Great stuff, @Morledzep.
Just to add context, and to play Devil's advocate, the longer you wait to accept and complete a shop, the risk goes up that someone else will claim it. You gamble at a disadvantage. Your competition is other mystery shoppers both in and outside your area. Until you have gone through several rounds of shops and have studied the map, you won't know how your competition operates. The MSC knows exactly how many active shoppers they have in a given area. They may even have algorithms built into software that can tell them a variety of stats, such as, when a certain shopper will bite at a particular job. This affords them the ability to wait longer before adding a bonus. Over time, you will learn your competition for each MSC and their habits. This will give you some leverage so you know how long you can afford to wait. You will have to accept that, eventually, you will miss out on something. That's okay. I'm in a town of about 40k people and do not generally travel more than 30 miles west, 70 miles north and 30 miles east. I get plenty of work, even without traveling south. I do not go south because there is a very large metro area 60 miles south with a countless number of shoppers. I stay out of that fray unless and until they encroach up my way. For the area I cover, across all 10 regular MSCs I work with, I estimate I compete with less than 5 people. There are only 2 that are regular. I base this off information that has been volunteered to me at the gas stations I shop. That's about 60%-70% of my work.
Edit to add some other things: Don't be afraid to try a shop. If you do not like it, you never have to do it again. Never be afraid to ask for a bonus. The worst you can be told is no. Be willing to help a desperate scheduler out from time to time, even if you break even at best on the fee. People will tell you not to do that. I tell you to take the risk. Schedulers are people, too, and they will remember you down the line and help you out on the back end, whether it be offering a bonus on a shop where they have more flexibility or giving you first bite at jobs before they are posted publicly. Strive to be reliable and work with integrity. Show yourself trustworthy. The degree of those qualities should not depend on how much you are being paid.
Nobody can make anybody accept a job. That's when you hold the power to say no, either to a pushy scheduler or to yourself when you feel obligated or desperate. When you accept a job, take a moment to read over the guidelines and shop report, even if you've done the same shop 100 times. If you genuinely do not understand something, contact the scheduler promptly. Understand it may take a day or two to receive a response. Some schedulers may be working on multiple simultaneous projects and dealing with a couple of hundred shoppers. I can guarantee you close to half are emailing either with questions that can be answered by reading the guidelines or requesting to change a shop date that was accepted 3 hours ago. Schedulers have other duties besides emailing shoppers. If they get 100 emails a day, there is no way they can answer them all or else they won't get anything else done. Some will say I am standing up for the MSCs and the schedulers who screw people over. No, I just understand that the world does not revolve around me. And, newsflash, it doesn't revolve around you either. You'll perform better and enjoy life more when you figure that out.
Before you head to a job, read the guidelines and report once more to ensure nothing has changed. That does happen, and you sure don't want to spend time and effort on a job and miss getting information or a photo because guidelines were changed. You will either have to go back, if it is allowed, or not get paid. By the way, do enough shops, and you'll get complacent and make this mistake. When you do, learn from your mistake and move on. Don't blame others, and don't blame yourself. Life is too short. Follow the guidelines. If the guidelines say call a location to verify hours and that they are open, do it. MSCs are given the list of locations to be shopped by the client. The client's records may not be updated. Don't rely on Google either. Pick up the phone and call.
Life, it happens! Sometimes something comes up, and you can't complete a job. Sometimes you might even forget you have a shop to do. Communicate with your scheduler or whomever you have contact information for. They understand people get sick, or their car won't start, or you just forget. Don't make it a habit. If you do, you're doing something wrong. Figure out what it is or find another type of work to do. If you find you don't enjoy certain jobs, don't do them. What one person enjoys, another person doesn't. I like gas audits. Some people hate them. Others like cell phone mystery shops; I despise them. Find what your wheelhouse is - what are the shops you enjoy? Why do you enjoy them? Become an expert at doing them. You'll work faster and increase your pay-per-hour as a result.
I'd be lying if I told you it's not about money. The truth is that it isn't all about money. Be organized. I prefer legacy organization: pen and paper. I also keep a dry-erase board calendar on my wall. I write shops in as I accept them, using different color markers for different types of shops. This way I can glance at the board, see the color, and it will jog my memory as to what shops I have the next day. Find something that works for you and follow through. Also, keep your finances organized. Keep track of your expenses and what you are paid. Make sure you are paid for every job you do, unless your report was not accepted for some reason. Don't mix your business money with your personal finances or the finances of another business you run. Try to keep your records updated throughout the year, or else you'll have a mess come tax season. You'll also likely be in a rush trying to figure it out, which increases the likelihood you will make a mistake.
Some schedulers and editors are personable, some aren't. They're all trying to do the same thing you are: Make money. This is a business, not a club. Don't take short, to-the-point emails from schedulers or editors personally. The moment you bring your feelings to the table, your enjoyment will cease. Understand nothing is personal; it's all business, and that's okay. Occasionally a scheduler might be rude. Maybe that's their personality, but maybe they're having a bad day. We all have those. Give them the benefit of the doubt. For me, I generally give someone three chances. If they're rude or not helpful all three times, then I'll consult with others to see if they confirm my thoughts. Don't fall into the trap of confirmation bias. It's easy to think one way by reading posts here, but keep in mind that nobody here puts their name to their words for a reason. One person's experience will likely not match yours in every way. One person's needs won't match yours.
For now, at least, by doing this work you will operate as an Independent Contractor, not an employee. The rules for employees are not the same ones for Independent Contractors. Be wary of information you read here on that subject. The Department of Labor and IRS websites have useful information that explains about this - plus it will be current. Along the same lines, be wary of tax information you read here. Talk to a tax professional you trust. Read the IRS website, and, if needed, call the IRS. Have a back-up plan and be ready to pivot. A lot of things are beyond your control. You may find that you can do quite well only shopping for one or two MSCs or even just one client. What if the MSC closes shop or loses the contract? What if the client doesn't want to be shopped anymore? You have to have a plan or else you'll panic.
Do your shop reports on time, and be honest and accurate. If you messed up on something, take responsibility. The MSC understands people make mistakes on shops. Whether they can accept your report depends on the client's requiremenets and flexibility. Some clients are quite flexible. Some clients aren't. Contray to what some think or feel, MSCs do not turn over rejected reports to clients. If a client has such strict requirements that they cannot accept or pay for a report with a missing photo, for example, they cannot consider the report whatsoever.
Doing so would put the quality of their data at stake. It would be like comparing an apple to an orange.
The MSC would also have to falsify their business records and risk the IRS coming after them. Yes, shady companies of all types do exist. That's the exception, not the rule.
Sometimes it will feel like questions on a report are repetitive, or they seem irrelevant. These questions are for quality control purposes, meant to ensure the integrity of your report. They're not there because the MSC gets off on you working harder. Don't get lazy. Chat GPT did not experience the shop. You did. You're not being paid to relay AI's interpation of the data you feed it. If MSCs can't yet detect this, it won't be much longer before they will. Do not purposefully reuse the exact same photo - ever. MSCs have software to detect if the same photo has ever been submitted. If you do a job, and you find the on-the-ground experience and/or report too cumbersome, don't do the job again. Ten-foot-pole it, as they say.
Now, I'll try to word this next part very carefully because I don't want it to contradict my comments on honesty and integrity. Should you get outed as a mystery shopper while you are conducting a shop, don't panic. Ideally, you won't get yourself in this situation. If you do, neither confirm nor deny. Make an excuse and leave. Do not complete the shop report, even if you were able to get all of your information. Instead, notify the scheduler you could not complete the shop on time, and apologize. You can use a general excuse without lying. Don't volunteer that you were outed, but if you are asked, tell the truth. Hopefully, the store won't say anything. If you manage to make it, do not, ever, go back to that location. And, if it is the type of location where employees rotate between locations, as some mattress stores and cell phone stores do, avoid those locations as well. The longer, the better, but at least for one year. Better to voluntarily take yourself out of the mix for a while than to be permanently banned. Figure out what you did to get yourself outed and learn from your mistake so that it never happens again. Keep in mind that if you recognize an employee, there is a chance they may recognize you. Be mindful of that and be ready to quickly abort the shop. If an employee you recognize suddenly excuses themselves for no apparent reason, that's a red flag. I would abandon the shop immediately. Some laugh at this, but I will casually change my appearance when I go to locations repeatedly. Doesn't have to be anything major. Wear a hat one time, a different coat, glasses, etc. Minor alterations are enough to throw a casual observer off. No, this is not FBI work, but it is my work. I like my work, and I don't want to find myself banned from a location when there are steps I can take to prevent being in a situation where I'm outed, whether it's altering my appearance some or not accepting shops too close together even if the MSC will let me. Don't tell friends or even family about the specific work you do or where you shop. It's not their business, and it will violate most of that fine print you sign off on when you apply to work for these MSCs. Avoid shopping locations you know family and friends visit. Once you are out as a mystery shopper, that's it. Your work can't be considered reliable or accurate. It will forever be tainted, and you'll be no good to the MSC. At best, you'll be banned from ever completing shops for that client. At worst, the MSC will terminate your contract. They have the right to do that, and it is understandable why they would. While looking through this board for advice, be cautious about heeding the words of peole who routinely complain. These are habitually unhappy people who would complain about any situation that does not meet their mood at the moment. Notice I didn't say never complain. We all complain from time to time, some just complain at ever turn. Red flags should fly high when you see someone constantly complain about how horrible an MSC is in one post, then see the person talking about actively working for the same MSC a week later.
Finally, a lot of this can apply to other areas of life. Don't be afraid to try it.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2024 11:50AM by ServiceAward.