The Mystery Shopping thread - part 6

nads

Radarjet wrote: »

Mystery shopping came up in conversation today at work and a couple of us battling debts decided it would be well looking into.

I am in full time work (for now) and am in the 40% tax bracket - In anyones best estimation is MS worth it if you have to pay 40% on everything you earn ?

My friend is on income support and DLA and is not able to do a regular job but could manage a shopping trip if I drove her around - would doing mystery shopping affect these benefits in any way ?

Many thanks

Radarjet

Hi radar,

For yourself, the financial reward will be very minimal perhaps even non-existent. Remember you have to register as self-employed so not sure if it's worth the effort and time for someone on your rate! Although the tax man doesn't like people working for perks (TIMMNE??!!!!) you could benefit from reimbursed pizza?!


I think your friend would be best of ringing the benefits people to find if she can try to earn a specific amount money without affecting her benefits.

JoeyGrey

kman wrote: »

Welcome... it is a bit nerve wracking at first, well, most of the time actually
but once you get into the swing, it gets easier and sometimes, almost fun!!

Thanks for the welcome Kman.

I just have one thing to ask at the moment (I'm sure I'll have more later ). My phone has a voice recorder on it, and i wondered if it was acceptable to use this discretely, just to use as a reminder of how the conversation went, and then to delete it afterwards. Or is it not the done thing??

TractorGirl327

JoeyGrey wrote: »

Thanks for the welcome Kman.

I just have one thing to ask at the moment (I'm sure I'll have more later ). My phone has a voice recorder on it, and i wondered if it was acceptable to use this discretely, just to use as a reminder of how the conversation went, and then to delete it afterwards. Or is it not the done thing??

I sometimes do that outside the store, when I have to say what was in the window or to the left or right. Or sometimes I blatantly stand in the shop and type notes into my phone - no-one bats an eyelid, they just think I'm sending a text. Sometimes when there is a lot to remember I've pretended to receive a call, said "I'm in ******, hold on, I'm going outside" ... then I go out of sight and make a few notes, then return, still on the phone, saying "OK, must go, talk soon" ... and continue the job. Again, it's not unusual for people to receive phone calls so no-one thinks anything of it.

jobbingmusician

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

Help please! Does anyone remember me complaining about the Gap drive-thru that they asked me to do. Didn't want to but found it hard to say no. Then I couldn't get a receipt.

Well, as expected, it's come back with a query... but on reflection it's probably a legitimate one. Hubby was doing the timings for me, and he told me the total from order to delivery was 6mins. They are querying this and now that I've checked with hubby he thinks he may have started timing when we reached the main menu board. I stopped to read that, so it will have added to the time. But I'm not sure how much exactly. Can't have been more than about 2 mins, and then there was a delay at the order point because I was querying why I couldn't get a receipt etc.

Does anyone have any advice on how I should reply to Gap? If I say deduct 2 mins, (that still leaves the total at 4 mins) and explain that the bulk of the delay was due to me being unhappy at not getting a receipt, will they accept that?

EDIT: Not quite sure how to answer because the email quotes my original response which said the delays was due to me asking about the menu and querying why I didn't get a receipt - and says 'not including the reasons above' how long was the total? So, does it mean, how long would it have been if I hadn't stopped to talk?

Simply explain that the delay was because you took a 2 minutes to make up your mind, and there was then a further delay (as explained in your earlier report, with any luck) because they were slow to provide a receipt. Neither GAP nor the client will mind this, because it attributes the delay to you not to the client, and you will most likely get paid!

jobbingmusician

mysterious_girl wrote: »

Absolute rubbish. I told you all earlier. Mine was a bank - nothing to do with these retail outlets cutting back etc. They have cancelled everything. GR is obviously going down the pan.

Most likely scenario

They were commissioned to do jobs once a quarter, and some numpty in the office posted them 2 months running.

Only a guess, based on how the world works.....

Scaredy_Cat_3

owlet wrote: »

Sorry, I missed the one where you said that . I do apologise. I did one for GAP today that I didn't really want (after they phoned me). Tried for ages earlier to get onto webexpress, but couldn't. I presume they have problems. I'll try again tomorrow morning but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it! I hope you get sorted ok. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Thanks Owlet - sorry if I sounded a bit ratty, I've had a stressful week and was feeling a bit moody yesterday! Annoyed with myself more than anything, I should never have accepted the job, I had too much on that day and wasn't really psyched up for it. I think if they ever ring me again (doubtful after this!), I'll be 'out'!

Scaredy_Cat_3

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Simply explain that the delay was because you took a 2 minutes to make up your mind, and there was then a further delay (as explained in your earlier report, with any luck) because they were slow to provide a receipt. Neither GAP nor the client will mind this, because it attributes the delay to you not to the client, and you will most likely get paid!

Thanks. I've already sent an email saying pretty much that - the delay was down to me, and explaining that the lack of a receipt really threw me, and I had to double check the amount and make a note of it. I'm absolutely obsessed with keeping debit card receipts and record them all religiously so I don't go overdrawn. Personally I think it's dreadful to let someone pay by card and not give them a receipt! If he'd told me he couldn't give me a receipt I would have paid with cash.

I am concerned that they won't pay - not so much because of the money, though obviously I'd like to be reimbursed for a meal I didn't even want (!), but because if they don't pay it will make me feel awful - I'll get all bitter and twisted.

jessicamb

question for golden arches shoppers - my morning drive through order has "1 gapbuster order 0.00" on the receipt. Have I been rumbled? :eek:

TractorGirl327

jessicamb wrote: »

question for golden arches shoppers - my morning drive through order has "1 gapbuster order 0.00" on the receipt. Have I been rumbled? :eek:

PMSL looks like it! How funny, they could be a bit more discreet!!!!:rotfl: :rotfl:

JoeyGrey

Next question - This morning I did a job in a local store and was told to make a small purchase. I found something quite small, but then on my way out saw something I've been looking for for ages. I already felt like I'd been rumbled so I picked that up as well thinking, oh well they won't suspect me if I'm buying two items. Wasn't until I got my receipt that I realised that I've strayed from their instructions now by buying two items. Do you think they will withhold payment because of this? I'm kicking myself for remembering everything I had to do and then falling at the last hurdle!!