On the Road Again

Before sunrise I'll be headed north Thursday.  I'm mystery shopping several gas stations in Columbus, GA and will spend the night there.  On Friday I shop some gas stations in Auburn, AL, a payday advance in Birmingham, and begin a merchandising route there.  I also have about 20 gas stations to mystery shop in Birmingham.  It looks like I will earn about $500 from the work I am doing, plus free gas.  

While in Birmingham I have to begin the eviction process.  My newest tenant, who was referred to me by my  best friend, has turned out to be a scam artist.  She sends me small amounts of money, which is the only reason I've waited this long to evict her.  Between unkept promises and the bad check she wrote me, it's time for her to find a new home.  I dread having to rent the townhouse again so soon.  I really thought I was positioning myself to be able to settle down in Clearwater and not have to deal with vacancies for a while.

If everything works out the way it should I will be staying with my mom while in Birmingham.  Our relationship is such that she quite possibly will change her mind the day I arrive.  No worries - I've slept in the Corolla before.

When I return to Florida I have a big project waiting for me.  It's a new petroleum audit that looks rather tough.  I have 43 stores to do over 5 days.  Each store pays $14 so in total I will earn $602.  I just have to keep reminding myself how much I will make when I get discouraged.

Busy Week Ahead

Business improved last week at the restaurant. Weekends have become solid money makers. This week I will complete my 20 store merchandising route. Yup, I never gave it up. The money is decent and I need it. It will be awfully hard to juggle that with the restaurant. I plan to visit one store on my way to work each day and several stores in the evenings. Hopefully I can complete all 20 stores this week.

I looked at our income statement for the month of March. We are close to breaking even. Of course, my business partner and I are barely taking any pay so that will need to happen soon, so getting into positive territory will still be a challenge. But, it's nice to see that our sales will cover both food cost and labor for the first time this month... and that they cover a substantial part of our other bills.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

December 19th - December 25th...

I am now a very part-time mystery shopper. There's so much to do to get the restaurant open. Last week I shopped two high-end hotels. I earned $100 in fees and $946 in reimbursements.

Both hotels were in Atlanta and were for the same company. I really enjoy these shops and hope to continue doing them once I can start taking days off from the restaurant.

This week I probably won't do any shopping... maybe a shop or two if there's a bonus. I'll be analyzing my total 2010 mystery shopping results this week and will report that soon.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

December 12th - December 18th...

I spent most of my time at the restaurant last week, which left limited time for mystery shopping. I was able to squeeze in a little work. Last week I earned $130 in fees and $10 in reimbursements.

I limited my work to a special $60 project that required me to buy several gift cards and send them in - no worries as the work is for a reputable company. In addition I shopped one fast food restaurant, 3 gas stations and a payday loan store.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

December 5th - December 11th...

It was another slow week although I can live with what I made considering the work I did. Last week I earned $282 in fees and $152 in reimbursements.

I am now working full-time on the new business - and I promise, I'll tell you all about it any day now. Anyway, the shopping will be taking back seat to this venture. Being the Type A person that I am, I can't see myself giving up shopping altogether, and I don't have any plans to. Instead, I'll be focusing on the most lucrative opportunities or the ones which are most convenient. Certain gas station shops will come in handy. The commute to my new business is 45 miles each way. Ouch.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

November 28th - December 4th...

Once again I made very little from mystery shopping. I'm a little surprised since the first of any month usually offers several opportunities. I just didn't find much that got me excited - maybe I'm becoming a more discerning mystery shopper???

Last week I earned $90 in fees and $117 in reimbursements.

The reason I earned more in reimbursements than in fees is because several of the gas stations I did were reimbursement-only. The $10 in gas and $3 for coffee and a pastry was attractive enough that I accepted the job without a fee. For the week I shopped 10 gas stations, an office supply store and one restaurant.

Things are slow right now, but it's the perfect time for me since I am busy with some other projects. Fortunately all my rental properties are rented as my attention is now on the new business I am opening. Big announcement about that very soon, I promise.

As far as shopping goes, yesterday I traveled to another town to shop a testing center where I had to fail the GMAT. I also have 5 gas stations to do this week and a few simple merchandising jobs.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

November 21st - November 27th...

For the second week in a row I made very little from mystery shopping. I'm sure the holiday is to blame. Last week I earned $204 in fees and $46 in reimbursements.

I only shopped on 3 days and shopped just 8 stores: 7 gas stations and 1 payday loan store. Six of the shops were bonused: I shopped 1 gas station for $30, 2 for $26, 1 for $24 and 2 for $23. It worked out well that I had a slow week because I spent most of my free time getting the townhouse ready to rent.

This week I have another property becoming vacant. This is the first time I can remember having two vacancies at once. It would have been three but fortunately I have new tenants moving in to the house I had been trying to sell. This is also my most expensive property so getting it rented is a big relief. Even better: the tenants signed a lease purchase option and the term is 29 months. The tenants can purchase the house at any time in the next 29 months (which is what I really want) but even if they don't buy the house, they are locked into a long term lease, meaning I don't have to shop the property out again for at least that long.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

November 14th - November 20th...

Last week was slow. I earned $238 in fees and $256 in reimbursements. Monday was the only full day - I did 13 gas stations, 2 doughnut shops and a truck shop. The rest of the week I did a smattering of restaurants, business verifications and retail stores. Saturday I checked into a hotel shop.

Mystery shopping companies rush to fill all their shops before Thanksgiving each year, so this week will probably be incredibly slow. It works out really well though as I will be rehabbing one of the two vacant rental properties. The second property won't be vacant until Sunday but I don't expect to have much work to do before it can be rented again. I'm also still working on starting the new business. Progress on that is dreadfully slow but we are moving in the right direction.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

November 7th - November 13th...

Another decent week. Last week I earned $510 in fees and $223 in reimbursements. Nearly all of that came from 5 days (Monday - Friday). It was a plain Jane week so no need to go into much detail. I shopped mostly gas stations but also a few restaurants and a handful of other retailers.

On Saturday I checked into my first Freeman Group hotel. Freeman Group is notorious for late, late payments (like taking 6+ months to pay their shoppers in some cases). Because of this I've always avoided them. Recently, their new CEO sent out an email promising they would no longer tolerate such inexcusable practices. Late paying (small) companies are generally the result of one of two things: 1) a free spending executive or 2) an addicted one. Let's hope that someone either was removed from the checking account or went through a successful rehab program.

I'll be sure to note whether I am paid promptly by Freeman. It looks like they shop a major working-class hotel group. Will be nice to add them to my repertoire if everything works out.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

October 31st - November 6th...

Wow - it was a great week. Even better, I didn't do a single shop last weekend - by choice. I rarely take a day off but I was feeling like I needed a little "me" time. This flexibility to decide when you want to work is another great benefit of being a full-time mystery shopper.

Even with the shortened week, I earned $728 in fees and $246 in reimbursements. Full disclosure: part of my earnings came from my periodic merchandising route, which is what I consider to be mystery shopping's red headed stepsister. It has its ups and downs.

My mystery shopping adventures took me through a number of scenarios. I shopped two grocery stores, earning $24 in fees and $20 worth of free groceries - and, no narrative to report! I ate more boneless chicken wings than I care to admit, and I dined on grilled tilapia via a route of three highly bonused seafood restaurants.

I visited gas stations. Lots of them. My garage smells like fuel. It's to the point that my dreams are about dirty rugs and dusty ventilation fans in a restroom that smells like death. I can't buy gas anymore without checking to see if there are paper towels stuck in their holder at the pump, even when I'm not on a shop.

I did several other shops, including a gourmet chocolate store at the mall, three clothing stores, a copy store, business verification at a mortgage company, cookie store audit, internet car inquiry, and two telephone bank shops.

This week? Busy, but probably not like last week. I have to do at least 22 gas stations, one grocery store, a few restaurants and a merchandising job.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

October 24th - October 30th...

I had a great week last week. I earned $665 in fees and $205 in reimbursements. Most of my earnings came from two sources. First, I completed several gas station audits. Second, I completed a route of 10 fast food reward shops that were heavily bonused. I also did quite a few retail shops.

This week begins an easy round of gas station shops. I am signed up to do 50 in November - that's $300 in fees and $250 in free gas.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

October 10th - October 16th...

I earned $464 in fees and $235 in reimbursements last week. Most of my work was with restaurant shops though I also completed a couple business verifications, a payday advance and an office supply store. On Saturday I started a round of gas station audits and completed 8 of 32 visits I am doing over a four day period.

This week I am doing the remaining 24 gas audits and a few retail stores. I hope I will be able to pick up some bonused shops this last week of the month.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

October 10th - October 16th...

I had a great time shopping south Florida last week. I didn't earn as much in fees but did not expect to. I earned $216 in fees and $1,203 in reimbursements. I shopped four hotels, seven restaurants and a grocery store. I merchandised one retailer and did a "blind check" of my local drive-in. The blind check is where you anonymously count customers so that the actual count can be compared to the reported count. This keeps the theater companies honest. The trip to the Miami area was wonderful and I am itching to put together another trip.

Another benefit from last week worth mentioning is that I earned enough Hilton Honors points for two free room nights at a Level 1 Hampton Inn. Combine those points with what I already have and I can smell a vacation in 2011 to somewhere tropical.

This week I have a handful of shops scheduled until Saturday when I have several gas station audits beginning.

I just found out one company that shops quite a few hotels - and pays a fee- has a new President who is determined to turn the company around. Previously I was concerned the company would go out of business (their Payables exceeded 270 days according to some shoppers). I might take a chance on them now. It's possible the new President also injected some cash into the business, or maybe they had cash all along and it was just a poorly managed company - who knows.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

October 3rd - October 9th...

Last week was another slow one. I earned $375 in fees and $292 in reimbursements. Fortunately the work was not very hard. I shopped 8 gas stations which prevented me from having to buy any gas. I also picked up some new jobs that turned out to be fairly straightforward. I did a simple evaluation of a TV at two electronics stores. Each paid $12 and took about 15 minutes to shop and 5 minutes to report - NO NARRATIVE! I also shopped two mattress stores, a bus terminal, several tellers at two banks, got an oil change, ate at several restaurants and bought my mom a new purse for Christmas - at no cost to me.

The reimbursements last week were especially nice, and most of the work was simple - my kind of shop.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

September 26th - October 2nd...

Last week was mediocre. I earned $427 in fees and $107 in reimbursements. Most of my work came from shopping or auditing gas stations. I took a chance on a couple of mobile phone stores. The fee was $15 each, which I considered fair for 15 minutes in store and another 15 minutes of reporting. I also did a handful of one-off merchandising jobs.

In my report last week I said this past week looked "dreadful". While it's not one of my better weeks, it certainly was better than I thought. Lesson learned: be persistent and optimistic.

Persistence is key to success. For example, I was about to give up on a special project that required me to schedule an inspection with the contact. No one would call me back ("Hi, I'm calling to schedule your inspection, when would it be convenient for you?" - I wouldn't call back, either!). Rather than give up, I decided to take my chances and just show up. Each visit took 15-20 minutes and paid $21. I wasn't about to give up that easy. It worked: I was able to complete 4 of the 6 inspections.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

September 19th - September 25th...

Last week was mediocre, and would have been even worse had I not picked up a few merchandising jobs that others had canceled. For some reason mystery shopping has been slower.

One of the larger projects I do is being moved to a different company, and from what I can tell the requirements will make this a much less desirable job. I do notice a trend where companies that use mystery shopping programs look to cut costs as their top priority - above and beyond ensuring quality work. What I mean is, the laws of supply and demand ensure that lower paying work will be done by lower quality workers. Lower pay inevitably needs to lower quality. It's hard to figure out why these highly paid C-level employees don't understand that.

Last week I earned $398 in fees and $101 in reimbursements. I shopped 6 gas stations, 9 restaurants, a storage facility, check cashing company, and 3 electronics retailers. I also merchandised four retailers and completed two business verifications.

This week looks dreadful. I have a couple of merchandising jobs and audits lined up. At the end of the week (first of the month of October) I have a few low-paying jobs selected.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

September 12th - September 18th...

I am satisfied with my earnings from last week. The hours were long but not crazy like they have been before. I had one day where I worked 21 hours (6 AM until 3 AM the next morning) and the last six of those hours were sitting on the couch doing paperwork. The web site for one of the my merchandising companies kept crashing and that slowed me down considerably. All the other days were very reasonable.

Last week I earned $888 in fees and $240 in reimbursements. Much of this work was merchandising. I have a regular route of 20 stores that I merchandise a DVD display. It's decent work but the company has reduced its frequency to about every 7-8 weeks. Then, I picked up 7 extra stores that the regular merchandisers canceled. I also completed a special 20 store merchandising project - each store took less than 5 minutes but the pay was low. I merchandised two other stores and did a competitive price audit at a fast food restaurant. I shopped 31 gas stations, a car wash, 6 fast food restaurants, 3 casual dining establishments , a payday loan store, and three other retailers. In case you're counting, I visited 92 different establishments last week.

This week will be slower, but I'll do my best to cobble together enough work to stay busy. I've picked up a few merchandising assignments that other people canceled. Reliability in the world of shopping and merchandising is incredibly low.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

September 5th - September 11th...

For the second week in a row I'm disappointed. Fortunately, this week will be better.

Last week I earned $185 in fees and $83 in reimbursements. If there's anything positive about this, it's that I only worked 4 days. I picked up an August holdover that was highly bonused - the first shopper was identified so this was a re-shop. The other shops were at the regular rate. I did a few easy merchandising jobs (taking inventory), 10 restaurants and just a few retail stores.

This week is going to be much better. By the end of the day today I will have already earned more than I did all of last week. I have my big merchandising route (20 stores) and several gas stations. One company that used to be my #1 earner has started raising commissions again after a dry spell so I hope to pick up even more stores.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

August 29th - September 4th...

I'm disappointed.

Still there? Okay... enough whining. Last week was bad. I earned $131 in fees and $179 in reimbursements. I shopped 14 gas stations, 7 restaurants and a grocery store. All were at standard, non-bonused fees.

What happened? I didn't do anything Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. I could not find work. Wednesday was my busiest day as I shopped 13 gas stations. On Friday I shopped two casual dining chains for reimbursement only. The food was excellent and my options for paying work were limited.

I'm optimistic that this is just a bump in the road. A couple of the larger jobs I do are between projects so that's just a timing issue. I'm still suffering from lack of work with one company that used to be my largest source of income. A couple of its clients apparently have reduced the frequency of their work, and someone in my area is picking up jobs for what I deem an unreasonable fee. I can't justify shopping a gas station - with multiple photos - for a $5 fee and $2 reimbursement.

If this weren't enough, the A/C went out at one of my properties. As this is an unplanned emergency repair, my September budget will take a huge hit.

A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

August 22nd - August 28th...

Last week started out great... after Sunday, anyway. Monday-Thursday I made decent money and didn't have to do too many shops since many of them came with bonuses. For example, I did two easy gas station shops and made $50 plus $12 in reimbursements.

Unfortunately, Friday and Saturday were really slow. Being the end of the month, I usually pick up a handful of shops with decent bonuses. On Friday I only completed two shops, but that was fine. My partner is off on Friday's so we went to the state park and went hiking, then to the Botanical Gardens. It was a fun day. Saturday, on the other hand, I only completed one shop. This did give me the chance to catch up on things. I went to the house I am selling and cut the grass and tended to the flowers. I also repaired a plumbing issue one of my tenants was having. It's always fulfilling to repair something myself and avoid calling a repairman.

I earned $472 in fees and $222 in reimbursements. This week should be okay, but not stellar. I have several gas stations already lined up and a couple other mystery shops.