Comments on: Secret Shopper Pay and Reverse Auctions http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions Tips for being a successful professional shopper Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:24:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: I-Spy Mystery Shopping Company Interview (Part 1) - The Mystery Shopper’s Manual http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-147 I-Spy Mystery Shopping Company Interview (Part 1) - The Mystery Shopper’s Manual Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:35:46 +0000 http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-147 [...] for visiting!Cory Jensen, owner of I-Spy Mystery Shoppers, recently shared some comments about secret shopper pay, giving us the perspective of a mystery shopping company owner. I invited Cory to tell us more [...] […] for visiting!Cory Jensen, owner of I-Spy Mystery Shoppers, recently shared some comments about secret shopper pay, giving us the perspective of a mystery shopping company owner. I invited Cory to tell us more […]

]]> By: “I WANT TU B UR MSYTERY SHOPPR” - The Mystery Shopper’s Manual http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-134 “I WANT TU B UR MSYTERY SHOPPR” - The Mystery Shopper’s Manual Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:16:51 +0000 http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-134 [...] post on Reverse Auctions and Secret Shopper Pay drew this comment from the owner of a mystery shopping company: We have noticed a substantial [...] […] post on Reverse Auctions and Secret Shopper Pay drew this comment from the owner of a mystery shopping company: We have noticed a substantial […]

]]> By: Cathy Stucker http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-133 Cathy Stucker Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:15:46 +0000 http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-133 @bekkiche and @coryj sum up both sides of this very well. Shoppers want more pay and, in many cases, deserve to be paid better than they are. However, mystery shopping companies are dealing with not only being limited by the fees they are able to charge clients, but by the fact that many of the shopper reports they receive are poorly written and barely usable. It would be nice if mystery shopping companies could give assignments only to the very best shoppers, but the reality is that every shop has to be completed and they may not have excellent shoppers available in every town, or who are willing to do every kind of shop. There are mystery shopping companies that do not respect their shoppers, but I find that most companies are run by people like @coryj who are doing their best to balance the interests of clients, staff and contractors (shoppers), while also trying to keep their businesses profitable. @bekkiche and @coryj sum up both sides of this very well. Shoppers want more pay and, in many cases, deserve to be paid better than they are. However, mystery shopping companies are dealing with not only being limited by the fees they are able to charge clients, but by the fact that many of the shopper reports they receive are poorly written and barely usable.

It would be nice if mystery shopping companies could give assignments only to the very best shoppers, but the reality is that every shop has to be completed and they may not have excellent shoppers available in every town, or who are willing to do every kind of shop.

There are mystery shopping companies that do not respect their shoppers, but I find that most companies are run by people like @coryj who are doing their best to balance the interests of clients, staff and contractors (shoppers), while also trying to keep their businesses profitable.

]]> By: coryj http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-132 coryj Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:13:36 +0000 http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-132 bekkiche raises a great question. As the owner of a mystery shopping company, we are always trying to decide what is appropriate compensation for any job. It has become a function of what the job involves, how long we think it wll take the shopper to complete, how popular the job will be (restaurant shops are much more popular than dry cleaners or tanning salons), and how much we are charging the customer. Sometimes it is pretty straight-forward, sometimes it isn't. We always try to offer fair compensation but sometimes the realities of a job are different than we anticipated. Since we're locked into pricing with the client, the only thing we can do is ride it out until the job is over and we can re-negotiate. A question I have is, is the quality of the shopper's report dependent on the pay? Or, if we pay more, will we get better results? We have noticed a substantial increase in the number of evaluations we must return to shoppers because they are incomplete, have poor explanations, or just don't make sense. I think in most cases we pay well, but we can't seem to figure out why the quality has gone down - other than the influence of text messaging. Any insight? bekkiche raises a great question. As the owner of a mystery shopping company, we are always trying to decide what is appropriate compensation for any job. It has become a function of what the job involves, how long we think it wll take the shopper to complete, how popular the job will be (restaurant shops are much more popular than dry cleaners or tanning salons), and how much we are charging the customer.

Sometimes it is pretty straight-forward, sometimes it isn’t. We always try to offer fair compensation but sometimes the realities of a job are different than we anticipated. Since we’re locked into pricing with the client, the only thing we can do is ride it out until the job is over and we can re-negotiate.

A question I have is, is the quality of the shopper’s report dependent on the pay? Or, if we pay more, will we get better results? We have noticed a substantial increase in the number of evaluations we must return to shoppers because they are incomplete, have poor explanations, or just don’t make sense. I think in most cases we pay well, but we can’t seem to figure out why the quality has gone down - other than the influence of text messaging. Any insight?

]]> By: bekkiche http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-131 bekkiche Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:51:38 +0000 http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/secret-shopper-pay-and-reverse-auctions#comment-131 So, how low is too low ($) to accept shops? How low do companies offer shops and still get shoppers to do them? I so appreciate the companies that pay well and certainly give them my all, sometimes working late into the morning with thesaurus in hand in order to give a report that, hopefully, gives their client their money's worth. I'm just very suspect about the economy at this point and, therefore, worried about the state of mystery shopping/merchandising jobs and pay rates. It is certainly a very different atmosphere than, say, two years ago. I'm really seeing nothing much of anything out there since the beginning of this year. So, how low is too low ($) to accept shops? How low do companies offer shops and still get shoppers to do them? I so appreciate the companies that pay well and certainly give them my all, sometimes working late into the morning with thesaurus in hand in order to give a report that, hopefully, gives their client their money’s worth. I’m just very suspect about the economy at this point and, therefore, worried about the state of mystery shopping/merchandising jobs and pay rates. It is certainly a very different atmosphere than, say, two years ago. I’m really seeing nothing much of anything out there since the beginning of this year.

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