Absolutely! We as mystery shoppers are professionals, and need our hard work and our valuable time compensated in a just manner. There is nothing to feel but insulted and angry when assignments are posted on the job boards for $3 and $5 assignments. These assignments, even if completed within a thirty minute time frame, hardly make it worth our while. Let’s face it, we could make more money flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant or working at another job that requires unskilled labor than we’d make completing assignments such as this. And the fact is, mystery shoppers are skilled and valuable working professionals.
So then why is it that these incredibly low paying assignments are being snatched up by mystery shoppers rather than sitting on the job boards for days and days with no takers?
The Economy. The fact of the matter is that the economy is still in a rough state right now. If your household hasn’t felt the crunch of the economic downturn in the past two years, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. While in an ideal world, mystery shoppers would unite together and turn up their noses at offensive job offers that pay peanuts for a job well-done, the bottom line is that many mystery shoppers are struggling to make ends meet. Assignments are getting scarcer in many areas as retailers tighten their belts, and many mystery shoppers are forced to take what they can get because they just flat out need the money. For many mystery shoppers, it is better to to spend their time making a few bucks than to not make anything at all if no other jobs are available on that day and time.
Making These Assignments Work. There are certain situations when these low paying assignments will cost you money to complete. With the travel expense and required purchase necessary to complete the assignment, it won’t be hard to end up in the hole on a $3 or $5 assignment. However, keep in mind that you can write off your travel expenses, and that many assignments will provide an expense reimbursement up to a certain dollar amount. With a large enough expense reimbursement, you may be able to get a good chunk of change back on an expense your family really needs, such as fuel for your car. Plus, if you can pick up that low paying assignment in an area where you normally visit, such as en route to or from your normal job, you won’t really be wasting any travel time or expense by making a little side visit on the way home from work one day.
Ask For More. If you have weighed the pros and cons for doing the assignment, and it still isn’t making financial sense, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask the provider for a little more cash to do it. While your first inclination may be to be indignant and relay how insulted you are for the low pay, it may be better to explain the situation in a more roundabout way, relaying your travel time, personal expenses involved, and so on. Then lead into the amount of money you would need to earn on the assignment to make it profitable for you to complete.
The bottom line is that every mystery shopper would really like to work for more money than these low paying assignments provide. But there are times and circumstances where it makes sense for individuals to consider these assignments. As long as mystery shoppers are working on low paying assignments, mystery shopping companies will likely continue to post them on the job boards.
I will not shop low paying jobs.Yes it is a insult. Many of these jobs take a lot more time if done right. Thanks G Larsen
I think we need to press for more. Some of these jobs cost us. We may be breaking even or going in the hole. I just tell them that I can’t work for free and if they up the fee a little I will consider it. Most of the time they just tell me to get lost because there are many shoppers out there who will do it for recreation and have no consideration for those who need to earn the money. Why in the world would a person in their right mind accept a $5 job with a $7 required purchase? Or for that matter a $60 job at a restaurant where it costs $69.95 plus tip to eat and then spend an hour to do a report and then get rejected because you said the food was good instead of delightful?
I say stop taking these jobs, you are not helping your family any and you are hurting the industry.
I’ve stopeed taking any shops that pay under $20 unless they are in the same area as others. When the shop dates won’t allow cluster of shops to be completed at the same time I ask for date adjustments to allow for this amd I actually say I have another shop and need to combine the trips and have been succesful. For most of the shops I take, I am a real shopper of the places I go not just someone trying to make a few dollars. There was recently a shop in my area that required a purchase in a designer store where nothing is less than $250 and they paid only $15. You can imagine they oouldn’t fill the shop and had trouble even doubling it. Really, what kind of evaluation are they going to get that would even be meaningful to the business. The type of customer who actually shops at this kind of store would not do anything for $15. Why not put some real money on the table for some of these shops so the business can get some real, meaningful data from real shoppers who would actually be customers of these businesses. Anyone can fill up a survey with a bunch of made up verbage just to get the shop done. Pay shoppers some decent compensation and some of these businesses may get some genuine feedback from real customers of their types of business. I found out long ago that getting a few dollars for a shop that took hours to fill out the report was a nightmare and have figured out which ones are really worth the time and that I can actually contribute some meaningful feedback. For those, I have met some really interesting people and learned about some interesting businesses.
I started mystery shopping this year. It seem to be an exciting way to make money, but then reality set in. My experience is that it pays less than minimum wage. It takes a lot of time to find better paying shops. I have learn to only take shops that will pay me for something that I am already going to do. You would be better starting your own business doing something that you are already skilled at.
The $25 and up profit shops take a lot more time to do. I remember spending a lot of time for a senior apartment tour. I diligently filled at the paperwork and thought I was thorough. The mystery shop company came back with more questions a couple of times. After it was all done, they gave me a poor score.
The devil is in the paperwork after you do the shop.
This economy is bad and I feel that these mystery shop companies are exploiting the innocent hard working folks who are sincerely trying to survive.