The Mystery Shopping thread - part 5

cookinmummy

ellie9ellie wrote: »

And bum - my accumulators didn't win tonight :mad: - how come the Czech Republic beat England - I mean come on, not fair!!

It was a draw - is that not enough? Sorry I know nothing about accumulators!:D

callum9999

So if you are registering yourself as self-employed, could you get away with claiming VAT back on certain items or does that only happen if you have a proper business?

cookinmummy

josie wrote: »

No, mine just arrived at 20.59 - think it's all been a bit of a rush job.

They've even put something extra about another product that wasn't in the original brief, fortunately it's just something along the lines of look out for this and put a barker out if there isn't one there and the inputting Excel document doesn't have a specific question for it.

Good job you are on the ball Josie!:p:D

cookinmummy

callum9999 wrote: »

So if you are registering yourself as self-employed, could you get away with claiming VAT back on certain items or does that only happen if you have a proper business?

Oh dear this is a Timmne q and he is barred due to nuptials - but I thought VAT claims were only applicable to limited companies. Anyone??

ellie9ellie

cookinmummy wrote: »

It was a draw - is that not enough? Sorry I know nothing about accumulators!:D

No - says they have to beat them - oh well can't win them all.

Just done an online supermarket job for EDR as well so at least got some shopping for free!! Was very grateful for it actually cause I was going to do an online shop anyway - the thought of lugging myself and a 3 year old around the supermarket doesn't appeal to me much these days!!!

josie

ellie9ellie wrote: »

And bum - my accumulators didn't win tonight :mad: - how come the Czech Republic beat England - I mean come on, not fair!!

Have you had your accumulator jobs declined yet?

One of my bookies jobs was because I'd put an accumulator on - just a word of warning for anyone else who does these jobs for Gap.

Becles

Basic audit instructions:

Read through your brief and paperwork and make sure you understand what you are doing before you go! If you don’t understand something, it’s best to ring the company and clarify matters to save a repeat visit if you do it wrong.

Wear smart clothes as you are representing a company and they want to make a good impression. Tailored trousers, a plain shirt and proper shoes will be fine or a suit if you have one. Don’t wear jeans, t-shirts or trainers.

Don’t carry a large handbag as many stores won’t let you into stockrooms and back offices with a bag. Try and do without a bag if you can. I use a leather folio, which can hold my paperwork and has a pocket for my phone, car keys etc. I can also rest on the folio when I’m writing, or you could use a clipboard.

When you arrive at the store:

1) Sign into the store. Sometimes the visitor book is at customer services, and sometimes you have to use a separate visitor’s entrance. Make sure you get a visitors badge.

2) Follow the instructions on your brief. This varies from job to job.

3) Take any photos as necessary.

4) Speak to the required people and get your paperwork signed if the company request this.

5) When you are sure you’ve done everything, sign back out of the store and hand your visitors badge back.

Things that I’ve picked up on in this thread:

On entry/on exit = record the information you need when you arrive in the store. Do all your jobs, then record what was there on exit.
Eg – if there is a shelf edge label missing and you get it printed, you’ll have 1 missing SEL on entry, but no missing SEL’s on exit.
If problems are still outstanding when you leave, you have to make a note of why you were unable to solve it – eg: there is a SEL missing but the printer was broken.

Bookstock/Inventory checks = you need to find the stock control office or ask a manager and they will log into the store’s stock control system. This tells you how many units of the product are in store, how many are on order and gives details on sales history, past deliveries etc. Be careful noting down the quantities of stock as they often speak in jargon and will say “2+4”. This means 2 cases, plus 4 single units. You need to ask how many in a case to work out the total number of items in stock.

Talking to staff = you do need to be confidence and quite assertive as you’ll often be fobbed of that nobody can speak to you. Also be aware of staff that may talk down to you. Take it on the chin and ignore it, and explain you’re just doing your job and your intention is to increase sales which is good for their store. You may have to hang around waiting for managers, so mention when you are signing in that you will need to speak to the …… manager while you are there, so they are aware of your presence. Some companies ask you to ring and make appointments in advance, so do try to keep to the time, as if you are late they may refuse to speak to you.

Personal shopping = you can't do any personal shopping while you are signed into the store. However, once you have signed out, it's fine to do a personal shopping trip. I often pick up bits and bobs after a job, especially if I've spotted a good bargain in the yellow sticker fridge :money:

I’ve done loads of auditing work, so if anyone has any questions, I’ll be happy to help.

princess_leia_3

TractorGirl327 wrote: »

I've only got one from them!! :rotfl:

Are you using the "Available Assignments" search? That one is cr&p!!

You need to do "Search for Assignments" and put in your town. Still loads round here!!!

I always search my town first the look at available jobs if I remember! There seem to be a few on in London now that weren't there earlier and I nabbed a pub one round here too, I am in the coastal part of Kent - Canterbury/Herne Bay/Margate ish areas so it looks like we don't clash unless of course I want to go to Bluewater/Lakeside for the day then I think we might overlap

Oggyoi

cookinmummy wrote: »

Oh dear this is a Timmne q and he is barred due to nuptials - but I thought VAT claims were only applicable to limited companies. Anyone??

VAT and Ltd Companies are not connected.
VAT is payable on turnover of something in the region of £52k ( probably more nowadays).

I aren't an accountant, but had my own business a few years ago that was VAT reg, but wasn't ltd.
HTH

ellie9ellie

Just speaking to hubby now - to claim back VAT you must have a registered company which is also VAT registered. You can voluntarily be VAT registered but if your company has a turnover of approx £60k per annum you MUST be VAT registered.

However, if you incur allowable expenses in the course of MSing when completing a personal tax return these expenses can be partially offset against any income tax that you may be asked to pay.

Even though were all registered as self employed I don't think any of us are registered for VAT.