MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD 17 - please don't mention client names or fees on here!!

GabGab*mum

I am truly grateful for all responds.


As suggested, I have checked the street view at the Google maps. The photo of the street is consistent with these ones I took today. Then I checked (thanks to Borders) the store locator and it is showing the store with THE SAME ADDRESS and post code, but in different location over a mile farther from the place I ended up today. The store locator is based on the Google map, which actually leaded me totally different location by the same post code. How the h*** it is possible?

yonk

Postcode locations on maps are sometimes at the centre of the postcode or just wrong.

proshopper

cheekychipmunk wrote: »

I concur with radarman. For my very first egg shop, I put the postcode in google street view and found myself in the middle of a boarded-up council estate with no sign of any shops. Eventually found the correct shop over 2 miles away.

And then went to do it (50 mile round trip) only to find it was shut for refurb......:eek:............ they did still pay me though

I've found quite a few errors with ESA postcodes after checking on streetview - so def worth looking before you go!

GabGab*mum wrote: »

I am truly grateful for all responds.


As suggested, I have checked the street view at the Google maps. The photo of the street is consistent with these ones I took today. Then I checked (thanks to Borders) the store locator and it is showing the store with THE SAME ADDRESS and post code, but in different location over a mile farther from the place I ended up today. The store locator is based on the Google map, which actually leaded me totally different location by the same post code. How the h*** it is possible?

Apart from the new egg shops (i.e. the ones that have been rebranded from the turquoisey logo shops), the shop location database doesn't seem to have changed in the last ten years!! I have been doing egg shops that long! Before they were "egg" shops and when they were with another agency!

Luckily I know most of them within a 50-mile radius of here. The postcodes are waaaay out of date and the street addresses are often a long way off accurate. Local knowledge is sometimes not enough to distinguish between two shops in the same area.

My advice is to use the client store locator if it is a shop you have never visited before. The MS company is well aware of the problem. Hence all this "hub number" checking!!!

P.S. If in doubt, you can always phone the store. I suggest late in the evening. What works for me is: "do you sell nappies? where are you in relation to [known landmark]?"

Dotty13

I have 7 reports to complete for the eggs shops I did today, but a date/time error keeps showing up (even though it isn't). I know this has been mentioned before. What did you do in this instance, and does the problem rectify itself? I have tried to search for the answer but ESA and egg shops are mentioned on here too many times for this to work (and its late and I'm egg-hausted!)

proshopper

Dotty13 wrote: »

I have 7 reports to complete for the eggs shops I did today, but a date/time error keeps showing up (even though it isn't). I know this has been mentioned before. What did you do in this instance, and does the problem rectify itself? I have tried to search for the answer but ESA and egg shops are mentioned on here too many times for this to work (and its late and I'm egg-hausted!)

I remember someone mentioning that you put in the second part of the date or time first and it goes though.

Dotty13

proshopper wrote: »

I remember someone mentioning that you put in the second part of the date or time first and it goes though.

I've tried that, but it still comes up with the error. I may leave these until tomorrow and sort out with a clearer head. Hopefully the problem will have rectified itself. If not, I'll just keep trying, but its so frustrating, as I just want to finish the job and forget about it. I hate leaving thing half done.

proshopper

Dotty13 wrote: »

I've tried that, but it still comes up with the error. I may leave these until tomorrow and sort out with a clearer head. Hopefully the problem will have rectified itself. If not, I'll just keep trying, but its so frustrating, as I just want to finish the job and forget about it. I hate leaving thing half done.

These sorts of things are so frustrating! I've just spent an hour and a half submitting a 20 minute report, because none of the potential answers to one of the questions was acceptable. In the end, I just cleared the answer and submitted.....only to find that there was only the facility to upload one image (and two were needed)!!

mysterious_girl

Dotty13 wrote: »

I have 7 reports to complete for the eggs shops I did today, but a date/time error keeps showing up (even though it isn't). I know this has been mentioned before. What did you do in this instance, and does the problem rectify itself? I have tried to search for the answer but ESA and egg shops are mentioned on here too many times for this to work (and its late and I'm egg-hausted!)

Enter the minutes numbers before yu enter the hours numbers IFSWIM, see if that works.

Dotty13

mysterious_girl wrote: »

Enter the minutes numbers before yu enter the hours numbers IFSWIM, see if that works.

Yeh, tried that. I'm gonna leave it until tomorrow and finish the glass of wine that I've just started (that I didnt have on Friday wine night because of today):D. This MS lark sure does give you a headache doesn't it!:rotfl:

Dotty13

proshopper wrote: »

These sorts of things are so frustrating! I've just spent an hour and a half submitting a 20 minute report, because none of the potential answers to one of the questions was acceptable. In the end, I just cleared the answer and submitted.....only to find that there was only the facility to upload one image (and two were needed)!!

Stupid reports!:rotfl: