Whether you are a rural mystery shopper or you do your mystery shopping in one of the larger metropolitan areas in the country, you are likely tempted to tackle an assignment or two that may be a bit outside the area you normally mystery shop in. Yet you’ve struggled with the idea that those shops are too far away to be worth your time. This begs the question – how far should you drive to complete a mystery shopping assignment?
Do The Math. You have your address and the address of the store you are considering mystery shopping at. Thanks to online technology, you can use any number of online mapping tools to quickly and easily check the driving distance of the assignment. Be sure to double the mileage for your return trip home.
Keep in mind the cost of gas in your area and the approximate gas mileage your car gets. Then do a quick calculation and run the numbers. For instance, assume your car gets 20 miles per gallon of gas, and gas in your area costs $2 per gallon. A 40 mile round trip mystery shopping assignment will take approximately 2 gallons of gas and will cost you approximately $4 in gas.
What’s Your Profit? First, look at all of the income associated with the assignment, including bonus pay, travel reimbursement (if any), and expense reimbursement. Then look at all of the expenses associated with the assignment, including an estimated cost of your required purchases and your travel costs. When you net the income and expenses out, you will have your total net profit (or loss).
Keep in mind that just because a net figure may be low or even negative does not necessarily mean you should pass on the assignment. First, you can write off the mileage expense on your tax return as a business-related expense. The IRS currently allows you to write off $0.55 per mile. Also, if the assignment requires the purchase of an item you were already planning on purchasing, such as gas or groceries, you may actually come out ahead.
Or, if you were planning on making a trip to that area anyway, the assignment may be a great way to write off that mileage and pick up some extra cash on a trip you were going to make regardless.
Pick Up Other Shops. If the assignment you are considering is borderline in terms of profitability to you, you can consider picking up some other shop assignments en route. Then do the math on both shop assignments together, running all income and expense figures together. Often you can find another assignment or two that will make your time and effort more worth your while.
With the economy taking a downturn, many mystery shoppers are looking for new ways to make some extra money by mystery shopping. Spend a few minutes doing the math on some of the shops outside your normal shopping perimeter to find where you can make some additional cash as a mystery shopper.
Great advice! Another thing to keep in mind: how long will it take you to complete your report(s)? I live in a rural area, and often take on shops in the neighboring town. I do at least 3 to make it worth the 60 mile round trip drive. But remember, now you have 3 reports to do – which could end up costing you 2-3 or more hours of time. Personally, I wait or ask for a bonus to make it worthwhile. Trying to report 3 shops by midnight – which were done in the neighboring town (after 5:00 PM!) can get hairy!!
Great article! I am pondering this very question this morning… 🙂
Milage should be paid on all assignments. In not, they are
not cutting the mustard.
I find that more important than distance is location. I can go forty miles and do three shops and spend about 45 minutes driving each way. However, forty miles in another direction can take me up to 3 hours to drive. I live in metropolitan Los Angeles area and if the shops are not clustered, it is not worth it.
Murray — which companies do you do work for that provide mileage?
Has anyone else noticed that the pay for shops we did last year are less this year? Same clients, same job requirements, less pay…
Scheduling a group of shops in an area where I already have another appointment, works for me. Also, waiting until the end of the month or until the end of a cycle, when shops come due for the scheduler, is a good way to pick up bonuses. I think it is best to get established with a company first though, so they know the quality of work you produce.
One thing to think about when doing a shop that is a distance from home or while you are headed somewhere is how familiar you are with the shop. It is awful to read the brief description for a shop and find out you are driving really far to do a super complicated shop.
That said, I have 2 kids in high school sports and have picked up shops I am familiar with near many of their away games. My son had a game 2 hours away and I managed to pick up 7 shops along the route that I knew could be done fairly quickly. I made a nice chunk of money that day and could deduct the mileage for the trip to the middle of nowhere.
Shelly
I think you should also consider traveling in order to get your foot in the door with some companies. When I was shopping for the company I now schedule for, I drove 2 hours for my first restaurant evaluation. As a result of a good score on that first evaluation I took several trips with a guest that was covered by hotel shops. I also eventually got a job with the company. It was worth every penny I spent on gas.
I have the same problem. I try to group my shops together so I can make some money. We all know the game,wait till the end of the month for the shop price to go up, then do the shop. Can we ask for that end of the month price to do the shop at the begining of the month?
Shelly, how could you write 7 reports after driving 2 hours. You must be very very good.