This past week I've been ineligible for shops because I'm the wrong race, the wrong gender, the wrong size, have the wrong cell provider, have the wrong cable provider, my income is too high, my income is too low, have accounts at the wrong banks, don't have accounts at the right bank, drive the wrong make of car, drive the wrong value of car, and don't have nice enough clothes.
And tonight comes an email for what could be a pretty awesome assignment, except for one little thing...

To qualify, you must:
•Own a small business with between $250,000 and $5,000,000 in annual revenues. Your business must NOT be in the construction, restaurant, guns and ammunition, jewelry or gaming industries.

Yep, that's right. I should have never sold that one last revolver on New Year's Eve to the gemologist at my casino café while we were still building our own facilities expansion last year. I couldn't just be satisfied with $4,999,451 in annual revenue, could I? Who knew that one last $550 sale would DQ me from a really good mystery shop assignment nine months later?
Live and learn, I guess.

Hey, but the cool thing about MSing is that next week, you'll be the right race, the right gender, the right size, have the right cell provider, have the right cable provider, your income will be just right, you'll have accounts at the right banks, drive the right make of car, drive the right value of car, and have nice enough clothes.

So true. Sometimes you have something that they think would be just the right ingredient.

So I asked one company to remove me from their D/base because of the way a shop was mishandled. They paid me for that shop but it was so unprofessionally handled, I just did not want to waste any more time with that MSC. The scheduler was very angry with my request and when I thanked her, she was very rude. So, I was off their D/base.

Lo and behold, last night I received a request to do a very upscale shop which they said I had completed successfully a few times. I told her I was already off their D/base.

BB -
I once had an offer where everything was just right - I mean the porridge temperature, chair size, bed softness - everything fit me perfectly. Another shopper on this Forum wound up getting the assignment before I could apply - username "Goal D. Lox." Without naming the MSC, she shared that the client was some remote fancy B&B chaeau called "Les Trois Ours."
She never did post how the shop went.

Haha..I received that email too and laughed loudly! I mean, are you serious?

how many small business owners making
millions a year are doing mystery shops too?

I guess you could have a business with "between $250,000 and $5,000,000 in annual revenues" and be making very little money, so you decide to MS. However, your time would probably be better spent trying to improve your profit margin. I know - you could hire mystery shoppers to help improve customer service!

elcarev68 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BB -
> I once had an offer where everything was just
> right - I mean the porridge temperature, chair
> size, bed softness - everything fit me perfectly.
> Another shopper on this Forum wound up getting the
> assignment before I could apply - username "Goal
> D. Lox." Without naming the MSC, she shared that
> the client was some remote fancy B&B chaeau called
> "Les Trois Ours."
> She never did post how the shop went.

But remember, she said the bed was "jus-s-st right

techman01 Wrote:
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> how many small business owners making
> millions a year are doing mystery shops too?


Yeah, that went through my mind too as I rolled my eyes and deleted the email.

I guess just *saying* we make that much isn't good enough for that job. Wonder if they'll ever fill it?

They will probably get the same MS'er that was able to take that million dollar around the world shop.

As a business owner (outside of mystery shopping), I agree it would be rare, but I *could* see an owner with a revenue in that range mystery shopping. You never know what the owner is able to take for an actual salary after they pay taxes, expenses, and employees. My company certainly didn't meet the criteria for this shop!

I recently applied for a shop for Mercedes Benz. I was asked what year, make and model of vehicle I would drive to the dealership. I put my own vehicle's information in and figured I wouldn't get the shop because of the value and age of the car. Well, I did get it and got to shop a $70,000 M.B.

Now all I need is to win the Powerball.

I know nothing.

elcarev68 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BB -
> I once had an offer where everything was just
> right - I mean the porridge temperature, chair
> size, bed softness - everything fit me perfectly.
> Another shopper on this Forum wound up getting the
> assignment before I could apply - username "Goal
> D. Lox." Without naming the MSC, she shared that
> the client was some remote fancy B&B chaeau called
> "Les Trois Ours."
> She never did post how the shop went.

goldilox Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know nothing.

Too late, you've been outed.

I just came back from evaluating Jaguar car dealership.

I was also asked whht car would I drive? They even asked the RC to be mailed.

I complied, and sent them my brother-in-laws car RC, whereas actually I took my own car.

How does the make of car you drive have effect on the MS?

If you go do a luxury car shop in an inexpensive car, it makes it look like you can't afford a better car, so the salesman doesn't try to get you to buy because he is pretty sure you can't afford it.

If you send your brother-in-law's registration card for an expensive car, then drove to the lot in a cheap car, you have not done the shop correctly and may not get paid for it. The MSC didn't want to know if you knew someone with a fancy car, they wanted to know if *you* had a fancy car.

The reason is, the salesman is not going to do the same job with someone they think is just wanting to test drive a Jaguar for fun (or because they're a mystery shopper) that they will do with someone they think seriously might want to buy that Jaguar.

Why did you lie about what car you would be driving? Don't you realize the only thing we are selling here is our time and integrity? You've just proven to that MSC that you can't be trusted.

When you turn in your report and the salesman didn't do everything he should have done, and he defends himself by saying, "He was just there to kick tires. He pulled up in a Volkswagen sedan wearing a $10 Timex watch. I knew he wasn't a serious buyer" and the MSC looks in their records and finds out that you said you would be in a Mercedes -- you'll never shop for them again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2014 06:07PM by dspeakes.

I'm curious about these fancy new car shops. There's a bunch in my area but I never have the guts to request them as I'm sure it's must be a major flag what you drive to the shop. You might as well be wearing a "I'm a shopper" T-shirt.


Every MSCs stress the fact that if you are found out as a shopper you won't get paid so when the scenario doesn't make sense to my situation like the banks with large investments or wanting to buy a beamer and trading in a 2003 van. Hellooooo! So obvious.

The salespeople shouldn't be so discriminatory anyway. My husband's dad went from a Ford Taurus to a Porsche. He figured he'd paid his dues being thrifty and sensible for years, and, at 69, the moment his house was paid off, his kids all gone and firmly established on their own, he retired, and then promptly entered a second career working at an art university, and bought himself a Porsche.

Bird - While it is true that anyone could be in the market for an expensive car and they should treat everyone the same, they don't. The auto company could be trying to make sure that everyone is being treated the same, but they aren't. They are trying to determine how serious buyers are treated. As usual the MSC and their client get to make the rules.

There are shops where I have to pre-qualify by answering test questions about where I shop and what brands of clothes I buy for myself and others. Many auto shops ask what kind of car I own. Some are getting smart and asking what kind of car I will drive to the shop. I am asked at least once a year to do a shop for a Rolls Royce and I have declined since I figure that I would need to rent a car just to drive there, and I would need a plausible back story, which I haven't come up with.

Because I have a business card with a title on it which sounds impressive and can dress the part, I do high net worth banking shops that very few people feel comfortable doing. But my car is parked on the street or in a garage somewhere.

Well, he was a serious buyer. I know other people who've gone from a sensible "Mom-mobile" to a sporty, expensive ones once their kids reached a certain age.

My second car, I saved for almost four years to buy it and bought it outright. It was my first new car. I had been driving a crappy 1996 Pontiac which was three different colors, prior to that. When I got to the dealership, they noted my crappy car and none of the salespeople gave me the time of day and I was left ignored until I finally flagged someone down. When I did, he gave me brusque answers and then walked off in the middle of my questions to greet and attach himself to someone who I guess, to him, looked more in line to buy the cars they had there.

I left almost in tears because I'd been so excited to be buying a new car, but what should have been a happy moment for me was ruined by their rudeness and brushoff. I left, went home, dug through my shoebox of business cards and found one for that dealership, of a salesman I'd shopped there before, who was friendly and nice and thorough. Called him, he wasn't at work but offered to come in. When I went back, he was there waiting for me and my purchase was finalized in an hour. He got the commission and the other rude ones, who'd ignored me completely only an hour and a half before, were either hanging all over me pretending to be nice, or glowering at my sales guy, across the sales floor.

All I'm saying is, they need not be discriminatory. I'd imagine they could lose a lot of business by brushing off customers who "appear" to not be able to afford something.

Agreed on the discrimination issue, BBird. They SHOULD send us in crappy cars for the shop and gauge how we were treated. Sending us in nicer cars and business attire only furthers the problem.

When I went to buy my first nice car, I knew what I wanted, had the downpayment and financing in place, and knew the local dealership had one in stock. I was planning to buy that day and so I took a bus to the dealership, assuming that I would be driving home in my new car. The bus stop was right in front of the dealership and the salespeople who were standing around saw me step off the bus. They scattered when I entered the dealership. In their defense, I was dressed in sweatpants and T-shirt, but it was a Saturday morning and why should I have to put on a business suit to purchase a car when I'm the one spending money!

When I approached the sales desk and asked for a test drive of the particular car I was interested in, they told me that no test drives were allowed on weekends without a prior appointment. I left and had a friend drive me to the next closest dealership with the car in stock. I purchased it and immediately drove it back to my local dealership, parked right in front and stepped inside to inform the sales staff that they all missed out on an opportunity for a commission.

In response to "dspeakes" comment - I totally agree that the vehicle you drive to the luxury vehicle shop along with the clothes you wear, down to the watch and purse for women, needs to be upscale to pull off the shop the way it was intended. Why would a shopper intentionally risk their integrity just to test drive a Cadillac, BMW or Jag? That goes to the "core" of what mystery shopping is all about.

Some of the MSC I register with ask for my vehicle brand, make and model right in the application or profile. I have done a few luxury vehicle shops and, because I drive up in a spotless Lexus, park confidently near the door and wear clothing that represents an upscale buyer, I have always been successful - even to the extent that I am called/emailed repeatedly after the shop has been completed asking if I am still interested in purchasing a vehicle.

Sure, I would love to do shops that I don't qualify for - I am not a size 14+, I am not 21-25 ... but, I just move on to the ones I am qualified for and do them with or without a bonus. There is plenty of work for all of us as long as we are truthful and professional.

There is a very high-end women's designer clothing shop which mostly carries sizes 2-14... They carry 14-16, and I think maybe 18, but have a very limited selection. There is a mystery shop for women in that size range, 14-16, but I did not qualify. After it sat for a long time, I asked if I could bring someone who fit the size range, and was approved. At the time, I lived in VA and I took my neighbor, a retired 70-year young (she acts 40!) woman. They were very attentive to ME, but when we told them that we were shopping for her, and that I was helping her pick something nice out, they pretty much ignored us, or made numerous deprecating remarks like "Oh, are you shopping as a diet inspiration? You know, picking out something you want and working to be THAT size?" This is a store where their blouses run $140+ and dresses hover around $500. You'd think they'd want the commission no matter the person's size, and would direct her to clothing which fits her, and then maybe soft-sell her on stuff in a smaller size to "work towards being that size."

I was very glad to do that shop, and glad that the client recognized the need for it. The shop was specifically about how women who are sizes 14-16 are treated in their store, and boy... I typed up that report gladly, hoping that they were retrained to be courteous to all customers regardless of size, and also recognize that most women in America are bigger than a size 14.

I totally agree that shops should be geared toward finding out if you get the same good service no matter what you drive.

A good friend of mine just went to this Audi place and even driving in with an Infiniti she wasn't given the time o day by this salesman so she drove 30 miles to the next Audi dealer and bought herself a brand new diesel/hybrid Audi somethin' and after that went to the guy that brushed her off to show him off LOL.

Then she said if you ever get that shop please shop that guy. He's an idiot.

Well, low an behold the shop pops up a few days ago, but I didn't feel I could pull it off.
I was thinking that a believable scenario could be her driving me there in her Audi and I'd tell the guy that I just got a nice windfall and want a car just like my friend.
Would that work? ;-)

I used to have a business that met the criteria. I would have been mystery shopping then if I had known about it. The real "fun shops" only though.

Towncountry,
If you do that shop with that scenario, please tell us how the idiot sales guy handled it!

I know we would like salespeople to treat everyone the same, but I think the luxury car companies are probably more concerned that *real* buyers are getting closing attempts than they are concerned that tire-kickers are being treated with respect.

The point, and the examples we gave, were that we/they were *real buyers* and were treated like tire-kickers.

They must lose a lot of business treating *real buyers* like tire-kickers.

techman01 Wrote:
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> how many small business owners making
> millions a year are doing mystery shops too?


I do not make millions but I can act the part. Love those $150 lunches. People do that every day! I drive those Infinities and shop the high end malls like a millionaire. I rub elbows with Millionaires and they are like normal people. That is how they got to be millionaires.

My favorite car shop was for an Infinity, and the model I fell in love with was only 50K. I drove my 2005 Saturn L300, and the salesman did not see me drive in. I was not trading my Saturn in, I was "giving it" to my son. Anyway, I was there over 2 hours, connected with the salesman and SO wanted the Infinity. I have not been able to do a car shop since! I was treated very well.