Here Come the Gas Stations

The last few days have been very busy. I printed my calendars out for January and February so I would be sure not to over book myself. Three different sets of gas stations came out in the last three days. We expect the fourth set to come out within the next few weeks. Two of these sets of stations reimburse for gas and you have to be careful NOT to plan too many on the same weekend. You have to be sure there is ROOM in your gas tank for ALL of this gas. Not a bad problem to have!

I also accepted several shops for the week of New Year's! I have very little next week, although I did pick up a $40 fast food shop that is about an hour from me. Well worth the drive! I am planning for a restful week next week.... I hope. It will be time to take down all of the Christmas decorations and spend any money I got as presents. The boys will have all kinds of new things too!

I am very ready for this break! I am looking forward to making some extra money that second week off though!

Those Darn Directions!

I have blogged about how important it is to READ the directions to a shop. If you make a mistake and can't correct it, you may not get paid. Today I had two shops that were at a fast food shop. I had to take pictures at this shop and thought I had them all. I had printed the questionnaire and quickly read the directions at home. There were six reminders for six different pictures in the questionnaire. I was able to carry it with me because this was a revealed shop. However, there were three pictures that weren't mentioned in the questionnaire, but they were stated in the directions. I noticed then when I was completing the input online. Elijah and I tore out of here at 4:45 to run to these two places and TAKE these pictures. OH MY! The sun was going down and some of the pictures were outside. We made it in time, but oh my, was I worried. I had completed the shops around 11:30 this morning, but had baked and taken care of some things at home, so I didn't even start the input until 4:30. Let's just say, I will be more careful with those directions!

Death of a Printer!

If you remember, I posted back in February of this year that my step mom gave us a laser printer. We saved a great deal of money with this laser printer. We did at least 15,000 prints on this thing. I recently bought a new drum for it, because even with a new toner cartridge the print was very light. However, after only a few days with the new drum, the printer started making some funny noises. It finally just stopped printing. I wrote the company an email and they sent a new drum, but it also wouldn't work. My partner and I came to the conclusion that the printer had finally come to its end.  We did some research and decided that we would each by a new Brother laser printer that was on sale for $79. Whenever she had wanted to print using our other laser printer, she would have to bring her laptop into the den to print. Now we will each have our own laser printer and can print all we want!

I had thought about buying a HP Office jet inkjet printer, but decided I didn't need something like that. My little HP(knock on wood) scanner/printer is working just fine. I use it mostly to scan and sometimes to print things in color.

I can also write this new printer off on my income taxes! Before purchasing the new laser jet printer, we checked to see how much the toner cartridges and replacement drum would be. We found them for a good price on line and will order them online rather than purchase them at the store!

New Shops

I haven't had much to post lately! I am keeping busy with my mystery shopping still. Going back to work has slowed me down quite a bit, since I can only shop on the weekends! However, Thanksgiving is coming up next month and I get a whole week off! Just today, one of the companies came out with a new set of shops. They start on the 17th and are daily until the first weekend in December. I have taken an average three shops a day over the Thanksgiving break and on the weekends. They pay $8 and it looks to be a 10 minute shop. There is only one page of input and you don't even have to interact with an employee!!! I took 21 shops!

I have promised myself to slow down on my mystery shopping. The first weekend of the month is usually my busiest weekend, just because of how the shops come out. Now you may be saying to yourself, YOU just took 21 shops. Well, those shops are over 10 days! As the month goes on, I block out certain days to take either NO shops or very few shops. I have started telling myself NO, when I start thinking over shops I might want to take. I also make sure I check my calendar before accepting new shops, this keeps me from over booking myself!

I am hoping that when Christmas break comes, I can pick up some extra shops. I do plan on doing a LOT of baking though, so I will block off days that I won't shop! This is also true for the weekends in December, since I like to bake for people at work to give out gifts!

I will be busy this weekend though! I have ten shops on Saturday and nine on Sunday! I do like those paychecks though and many of the shops this weekend I get reimbursed for the gas I purchase. WOOHOO!

Bonus Fees!

There are times when a mystery shopper can earn bonus fees for shops. This can really add to your paycheck. The majority of the companies I work for offer bonus fees at some time or another. Some offer them more willingly than others.  Most of them are not eager to offer bonus fees and with those it usually starts with a phone call asking if I can do a shop that is due soon, that no one has signed up for. Sometimes they ask you what you would like the bonus to be and other times they offer you the bonus.

Just a few weeks ago, I got a phone call from a company that has NEVER called me before. They offered me $12 bonus to do a shop that paid $7 already, plus $1.25 reimbursement. So I did a $7 shop, but with the bonus I was paid $19+$1.25! That made for a nice bump in my check. I don't get bonuses with this company very much.

Another company starts by adding the bonus on the website to entice people to sign up for the shop. They also send emails to you offering the shop with a $3-$5 bonus. This company also calls to offer you a shop. Just last night I got a phone call from them asking me to do a late night shop(after 8:15). He asked me what it would take for me to do this shop and I told him a $5 bonus. This doubled the fee from $5 to $10 plus up to $5.65 reimbursement. He agreed to the $5 and offered me another shop and agreed to the $5 bonus on that one and yet another one. I went from earning just $15 for three shops to $30 for the shops, plus a total of $16.95 in reimbursement. This is a food shop, so that makes for a late night snack for Jacob! One of these was a breakfast shop! It also makes for a very busy week this week!

Another company never offers bonus fees ON the actual website. They only call and they rarely offer the bonus. I generally have to ask IF there is a bonus and generally they will agree to one. Sometimes they won't and I turn down the shop. These are shops that no one has taken and usually it is because of the distance to the shop. It isn't worth it for me to drive for a $10 shop unless there is a bonus, and they usually agree to pay the bonus because they don't call until they are desperate.

I am going to try to slow down with the shops though if I can! It is nice to have the extra money and work when I want to work. It is hard to turn down a shop when a bonus is offered though!

Weekend of Shops!

Between my partner and I we had several restaurant shops this past three day weekend. The majority of them did not go well for the servers. The food took way to long to get to us because they were just slow or because the order was put in wrong. Most of these servers could have earned a gift card of some sort, but none of them did. The managers were informed that they did not pass and didn't earn the gift card. The managers were not please, lets just say that!

The nice thing for us is we haven't cooked dinner in three nights. We have had some kind of meal from a restaurant to feed us! This makes for a cheap date night! We get reimbursed for 85-90% of the meal! We also try foods we might not otherwise try!

Passing the QUIZ

I work for five different mystery shopping companies and all of them require some sort of QUIZ before you can start doing a specific shop. However, the rigor of the tests differ with all of the companies.


Company #1-- I work for lets you take the quiz and then lists the questions with the correct answers. If you got it correct GREAT, and if you didn't, well then here is the correct answer. I copy them all down and take the quiz again....COOL! No problems. Once I pass the test, I never have to take it again. This is really nice, because the same types of shops come up each month and I don't want to have to retake the quiz!!!

Company #2--This company has you take the quiz EACH time you sign up for a specific kind of shop, even if you just did one JUST LIKE it the week before. The nice thing is, they tell you which ones you got wrong and you just try again. You keep trying until you get it right! NOT so bad, and after a while you really learn the answers because you keep taking the same test.

Company #3 and #4--You take complete a short questionnaire about the shop. They ask questions about if your family works for this company or if you have ever worked for this company. You just have to really pay attention and not rush through them, because if you mess it up and get one wrong then you can't do any shops for that kind of shop the whole month!

Company #5--Now this company takes its quizzes seriously. You take the quiz for each type of shop that you sign up for each month. So if you do 30 bank shops in April, you still have to take the same bank quiz in May. You get three chances to take it and if you miss more than 80% of the questions, they don't even tell you WHICH ones you got wrong. So you better take your time and look up each question. If you fail it three times, then you can call in and speak to someone who coaches you on the questions you miss and generally you still get the shops. Now the bank quiz is not too bad, because they are each month and the questions generally stay the same. This is also true for some of the gas shops, HOWEVER there is one particular gas shop that comes out with a different quiz EACH period they occurs(which is about three times a year) and has 25-30 questions.

Just tonight, I printed the test and looked up the answers. I was SURE I got them all right, but I missed six. I didn't even know which six. Well, my partner takes the same quiz so she came in and we searched for answers. I TOOK the test again and missed three questions, but NOW I knew which three. Well she had already failed it once so SHE took it again after we LOOKED up answers again--we really couldn't find some of them and we both have college degrees--and kept track of past answers....well she missed ONE question and we had already tried 2 of the 3 answer choices so NOW we knew the answer. She passed it on her third try and then I took the sheet and passed it on my last try. IT was almost like studying for a final exam!

We are keeping this test just in case some of the questions show up again during the next period these come out! Never take these quizzed lightly, you never know when you might read something too quickly(which I had done a few times) and get one wrong, just because you misread something!

Too Many French Fries!

Between my partner and I, we do a lot of fast food shops as well as some fast casual(as the mystery shopper companies call them) and so we bring a lot of food home. Many of these shops serve french fries as a side item and so we end up with a LOT of french fries. You would think the boys would love to eat them, but even they get tired of them after a while. So, what do we do with all of those french fries?? We could just throw them out, but my partner doesn't like to waste food. Thankfully, she has a friend whose mom has a chicken farm, so we FREEZE all of the french fries and give them to her when we see her. Right now, we have two plastic grocery store bags filled with french fries! I am glad we have an outside freezer to put these in or we wouldn't be able to do this.

I go back to work tomorrow, so we shouldn't have AS much fast food as we have during the summer when I have more time to go to lunch for a mystery shop. I already have some shops lined up for next month though! I need to start saving for Christmas!

Jacob Becomes a Mystery Shopper

One of the companies I work for has some jobs where you need a teenager. Basically, Jacob has to try to purchase something that only a person that is 18 or older can purchase. The teenager has to be between 15 and 17 years of age. He goes into the store ahead of me and then I enter the store and enter the same general area where he is. He finds what he needs to purchase and I watch from a distance. He had been hesitant to work with me on this, because he is easily embarrassed. I finally talked him into trying at least ONE time and told him I would pay him HALF of what I make on the shop, which is $5.50. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for only about five minutes worth of work on his part!

We did the first one the other day and he was nervous. However, as we were discussing our "plan" he said, "this is like we are planning a spy mission!" He is too cute, even at 16. So he went in and the plan went just fine. We have to be sure we don't seem like we are together, so Jacob has to ignore me. Well, that isn't hard!! He took his product up to the check stand and was asked for ID.  He said he didn't have any, and the sales person said he couldn't sell him the the product. Jacob walked off and then I waited and went near the salesperson to get his name and description! Pretty easy, right? Even the input at home is only ten questions and four of those are about the receipt. We met back at the car and on the way home Jacob says, "That was pretty easy, when are we doing another one?"

I found one more shop for us to do yesterday, and we have two more scheduled for the first weekend in September. He did well at the one yesterday, but this time the sales associate SOLD him the product. I was watching from a distance and he was never asked for ID and just bought the product, no questions asked. Well, I walked by and got the associates name and description, then met Jacob at the car. I got the product and the receipt and was able to return it, which is what we are told to do with the shop instructions. I got the money back, but kept the receipt showing the sale. I have to upload that receipt and turn it in to the mystery shopping company. I then came home and did the report, which took all of five minutes.

I am glad that Jacob is taking interest in having a job and making his own money. I think that is important, and maybe when he turns 18 he will decide he wants to do mystery shopping to help pay for things while in college. We shall see!

One Month of Summer Left

With just a month left of summer, I am planning my shops for August. I am trying very hard NOT to over plan. I want to have a few days off so the boys and I can enjoy the last bit of summer. Of course, it is too hot here to be outside for long, but we can always swim. I have a few trips to East Texas for teaching, yea working before school actually starts, and so I am picking up a few shops in the area. I have a few days that I am really booked with shops and other days that I have blocked out as NO SHOP days.

I have decided that I am not going to overwork myself once school gets started. I am going to do some mystery shopping on the weekends, but try to limit it and spend more quality time with the boys. I also like to attend a monthly Tourette support group and haven't gone much this past year. I want to plan on getting back into that.

I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!

Condiments!

We haven't had to buy ketchup in months, because of mystery shopping. Whenever I do a fast food shop, I ask for ketchup. The server generally throws between two to four packets of ketchup into the bag. I probably only use one of these packets and sometimes I don't use them at all if I am eating in the car. We have a side compartment on one of the refrigerator doors and we keep all of the ketchup there. We also end up with dipping sauces for chicken nuggets or strips. Sometimes we even end up with salad dressing! We keep it all and use it as we go with our meals. I think it is a great way to save some money. My boys LOVE ketchup and it is one less thing for me to buy. Sometimes my partner uses other sauces in one of her recipes. She sees what we have and makes something out of it. One other thing we don't throw away are unused napkins from restaurant/fast food shops. We keep them and use them. We don't end up with as many of these, but again, something else we don't have to buy! Even if you don't mystery shop,  you can save by doing this same thing. Keep those extra condiments for a later day!

It All Adds Up!

There are some mystery shops that you can do right from your own home. These include phone calls and Internet inquiries. Each of these shops pays between three to four dollars. Now you may think that isn't very much, but if you do ten of these shops it could mean $30. I have noticed that these shops seems to go very quickly on the company websites. There are two companies that I work for that have phone shops and only one that has Internet inquiries. I like them, because I don't have to travel and is basically is easy money! Many of the shops that I travel to can pay as little as five dollars so to make money and not have to travel is even better. Now don't get me wrong, the five dollar shops add up too. I would say the average pay for a shop ranges from five to ten dollars. Some restaurant shops just reimburse you for your meal and don't pay a shopper fee. So, why would someone do a shop like that. Well, reimbursement isn't taxed and you get a free meal! Just remember, if you decide to venture into mystery shopping, that small shopper fees can add up quickly and become a large paycheck! Some shops even pay bonusses because they are close to a deadline and need the shop done....those are really nice!

Taking Advantage of Office Supplies on Sale!

Part of being a mystery shopper is that you do a lot of printing. I have blogged about the new laser printer we got and the cost of toner. However, there is another cost to printing and that is PAPER! We go through at least a ream of paper(500 pages) a week and when new shops come out, we can go through two reams of paper in a day!

Last year, we found paper on sale during the summer school supply sales. Office Max, Staples and Office Depot all have some kind of reward program and they are having sales again this year. Last week we each bought two reams of paper that cost $5.99, but then got $5.98 in rewards! That means we really only paid ONE CENT for each ream. Now we do have to wait until our rewards come in come October, but I can do that. I can always buy something at an office supply store. Staples had their paper on sale and you apply for the rebate and again we will end up only paying ONE CENT for each ream. Today I went and got more paper and this time I will get all of my money back in rewards except ONE DOLLAR, so each ream only cost me a dollar. They also put batteries on sale a few times a year. I bought a large pack of batteries for $16.99 and am getting $16.98 back in rewards.

Now, the downside is, you have to pay quite a bit in the beginning and then wait for the rewards. However, it does add up. Last year I got me a nice blue tooth with all of my rewards. I still do some printing on my small ink jet printer for colored sheets for shops or to print things a bit darker than the laser jet, so I can use my rewards for ink! I also keep track of all of my expenses, so I can write them off on my income taxes!

Even if you just do a small amount of printing at home, this is the best time to purchase it and if you get a few reams, it might last you until next year!

Gas Mileage

I just traded in my Hyundai Santa Fe for  a Hyundai Elantra Touring. I loved my Santa Fe, but at 21 MPG on the highway, it was just way too expensive to fuel up. This new car will get 30 to 32 MPG on the highway and 23 MPG in the city. I will probably hit a nice average between those two numbers! Between my teaching job, which requires me to drive and my mystery shopping I can put a LOT of miles on a car. Let's just say, I picked up my car yesterday with 136 miles on it and am over 400 miles today, just two days later!


The Elantra is a bit smaller than the Santa Fe, but not by too much. It seems to be easier to handle and still has a fair amount of space in the hatch. The car is black and looks pretty sleek! When I figure my gas mileage, I will let you know, but I think it will be good!

I have two gas shops tomorrow and plan on fueling up!

You Got to Have Money, To Make Money!

The saying, "You have to have money to make money," is very true about mystery shopping....at least in the beginning. I work for five different mystery shopping companies. Two pay twice a month, one pays once a month, the fourth pays every two weeks and the last one pays weekly(about 30 days after your shop, so you may not get paid each week). Some shops, like the banks, don't cost anything when you visit. The fast food shops can cost me between $5 and $13 each visit. So I pay for my meal and then I get reimbursed and get the FEE for the shop. For some of the nicer restaurants I am out $25 to $40 before I get reimbursed. Some office shops only cost me $1because the company wants a receipt to prove you were there. I usually try to get something right around that $1 price.

When I get paid by the company that pays once a month, at least half of my pay is reimbursement. Now, the nice thing about reimbursement is you don't get taxed for that amount. I like that I can feed us a good meal and get paid to do it, so reimbursement is nice. However, by the middle of the month, I am really wanting that paycheck! Now I like to get paid every two weeks, but for that company I don't work that much. It is a balancing act. Like I said in my last post, not all meals are worth mystery shopping for. I try to choose something that I will like, especially if it is a high end meal. I put it on my credit card and then pay it when I do get reimbursed.

If you do decide to try mystery shopping, start off slow with the meals. Once you get first paycheck or two then you will have the money needed to choose more fast food/restaurant shops if you like!

Just Because the Meal is Free, Doesn't Mean You'll Like It!

I took a friend to lunch today as part of a mystery shop. It was at a local restaurant that also has a bar. The reimbursement was enough to cover the meal and tip. We ordered our food and waited in anticipation--remember I have done other restaurants, and I have never really been disappointed--and then the meal arrived. OH WOW, did we get some FRIED food. I ate about half my food and she did the same. Of course, it doesn't help that I am older and my stomach isn't as young as it used to be! Now, I will say, service was good and the atmosphere was as it should be, but the food wasn't that great. Thankfully, it is not a meal that I had to pay for! I will get reimbursed, but I won't be signing up for this restaurant again.

I have another dinner tonight and I am taking Elijah with us! I have been to this restaurant before, and am fully expecting a good meal. The reimbursement won't cover the whole meal, but it will cover up to half, and that ain't too bad either! Just a reminder to me, try a shop once before you sign up for too many of them. You just may not like that shop!

Teenagers come in handy when Mystery Shopping

Jacob is a wonderful asset to have around when I mystery shop. There is just no way I could eat the fast food that I buy. I just rejoined weight watchers and am trying to lose weight, so I am bringing home most of the food I buy. I can't really tell you WHAT he is eating, as the mystery shopping companies don't like us to reveal the restaurants and fast food places we visit. Let's just say he is eating a lot and having two dinners most nights. He will eat fast food at least twice today. As a teenage boy, he is loving it! I swear he is a bottomless pit! I would rather have him eat it, then throw it away. I am getting double the pay for many of these shops or I wouldn't even take them. Now, let's just hope he doesn't gain too much weight!

Food, Food and More Food

Tonight was the first night I have had to cook dinner in three days! We have either gone out to eat or brought food home from mystery shopping. Monday night was a nice night out at a local restaurant that reimbursed for the whole meal plus tip. We even had left overs the next day for lunch. Tuesday night the boys ate pizza that I had gotten earlier in the day and I ran out and got my dinner with a mystery shop. Last night, I brought home dinner for everyone! I brought home lunch today! Every week is not like this. I usually can bring home only one meal, but it does happen. I have several more dinners coming up in the next few weeks.

Jacob enjoys eating some of the fast food that I bring home. I am glad he will eat it, because I am trying to lose weight and fast food is NOT good for that!

The really neat thing is that I usually get PAID to go out and purchase this food!

Changed the Laser Toner Cartridge

Remember the laser printer that my dad and step mom gave us? Well, we finally had to change the toner cartridge for it today. I looked back in the blog and we started using it on Jan. 30th of this year. It is now four months later and we figure at least 6,000 copies. Not bad for $54 for the drum and cartridge. We spent $47 and got two more cartridges. My black ink cartridges for my ink jet printer usually averaged about 200 pages so that would have been 30 cartridges times $16 a cartridge. That would have been $480! Needless to say, the laser printer has saved us a lot of money!

Most people don't print 6,000 pages in three months at home, but we do! Mystery shopping is a good way to make money, but you do spend the money too! I started an excel document to keep track of my expenses and plan on adding my new computer to that list too!

Spoiled Myself

I have been mystery shopping for about 18 months now and using my laptop for input. It has been a good little machine. It has a 14 inch screen and was easy to use. However, I started wishing for a larger screen. I checked into laptops but the biggest screen you can get is 17 inches, so I decided I  needed a desktop. I started putting $10 away each week and saved the birthday money that I got. I found a 24 inch screen on sale for $139 and bought it a few weeks ago. I then found an HP 6 GB of RAM 1 TB of memory for the hard drive for $359.99. Well I didn't quite have all of the money saved up, but decided to get it. It was just too good a deal to pass up.

I am now typing to you on my desktop computer with the 24 inch screen. I have done a few shop inputs on this one, and find it quite fast and so much more convenient with the larger screen. The printers that I have, plus the scanner on one of those, installed quite nicely. I remember the days of having to have the disk for every component. Both printers installed quickly and easily. I also bought MS Office 2010 and got it installed last night. I got all of my websites favorited on Google Chrome for my mystery shops and the programs I use to rename and resize pictures.

I bought a new power strip off of Amazon and am waiting for it. I need to plug in my external hard drive to get all of my documents and pictures onto this new one, or at least have access to them on from this computer.

Four more days of school and then I really start hitting the shops, but I won't be doing as many as last summer!

Summer is Coming

Summer is coming and this is the time of year that I can do even more shops than usual. Of course, being off most of the summer is the reason why! I do have a few things to do with my teaching job over the summer. I have a three day workshop in June and a trip to Houston for the Statewide Conference at the end of July. Last year I worked quite a bit during the summer, but I have promised myself and my partner....well and the kids, that I wouldn't work as hard this summer. I printed a calendar for June and have it quite filled up with shops, but I also have at least ten days blocked off NOT to do shops.  I am even going to visit my mom in Marshall at some point!

I enjoy doing the shops and making some extra money. It allows me to buy things the boys need as well as take them off for fun activities. It also helps pay the bills. I work weekends during the school year and over school holidays. However, what is the point of making extra money if you don't enjoy life a bit! This is another reason for slowing down a bit. My exhusband got a full time job and I am receiving child support again and that changes things for me too. Of course, if I could just win the lottery then I wouldn't have to work at all!

Pay Attention!

I did two gas stations yesterday that required photos. I have had two long weeks at school and was very tired when I came home! I threw some dinner in the oven and sat down to try to get at least one shop done. I downloaded all the pictures I needed for both shops and resized them. I then put them into folders...one folder for each shop. Well, some where along the way I mixed up some photos. I realized it after reporting on the first shop. I reported the second shop and woke up today to an email stating that I had loaded the same photo for each shop and I needed to fix it. I am STILL waiting for the company to open up the shops online so I can fix the situation.

Lesson learned here:
1) Don't rush when trying to do a shop
2) If you are tired, wait and at least eat dinner before trying to report the shop
3) if possible, don't do two of the same shop on the same day and if you do, PAY ATTENTION to the pictures

I am off to see if the shops are open on the website...I sure hope so!

Update!

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. Life has been busy. We attended a family wedding out of state last week and school has kept me very busy! We contemplated doing some shops on the way, but decided it would not be worth the hassle! I just signed up with a new company to give them a try and see what they are like. One of the companies I work for has not had too many shops! I am also going to start a diet in a few weeks and I need to CUT DOWN on the fast food. Seriously, how many burgers can I eat! Even Jacob is sick of the fries...still! What 15 year old boy is sick of fries!

I am heavy into gas stations right now, evaluating three different chains. Two of them provide gas as part of the shop! Those are really nice, especially with the high price of gas. My partner and I went out to eat at a nice sit down restaurant last night for a mystery shop and we will visit the same chain again in a few weeks. Wing shops just came out so we will be eating those again soon!

I have decided to stop mystery shopping at the banks. OH, those are so tiresome. You just never know how long you will be stuck there. It really depends on what other customers are there. I just can't do them anymore! I might pick up a few here and there over the summer, but I really doubt it. I may not get to do as much mystery shopping this summer. I have a three day workshop in Richardson in June. I will drive back and forth for that everyday, but then have a three day workshop in Houston. The boys will stay home with my partner and I will be off at work! I won't do any shops on my way down there either!

Gas Shops, Pizza and Wings

Oh I am so happy have 26 new gas shops coming up next month. I get $5 worth of gas for each shop. That is $130 worth of gas and with prices going up, I'll take what I can get. I am waiting for two other sets of gas shops to come out soon! I am hoping they come out soon, because next month is already looking a little slow.

There have been some pizza shops that have come out recently that I have never done before! The boys and I had pizza for dinner tonight. The other night we had pizza and wings for dinner! Jacob is tired of hamburger and french fries and so am I for now. I haven't signed up for as many fast food shops as I usually do. I'll have to see how much of a bonus they offer for some shops before I will take them. I have more pizza and wing shops coming up too!!!

No More Fast Food Please!

Oh my, I am sick of hamburgers and french fries! I have had so much fast food the last few days. Even the boys are getting tired of the fast food. It is hard to pass up a shop though, when you are offered twice and sometimes triple the fee. I had a hamburger for lunch and dinner today. I had a hamburger for lunch yesterday! At least I didn't have to cook dinner tonight!! I only have one more fast food shop this week, so far!

Keeping Busy!

I have been keeping very busy with my Mystery Shopping and my full time job. I am on Spring Break this week and have five shops tomorrow and three of those pay $14 each! I have several more shops over the rest of the week. Things have slowed down a bit this month, not sure why, but there haven't been as many choices. I am hoping more shops come out over the next two weeks.

I took my dad a sandwich from a fast food place I evaluated today. I do get reimbursed, but I hate to waste a sandwich! Jacob didn't like this type of sandwich either! I also fed us dinner tonight by doing a restaurant shop. It was for a restaurant I have not evaluated before, but it paid for all of our dinner except for 75 cents. NOT BAD huh??

Here's hoping for more shops!

A Nice Problem to Have!

There are four different gas stations that I shop or audit. Sometimes it is a combination of a mystery shop and an audit. At this point in time, I am only working shops for a certain gas station company where they reimburse for two gallons of gas. Now you may think that isn't a lot of gas, but when I have four or five gas stations on a weekend, it can add up fast. This is especially true with gas prices going up.

I have a friend who mystery shops too and she called me on Saturday asking if I wanted some free gas. She didn't have enough room in her tank to put two gallons of gas in the car. I was about 15 minutes from the gas station, so of course, I met her there. She gave me the gas and she completed the shop! I drive an SUV so I go through gas a little quicker than she does.

I have about ten of these shops left and then I'll have to wait for the next quarter to begin to get more of these shops. Two gas companies only pay for the audit to be done, no gas. Another gas company pays for $5.00 worth of gas, so the two gallon shop is SO much better! Having to leave room in my gas tank to put in more gas during my shops. What a nice problem to have!

Banks, Phone Shops, Fast Food and Gas Stations

I have spent the last week and all of today visiting shops. I have more shops tomorrow. The gas shops are really nice....2 gallons of gas! The bank shops can be pretty boring, but they pay well. I listened to the same information about credit cards four times today!! At least it is easy money, just boring. I also had four phone shops yesterday and two phone shops today. Those aren't too bad, but I don't like the paperwork. These phone shops are from a company that I don't use very often. They pay well, but don't have a large selection of shops and the shops are 21 pages! That is a lot to print.

I also woke up and went to an early shop to get breakfast and then later had lunch!! Tomorrow I have two more fast food shops and then a casual restaurant shop to buy dinner for everyone! I think Jacob may actually be getting tired of the french fries! I also have three gas shops and I just love those. I always need gas.

I do keep track of my mileage for these shops so that I can write it off on my income taxes. I did 108 miles today!!

Been Busy!

I had a very busy weekend with shops. I finished two different rounds of gas shops, but am still on one round. I get two gallons of gas for each of these gas shops and with gas at $3.49 a gallon right it is nice to get reimburse for those two gallons. I have about 30 shops total for this round of gas stations so that is 60 gallons of gas!! Not too bad! I also get paid $10 per shop!

However, the end of this month is starting to slow down. I have a few banks and gas stations to complete this weekend but not much more than that. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of gas stations left, but I am used to having many other shops too. Next months shops should start popping up around the 20th. My teaching job is keeping me pretty busy, so it may be nice to have a more laid back weekend.

I did pick up a grocery store for this Saturday and I have a take out dinner for Sunday, so no cooking dinner on Sunday night!

We are at 915 pages printed on the new printer too! WOO HOO!

New Printer and Shops

As I blogged about before, my stepmom and dad gave me a laser jet printer. The new drum and cartridge came in the mail and I got it all hooked up yesterday. I tested it and all was well. I started printing today and was having issues with some blank pages. I thought it might be the printer, but I decided to exit out of Goggle Chrome and just go through my Internet Explorer and print. Well, that fixed the problem.

I printed 21 shops that were 13 pages each, that made for almost 300 pages! I am going to try to keep track of how many pages I can get out of one cartridge. Each cartridge is only $18....thanks to my stepmom who sent me a link for a company that has inexpensive toner! I want to see how long the cartridge lasts me and then order either one or two for my next order! The website said it should last for 6,000 page so we shall see.

I should definitely save some money though, because I only got about 200 pages for a $16 HP inkjet cartridge! I don't really have to do the math to know I'll save some money. Even with $10 on shipping and handling, I am still paying a lot less per page!

I had a busy weekend with shops and got $15 worth of gas that I'll get reimbursed for. Tonight was the first night I have cooked dinner since last Tuesday. We had four nights of dinner shops and two of those fed all four of us. The other two nights fed two of us! We even got to go to a nice sit down restaurant last night and eat! Tomorrow night's dinner will be a mystery shop too and will feed all of us! I am going to enjoy that because I have doctor's appointments for both boys tomorrow afternoon and they can go three or four hours. The appointment is at 1:30 so hopefully we will be done by 4:30 at the latest and I won't want to cook!

Got a New Printer!

My step mom read my blog post about how much ink I used and gave me a call. She had a laser jet printer that she was no longer using and said I could have it! I went by and picked it up tonight and hooked it up to my laptop! IT WORKS! YEA! I need to order a new drum and toner cartridge which I just ordered! The two of them together cost me $53. The website said it should print me 6,000 pages which is a lot better than the 200 that I get on my ink jet printer with one cartridge!

The printer fit in nicely on a shelf next to my desk! I can't wait to get the drum and cartridge in so I can start using it! My poor HP printer was starting to sound like it was worn out. I still need it for the scanner because I have to scan receipts and other items for my shops. I also use it to make copies of other items I need!! Sometimes a color print out is needed on some shops, so I can use it then also!

Nicki and Dad....Thanks for the printer!

GAS!

One thing I really like about Mystery shopping is when the gas station shops come out. There are three different gas stations that I visit. One type of station is strictly an unrevealed mystery shop. I get $5.00 worth of gas, a $6.00 payment plus $1.00 towards a purchase in the store. I did two of these shops yesterday and have one today. Another station is strictly an audit with no reimbursement for gas, just for a small purchase inside the store. The third station type is a mix of a mystery shop and then a revealed audit. I get two gallons of gas that I am reimbursed for, which is almost $7.00 these days, plus $10 for doing the shop. I completed two of these yesterday and have two more today. I have a total of 27 of these kinds of shops between now and March.

These shops are not very difficult. The two with an audit require pictures to be taken. I have to be observant during all of these shops, but that isn't too difficult. The input is not too difficult either!

Now the one difficult thing about the gas shops is making sure I have enough room in my gas tank. I do a lot of driving during the week, so it isn't too hard, but I had to fuel up twice on Friday because I didn't put enough gas in before leaving for my shops yesterday. These shops come up quarterly so it will be the end of April before I get any more gas shops, but I do enjoy them while I can and I enjoy getting paid for them.

Ink, Ink and More Ink!

I have found that I go through a lot of ink with all of the printing I do for my shops. Some of the shops can be rather long!! They may be as long as 30 pages and if I have several of those, well it adds up fast. Other shops can be as short as two pages.

I have about 25 gas stations coming up in the next month. I have four to do this weekend and I was finally able to print them tonight. They are each 21 pages long, so that is 82 pages right there. I also have to print an authorization letter as well as a thank you letter for each shop! I printed those four and kept on printing, because I will need the other shops sooner or later. I had just changed my ink cartridge after starting my printing and after 45 minutes of printing I had to change the cartridge AGAIN! I now have no more black ink! I will have to stop tomorrow and buy at least one cartridge! I still have a LOT more printing to do and I'll do it a bit at a time! At least I am ready for this weekend!

I get a lot of my ink for free with reward dollars with Office Max and Staples! Right now, I don't have any though. I also go through a lot of paper, but I have learned to print on both sides to save on paper.

Pros and Cons!

I have found that there are pros and cons to each of the companies I work for. There are two companies where I had to sign up for shops and wait to be approved. Once I completed a set number of shops, I was then allowed to self assign. Being able to self assign is very important. You get to choose the shop you want, the dates and sometimes the times. Two other companies allowed me to self assign from the start! This allowed me to get started right away!

Two of the companies also make it very easy to reschedule shops. I wasn't feeling that well today and wanted to get into a clinic. I had six shops and I rescheduled one for next weekend because I knew it would be a longer shop and it was the only one I could reschedule. Another company allows you to email them about a shop and get an extension. I have done that few times because I was sick or because we got iced in! They usually call and allow the extension, but I try not to ask for them too often. In the past year I have probably only asked for about eight extensions. The fourth company allows you to email them and cancel a shop, but not to reschedule. However, some of their shops do have window of dates and you get to choose the date. You can go in and change it if needed, but this for a limited number of shops.

It is important you know the policy of each company when it comes to rescheduling. I have been told by someone at one of the companies that I have a good rating. I guess this means I have done a good job on reporting my shops! I want to keep that good rating!

Three of the four companies offer bonuses for shops that they really need to get done. Some offer extra pay if the shop is farther away than usual. Two of them send out emails offering more for the fee if a shop is completed. I have gotten double the fee at times! Sometimes they even call to ask you to do a shop, and I have learned to negotiate!

I like each company for different reasons. Each of them has their pros and cons when it comes to scheduling, but for the most part they are all good and consistent!

Staying Organized!

An important part of being a mystery shopper is staying organized. I work for four different companies and there is a lot of paperwork. Some shops are only three or four pages in length. Other shops can be up to 28 pages! I usually print the shops right after I sign up for them and put them in chronological order by date and have a file for each company. Sometimes I cannot print right away. I am waiting to print 25 gas shops right now because they are not available. They start next weekend and go for about five weeks and I really want to get them printed! I don't like to plan for my weekend and then realize I have to print a shop!

I have also learned to have at least one printer cartridge, both black and color, handy at all times. In fact, I need to stock up on ink again! I have learned to print double sided to save on paper! I also keep track of my mileage and the cost of my supplies for my income taxes!

I downloaded a calendar program onto my laptop so I can also keep track of my shops. I check each night to see what is coming up! I also color code each assignment by company. I then know where to look for the paperwork. I didn't start off this organized, but have learned some trick from a friend who also does mystery shopping! We are good about keeping each other updated on when new shops appear on one of the company's websites. I picked up ten new shops last night!!!

I only have six shops tomorrow! It will be an easy day and I should finish early. I like the challenge of planning my day and doing the shops I want to do. Sometimes they can be quite interesting and you can meet some pretty interesting people!

Fast Food--Teen Boys

Jacob loves the fact that I am a mystery shopper. Wouldn't any teen boy like to have an unlimited supply of french fries and other fast food! At any given time you can open up my refrigerator and find french fries, mashed potatoes and several other side items. You might even find a hamburger or two! One fast food restaurant requires you to complete both the drive thru and to eat inside the restaurant. There is no way I can eat two meals so one always makes it home.

Jacob is also in the middle of a growth spurt and eating me out of house and home! I try to keep an eye on what he eats so he doesn't end up with a huge belly, but so far so good. He gets a good amount of exercise at school and he will be refereeing soccer soon. I don't have any fast food shops this weekend, but I am sure I'll be signing up for some more again soon!

How Do You Get Paid?

So how do you get paid when you are working for a company online? One company I work for pays twice a month by check. They pay on the first and the fifteenth. They have been very reliable. Two other companies I work for pay by direct deposit. It was easy to set up and has also been very reliable. One company pays twice a month and the other pays once a month. Now the laqst company I work for pays by Paypal. I wasn't sure about how that would work but I like it. I left my money there to accumulate and saved for Christmas. I just paid for Elijah's lunch at school with Paypal using my mystery shopping money! They pay every 30 days for each shop so you can get a lot of snall payments.

Each shop can pay anywhre from $4 to $14 a shop. Many times you are required to make a purchase to prove you were at the store. You get reimbursed for what you spend which can be between a dollar to two dollars. Now at the restaurant shops you get a lot more reumbursement, but a lesser fee for doing the shop. I can make quite a bit and sometimes the fee can be doubled if the company really needs the shop done.


Before I really start doing a lot of shops for a company I make sure I get paid. I worked for a company that solely did restaurants. They paid after 60 days. I got one check pretty easily but then they didn't pay me for my next few shops.I had a hard time getting in touch with them, but I finally got it resolved. I have learned to be careful.

Planning--It's a Must!

I have twelve shops I am going to complete today! I have four banks, four gas stations, two grocery stores and a fast food place! Several of these have to be done before 3:00! Planning your day is a MUST! I usually get all of my paperwork together and then I start putting addresses into Google directions or you can use mapquest. I then start looking at the map to see which shop should be done first and so on! I also have to look at the time limits, if any, are on the shops. Today I have one shop that has to be done after 3:00, so that will be my last shop! I have to plan it out, or I won't be utilizing my time very well especially on a day like today. Tomorrow I only have six shops, but I still have to plan. I called two of them to get their Sunday hours and one doesn't open until 11:00 am and the other at noon.

Another important item to have is a GPS! Now you could always print the directions and use those, but a GPS is so much easier. One thing to keep in mind though when making your plans, is that some addresses may be for new businesses that are NOT in the GPS maps you have. I sometimes I have to use the GPS on my iPhone. Sometimes the address that I am given is not a very good one(you wouldn't think that, but it does happen) and then I have to search for that store on the Internet to find the address or even call to find out where the store is located.

I'll also have a busy night tonight with input! I will have four sheets per bank that I have to scan, rename and resize! I will have receipts for the other stores that have to be scanned. It can be a lot of work, but at least I am doing it from my computer while watching TV and I can take as many breaks as I want! I am home with my kids and can wait until Elijah goes to bed to do my input! Some shops have input that is very easy and some have input that can be more complicated!

Overall, I have to say, mystery shopping is a nice part time job! Oh and I am off on Monday from teaching, but I'll be out doing shops that day! I think I only have five!

I Survived the Weekend!

Well, I survived my busy weekend! I completed all eleven shops on Saturday in five hours. I got some gas that I will be reimbursed for, groceries, visited some banks and and office supply store. I had six shops on Sunday. I got a free lunch and a free dinner as well as more groceries!!

The dinner was very nice. I took a friend with me and we went out to a local restaurant and our out of pocket ended up being only $8.00!! It was not a fast food place....an actual restaurant! I don't do those too often! I like taking someone with me for those shops. It is no fun to eat alone!

I have a few shops after I leave work each day this week, but nothing too bad. I can still get things done and get home at a decent time for the boys!

This weekend will be busy too and I have Monday off, so I have several shops set up for that day too!

This Weekend!

OH MY, I have really over scheduled myself this weekend. I just spend the last 30 minutes planning my Saturday. I have eleven shops and of those, one has to be done between 6am and 3pm, another between 3pm and 10pm and yet another one that cannot be done between 11am and 3pm. All eleven shops are in two different cities that are very close to each other. I got it all planned out. Oh and three other shops have to be done by 3pm, because they are banks and they close! Another three shops can only be done between 12pm and 6pm.

I still have to plan my Sunday,but I only have six shops on that day!! I don't usually plan eleven shops on a Saturday but some really nice shops came out and well, I just took them! Jacob stays home with Elijah and they do pretty well together! I am lucky that they don't need a babysitter!

Well, I guess I better go and plan my Sunday shops!!

Waiting for Shops

I think one of the hardest things is waiting for new shops to appear. It is the beginning of the month and you just neve know when the shops will appear. My weekends are pretty booked for this month and even into mid-February. I just happened to look on one companies web site and the gas stations were out, then the next set came out.

Sometimes you just get lucky and check the web page and find new shops. When I find new shops I start checking my calendar to see what I can do. One trap you don't want to fall into, is setting up too many shops for one day! I am limited to working mostly weekends and those can fill up fast! Sometimes I get so excited about a new set of shops that I sign up for TOO many shops. Sometimes I can reschedule them, other times I can't! It is a learning process for each company.

I just signed up for two shops for this weekend with a new company I just signed up with. I always start off slow with a new company. I like to make sure they pay on time and there are no issues. I was with one company that did mostly restaurant shops and they paid after 60-90 days by check. I got paid on time for the first few shops, but then problems arose. I didn't get paid. I emailed them and no response. I finally emailed one of the representatives who had emailed me asking me to do a shop. I told her that I hadn't been paid and wasn't going to do more shops until I got paid. She got things rolling, but I didn't like the fact they I got no response when I emailed the help desk. Needless to say, I stopped working for that company. I haven't had any issues with the companies I work for currently and they all respond very quickly when I do have questions.

Part of the fun is the hunt for the shops!! Mystery shopping fed us for dinner last night and bought my lunch today!!!

What's for Dinner?

You never really know what we might have for dinner. Most days we cook something here at the house, but on other days it might be something very different. Just the other day I came home with food from three different restaurants. We ate wings from one place with french fries, then I had five side dishes from five fast food places I had visited....I had to purchase one item at each shop to get a receipt to prove I was there. Most companies require receipts, even at an office shop, for proof you visited the business. I was reimbursed up to a $1 for each purchase and I visited five places! Not bad! I also had a lunch shop earlier in the day, where I had to go through the drive thru and go in and order. I brought home a whole meal for Elijah! Most days I can't do very many shops, but when I am off for the holidays it makes it easier.

Jacob is very excited that I have four shops at the same food chain coming up in the next few weeks. I have to admit it is one of my favorite places to eat! He told me it was awesome that we would have food from there. Now by the fourth shop we may be tired of the food, but I doubt it. At least I don't have to cook!

Read those Directions

I have learned the hard way that it is important to read the directions before starting a shop. I have been mystery shopping for over a year now and a few weeks ago I made two huge mistakes.....all because I just didn't read the directions clearly enough. Both mistakes were made at a fast food restaurant and both were minor mistakes, but huge enough to invalidate the shops. The first mistake I made was made with time. I started the shop too early and all because I didn't see that on a Sunday you have to start the shop 30 minutes later than when you do the shop Monday through Saturday. The second one happened a few days later and it was because I evaluated the service inside the shop and not in the drive thru.

Lesson learned here....even if you have done the same type of shop before and done it several time, read those directions. One small mistake could invalidate your shop!

Skills needed to be a Mystery Shopper!

So what skills do you need to be a mystery shopper? First and foremost you must be organized. I work for four different companies PLUS work my full-time job. I have to print all of the shop instructions, plus keep up with WHEN they must be done. The majority of the shops even have time windows on when the shop can be complete. When I worked for only two companies, it was a lot easier. Now that I am with four I have to keep a close eye on the dates and times my shops are due by. I have a calendar on my laptop that helps me keep things organized. You also have to plan out your day and map out your shops so that you aren't losing time while driving. I also have a GPS, which helps immensely!

Another skill you need isto be a good actor. I have to act like a customer and remember details from the shop. Many companies ask about the names of the employees as well as what they looked like. Most ask if the employee is wearing glasses. Some shops have cheat sheets you can conceal and carry with you. Some don't have cheat sheets, so you just have to observe and remember.

Having a digital camera is a must! I have many shops that are audits and require pictures!

I am going to two grocery shops later today and have a variety of shops later this week: gas stations, fast food restaurants, and check cashing just to name a few. I have all of the information for each shop in a folder that stays in my car. Next weekend will be crazy with just eleven shops on Saturday.

I may think of more skills that are needed as time goes on, but this is a good start!