@shopperbob wrote:

SA posts-- ......nobody who is making any type of real money......

Bob requests--Concerning the following, may I have a clarification: Real, as an adjective is what amount? Do you mean IS MAKING literally, as only in the present or figuratively, also referencing HAS MADE?

Let me put it this way, Bob - if someone is running around doing $30 shops when they have six figures in their bank account from their main job - something is seriously wrong with that picture. I don't believe it, and I call BS on it. It is my right to do.

People who enjoy putting others down to raise their ego make arguments that are irrelevant and are not provable. We have a couple of psych patients on here that seem to think people give a damn about how much money they make. Nobody cares. How crazy does one have to be that they would send someone they don't know their real identity to prove how much money they make? That is beyond crazy. If I had investments in that company, I would pull my money, because that "executive" does not have sound judgement and bases their decisions off emotion.

I know shoppers (and forum members) who make more than me...and I would think I currently make "real" money by most people's standards.

I certainly don't need to MS. It's just something left over from a time when I didn't have as much money, and has become part of my lifestyle. And the less I shop, the more I tend to complain and partake in this forum.

Those of us who have done this for a while have gone through many stages of live, and income levels. I still cannot imagine paying some of the prices I do for the things I evaluate, even if I can afford it! I will definitely be more into MS once I am retired and no longer making that "real" money. For now, I do enough to stay in the game...

Edited because we cross posted...

@ServiceAward wrote:

Let me put it this way, Bob - if someone is running around doing $30 shops when they have six figures in their bank account from their main job - something is seriously wrong with that picture.

SA...that is not specific enough. It's a partial picture. Most of my shops pay over $30, but I would still take a $30 shop with a $5k travel reimbursement. Every dollar once you hit that 6-figure come looks more like $1.50 you have to earn. As I posted elsewhere, my 1099 for MSing this year is quite small.

If I can offset $20-50k of travel & dining each year and take the income I would normally set aside for that, then place it in an IRA, I am that much closer to retirement.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2025 12:47AM by SteveSoCal.

@SteveSoCal very well stated.

She claims that she has private arrangements with some of her clients - that she is working for them directly, rather than through a MSC, and that she has their permission to post the videos.

@gigishopper wrote:

She posted a shop today at Cracker Barrell. Has anyone else shopped at Cracker Barrell recently? I feel like they would be posted at other locations and not just her town in SC. It seems like there are a lot of shops in the Columbia SC area that must only be shopped by the top level secret companies that she has exclusive privvy to.

There are a lot in the very sparsely populated states now that are up to $65.

@Datagirl wrote:

Yes, there is a location here that is $55 because it is in no mans land. There was one for $30 that I tried to get but didn't and I was really mad about it. I hope it was a disaster. LOL Mean I know. But those are rare. I really feel she looks at the job boards and sees what is available and then makes it up as she goes for content. I don't think she is actually completing any reports for any MSC at all.

@Cassiespark wrote:

Good to know. They have never been higher than $25 here.

@mjt9598 wrote:

Hard-to-fill locations are currently paying $55.

@Cassiespark wrote:

She posted a Ty project last week, where she just waltzed in and said she was there to "work with the Beanie Babies". No checkin, no check for backstock, she described to her followers that she was just there to make them look pretty. . She made a point to say she was being paid $30 for the project, which they have never paid. Its all so ridiculous, really.

@gigishopper wrote:

I do follow her on FB now for my own amusement. She is so nasty to anyone who comments on her posts with a challenging question or a general inquiry. I think her own customers are getting frustrated. The math so far is not "mathing" on how she makes 50K year. Im anxiously awaiting some videos on some high paying shops.

@mjt9598 wrote:

She claims that she has private arrangements with some of her clients - that she is working for them directly, rather than through a MSC, and that she has their permission to post the videos.

@gigishopper wrote:

She posted a shop today at Cracker Barrell. Has anyone else shopped at Cracker Barrell recently? I feel like they would be posted at other locations and not just her town in SC. It seems like there are a lot of shops in the Columbia SC area that must only be shopped by the top level secret companies that she has exclusive privvy to.

There are better odds of me being sworn in as President than that being true.

SA posts--Let me put it this way, Bob - if someone is running around doing $30 shops when they have six figures in their bank account from their main job - something is seriously wrong with that picture. I don't believe it, and I call BS on it. It is my right to do.

Bob agrees--It is your right to call BS and not believe. Myself, being 82, I do not have a main job. Since that criteria was added, the matter no longer pertains to me. If, though, a shopper decided to concentrate their work in my category 2, LEISURE, it seems reasonable to me a six figure main job person could exist. Especially, if they completed $500 meals for which they desired reimbursement.

Six figures is really not that much - $100k is six figures....or are we talking the $999k six figure? What if the 6 figures was obtained by entrepreneurship and working several different jobs including mystery shop. Seems so vauge.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2025 03:44AM by JSuing.

My buddy and I both shop. We both are software engineers. He shops much less than I do. I like to feel like I'm "getting over." So if I can be paid to do the things I would normally do (go out to eat), then I would be an idiot to just pay for the dinner instead of being paid. I can easily afford to go to Texas Roadhouse weekly on my own dime, but I like the "game" or "strategy" of how much can I get for my $50 reimbursement and not go over or go over very little. I like to go out for MNF/TNF/and SNF. Doing the BJ's brewhouse shops allows me to go for happy hour with the extra money left over from the gift cards. So basically my 17 weeks of going out for foosball is covered because I'm doing a BJ's shop(s) monthly. It's almost like the game of Survivor where I can outwit, outplay, outlast (but there is no voting in the end).

I do agree with assessment that you need to value your time. If it's something you enjoy doing and you do not consider it to be "work," that's fine, but if you are doing jobs just to make extra money (in addition to your hourly or salaried job), then your pay rate should be 1.5 times your normal hourly rate since that is what overtime pay would be.

That is why I don't waste my time doing $2 phone call shops. I don't waste my time with USPS. I don't waste my time interacting with 5 different departments in a grocery store. I used to waste my time much more when I had much less, but now I can afford to be super-selective.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2025 06:03AM by hbbigdaddy.

When I began mystery shopping in 2016, I really didn't have a clue what I was doing. I found this Forum, and it provided me a great education by reading posts as well as the pinned posts. I must admit I take offense to any allegations that members aren't helpful here. If you don't require an immediate base of knowledge, everything I needed to glean was here. Yes, at that time, I was afraid to ask some questions. However, the information was there if I just searched and read. In the last several years, the Forum appears to be a more friendly place for Newbies. If people can't answer a question directly, they provide hints. Service's comments about the type of people that have become my anonymous Forum family offends me. And I don't agree with Kayla's mode of influence because I see her preying upon people that may, unfortunately, be looking for a "get rich quick" mentality. We are all exposed to scammers, but many of us have learned to recognize the red flags. Her audience may be desperate and buy into her deceit. Hopefully they will realize the scam and learn from it. That's probably all we can hope for at this point. As Tom Peters stated in his best seller Habits book, we have our areas of concern and areas of influence. Kayla is an area of concern but not direct influence. Sometimes we have to just let go.

SteveSoCal, you are such an excellent writer and such a reasoned, balanced, intelligent, well spoken person....well, let's just say I'd read an old fashioned phone book if you wrote it. lol.
Whenever I see your name pop up in a thread, I find myself leaning in.
You and bigdaddy here have pretty much described the same rationale I use for still shopping, even though sometimes it feels ridiculous.
It's an old habit for me. It dies hard. It can be fun or interesting and sometimes it keeps me from dipping into my nest egg...not as much as my other financial hobbies/practices, but since I am careful how much time I spend on it, it feels harmless.
If the time/effort/compensation ratio were more favorable, I'd probably do it more often.
For some reason, I find this forum entertaining, the members are more witty, more intelligent than say, the people who produce on social media.. social media, the land of poor readers, poor writers, political trash and overall general waste.

In my case, we are referring to the low end of the six figures and you are absolutely correct, its really not that much anymore. For a 40 hour work week, its roughly $50 hour. I am considered middle class and I work very hard for what I have. I also take pride in the work I do as a mystery shopper. As others have said, its part of my life. I have been mystery shopping for 20 years now. I pick up mostly jobs that my husband and I can enjoy together or ones that intrigue me. While traveling, I picked up two $40 shops at a welding supply house. I had to take a qualifying test and I passed. Yes, believe it or not, I do know quite a bit about welding (who would have guessed by my username?) These jobs were quick, easy and fun. I had great conversation with the sales rep inside of the store and I believe both were amazed that I knew what I was talking about.

To the person who called me unintelligent, how about them apples?

@JSuing wrote:

Six figures is really not that much - $100k is six figures....or are we talking the $999k six figure? What if the 6 figures was obtained by entrepreneurship and working several different jobs including mystery shop. Seems so vauge.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2025 12:11PM by gigishopper.

I wasn't planning on posting, but reading Equine24's post, I did want to post something. Also, when reviewing the thread, I read a post by Service that later got deleted.

I know this is getting off-topic, and this thread has veered in a different direction, every so often. However, my main purpose for this post is a general one-off.

Anyone can re-read the thread. Everyone can state their opinion. Let's all go about it in an appropriate manner (Service very much included!) and try to stay on-topic. From my point of view, it's been on topic for the most part, but I'm just re-stating that for everyone, myself included.

What's eliciting some responses is how much shoppers make outside of mystery shopping. Personally, it's not of high importance to me. To me, that was the least offense I had with Service. I only share the following, to give further confirmation to what other members have shared, that I genuinely do visit the forums, as well, because I choose to.

While in between jobs last year, I realized that I'm good financially. I never really needed a budget with my income, expenses, savings, and behavior. Everything is paid off. I do understand that I'm in a fortunate position, not married, and don't have kids. Last year, financially, it was still a solid year because of a generous severance package. Investments and trading by itself is lucrative enough for me. I was fortunate that a sought after and comparable position fell into my lap when I needed to seriously consider full-time employment, given the cost of health insurance for me. In the industry I work in, equity alone is more than enough as it appreciates and ultimately gets sold at an ideal time to minimize taxes. I don't take into account that aspect until the gain is realized. At my age, my diverse retirement accounts to pull from (large emphasis on early retirement planning), investments, HSA, savings, and salary, I can sustainably live off this with a good quality of life. The only big expense I have is property taxes. Getting married and having kids would change that. I'm grateful for my situation.

The only reason I state and share any of that, is that even though I'm good and back on my feet, I still continue to shop and visit the forums. The reason and motivation for every member/shopper is different. In my opinion, whether someone believes that or not, it really doesn't matter. It's one reason I don't like aspects of social media (Facebook/Instagram), where other stuff is valued.

To tie this in to my larger point and what Equine24 mentioned about first joining the forums, is when I first posted on these forums last year, I genuinely had a good time, having mystery shopped before but never reading or discussing it online. Before then, I may have logged into the forums one time since registering. The only direction I needed was with how to do a gas station inspection and more insight on hotel shopping. I had already successfully done a hotel shop before, but SteveSoCal's insight is valuable to me. For me, the gas station inspection was a ton more nerve-racking. I remember ServiceAward going out of his way to post a long post like this one. And looking back at it, others including sestrahelena provided solid and practical advice. Around nine months after from first posting on the forums, I would not have thought I would have done a round of gas station inspections and other such types of shops.

Reading Equine24's post and old threads, I agree that the forums were not as friendly back then, compared to now. I didn't realize this until I read some of the old threads.

To further share, I was most profitable on card type acceptance shops (having access to American Express cards), luxury retail, and specific small business/bank account openings. However, I truly had the most fun on the hotel shops, gas station inspections, and sit-down meals. I would not further pursue those specific profitable shops, unless it fell into my lap. Yes, call me odd!

I admit, when I read that Cassiespark was going to provide Service with her LinkedIn, I thought that was odd. But after further reading, that's my opinion and lack of understanding. My behavior to continue to mystery shop may be odd. But I'm ok with that!

All to say, I found many forums members here helpful and interesting to read about. Let's all just treat each other with respect, regardless of our personal opinions! I hope that I'm still good with ServiceAward! Along with others.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

For some reason, I find this forum entertaining, the members are more witty, more intelligent than say, the people who produce on social media.. social media, the land of poor readers, poor writers, political trash and overall general waste.

Thanks!…and I agree. I am active on most social media but hate the politics there, and agreed it’s more about pics & presenting deception than actually having a discussion, which may be why I gravitate here.

Many of us here are from different backgrounds and income levels, and have various political leanings, but we have this one wacky thing in common. And that’s enough most of the time…

@ServiceAward wrote:

@Cassiespark wrote:

She posted a Ty project last week, where she just waltzed in and said she was there to "work with the Beanie Babies". No checkin, no check for backstock, she described to her followers that she was just there to make them look pretty. . She made a point to say she was being paid $30 for the project, which they have never paid. Its all so ridiculous, really.

@gigishopper wrote:

I do follow her on FB now for my own amusement. She is so nasty to anyone who comments on her posts with a challenging question or a general inquiry. I think her own customers are getting frustrated. The math so far is not "mathing" on how she makes 50K year. Im anxiously awaiting some videos on some high paying shops.

What is ridiculous is that you outright lie so that the people who do not go watch the video believe you. Not only did she let them know why she was there - some stores do not require you to sign in - she clearly stated there was no additional stock to fill the display. She didn't say she checked the back, but you can't say she didn't. You accuse Kayla is lying to her clients, yet you lied in your post. Hypocrisy does not look good you.

I had the same impression. She never even slowed down as she sailed into the store and said, "I'm here for the Beanies." She didn't wait for a response, she didn't get the required name of the person she checked in with, she didn't ask about back stock. So how can she later say there was no back stock? She is required to answer 3 different places on the survey that someone looked for back stock, and the name of the person that checked for the stock.

If anyone is following her videos, she posted a video discussing how just completed a Walgreens alcohol compliance shop today. Someone asked her on different video two or three days ago how old she is and she said, "38." The Walgreens compliance shops in my area stop at age 31. I think someone mentioned this before, but are there different Walgreens alcohol compliance shops where the shopper can be older than 31?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2025 12:11AM by gigishopper.

I rarely see any compliance shops over age 31. Even the movie theater ones in my area say 21-30.

She probably has special permission or something cause she is the top rated super star mystery shopping expert.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2025 01:36AM by JSuing.

Silly me! I completely forgot about her special privileges. She was upset that they didn’t card her but she does not look under 30 or under 40. She looks early 40s to me. Should that employee even been fired on the spot as she boasted about?

@JSuing wrote:

I rarely see any compliance shops over age 31. Even the movie theater ones in my area say 22-30.

She probably has special permission or something cause she is the top rated super star mystery shopping expert.

@gigishopper wrote:

Silly me! I completely forgot about her special privileges. She was upset that they didn’t card her but she does not look under 30 or under 40. She looks early 40s to me. Should that employee even been fired on the spot as she boasted about?

@JSuing wrote:

I rarely see any compliance shops over age 31. Even the movie theater ones in my area say 22-30.

She probably has special permission or something cause she is the top rated super star mystery shopping expert.

I doubt she was fired, and I highly doubt she has the authority to fire anyone.

A lot of these compliance shops are for training purposes. I do compliance shops with my son, who is 18-20. The only reason I do these specific ones is because when I asked the MSC, they said they said no one gets in trouble; they use the reports for training purposes and improvements. Otherwise I wouldn't do them because I'm not about to set someone up just to get fired or in trouble.

Her shops are recent. Some of her shops are locally contracted by the franchise owner. It is not always a national or regional program, which would be more structured and governed by the standard IC agreement. She has permission from the owners who contract with her to do the filming.

@jwhenry704 wrote:

Her shops are recent. Some of her shops are locally contracted by the franchise owner. It is not always a national or regional program, which would be more structured and governed by the standard IC agreement. She has permission from the owners who contract with her to do the filming.

Sure.....if they want to lose their franchises.

As I said, I contacted the company that has the contract for TY. They were very unhappy to hear about this. So with some luck the BS train may be hitting the end of the line.

You aren't getting someone fired. they are getting themselves fired. The compliance shop she recently posted about on tik tok was for a company that has a policy to ID everyone and if the employee fails to do so, the employee is fired by the manager. The Employee signed the papers saying that they agree to the terms of employment. It is not Kayla's fault that the person didn't do their job. Some companies do use it for training purposes, but if you mess up or show a pattern of messing up, you deserve to be fired. In my main profession, my contract says that I can be mystery-shopped. I knew that going into it. So, I do my job the way I agreed, and therefore I don't get into trouble. That is how it works.

She lives in a very very small town. Sometimes companies are willing to bend the rules if they are having a hard time getting those shops done. I can't imagine many people want to sign up for those because they don't like confrontation.

@jwhenry704 wrote:

You aren't getting someone fired. they are getting themselves fired. The compliance shop she recently posted about on tik tok was for a company that has a policy to ID everyone and if the employee fails to do so, the employee is fired by the manager. The Employee signed the papers saying that they agree to the terms of employment. It is not Kayla's fault that the person didn't do their job. Some companies do use it for training purposes, but if you mess up or show a pattern of messing up, you deserve to be fired. In my main profession, my contract says that I can be mystery-shopped. I knew that going into it. So, I do my job the way I agreed, and therefore I don't get into trouble. That is how it works.

Thats not entirely true. They could be disciplined - not fired. No one knows the history. Her going around saying someones going to get fired is no more true then her passing and failing everything. No one knows the out come of the reports and what each business chooses to do with the info we collect. Its not for mystery shoppers to decide whether a business passes or fails.

@jwhenry704 wrote:

She lives in a very very small town. Sometimes companies are willing to bend the rules if they are having a hard time getting those shops done. I can't imagine many people want to sign up for those because they don't like confrontation.

Actually she has stated she drives to the bigger cities and does the shops there. There should be no problem filling shops in the bigger cities.

Im trying to understand the making excuses for her inconsistentancys.

Some places do fire on the spot. I know Walmart does if they fail a sting.

@JSuing wrote:

@gigishopper wrote:

Silly me! I completely forgot about her special privileges. She was upset that they didn’t card her but she does not look under 30 or under 40. She looks early 40s to me. Should that employee even been fired on the spot as she boasted about?

@JSuing wrote:

I rarely see any compliance shops over age 31. Even the movie theater ones in my area say 22-30.

She probably has special permission or something cause she is the top rated super star mystery shopping expert.

I doubt she was fired, and I highly doubt she has the authority to fire anyone.

A lot of these compliance shops are for training purposes. I do compliance shops with my son, who is 18-20. The only reason I do these specific ones is because when I asked the MSC, they said they said no one gets in trouble; they use the reports for training purposes and improvements. Otherwise I wouldn't do them because I'm not about to set someone up just to get fired or in trouble.

So you are saying the company has also had all of their employees sign waivers to be filmed as well and posted online (i e the Bojangles employees). I would not want to work for a company that paid a comedian (her bio lists her as a comedian) to come in and film a “mystery shop,” then blast employees online and call them names such as “stupid.” This sounds like grounds for a lawsuit especially when she shows their faces.

@jwhenry704 wrote:

Her shops are recent. Some of her shops are locally contracted by the franchise owner. It is not always a national or regional program, which would be more structured and governed by the standard IC agreement. She has permission from the owners who contract with her to do the filming.

@mjt9598 wrote:

Some places do fire on the spot. I know Walmart does if they fail a sting.

Maybe thats true, imo i just don't feel its her place to determine that when she doesn't know.

This was Walgreens not Walmart.

For some clarity, I emailed some supervisors from a number of companies (I have developed a lot of relationships, over my 15 years ) ALL have stated, there are no "special permissions" for this woman !Most knew about her and the scam she is running. It is hard to "stop and catch her", they said.
ALL said, that no employee is suppose to be in any pictures ! Also, there are no VIDEO SHOPS for fast food or compliance shops (plus, they stated, she is too old to do them !) Guidelines are clear on all shops, to protect
companies from any legal issues. The TY shops, are not video shops and she did not follow any of the directions, that are stated on the Gospotcheck app.
Can we just move on with this scam artist !!!

@JSuing wrote:

Six figures is really not that much - $100k is six figures....or are we talking the $999k six figure? What if the 6 figures was obtained by entrepreneurship and working several different jobs including mystery shop. Seems so vauge.

There are people with six figure W-2 jobs and seven figure bank accounts here.