Mystery shopping thread xiii ** please don't mention client names on here **

Puzzcat

I think the big difference is those of us who do it 'for a hobby' of sorts and those who do it for a living. I really enjoy MS'ing and certainly would never put less than 100% into each visit. If I was just doing it for a free lunch then I would have accepted the 'free lunch' offered by GYP today as I was parked in a car park next to the location when they rang. I declined the job as I didn't have my split timing phone with me... If I didn't take these seriously I would have just made up my timings. I appreciate that for those doing this as a full time occupation the fee's and reimbursement's dropping must be hard, add to that the Companies who are stopping MS'ing due to the recession means less work for everyone.

Of course the Companies are constantly trying to recruite new shoppers as different eyes provide different reports so they are to blame as well.

I'm assuming all you experienced shoppers must have built up your reputations by now to get the BIG jobs and good luck to you.. Us hobby/part time players will probably never get to that level. I just dont think you can constantly keep blaming new shoppers and newbies for lowering the fee's, its happening everywhere not just in the MS world...

Now I shall stop rambling but will just add that I do some work for RE but only if I'm in the area and want an item from the shop or its a reimbursement towards a nice meal like I had in a rather nice fish restaurant this week.

Happy weekends everyone.

millerose

Your replies have really upset me actually

I don't do MS for free stuff nor do I actually fake the reports. If the MS companies are in any doubt there is always the CCTV cameras that wont lie. I'm honest in my reports good or bad. I have a photographic memory and I am a good fast typer so the reports dont take long to complete. The 20 minutes was the instore MS.

I mearly said that I'm greatful for any fee and reimbursement. I also said that I do make a profit on some RE assignments - which is true. The reimbursements I put to good use - is that a bad thing? In fact I have done a RE assignment for a reimbursement that didnt cover the item. Its experience as well Im after.

Puzzcat

millerose wrote: »

Your replies have really upset me actually

I don't do MS for free stuff nor do I actually fake the reports. If the MS companies are in any doubt there is always the CCTV cameras that wont lie. I'm honest in my reports good or bad. I have a photographic memory and I am a good fast typer so the reports dont take long to complete. The 20 minutes was the instore MS.

I mearly said that I'm greatful for any fee and reimbursement. I also said that I do make a profit on some RE assignments - which is true. The reimbursements I put to good use - is that a bad thing? In fact I have done a RE assignment for a reimbursement that didnt cover the item. Its experience as well Im after.

I don't think anyone is suggesting different millerose, I think some of them were just pointing out that when you are doing this for your income they need to include all the time around the MS as well as doing it to work out a minimum wage..

Puzzcat

Just as an example - my fish restaurant..

Booking and accepting job - 5 mins
Pinting off details and reading + re-reading + typing the details into phone - 30 mins
Journey time + back + time at visit - 4 hours
Doing the report.. and this was a long detailed one.. - 60 minutes..

My wage would have been about 5p an hour..! but I did it because I wanted to go to this restaurant and its nice to have someone (hopefully..!) pay a proportion of the cost... plus its a loss for the tax man as of course I had to eat the food to report on it...

millerose

Puzzcat wrote: »

I don't think anyone is suggesting different millerose, I think some of them were just pointing out that when you are doing this for your income they need to include all the time around the MS as well as doing it to work out a minimum wage..

And I appreciate that but I'm a stay at home mum with children. I want to do MS as a hobby to get me out of the house and into a different environment. I spend my days at home with a toddler, not doing much. I need some social adult interaction. A 15 minute walk during the day to a local retailer isnt going to take much of my time. I would only be washing or doing other chores. Nor is sitting at the computer writing a report in the evening when otherwise I would be watching tv, ironing or reading on the internet. If I do get a little money then it helps. Im certainly not doing it for a free ride. I'm doing it for fun but serious. My circumstances might be different to everyone elses!. Why cant people accept that?

blindman

millerose wrote: »

And I appreciate that but I'm a stay at home mum with children. I want to do MS as a hobby to get me out of the house and into a different environment. I spend my days at home with a toddler, not doing much. I need some social adult interaction. A 15 minute walk during the day to a local retailer isnt going to take much of my time. I would only be washing or doing other chores. Nor is sitting at the computer writing a report in the evening when otherwise I would be watching tv, ironing or reading on the internet. If I do get a little money then it helps. Im certainly not doing it for a free ride. I'm doing it for fun but serious. My circumstances might be different to everyone elses!. Why cant people accept that?

I can appreciate your circumstances but you are one of the very few who think RE pay well and have good jobs:cool:

Surely after you've been Msing you still have to go home and do the washing\chores.;)

mysterious_girl

millerose wrote: »

Your replies have really upset me actually

I don't do MS for free stuff nor do I actually fake the reports. If the MS companies are in any doubt there is always the CCTV cameras that wont lie. I'm honest in my reports good or bad. I have a photographic memory and I am a good fast typer so the reports dont take long to complete. The 20 minutes was the instore MS.

I mearly said that I'm greatful for any fee and reimbursement. I also said that I do make a profit on some RE assignments - which is true. The reimbursements I put to good use - is that a bad thing? In fact I have done a RE assignment for a reimbursement that didnt cover the item. Its experience as well Im after.

I think you're taking it a bit too personally. I didn't mean any offence at all. As Tractor Girl pointed out, she wasn't referring to you when she wrote about shoppers who take the mickey. And I was purely disagreeing with your statement that it was a "good fee". Unless you receive a fee different from anyone else's, RE's fees are less than the minimum wage per hour and their assignments (everything included) take more than an hour to complete.

Anyway, rest assured, you wont have any competition from me for the RE jobs as I haven't done any of them in over a year. To me, even as a part time MSer (although serious about it) they're not worth it.

Whether new shoppers are keeping the fees low or not is neither here nor there for me, because in the real world "that's business" and happens in most occupations/jobs/businesses.

Miss_Qwerty

millerose wrote: »

And I appreciate that but I'm a stay at home mum with children. I want to do MS as a hobby to get me out of the house and into a different environment. I spend my days at home with a toddler, not doing much. I need some social adult interaction. A 15 minute walk during the day to a local retailer isnt going to take much of my time. I would only be washing or doing other chores. Nor is sitting at the computer writing a report in the evening when otherwise I would be watching tv, ironing or reading on the internet. If I do get a little money then it helps. Im certainly not doing it for a free ride. I'm doing it for fun but serious. My circumstances might be different to everyone elses!. Why cant people accept that?

Who isn't accepting it? I think all the previous posters were agreeing with you and saying people look at the jobs differently as they have different motivations. Thats the way I read it anyway, I certainly didn't read it that anyone was attacking you for your choices??

mysterious_girl

millerose wrote: »

And I appreciate that but I'm a stay at home mum with children. I want to do MS as a hobby to get me out of the house and into a different environment. I spend my days at home with a toddler, not doing much. I need some social adult interaction. A 15 minute walk during the day to a local retailer isnt going to take much of my time. I would only be washing or doing other chores. Nor is sitting at the computer writing a report in the evening when otherwise I would be watching tv, ironing or reading on the internet. If I do get a little money then it helps. Im certainly not doing it for a free ride. I'm doing it for fun but serious. My circumstances might be different to everyone elses!. Why cant people accept that?

Funnily enough, your circumstances are exactly the same as mine! :beer:

Puzzcat

Millerose I'm sure there are many more people doing it for the same reasons as you rather than as a full time occupation.. and there's nothing wrong with that so please don't feel bad about it. This thread has some very experienced MS'ers on it which is fab for us newbies but they probably do it full time and ultimately need to protect their incomes from dropping. They must get some very good jobs because I wouldn't have enough hours in the day to earn enough MS'ing as I do in my normal work. Although I don't get 'free' burgers in my usual job...