Most mystery shoppers have been affected in some way by the economic slowdown and credit crisis. Perhaps you’ve lost a large chunk of your retirement, been laid off, or lost your house. Some extra cash from mystery shopping would be wonderful right now, and for the likely difficult months ahead. There are a number of things you can do to earn more fast cash as a mystery shopper:
Look Again! There are always jobs on the providers’ job boards that mystery shoppers are passing over. Perhaps the assignment is in an out of the way location, or maybe it’s at a less than desirable retailer. The pay may be low, or the expense reimbursement may be close to nil. The good news is that where there is an assignment that has been sitting for awhile, there usually is a scheduler desperate to make a deal to get the assignment done.
Think about what it would take to make that assignment attractive to you. Maybe some travel pay or a higher expense reimbursement would do the trick. Contact the scheduler and make a proposal for you to complete the assignment on your terms. The worst that can happen is you are turned down, but you look like a good mystery shopper for offering. If the scheduler takes you up on your deal, if you’ve got some extra cash in your pocket!
Take A Road Trip! An assignment doesn’t have to be in a remote or rural location for you to request travel pay. Perhaps there is a job 30 or 40 miles down the interstate – a job that you normally would pass over because it would be a 2-3 hour adventure for you to complete the on-site visit when you account for travel time. Take a look at the jobs a little outside your normal shopping range, and think about requesting travel reimbursement for them.
You can also consider taking multiple assignments either in that same out-of-the-way area, or otherwise en route, so you can make the most of your time and travel costs.
Something Out Of The Ordinary. If you’ve been mystery shopping for even a few months, you’ve likely found the type of assignments you like and those that you don’t like. The good thing about mystery shopping is that you can pick and choose the assignments you want to do. So if you don’t like to mystery shop at grocery stores, there’s no need for you to ever take on that assignment.
Yet, as with most everything, there is an “except.” It today’s trying times when you are trying to scrimp and save every penny, it’s worth giving these less desirable jobs a second look. Keep in mind that mystery shopping is a “job” after all, and a job can’t always be fun and exciting. If you want to make the most money you can as a mystery shopper, sometimes you will have to step outside of your comfort zone and take an assignment that may not be your favorite.
There are ways to make more money mystery shopping if you give something a new try – whether it’s a new location, a new type of assignment, or even approaching your scheduler for extra pay.
The really good thing about doing a few jobs that are hard to fill is that schedulers remember that you helped them out. When you need a favor down the road, they will help you. Always treat your schedulers well!
Some of the schedulers need to make some adjustments also by being more accessable to the shoppers. Who wants to do Friday shops when no one replies until Monday if you have a question, then someone in editing marks you down for a late shop and reassigns it.
I have responded to many and since I don’t have a photo of me I am not getting any offers Why?
Before negotiating for extra perks, it seems logical to establish yourself with a scheduler, as a dependable shopper. If you communicate clearly, understand and follow the guidelines,and are prompt with quality reports, when you ask for extra pay, travel or other concessions, the scheduler is more apt to agree, knowing in advance the quality of your work.
Another point to remember is, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Little Birdie: Learn a lesson. They just do not care if shoppers get paid or not. They will do as they please and pay if they please and unassign when they please. It does not matter who is right or wrong. YOU ARE WRONG ALL THE TIME. Find out who these ms firms are and run away from them. There are too many good ones out there to put up with threats of unassignment from some computer generated status person. The firm that does this is really five or six companies under the ownership of one company. They all treat shoppers like doggy doo. I am sure that all readers know who they are and I wish I could say the name but I,as opposed to them, do use the ethics rules. They just mouth them when they want to threaten a shopper. Best of luck.
I’ve been doing mystery shopping part-time for over a year. At this point, I have always been paid in a timely manner. However, it is a very simple fact that if I ever have problem with a scheduler or do not get paid, they will never hear from me again. There’s too many other companies out there who are reliable and respectful to their shoppers.
i want to make money i am 60 year old man and i have lots of problems in my life and i want to make some money and i have got some of your mails i hope you will help me allot.
please!