Just when I may be feeling down, some things fall into place and it's Sweet. I'm shopping same store, same day, same daypart, for four different MSPs. Only one of them requires a purchase. None of the four guidelines mentions or prohibits the fun I'm going to have or the money I will earn.

Congrats! Enjoy!

Hi, I'm just getting my feet wet and after reading these posts I find myself pondering on whether I should do this or not.I am basically taking a look at this for extra income. I am concerned about the $49.95 that this company will be billing me monthly after my trial period. Is it easy to make that up? Or is that an elevated fee? Any help would be appreciated. Great day to all you mystery shoppers out there.

You absolutely should NOT PAY ANYBODY TO SHOP. A company that is charging you is just ripping you off. Cancel it ASAP and if you are in a 'trial period' make sure there is a cushion of at least a week before your trial period ends to cancel it so they don't hit your credit card with a 'nonrefundable' fee. Plus they are probably a referral service, not a company that actually puts out jobs there for shoppers. There is a list of legitimate companies below the "Your Reply" box on every thread that you can sign up with. A few of them may promise more jobs if you pay some kind of fee, but don't bother, the free registration will do just fine.

Amora, follow Flash's advice immediately. You don't need that!

Yeeeeeeeeeee gads Amora! Please let us know how you made out! Billing you MONTHLY, no no no .

and Welcome to our world. Soon you too will begrudge getting into the car without a mystery shop dove tailing a personal errand, Dr's appt., movie, etc. etc.

I confess to being addicted. I've just recently confirmed this suspicion after a store that I browsed for a gift showed up as a "shop" and I got a happy feeling. I was able to walk to the location. That it paid $16 and the report was not too bad made the clutter and narrow aisles more tolerable.

This shop was a true ointment for burnout.

Yep, you sure can get burned out. I've been a mystery shopper for years but recently ramped up due to the sore job market. If I wanted to do my old commute I could get back into my career field but that's so not happening now. I have found a lot of pleasure and fun from doing shops again and tend to be a workaholic, so tend to burn out myself. Burn out can also be attributed to some people doing the same types of jobs over again. There is so many times before your bored with finding out about certain products even if it does pay decently. Tip: Remember to schedule days off for yourself! Also, remember to not spend all your time at home writing the reports. Learn to get good, short and sweet but get the point across! Oh and READ THE DIRECTIONS!! I hear a lot of burn out comes from people who do a shop only to have it rejected because of failure to PAY ATTENTION. That is our business.. To Pay Attention .. so be sure to read every assignment. Even ones that you do over and over can have revisions!!

Mert Wrote:
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> Trying new things, and being given a reason to get
> out of the house, are two of the draws for me.
> Fees and reimbursements are the other

Ditto! I got to go to a store last week that I had never been to and it was so much fun. I spent 45 minutes in there and I probably could have gotten the shop done in 10. But getting out of the house and getting paid to shop is awesome even if it doesn't necessarily pay the bills.

Phoebe70 Wrote:
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> Thanks, Flash. I think you hit the nail on the
> head. I received the 8 out of 10 score which
> irritated me, especially after this company
> literally BEGGED me to do this shop.
>
> Also, some of the shops I've done recently have
> had me thinking, "Why on earth did I waste my time
> on this?" I did a gas station one where I had to
> take 20 photos and fill out 26 pages of questions.
> Right at the end their system crashed and I was
> up until midnight trying to re-do everything. I
> explained this to the evaluator, because I had to
> submit the report late, and she then "un-assigned"
> me from the job!
>
> So yeah, a combo of low scoring and cruddy-paying
> assignments has left me feeling a little dejected
>

That sounds more demoralizing...I am very selective which assignments I take because if you are not careful you maybe taking money out of your own pocket ( and not just the loan you give to the company: pay and get reimbursed) for the company. Also th epay can very much! One company emailed me a job to do a business verification three pic in and out and a 2 two page report on top. Then another company sent me the same job at 5 dollars less..it was hilarious considering I would not take even the higher paying companies job. People be smart add up the cost before you do a job 2 hours for ten dollars (buying and taking back a shirt, the gas expense, and then a report) is not really worth it is a hobby...

i need to regroup. I have never flaked on a shop, have consistently gotten 10s on my reports.....last week a scheduler gave me a 4 because she didn't like my narrative. She expected a superior rating, and I gave her average. I was tempted to email her with a word or two, but stopped myself. I'm taking a hiatus

That is the time when you either internalize the problem as yours and cave or decide the problem is the scheduler/editor's. Luckily there are more than 400 companies out there and unless you live in a far far away rural area I suspect there are at least 20 companies that routinely have shops in your area. When a scheduler/editor can't deal with a report that doesn't conform to their expected ratings of a location, you need to realize that they were not present when you were. If you were honest in your representation of the situation, it is time to not assist that scheduler/editor in the future. Perhaps they only wish to work with Pollyannas and perhaps they feel the client will not accept the truth of a visit. In any event, move on and it is not your problem what they want.

SaveForAll Wrote:
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> Regarding "Burn-out"... Anytime I start having a
> negative feeling towards something that I should
> be getting enjoyment out of, I stop and ask myself
> "Why am I doing this? What drives me?" Why do we
> (or YOU) mystery shop in the first place?
>
> Is it for the "excitement" of MYSTERY shopping?
> For the money?
> For the FREE stuff?
> For the freedom to work around your schedule?
> Did you need to earn money and there were no
> "jobs" out there?
> Do you like getting a Deal?
> Looking for personal validation (getting a 10/10
> evaluation)?
>
> Give me your feedback about why you wanted to
> mystery shop to begin with.

Guess it beats handing out 'smiley faces' at Walmart.

Ugh, I'm feeling the burnout lately.

Maybe resentment is a better term for it. I resent the hidden specifications that are not available to me until I'm assigned the project. Or the call asking me to do a project last minute and then I find out it's a breakfast shop, something I would not typically assign myself. Or even the silly phrases used, "Buy a 150 dollar item with an OPTIONAL return." Optional? Who in their right minds would accept a 10 dollar shop that required a 150 dollar purchase NOT able to be returned?

I shop full time and get burned out every few months. When I start feeling burned out I back off and give myself some breathing room. I am lucky to have retirement pay so that I don't have to do this as a grind. After 6 years I still enjoy the work most of the time. As far as the ratings as long as you are 8 or above you can self assign with most MSCs and for most shops. Do not worry about it. Some companies will not give you a 10 no matter how good you do.