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!

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!

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!

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!!!

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!