Comments on: Responses to the $5 Assignment Boycott from Mystery Shopping Companies…

By: Isabel Etkind

Isabel Etkind — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:54:24 +0000

I think that the people who would offer only five dollars for an assignment either do not consider this a job or feel that there is always a shopper that will complete these assignments. Here are some issues that I take into consideration when I am deciding whether I will accept a shop:
1. How much time will the shop take to complete? I include not only the time spent in the business but the time it takes to drive there and back as well as the time spent writing the report. Most of the time unless it is part of a route these shops are not worth it.
2. Is there any form of compensation that is not mentioned above-free item, meal etc.
3. Do I have a reason for being in that town or city anyway? e.g. doctor’s appointment, class, etc.

By: AL

AL — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:08:29 +0000

Yea Paul your right. I know the company well, they called me once when i was out working and they gave me the shop over the phone and told me how much it pays so I said ok. When I got home and was printing instructions, I found that you had to buy a pair of shoes than return them but you dont get yout money back just a store credit for another pair, so I cancled the shop, they lowered my rating to a one so I cant get anymore shops for them. What they dont know is that lowering my rating was the best thing that happened to me , i cant get no more shops for them AMEN

By: JT

JT — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:43:16 +0000

Greedy companies if they can pay more then $5 in 2 weeks after waiting especially for the damn Gas station shops that they make you go thru training, pass a damn quiz and then want 5 or 6 pictures and have 30 questions and NO save feature along the way! Only to submit the shop and have the whole thng wipe clear of answers or have some bitch in the editing department say you didnt do it right and they are not going to pay! I say Bullshit to that and the under 10 dollar shops!! and then you get another company as to where you were doing a really good job for them, You have a computer problem (we actually had a tornado) and so you dont get the shop submitted by their 11pm deadline and they take away your status. so you have to go back thru them “wait 2 weeks” for a shop to be approved only to find out they gave it to another shopper that just signed up and had dominated the board with their family members but you try and tell the scheduler the facts. and they dont care.
Honestly, I know one gal that digned up everyone in her family and SHE does the shop every time, so there goes the $5 shops because she wants the $
this must stop and there must be a way!!

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:06:00 +0000

I am retired and have been approached to do mystery shopping. Is there any school to learn the proper way to conduct such an assignment? If I should choose to do this I believe that I owe the one who is paying a professional opinion based on the performance that they expect from the business being targeted. They may be more willing to pay extra for a person who they know is more qualified to give a proper evaluation. Let the solicitor know who has been properly trained for thier particular assignment.

By: Jean

Jean — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:02:25 +0000

I have been a shopper for about 9 months, and I’m learning all the time. I consider myself a professional and certainly a grown-up. To think that I will consider accepting a $5.00 shop is ridiculous. Throughout my learning process, I have accepted jobs which I thought paid fairly well, but the end-result is that I’ve probably made less than $5.00 an hour counting time spent doing the shop and writing the report. Lesson learned? I will never do that shop again. Even though gas is very expensive, remember that as independent contractors, we can write $0.58 per mile off our taxes. That helps a lot!

By: experiencedshopper

experiencedshopper — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:29:07 +0000

The problem is not so much with shoppers taking the $5 and under shops; it is with the MSCs always undercutting one another in order to get that almighty client contract. What a short-sighted way of doing business! Lower fees mean experienced shoppers will seldom take the shops, leaving them to newbies who feel they have to “prove themselves” by giving away their time. This degrades the entire mystery shopping genre, as only the most determined newbie will be able to provide a high quality report such as is everyday fare for a more experienced shopper. So the client gets less than they should, the shopper gets less than they should, and the MSC is out there scrabbling for an ever-diminishing group of shoppers who are willing to work for far less than minimum wage.
Not until the shopper is accepted and appreciated as a professional……and not until the shoppers all behave as professionals……will things get better.

By: Joe G

Joe G — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:28:44 +0000

….ASK FOR MORE…..

By: Joe G

Joe G — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:27:12 +0000

I am a mystery Shopper in Upstate NY. One particular company has TONS of $5 shops available in my area, but I refuse to take them. But I did write to one of the schedulers and commented / asked if it were possible to get a higher rate on these shops. I surprising got a reply saying to write back with a list of the shops posted that you would like to do IF the fee were higher and how much you would accept to do them, and she would talk to her boss and see if any of the fees could be raised. I haven’t tried it yet to see if it will work; but I suggest other shoppers can try this rather than boycotting. Do not refuse to shop, just ask for me and see what they say. I did a $3 shop yesterday, but it was a 2 minute phone call and a very short report.