The Mystery Shopping thread - VIII

nads

TractorGirl327 wrote: »

I don't keep them. I put them in an envelope and send them off to someone when I'm doing a Gap stamp shop job as my POP.















.... Not really!!! for you newbies there was a heated discussion about someone doing this a while back on one of the older threads! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Good times!

dmbw

KaramelRose wrote: »

Good luck!
I started off with Gapbuster (my first assignment was Easter Sunday!) and I think it gave me a good introduction to mystery shopping. Having to do the Certification Tests makes you really hone your mystery shopping instincts so I think it's a good place to start!

Although I got fed up of fast food really quickly!

hmm i was just thinkin this as i was looking through the stores they offer. The questions seem quite simple to me but thats perhaps because i used to work in retail and experienced many a mystery shopper myself from the other side of the board.

If You sign up with another company are you best off saying you are or aren't registered with another mystery shopping company? Are many of you signed up with more than 1 company?

egeorgm

I am yet to do my first tax form and it's playin on my mind a bit but I know I have a bit of time

My question is - do we submit all our receipts for the jobs? I have lost a couple of mine from when I moved and wondered what I'd do in that situation or does it not matter if I know what I spent anyway? I have pictures of most of them from submitting to the MS companies anyway.

If anyone can help that would be good, thanks

mysterious_girl

dmbw wrote: »

hmm i was just thinkin this as i was looking through the stores they offer. The questions seem quite simple to me but thats perhaps because i used to work in retail and experienced many a mystery shopper myself from the other side of the board.

If You sign up with another company are you best off saying you are or aren't registered with another mystery shopping company? Are many of you signed up with more than 1 company?

I think its probably best to say that you are registered with other companies because that shows that you have experience. I am signed up with about a dozen but I only mention about 4 when they ask. I mention the ones that are hardest to get into and that are more professional. I never mention Gyp and RE because they are just absolute rubbish and aren't really interested in an honest report, just pleasing their client.

SAK1976_2

I'm after a bit of advice. I started MSing at the beginning of May to earn a few more pennies for myself. I am full time employed and so fit it in when I am not working. I thought I would do a few jobs to see what it was like and whether I would want to continue with it on a regular basis and have now decided that I quite enjoy it.
What I am after is advice on tax and that whole side of things. I have read the first page of the thread, but still I am confused (it doesn't take much!). I understand that doing MS makes me self employed, but then does that affect my full time employment? Would I effectively be self employed by my employers and then have to manage my tax from my earnings form them? Or would that be separate and I would be full time employed, and also self employed?

Any help/advice would be good.
Thanks

mysterious_girl

What ever happened to Hollypear? She still around?

AndyInYorks

mysterious_girl wrote: »

I think its probably best to say that you are registered with other companies because that shows that you have experience. I am signed up with about a dozen but I only mention about 4 when they ask. I mention the ones that are hardest to get into and that are more professional. I never mention Gyp and RE because they are just absolute rubbish and aren't really interested in an honest report, just pleasing their client.

I don't mention the other company names. I don't think it's right to as we've signed a confidentiality agreement. I think it's important to show the new company that I can keep to this agreement. So I normally put something like "I carry out mystery shopping assignments for a number of other companies and have experience of shopping a variety of outlets including pubs, take aways (etc etc)".

I have not been rejected from anywhere so this approach seems to be ok.

AndyInYorks

matthewluck wrote: »

I was told that mine was 11 recently, but I am not sure if it has slipped further. I can see the Italian Restaurants and hotels - I wonder are there any more brilliant jobs for the perfect MSers on RE?

Yes, their system is set up so that anyone with an average score of 13 or higher can get the best jobs. :rotfl:

tbw

SAK1976 wrote: »

I'm after a bit of advice. I started MSing at the beginning of May to earn a few more pennies for myself. I am full time employed and so fit it in when I am not working. I thought I would do a few jobs to see what it was like and whether I would want to continue with it on a regular basis and have now decided that I quite enjoy it.
What I am after is advice on tax and that whole side of things. I have read the first page of the thread, but still I am confused (it doesn't take much!). I understand that doing MS makes me self employed, but then does that affect my full time employment? Would I effectively be self employed by my employers and then have to manage my tax from my earnings form them? Or would that be separate and I would be full time employed, and also self employed?

Any help/advice would be good.
Thanks

I think you need to register as s/e with the tax office (I think you only have 3 months to do so from when you first become s/e otherwise they can fine you ). You will then have to fill in a full tax return every year - easiest and quickest to do online - but it will not make any difference to you normal job taxwise. You just have to collect all the details from your P60 and enter that on the tax form together with your s/e earnings, savings interest ect.

Its all fairly easy to do especially if you only do a small amount of ms work. Have a look at the govt. website - and don´t worry about it, its not as complicated as it looks.

AndyInYorks

Hi

Does anyone know, if TNS have an urgent job are they likely to increase the fee?

The AM's emailed out about a job that seems to have been waiting for weeks for someone to do it. I could do it but for the fee on offer it wouldn't be worth while. Would it look cheeky if I offered to do it for more money? (and how much can I get away with asking for?!)