MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD 19 - please don't mention client names or fees on here!!

boyoboy1986

DevilsAdvocate1 wrote: »

And that's great if it suits you. I remember when I first started mystery shopping and someone was saying how they had given up a few months before and were surprised that they felt better off. For years she had spent nights doing long reports thinking she was helping the family's finances and in actual fact she ended up feeling that she had wasted her time.

This made me look at mystery shopping in a different way. I started doing it so I didn't have to go back to full time work when my second child was born. I think its very easy to justify jobs to yourself by thinking "my son needed a new tracksuit" or "I fancy a night out night out anyway". In reality, if my son needs a tracksuit I will go to Asda and pay a fiver. Therefore, if I spend £15 on tracksuit doing a job with no fee, I'm actually only saving the £5 I would have spent (sports shops are usually much more expensive than Asda).

Again, spending £80 on a meal but having £50 of it reimbursed. We normally spend £30 if we go out for a meal anyway and can come home and relax after. No doing a report. Personally, I'd prefer to either go out to somewhere I like, at a time of my choosing, buying what I want to eat and drink with no report after. Especially if I'm still going to spend £30.

But everyone's different. I decided very early on to keep mystery shopping and my normal life as separate as possible.

D.

Probably should have pointed out the bottle of wine was £29.95, however I understand what you are saying. The report took me less than 30 mins to write up which I done on the train to work this morning. Again everyone does it for different reasons, the meal was very good and had we been going out in Glasgow we would have easily have spent the £80 (probably more as we would more than likely have a**ed a 2nd bottle of wine) we did last night anyway so in my view the 30 mins spent writing the report was worth saving £50.

weeg

mcallister1 wrote: »

A recent spate of visits to a budget hotel chain has finally convinced me that a night in a hotel is not always better than a night at home- although I did reach the nirvana that is platinum status after doing them!

I must have been lucky - my budget hotels were both good. Although tbh it was also good cos it forced me and him to both take weekends off. And I was chuffed to get to gold. Mind you I think every other glaswegian is now platinum!

ljshopper

Ive started getting my sel's printed off at the first store I visit now.Saves me a few hours on the day.

Does everyone do this and have you been keeping it a secret from dull plodders like me?

boyoboy1986

ljshopper wrote: »

Ive started getting my sel's printed off at the first store I visit now.Saves me a few hours on the day.

Does everyone do this and have you been keeping it a secret from dull plodders like me?

Whats a sel?

xxvickixx

Shelf edge label. You clearly don't frequent the Grabbit board!

Lil_Me_2

mysteryshoppingninja wrote: »

Email them and ask them to send you a gaptimer. They're really high quality, very slick. Fantastic product. And free!

Mine arrived today!!! I LOVE IT!

xxvickixx

Lil_Me wrote: »

Mine arrived today!!! I LOVE IT!

Sorry, am I being slow? I got the impression from everyone that they are crap, are they actually handy as my blackberry timer is seriously bad and if the gaptimer is OK i'll ask for one!

Talking of timers does anyone struggle using the gap coffee issued one. I have to conduct the whole assignment one handed which is tricky with the purse/card manoever. I lose the plot if I let go of the device in my pocket!

MrsGSR

mysteryshoppingninja wrote: »

Email them and ask them to send you a gaptimer. They're really high quality, very slick. Fantastic product. And free!

Would they let me have one seeing as I have only done one burger job so far?

weeg

xxvickixx wrote: »

Sorry, am I being slow? I got the impression from everyone that they are crap, are they actually handy as my blackberry timer is seriously bad and if the gaptimer is OK i'll ask for one!

Talking of timers does anyone struggle using the gap coffee issued one. I have to conduct the whole assignment one handed which is tricky with the purse/card manoever. I lose the plot if I let go of the device in my pocket!

I've never even taken the gap one out of the wrapper! I use my phone - as I do for burgers, because really that's how good the gaptimer is.

proshopper

MaxAben wrote: »

Hi,

Its not because other MS comps can see what they are doing! I can go and sign up with any client and see everything i want and they can with us ( we have good security so a bit hard ;-) ). Its more so that staff cannot see who is mystery shopping them because then it makes it easier for them to sign up and take the assignment, or know in which date range they will come.

I hope this makes sense?

Max, I relly like Helion. Unfortunately, I have limited opportunites because of demographics and location.

In the "old days" (i.e. when everything was done on paper) you would not have had the opportunity to peruse other companies' client lists.

I have been in the "retail intelligence" line of work for many years. I take my consent to confidentiality agreements very seriously. In the days of yore, I had to sign a paper copy and return it by post. I treat the electronic agreements with the same respect.

You may well know which MS company has which clients, but if I was signed up to that MS company, I would not breach my confidentiality agreement by discussing that client with you (or with anyone else). If I was not registered with a particular MS company, that would be another matter.

In this day and age, when everyone wants "genuine shoppers," rather than "professional mystery shoppers," and registration is open to everyone who has internet access, a bank account (or a paypal account) and an email address, we would be pretty daft if we thought that what we did was covert! Any retail manager who is worth his salt will have signed up with every MS company that shows up on a google search.

Max, there is scope for any MS company to attract business "outside the public domain." Many companies do this- they have a select group of assessors who can acccess particular clients/scenarios (with other than demographic or geographic contraints). This is the only way forward for professional MS companies who want to keep their high-earning projects confidential whilst using reliable and competent assessors. Assesors who are signed up with companies who want complete confidentiality will not discuss any aspect of their work on a forum such as this one.

I think the MS industry still has a lot to learn from some of us who work at the sharp end. We are out in the field every day of the week. We pick up all sorts of information when we mystery shop or audit (whether covert or overt). Some of the information we get is superfluous to the briefs, but you could be losing a significant resource (to attract renewed contracts) by not collecting this information in your scheduled assignments.