The Mystery Shopping thread - VII

pebblespop

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

I have to agree, HP. I don't understand why so many people rush to do these low paying (or no fee) jobs. I know they might consider it worth it if they are passing, but are there really so many people who just happen to be passing anyway?

I'd be interested to know the answer. Part of me thinks it's people who are employed full time and don't need the money but get some sort of kick out of MSing even if it leaves them out of pocket. I don't know?????

i pick up a few at the train station on my way home from work. It takes about 20 minutes for me to zoom around 5 shops and gets me a quick 25 quid in fees.

for the reports i open 5 windows and copy and paste my answers into each one and adapt if neccessary.

I was really annoyed when the goods cost more than the reimbursement - last month was fine though.

Scaredy_Cat_3

pebblespop wrote: »

i pick up a few at the train station on my way home from work. It takes about 20 minutes for me to zoom around 5 shops and gets me a quick 25 quid in fees.

for the reports i open 5 windows and copy and paste my answers into each one and adapt if neccessary.

I was really annoyed when the goods cost more than the reimbursement - last month was fine though.

Wow! You are certainly well organised! Thanks for the info - I can see the sense in that. I remember when I first started MSing... (not that long ago), my first few jobs were telephone calls with a fairly low fee - I'll call it £5 for the purposes of this example. Part of me thought, like, is it worth going through all this for a fiver? But then another part of me thought, do a few and it mounts up and it's (for example) 20 quid I wouldn't have otherwise.

As I've been unable to get a proper job, that 20 quid was really, really useful!

I guess I was being naive over these jobs - there are none close to me so it would mean a special trip out. I guess if you use stations and airports a lot, I can see it's an easy way to make a few quid. Thanks for educating me!

IlonaRN

scubaangel wrote: »

I'm sure this has been answered before but when you do a gyp phone job what receipt do they want you to upload? Just scan the literature I got in the shop or should there be something else?

Last time I did one they wanted a scan of the business card, but I scanned the page of the brochure with the phone they recommended, and that was ok too.

badcoverversion

andietohavemoremoney wrote: »

Hi I'm also a newbie with my first shop next week. There seems an awful lot to observe. Any tips on how to remember it all, as well as info on the above appreciated. Feel free to pm me. Thank you:A

I'm relatively new to it myself, but I always open a draft text message on my mobile phone and fill in a few minor details whilst waiting in a queue or waiting to be 'seen to'. It just looks as if you are writing a text and also makes you seem more inconspicuous as you appear ignorant to your surroundings.

I save the message as draft and continue at appropriate intervals. It's very helpful...especially for those finicky details like queue numbers and times and names.

Good luck with your first shop.

scubaangel

Thanks, neither of the shops I visited today had any cards, so both advisors wrote their names and the shops contact numbers on the page with the phone they recommended.


And I've finally been offered a Bear job, but how the heck to I set the planning date? (Probably really obvious but I'm having such a dizzy week so far its untrue). Plus its not 'in' my home town so it'll have to be a day out MS'ing if I can get enough jobs to make it worth while.

Becles

softpad wrote: »

Hi everyone

Just wanted to see what everyone thinks; I do get asked sometimes by friends about signing up for MS but am getting reluctant to hand out information now (they live near me so less work for me!). Am I am mean old prune :rotfl: or is anyone else the same? I can't do a 'day job' so it's my only source of income.

Maybe I'm just mean

I don't think you are mean. I found out about MS work by reading a post on a parenting forum about Gapbuster and I signed up and did a couple of jobs. I then used search engines and forums finding out more about other MS companies. It was all work off my own back finding out the information and deciding which to apply for.

I've had an disagreement with my neighbour and my Mam about MS information. Both wanted me to write down a list of the companies I work for and the jobs and fees they have. My neighbour wanted it for her adult son and my Mam promised it to someone at work who had children at uni still at home and they were looking to earn a bit of cash. I didn't see why I should hand over all that information on a plate so that they would be in competition with me. I just said it was all on the internet and if they searched in Google they would find stuff in the same way that I did.

If you had a shoe shop, you wouldn't tell your customers about the special offers Clarks have as you would lose income. You are a business and your customers are the agencies you work for. Why would you tell friends who all your customers are, as they will become competitors and they may impact on your income.

I don't mind helping out people who get stuck on small bits on threads like this though. We all get mixed up from time to time and it's nice to have a friendly face to ask for help or support with things, or just to have a rant when things go wrong. It's like a virtual staff room

softpad

True, completely agree

badcoverversion

scubaangel wrote: »

And I've finally been offered a Bear job, but how the heck to I set the planning date? (Probably really obvious but I'm having such a dizzy week so far its untrue). Plus its not 'in' my home town so it'll have to be a day out MS'ing if I can get enough jobs to make it worth while.

I came to ask the exact same thing...although i presume you mean bare!!!

johnny_c-l

LOL @ "Bear"!

Click on "View/Submit" (or something like that), do the stupid quiz which will drive you up the wall, then enter your language and date, click the button, enter the date a little down the page then "Save for later".

Scaredy_Cat_3

Becles wrote: »

I don't think you are mean. I found out about MS work by reading a post on a parenting forum about Gapbuster and I signed up and did a couple of jobs. I then used search engines and forums finding out more about other MS companies. It was all work off my own back finding out the information and deciding which to apply for.

I've had an disagreement with my neighbour and my Mam about MS information. Both wanted me to write down a list of the companies I work for and the jobs and fees they have. My neighbour wanted it for her adult son and my Mam promised it to someone at work who had children at uni still at home and they were looking to earn a bit of cash. I didn't see why I should hand over all that information on a plate so that they would be in competition with me. I just said it was all on the internet and if they searched in Google they would find stuff in the same way that I did.

If you had a shoe shop, you wouldn't tell your customers about the special offers Clarks have as you would lose income. You are a business and your customers are the agencies you work for. Why would you tell friends who all your customers are, as they will become competitors and they may impact on your income.

I don't mind helping out people who get stuck on small bits on threads like this though. We all get mixed up from time to time and it's nice to have a friendly face to ask for help or support with things, or just to have a rant when things go wrong. It's like a virtual staff room

It's hard enough to grab the jobs as it is without inviting all your friends and neighbours to set up in competition with you!!! :rotfl:

Thankfully I haven't come across this problem... probably because I haven't told anyone what I'm doing! (Well, apart from immediate family, that is - and I've sworn them to secrecy). Most of my 'friends' (by which I suppose I mean other mums at school) think I'm a housewife If pushed, I would just say I do a bit of auditing!