Some mystery shoppers think that finding new mystery shoppers is a pain. Others may think that their options of mystery shopping providers to work with is limited. Either way, many mystery shoppers today are working with providers who are less than ethical or who otherwise are undesirable to work with because they are rude or difficult to deal with, don’t pay their mystery shoppers quickly, or other such issues. Sometimes it does make sense to stick around and try to work things out with your mystery shopping providers, but you do need to know when to call it quits. Here are some reasons that indicate it’s time to call it quits with your mystery shopping provider:
Slow or Low Pay. Let’s face it, as fun as mystery shopping can be, you’re in the job to make money. You are devoting your valuable time so you can earn some extra greenbacks to line your wallet. If your mystery shopping providers are not offering assignments that pay enough to make the work worthwhile to you or if it takes you a month or longer to get paid, it may be time to switch providers and find a few better companies to work with. Before you drop a provider for low pay, however, you want to make sure that the full compensation of the job, such as expense reimbursements, travel reimbursements, and other such factors are really low. Some providers will offer low base pay but will add to that pay with bonus pay and other forms of compensation.
Time Wasters. As a mystery shopper, you get paid based on productivity. This isn’t an hourly or salary-based job where you get paid for simply showing up. The more you work on higher paying and legitimate assignments, the more money you can make. If your providers keep you running around in circles by loading their job boards up with a smattering of quality assignments amidst dozens of dud assignments, have you traveling out to Timbuktu to work, and ask you to make constant and seemingly pointless revisions to your reports, they are contributing to a decrease in productivity. You will want to drop providers who fit this bill and find others to work for who have your efficiency and productivity in mind.
Bad Company. Some providers truly give you an uplifting experience and offer citations for a job well done, adjust your shopper rating upward for good work, and more. Others just seem to constantly put you in a bad mood. They may gripe and complain by being nitpicky with your reports. Their communications with you may be rude and less than professional. These bad companies are just that – bad company. With so many different providers out there who you can work for, you don’t need to settle for working with these companies. Your time on the job should be positive, and if you are working with providers who don’t offer you that experience, it’s time to drop them and find a few new companies to work with.
If you are less than happy with your job as a mystery shopper today, the cause may be who you are working with. Take some time to weed out the bad companies and find a few better providers to work with.
I tell you one to steer clear of………Bathfitters/Franchise Compliance is the Provider. I performd the shop in May 2011, Received a 10 rating. The next month, I saw on my account they entered Paid 09/15/2011. The date was 4 months in the future. I then sent an email to the scheduler. She said she would email accounting for me. Never received a response or payment. I performed the shop; took me one hour 15 minutes of my time to listen to the sales pitch, then another 15 minutes to enter the report. You would think a provider would have the integrity to pay their shoppers especially those who rate at a 10. Its been 5 months and they still have not responded to 5 emails from me and 2 from the scheduler. I am not the only one who has had a problem receiving payment from this company/provider. So shoppers beware.
About Face stiffed me in 2007 because they said I didn’t follow instructions on 2 shops. First their schedulers did not know instructions and gave wrong data. Website was wrong. I did same scenario on 2 shops and they paid that.
About Face screwed me too. They assigned me a shop and TOLD ME WHEN TO GO. I arrived at the store and my target person was not working. I received an e-mail stating I would not be paid. I wrote to Paige Hall the president of About Face and told her all about it. I did end up getting paid but it was a major hassle. I only got paid because I saved each and every e-mail I received and I forwarded the e-mail to Paige Hall. I was not treated well by this agency. I no longer shop for them. There pay stipends are very low and most of the time not worth it when you factor in gasoline and other costs. The pay in this industry is really bad. If you figure out all the time spent traveling to and from the assignment, add note taking while on the road, and figure out how long it takes to write an informative and detailed report and these shops pay substantially less than minimum wage. Remember the shopper has to buy gasoline, paper, ink cartridges for the printer,new computers periodically, a digital camera and printer paper. This is the bare minimum. It is extremely difficult to actually make money once you take the costs into consideration. NO SHOP SHOULD PAY LESS THAN $20.00 and more if it is not a local shop.