay without getting pinched. To combat this they’re simply offering less shops for these locations. There’s been a drop in low paying shops where I am as well - not that I care.

If we were all willing to stick to a minimum $20 fee and up for performing ANY shop, the MSCs would be forced to open their greedy fists, instead of taking advantage of people who don’t fully understand the losses they incur trying to make it work as a full time gig. Another hourly part-time gig would be much more efficient and profitable. It could also lead to better opportunities. Reward only the companies who reward you and treat you well.

@Morledzep wrote:

Joanna,

I did try to talk to a scheduler one time about the differences in reimbursement and the actual cost of the required purchases, I was told that I committed to the job so I had to go and do it, even if it cost me money. I didn't.. got a "1" that I deserved, because I wasn't going to drive to the OC to do a job that wouldn't even cover the cost of the gasoline to get there, let alone the cost of the gasoline to get back to Riverside, and I would be out of pocket on the required purchase too.

I am much more careful about choosing which shops I want to do now. I make sure that I'm going to make a profit, whether it's one shop or a route, I need to cover all of my costs and get paid too.

I do still occasionally take jobs that will cost me more than I'll get paid in the long run. But they are places that I want to go, and they aren't the jobs that I'm trying to use to make ends meet.

yep, I get it. I'm much more picky than I used to be, I'm not really interested in spending time out of my life or driving my vehicle and using my phone to break even or lose money, that's for sure.

Even if it were possible to for the thousands (tens of thousands?) of shoppers to get on the same page and stop accepting base fees for shops, it would not force the MSCs to raise their fees. What the MSCs would do, and actually are doing, is to continue to adapt and reach out to more shoppers who are looking to do some side hustles for beer money, rather than full-time shoppers who want to make a career out of shopping. This is precisely why they moved many of the gas audits to Presto. The Presto app appeals to the crowd who wants to make a quick $15 bucks. Once AI can accurately score reports, shops on apps like Presto will be approved almost immediately. I think they will eventually change how they do the scheduled payouts, and instead allow you to withdraw your earnings yourself as needed. Having scheduled payments is an outdated way of doing things, so they are going to have to make it easier for those wanting beer money to be able to earn it, and withdraw it in a relatively short period of time. The MSCs are running many steps ahead of shoppers. If you have not figured it out yet, you are in for a rude awakening come next year.

I only came back to shopping in January 2023, but even I have noticed many fees dropping over the past year. Given inflation, the real wage earnings are even worse.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2024 01:45AM by ServiceAward.

Unrelated, in some ways, Presto is starting to grow on me. For some one-off jobs/shops.