Comments on: What to Do if You Get Caught Mystery Shopping

By: DL

DL — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:08:26 +0000

RE: getting a name
I have found that since I have kids, it is easy to ask questions using my kids as the reason. ie: “Is your name Trevor? You look like one of my son’s friends.” They are usually young employees and they always tell me, “No, my name is Mike.” I am just a Mom to them and they aren’t defensive. I am friendly and so they tend to be casual and open. Try it sometime – it works for me.11/21/07

By: CG

CG — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 22:06:37 +0000

If most of these companies insist on a report being submitted right after the shop, then I’m in trouble. I don’t own a computer and have to access one(obviously)elsewhere. Like Sherry, I would need to be able to do the paperwork the next day. If this leads to fewer jobs, so be it until I can afford a computer. Any ideas?

By: ronnie

ronnie — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:45:19 +0000

My wife and I have served mystery shoppers,but it has been quite a few years ago.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:36:07 +0000

Bob,
I agree!
I am seeing alot of spelling, and grammar errors.
If some of you are entering your reports, the way you are writing these posts, you will never get the higher paying jobs.
Come on people, always check your spelling and grammar!
Kelly

By: Al

Al — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:18:25 +0000

Sherry, I live in the country. My shops are miles away. I keep a day planner and I work appointments, based on their locations. I have a full time job and plan three appointments per evening. When I get home, I submit the reports, while they are fresh. Word and grammar pro software helps with the report narratives. Some shops pay bonuses for a perfect report. This works for me. Companies are calling me and I have more appointments, than I can accept. Happy shopping.

By: Sherry

Sherry — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:48:59 +0000

Does anyone know how to get yourself lined up so you can make your reports the following day of the shops? I only have a couple of companies that I can do that with. It would sure be nice to be able to drive the 40 miles I need to drive, do several shops, come home and do the paperwork the next day.

By: Harry

Harry — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:51:02 +0000

Regarding Sam’s complaint near the top of the page.

You are obviously not a very good shopper anyway Sam. Accusing the Team Member of lying only drew attention to yourself, I’m not surprised you were reported to the MS company and sacked, I would have done the same thing.
A good shopper would have been patient, noted the discrepancy, said nothing and contacted the company as soon as possible and let them know what transpired.
You are supposed to keep a low profile during an assignment and by calling out to the order taker and then getting into an argument shows you aren’t the type of person who should be doing this type of work and gives genuine Mystery Shoppers a bad name.

By: Rose Marie

Rose Marie — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:44:11 +0000

Bob, I agree with you 100%. I do an average of about 45 shops per month and regularly score 9 or 10 on my reports. One of the things that companies’ schedulers and auditors require is that we have excellent written communication skills. This encompasses both spelling and grammar. If the written work is shabby or done poorly, someone else is going to have to rewrite it or clean up the narrative before it can be presented to the client. If, as shoppers, we want to be paid more for the reports we turn in, we should be providing quality work.

On the other hand, I also feel that many times clients demand too much information for too little compensation. However, the best thing about this business is that we get to pick and choose. For my part, if a shop requires more than one narrative, I won’t do it unless I have at least a $10 fee and complete reimbursement of expenses.

There is a way to make doing shops more cost effective in terms of gas. One, schedule shops that are all relatively close to each other. Two, find a shop that is paying very well (say $25), and then find shops that can be scheduled as stops along the way to the final destination. It only happens this way for me about twice a month, but it pays very well when it does.

Let’s work to collectively improve our written communication skills. Happy Shopping!

It’s as Jacob Jans says – apply, apply, apply. To be able to pick and choose your shops, you must have your application in to as many companies as you can. Initially it’s time-consuming, but it is well worth the effort.