The mystery shopping thread - part 4

SJW

Could someone PM me which supermarkets TNS mystery shop please.

Anyone do any Bare mystery shops for a certain computer processor company?

Sarah_Joanne

SJW are you with TNS? if so then do a search for all areas and you can see the supermarket. I think it's only 1, I have only ever seen 1 on there.

Chollita

SJW, I just did the computer one here in Spain, my very first MS

SJW

How did it go?
Mine was terrible, the service I received!!

Claw_back_money

Many thanks Timne and all for help re tax.
I had a good result... I phoned the tax office with a query on one of the forms, and they said that since the sums were so small (I mentioned <£20 'profit' last month), and, I work and pay tax through the job, I had 3 choices:
1) Estimate now how much I'll earn from mystery shopping. They will calculate the tax, amend my tax code and tell my employer, then at the end of the year we can settle up properly.
2) Wait until the end of the financial year, and notify them how much I made from mystery shopping, and they'll bill me.
3) Do the self-assessment route. The lovely guy in the tax office seemed to be suggesting that was the least good option as there's quite a lot to it.

After some discussion we agreed on (2).

Has anyone else been given this advise by their tax office, and how did it work at the end of the year?

Incidentally, my query was about evidence, if I make a phone call per survey and they cost approx 10p... do I need to find that call in my bill to evidence the exact spend. He said no, just state 'x phone calls @10p each'.

Cheers all
Cbm

sinderella_2

Can you help me. I'm doing an audit in five different supermarkets. The first shop took an hour and then 2 hours to transfer the info to the spreadsheet. I phoned them on the emergency line over the weekend to say I couldn't do the others on that basis for *** each. Their deadline is tomorrow morning. I got talked into doing them and told a short cut which nearly halved my time in store so I did all the stores but I'm now entering the info on the spreadsheet. Been here for over 2 hours and not even finished one store. I can't do the other 3 for the next 6 hours! They want the info tomorrow. I feel I've got an impossible task. Do I just write off the hours spent counting beer in the stores and tell them it's impossible by email and leave them to find out tomorrow that their job won't be done? I know they'll never give me any more work, but I wouldn't do these audits again anyhow. I'm never unreliable and unprofessional but it just isn't doable. I'm so stressed. Helpp please, some advice..

cookinmummy

sinderella wrote: »

Can you help me. I'm doing an audit in five different supermarkets. The first shop took an hour and then 2 hours to transfer the info to the spreadsheet. I phoned them on the emergency line over the weekend to say I couldn't do the others on that basis for £12 each. Their deadline is tomorrow morning. I got talked into doing them and told a short cut which nearly halved my time in store so I did all the stores but I'm now entering the info on the spreadsheet. Been here for over 2 hours and not even finished one store. I can't do the other 3 for the next 6 hours! They want the info tomorrow. I feel I've got an impossible task. Do I just write off the hours spent counting beer in the stores and tell them it's impossible by email and leave them to find out tomorrow that their job won't be done? I know they'll never give me any more work, but I wouldn't do these audits again anyhow. I'm never unreliable and unprofessional but it just isn't doable. I'm so stressed. Helpp please, some advice..

Poor you sounds like a lot of work for one day! I've never had any work from them that has been that time consuming and always found it quite straightforward. But, whenever I have raised queries etc they have always been really helpful and friendly - plus they quite often respond to emails late into the evening and on the weekend - so my advice would be to email them now to say that you have your doubts that you will be able to complete the excel sheet in time due to the quantity of data etc. If these particular audits are very time consuming then perhaps you are not the only one in this situation.

Good luck hun

carolwat

sinderella wrote: »

Can you help me. I'm doing an audit in five different supermarkets. The first shop took an hour and then 2 hours to transfer the info to the spreadsheet. I phoned them on the emergency line over the weekend to say I couldn't do the others on that basis for £12 each. Their deadline is tomorrow morning. I got talked into doing them and told a short cut which nearly halved my time in store so I did all the stores but I'm now entering the info on the spreadsheet. Been here for over 2 hours and not even finished one store. I can't do the other 3 for the next 6 hours! They want the info tomorrow. I feel I've got an impossible task. Do I just write off the hours spent counting beer in the stores and tell them it's impossible by email and leave them to find out tomorrow that their job won't be done? I know they'll never give me any more work, but I wouldn't do these audits again anyhow. I'm never unreliable and unprofessional but it just isn't doable. I'm so stressed. Helpp please, some advice..

I have done these jobs and have inputted 2 lots of results today and this only took me about an hour. Are you using the excel functions in order to speed things up. For example if you have lots of carling to enter then highlight however many lines you need to put it in then type Carling and hit Ctrl and enter or you can just copy down with text. Ctrl is much better to use for the lot codes and dates. It sounds to me like you are typing every single line in which is really not necessary. These are really easy jobs if you know how to use excel properly and I think it would be very unfair to let the company down at such a late stage. They need the results tomorrow to get them to their client for Tuesday. Also you have mentioned the company and the fee which you really should remove as this company does not like to be talked about at all and you should never mentioned fees.

Good luck.

sinderella_2

carolwat wrote: »

Also you have mentioned the company and the fee which you really should remove as this company does not like to be talked about at all and you should never mentioned fees.

Good luck.

Thanks Carolwat that advice sounds like what I need to do excel, you're right I have no idea how to use it.:o I was pasting, so not typing, but never the less time consuming. I will have a go.

Ps didn't mention the company by name. That's not something I would do and I thought mentioning the fee was harmless if the company not named. I will remove the fee. Thank you

sinderella_2

Carolwat:T:T:T

you are brilliant, that control enter thing really works a treat!!!