Posted by Becca_FL on 12/13/07 9:44am
Msg #225862

Mystery Shopping

Anyone here doing this? I just accepted my first shop because it sounded fun. It's a motorcycle shop and you need to bring a man with a motorcycle license. I thought it might be fun to do with my SO and since we were dropping off his Yamaha just down the street we would be in the area anyway. My SO currently owns three motorcycles and a scooter so he knows how to shop for a motorcycle...sounds easy right? Wrong. I just looked at the form I need to fill out and it is a monster - 10 pages. I'm committed so I'll do it, but it seems like a lot of work for very little pay.

Thoughts?

Reply by Elaine Sedlock on 12/13/07 9:54am
Msg #225863

Becca, I haven't done this, but have researched it extensively and opted not to take the risk because there were too many scams out there. However, some are legit. I read an article in a woman's magazine not too long ago and it had a lot of good advice for sifting out the good from the bad and the ugly. I'll see if I can find the article -- I'm sure the magazine is still lurking around here somewhere. If I find it I'll let you know and get a copy of the article to you. Meanwhile, good luck! And, please let me know how it goes because I still toy with the idea from time to time and may want to give it a shot some day!

Reply by RMWLLS on 12/13/07 11:27am
Msg #225882

I do it in Maine. Not much pay.... but every little bit helps

Reply by KKinNoCal on 12/13/07 9:54am
Msg #225864

I have been mystery shopping for about two years (more lately) and on a good month I can bring in 300.00. All the companies are different , the more you do it, the more you will figure out who to work for and which jobs to take. (Just like the figuring out which signing companies you want to work for). The more companies you apply to, the better your odds. Start a separate email account for shopping because you will get bombarded with email offers to shop. It is fun, it does not pay very high-but it beats working for a living ! go to www.jobslinger.com--happy shopping!

Reply by ME/NJ on 12/13/07 10:27am
Msg #225865

I am signed up with a few companies (no cost on your end) They pay little for the shop and there are alot of questions to answer. Some of the shops are very detailed (stopwatch needed)

I stopped doing them because of time spent vs money, if you have tons of free time to kill then do it. You can make 50-100 bucks a month doing it.

Reply by marsal48 on 12/13/07 1:19pm
Msg #225906

I agree. The money involved is miniscule. Only pays to do it, if you live right there or are going by that way anyhow. With gas prices such as they are, it costs too much to make the drive.

Reply by Terri Silipo on 12/13/07 10:31am
Msg #225867

I did some mystery shopping myself, and you are right, it is a lot of trouble for little money. I will only do restaurant shops now for meal reimbursement, but even that is tedious. There's no money in this.

Reply by rengel/CA on 12/13/07 11:12am
Msg #225876

I did it for a while, but it just didn't pay enough for my time. I will do a restaurant shop now and then if I feel like dining out with a friend, and I do oil change shops every 3 months to get my oil change reimbursed, but won't go out of my way to do one.

Also, I tried to take a motorcycle shop and they told me I had to take a MALE with me! Whether he rides or not!!!! I ride my own, it is a larger bike than a lot of men ride and I ride more miles a year than a lot of men ride. So p*ss on them!

My .02

Reply by ZeeCA on 12/13/07 11:53am
Msg #225886

and such a pretty bike! but seriously I have done some

assignments and no there is no $$$ in them. I thought it would be fun as I am new in the area to check out some restaurants. I also do a local pet chain and as I go monthly to get the 7 baby torts their wiggly worms.

a couple of the companies will call me and ask me to do an assignment and not make me take that stupid background quiz.

Reply by Mdene_AZ on 12/13/07 12:00pm
Msg #225888

Re: and such a pretty bike! but seriously I have done some

I have no clue what you all are talking about! could you educate me on this one?

Reply by christiSocal on 12/14/07 3:37am
Msg #225997

Riding is not just for guys!

My hubby's a biker, we even went on our honeymoon on a Norton (classic English bike). Now my 21 yr old daughter is learning to ride. She's 5'8 118 lbs and she looks like a barbie doll on her Dads Harley. However if the mystery shop "SS's" Tried to tell her she wasn't good enough, she'd rip'em a new one!

Reply by bahama on 12/13/07 12:15pm
Msg #225891

Re: Mystery Shopping-Becca check your PM n/m

Reply by Margaret_FL on 12/13/07 2:17pm
Msg #225923

I did these types of shops years ago. There is a lot of reports to be done. They also check for spelling. I never did fast food but I did do fine dining, no pay but free meal. I do not do those anymore because they take 90 days to pay and I was putting it on a credit card. I motel shops also which also required pictures and a long report.

Reply by Lynn Schoen on 12/13/07 3:29pm
Msg #225937

How does one find the good ones to work for?

Reply by Michelle/AL on 12/13/07 3:58pm
Msg #225944

I'm a Mystery Shopper

Becca, I did my first one about a week ago for a fast food restaurant. The questionniare was pretty lengthy as well but it wasn't 10 pages. When I have a notary or inpsection appointment I log on to about 3 different Mystery Shop websites and check and see if there's a "shop" on my way to the appoinment. I look at it as a free lunch or dinner, if it's for a restaurant. I just got emailed to go to a bowling alley and I can take a friend with me. When it stops being fun then I'll stop "shopping".

Reply by LKT/CA on 12/13/07 4:24pm
Msg #225948

Our store used to BE mystery shopped

Remember Robinsons-May? They were HUGE on customer service...we got "m. shopped" all the time but you never knew when until your dept. manager told you and reviewed the evaluation with you. Anyone getting poor evals were counseled...if they didn't improve they were fired.

To get a good eval, we had to:

1. Make sure you said hello to customer and asked if they needed assistance. Found out mystery shopper would purposely come near you to see your name tag without you knowing and milled around you to see how long it took for you to acknowledge them.

2. I worked in women's shoes so if customer's size was not available, we had to suggest a similar shoe or same shoe in different color.

3. At transaction, ask if customer would like to open a Robinsons-May charge acct.

4. Address customer by name (found out m. shopper ALWAYS paid with a credit card or check so we had opportunity to see the name).

5. Thank the customer.

To get poor evals, that had to be deliberate. We didn't really get shopped during the 15 hour sales because women's shoes was very busy but on a Monday or Tuesday, it was pretty empty so we were usually m. shopped then.

Reply by Becca_FL on 12/13/07 6:57pm
Msg #225965

I ended up not doing the shop. My SO said he was not willing to 'lie' and 'deceive' for 30+ minutes so that I could earn a whopping $20...plus the fact that he has absolutely no interest in Victory motorcycles, he says they are the ugliest things on the road. I wanted to through with it since I did commit, but 10 pages of narratives + at least 30 for the shop for a measly $20 that I wouldn't receive until January???? Screw 'em. Let them find some other sucker.

We still went down south and dropped his bike off, but I got a late lunch instead of a headache. We waived as we drove by the Victory dealer.

Reply by BrendaTx on 12/13/07 7:56pm
Msg #225973

Becca, I did some mystery shopping several years ago.

I, like your SO, had problems with the deception and the scenarios. I was a fan of Petco shops. My dog adores a trip to Petco and so I'd take all those I could. I'd check for displays and cleanliness and all was great. Then, they started requiring the shopper to create situations of lying about a bag of food that had moths in it, or making a complaint to the manager that one of the clerks was cursing and I had children with me and they heard it all. I quit doing any shops of any type when they started requiring more than observing.

Frankly, I feel there's too much work in doing shops for too little, and I'm not an actress or a liar...however, I found merchandising to be interesting and easy for decent pay.

The only way to make enough money on shops IMHO is to be the one who gives the assignments...like a signing service.

Who knows how much the schedulers/companies make who line these shops up. Also, back when I first started doing shops they were not as cheap as they are now, nor did they require as much. Based on the prices and expectations I see now, I think at least one layer of middlemen have cut into the deals and keep two or three times as much as they pay the contractors.

Reply by Becca_FL on 12/13/07 9:13pm
Msg #225979

I couldn't act out those types of scenarios either, Brenda. Don't retail employees deal with enough crap already? I wouldn't mind doing some PT demo jobs or merchandising, but my career as a mystery shopper was short lived. I see now that it just isn't worth the time involved. I was looking for a fun adventure and what I got was a scripted lie with ten pages of reports. No, not for me.

Reply by Margaret_FL on 12/14/07 10:18am
Msg #226042

The one I had the most fun with involved a hidden camera in a fanny pack. They sent me a tiny camera and shirt where one of the buttons was taking the video. They also sent me a piece of jewelry to pawn. I just pawned the ring and was to walk around the store and video tape the isles. They were looking for clean and tidy stores and employees treating you right.

When I walked in I took my husband and grandson with me. They had the stereo blasting so loud with "Hip Hop" music, I could not hear what they were says. I had to go to 3 pawn shops and it paid $250 with an extra 50 if I did it within 3 days of getting my equipment.

I checked the tape and sent back, they paid me pon receipt of the equipment but I never got any more assignments like that one.

My gradson thought it was "Cool" his grandma was a spy.

Reply by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 12/13/07 9:25pm
Msg #225983

It's mystery shopping to me every time I go looking for something for the Platinum Blonde. Especially when she sends me down the feminine products aisle.

Reply by christiSocal on 12/14/07 3:05am
Msg #225996

Thats not mystery shopping

Thats yer platinum blonde havin some fun with ya! lol