Hi BeachBumess,
I am not a new shopper, but I totally hear you. I did the same, printed out all the paperwork and read it all through thoroughly. "Uh, I don't think so," I said aloud to myself. I had even spoken with the MSC ahead of time and arranged a pretty decent fee. I felt badly, but the assignment seemed overwhelming and a bit confusing. I have more than 30 years of experience working in the retail industry, and still - nope. Like you, I also elected to cancel the assignment, which I seldom do. BTW, we might be of the same age or so. I recognized your title line. Many do not know of the days of Kmart's blow out "Blue Light Specials."
I do MS, audits and merchandising and have enjoyed conducting assignments for over 12 years. I have learned to be more selective, and I now do only the assignments that I ENJOY. I don't do everything that comes across my desk as I did in the beginning. Some are great, others are awful. But as other MS'ers have advised, try each type once at least and see what appeals to you. Everyone is different.
By the way, I truly enjoy doing the gas station audits others seem to despise. I contact the MS companies in advance and negotiate a higher fee than they initially offer. But once you get the hang of it, they are not bad at all. I also love doing shops for banks, restaurants and the post office.
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Just do your best and let God do the rest.