Hello from GA! I made a post earlier today, but I can't find it, so I guess I put it in the wrong place.

I am very new to secret shopping, even though I have been shopped many times as the former manager of a mall specialty store. My score was always 94+. My first shop is tomorrow (Wednesday) with Bestmark, at a car dealership. Car dealerships are not my comfort zone, but I have to start somewhere. It's the only shop in my email that wasn't snatched up in less than 3 minutes, and the prep for it is ridiculous for under 15 dollars. But... oh well; I shouldn't complain. I wanted a job... ANY job for now! I JUST moved back to my hometown. I was SO homesick. Do any of my future friends have any advice?

Welcome to the forum. Remember first and foremost on your shop that you are a NORMAL CUSTOMER and the closer you can be to that while making your observations the better off you will be. While there may be some very specific things you need to ask for or listen for, you really are thinking about getting a different car and want to know your options. A normal customer might even take notes (if not forbidden by your instructions) since you are just starting your search (unless your instructions have told you differently). Have a nice visit.

Thank you, Flash! Actually it just so happens that my parents are planning to buy a new car tomorrow and of course my first thought was to take them with me. Then my smarter half thought of all the potential disaster and came to her senses. By the time I was a store manager three years, I could spot a secret shopper a mile away so thanks for the reminder to be "normal". I normally don't do normal and it DOES take some effort on my part.

Good call by smarter half! Good, bad or indifferent, your first shops you don't need to be thinking about what someone with you might (or might not) say.

Hello from Texas,
Lady A.-Just do your best, relax, and be honest and open in what you observe and report. You'll find out that you may be nervous because you're out of your comfort zone which will expand for every knew assignment that you take.
You have everyone's support and know that you'll be fine!

Thanks Flash; thanks Bandit! Well here goes nothing... O_o

I used to dread the day when I would have to shop for a car at a dealership, but after doing several for secret shops, I'm now looking forward to it. I have learned a lot about dealing with the sales people, and I have a better image of them. I think you will really enjoy the shop.

Actually Chesire, even though I thoroughly dreaded it beforehand, I really DID enjoy the shop... until the end when I realized that here is a perfectly nice and honest guy who thinks he will eventually make a sale. Now I feel yucky about "lying" to him. If I became rich tomorrow I would seek out this salesguy. I think I was a little TOO convincing though, because he really made a good push as I was about to leave. I really loved learning about the 2014 cars (WOW! it's amazing what 4 cylinders can do these days!), but the 1.5 hours prep time and 2.5 hours of filling out paperwork afterwards is something I can do without. I hope I will get it down to 30 minutes or less with time if I decide to do another one...

LadyA,
Even veteran shoppers find that the first of a new type of shop can be daunting, and that the first of a new kind of report takes up to 3 times as long to write as a familiar one.

Just remember, your good report may provide him with a reward.

I have done car shops in the present. Do not take anyone with you. Read the Guidelines completely. This is not a good shop to start with. Start with easy shops. Also, I wouldn't do a car shop for under $30.

Look at it this way Lady A - Is a new car in your near or not so near future? Then consider this shop as research. And don't, definately don't consider this lying. You probably gave the salesman legimate objections and helped him improve his sales presentation. If he did a good job you left liking and trusting him.

I think all of you are right! After having a car dealership as my first shop, regular retail and restaurants, etc. should (almost) be a piece of cake. Should I start singing?? I got a new attitude...

LadyAcappella Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> By the
> time I was a store manager three years, I could
> spot a secret shopper a mile away so thanks for
> the reminder to be "normal". I normally don't do
> normal and it DOES take some effort on my part.
>

Welcome to the forum. So, tell us what some of the things the MS'ers did to make you spot them? That information would be helpful to many of the forum members.

Oh, they did very obvious things like check the time every 30 seconds, look at the inside of the hand they wrote notes on, pass the store then come back; with that terrified "I'm lost" look (The mall was so small there until NOBODY could become lost); dress in a business suit while looking highly uncomfortable in it; and paying closer attention to procedures instead of merchandise; being standoffish, with no small talk or normal customer questions. One of the district managers even used her family (five people), and they always stood within three inches of each other. It was comical. Any one of the MS's here would have come to the same conclusion if they were the store manager. I had to decide if the really weird people were Shoppers or shop LIFTERS! I was about 90% right either way.

One of the strangest customers I ever had turned out to be a little 13-year-old girl who just wanted to meet my then 15-year-old son!

PS---It's been 6 days and NOTHING from Bestmark. Not even to say if I did the shop correctly or to acknowledge that it was completed. I'll give it until Thursday; then I'll call them.

LadyAcappella Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh, they did very obvious things like check the
> time every 30 seconds, look at the inside of the
> hand they wrote notes on, pass the store then come
> back; with that terrified "I'm lost" look (The
> mall was so small there until NOBODY could become
> lost); dress in a business suit while looking
> highly uncomfortable in it; and paying closer
> attention to procedures instead of merchandise;
> being standoffish, with no small talk or normal
> customer questions. One of the district managers
> even used her family (five people), and they
> always stood within three inches of each other. It
> was comical. Any one of the MS's here would have
> come to the same conclusion if they were the store
> manager. I had to decide if the really weird
> people were Shoppers or shop LIFTERS! I was about
> 90% right either way.
>
> One of the strangest customers I ever had turned
> out to be a little 13-year-old girl who just
> wanted to meet my then 15-year-old son!
>
> PS---It's been 6 days and NOTHING from Bestmark.
> Not even to say if I did the shop correctly or to
> acknowledge that it was completed. I'll give it
> until Thursday; then I'll call them.


Thanks for the description of obvious shoppers. I'll have to watch out for walking past the mall kiosk, and then doubling back.


In return, I'll pass a note about how Bestmark works. Unless they do car shops differently, you don't hear from them until you get scheduled to be paid.

Thanks, Ishmael! Having absolutely no feedback seems strange to me, but companies have THEIR way of doing things. Do they EVER give feedback?

LadyAcappella Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks, Ishmael! Having absolutely no feedback
> seems strange to me, but companies have THEIR way
> of doing things. Do they EVER give feedback?

I've done seven shops for them, which were four different types of assignments. I didn't receive feedback on any. I assume that if they had had a problem and had needed to communicate with me, they would have sent an e-mail.

Go and log in, and look down the left-hand column. Near the bottom, you'll see: "Work/Payment History." There, you should be able to see what state your report is in. There'll be a place for 'Receipt Verification Date, and Date Shop Approved." From my records, I can see that shops were approved anywhere from 2 days to 16 days after they were done.

Great advice! I found it under stats: shops completed "1". AND I picked up a retail shop. It must be done on a Sunday is probably the reason it was still there, but I have NO problem doing shops after church service on Sunday. Thanks!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2014 08:57PM by LadyAcappella.

Do not take anyone with you. Always act yourself as a normal customer. Make believe you are buying a new car. Be sure to follow Guidelines.

Thank you, Shopper! I have a home utility service shop tomorrow, which probably won't be so bad. Your advice is well received. If I had decided to take someone with me I can imagine that they might feel the need to point things out to me; making us totally obvious. By the time I get to do retail, I will probably know what I'm doing! (Again--- I DO appreciate the reminders to be "normal"!) I do not want the Earthlings to take notice.

I learned something IMPORTANT from the home utility shop; Market Force seems to want to trip me up; so I won't get paid, maybe? I stated that I spent 13 minutes with the associate; (from Markrtforce): "FLAG: How did you finish in under 15 minutes?" Number one, because the office was nearly deserted at the time, and two, the prep paperwork never said keep the associate busy for 15 minutes. Is this normal for Marketforce or any of the other companies?

Actually the shop went extremely well and I will be shocked if I don't get paid because I covered all the steps! (Even though they appear to want to trip me up...)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2014 02:52AM by LadyAcappella.

I don't think I recognize the shop you're doing. Usually if there is a minimum time on site, it will be in the guidelines. They have questions like that in some other shops I've done for them if they think a time is unusually long or unusually short. I've never had a problem getting paid.

@Lady Acappella Yes, if Market Force's guidelines say at least 15 minutes they will ask. However, if you explain you should be all set. I had it happen with a shop recently. I was the only customer. There was no way it was going to take a minimum of 15 minutes. I have had two or three shops like that with them over the years. I always get paid.

I had one of those, too, and got paid. My response was something like this: I started timing as I entered the department. The salesman approached me within a few seconds. The salesman did not ask me any questions, once I had said that I was interested in a ....

You can imagine how long THAT took!

Thanks for responding, guys! I really think I'll get paid, but it seemed curious to me that there were no time constraints in the guidelines; yet the 13 minutes with the associate was used as a "flag". The associate was on his toes though, and I explained to them that I was greeted and approached in less than one second, and that the store had 0-1 customer the entire time I was there. However, the associate did not attempt to close the deal, which I think would have added around three or four minutes.

I really hope that if Market Force wants the shopper to spend at least 15 minutes with the associate, the guidelines will be updated to reflect that. It's just a tad annoying, but it's definitely not the worst thing that can happen.