What is the coolest job you have done as a ms?

I am very new to the ms world (Just did my first 4 jobs this week!) And I had no idea....
I thought you singed up for one or two ms companies then stopped at a few mall stores. What a noobie!

It seems as if this is a whole new underground sub culture, I love it! Currently the jobs I see / have done are fast food and post office jobs. But apparently there of those of you who go to hotels, shop high end stores, try on wedding dresses, go on cruises!!

So I'm interested it knowing, what's the coolest or oddest job you have done so far? Was there anything specifically fun or a new experience you got to have? I have learned that most of mystery shopping is simply writing detailed reports that are the equivalent fun of writing a instruction manual. But what are some of the fun things that have made it worth it to you? (other than a paycheck, of course

Or some experience that has stood out!

I would love to hear!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2015 10:17PM by Jeepgirl_08.

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The best job I ever did was to go undercover as a city slicker in the financial district of central London. I had my own office had to order a meeting room with myself and had food and drink delivered for the meeting. I then had to have breakfast and lunch in the buildings restaurant. I spent the whole 9-5 there and managed to complete my other reports for other assignments because I had so much time on my hands. Other than that, cinema jobs are pretty cool too especially if I can get a bar and restaurant job arranged on the same day. Actually there's so many cool jobs, track racing was excellent - the joys of being a mystery shopper!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2015 11:47PM by Eleanor81.

I really love the hotel de-branding shops, where a hotel is sold and my job is to find out if the NEW hotel is using the POP or signage, from the old hotel

You get to stay all night, and after you find your items, take photos, you get to pretty much relax the rest of the evening.

It's like getting a hotel room for free AND getting paid to be in the hotel, finding the items the client is looking for

I guess getting a hotel room reimbursed plus $15 when I was going skiing anyway.

My best paid, yet simplest shop so far has to be the bank shop that I got $30 to walk in and have a teller transaction. I got $45 for FSR appointment ones but they take longer. Both of those reports have very little narrative.

I have a laser eye exam scheduled for week after next and my first food shop tomorrow and more towards the end of June. I am LOVING it.

What a great topic. I've only been ms'ing for a couple of years and I'm no way close to being bored of the hotel shops. I don't care if I only get a $25.00 fee that just covers my train fare. I get to stay a night in Manhattan in hotels that I would never normally dream of paying $300-400 on. And I get to explore a city that I again never get bored of. Mystery shopping has offered me experiences that I would never have considered or thought that I would like but have ended up loving - boat shows, the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Its those experiences that keep me going when all I have on my schedule is a round of hanging out in gas station restrooms or listening to the 100th banker explain overdraft fees. I thought that ms'ng may bring some extra money but I never thought it would bring fun too. And this is just after two years. Listening to some of the seasoned shoppers on the forum makes me think that it could bring even more great experiences if you stick with it.

The car negotiation where I was basically ordered off the property by the sales manager, had to sneak in a week later through the back door when he wasn't in, and got handed a stack of paperwork by the poor salesman while he swore loudly when he thought he saw the manager walk by.

He begged me for my business when I left. One of these days I might just buy a car from him, even though he still managed to rip me off after all that.

I love "shopping" my favorite garden store with $12 to spend on whatever I want. I do dislike the intense narrative but I still sign up every round. Sometimes that's the ying and yang of mystery shopping.

My favorites so far, still just a few months in, have been the very nice restaurants with my boys some $60.00 reimbursements and $15.00 fee.

I think the food shops are my favorite so far, then I don't have to cook lol and I do like cooking but phewww!

I got a resort stay with a major simple report to complete afterwards! Three nights to relax, recoup, and still get free food and $135! I had 3 friends with me and we talked about homeopathic medicine, energy, naturopathic medicine and health. It was a great weekend! I still feel a tad guilty for breaking the light bulb, pretending I couldn't find the iron, and having no clue how to turn on the jetted tub.
I also loved my Space Station shop and Zoo shops. There was also the vet visit that was perfectly timed. hmmm There is too many perks to ms that it is difficult to think of just one awesome shop.

Just lost trying to find a fire pit in a concrete jungle wishing it was a wooded glen...

if it wasn't for bad luck, I would have no luck at all

I enjoyed catching the corrupt third party cell phone stores for a certain carrier. All but one was cheating the customers.

I did a route of purchase and return and at $50 a pop, it was the easiest cash grab for the least work and a report that was easier than an arches shop. I ended up keeping two phones from the only shop in town that was not cheating the customer and still had a grand opening banner. I guess they were not open long enough to become corrupt.

I had to lay out a large chunk of cash to buy all the phones, yet I was careful to read the documents and the return policy to be certain that I was capable of getting 100% of my money back. The MSC had my back and had in the shopper agreement that they would pay for the phone if it was not accepted as a return.

There was a purchase/return of phones on another thread that didn't go so well with Sprint. I feel sorry for those shoppers.

Edit: I did not include experience shopping that did not make a profit in this post.
Cell phone purchase/returns are not on anyones #1 list. This particular job was so easy, it made the list.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2015 07:28AM by scanman1.

@scanman1 wrote:

I enjoyed catching the corrupt third party cell phone stores for a certain carrier. All but one was cheating the customers.

I did a route of purchase and return and at $50 a pop, it was the easiest cash grab for the least work and a report that was easier than an arches shop. I ended up keeping two phones from the only shop in town that was not cheating the customer and still had a grand opening banner. I guess they were not open long enough to become corrupt.

I had to lay out a large chunk of cash to buy all the phones, yet I was careful to read the documents and the return policy to be certain that I was capable of getting 100% of my money back. The MSC had my back and had in the shopper agreement that they would pay for the phone if it was not accepted as a return.

There was a purchase/return of phones on another thread that didn't go so well with Sprint. I feel sorry for those shoppers.

Edit: I did not include experience shopping that did not make a profit in this post.
Cell phone purchase/returns are not on anyones #1 list. This particular job was so easy, it made the list.

Hi scanman1,

I have greatly enjoyed reading your posts, since I started on the Mystery Shopping slippery slope four months ago.

Thank you very much for the great heads up on the corrupt third party cell phone stores.

If it is not too much trouble, can you please tell us some of the ways that the crooks cheat us poor customers?

Not only in the Secret Shopping world, but in the real world as well.

I am sure that we would all be anxious to learn.

Also, I think that your expose would also make a fantastic topic of its own.

Most probably, its own sticky, or even its own subject!

My best paying job was a check cashing place that paid $125 and took about 10 minutes total. I like the DIY shops because I can always use something at a hardware place and the stores are fun with nice sales associates. I have also learned a lot from doing those shops. There is one fast casual place that I always look forward to. Does not pay a lot but the report is easy and the food delicious.

Wow, these are great! It's definitely inspiring to see what's all out there!

Just remember that you have to sign up with many MSC's to find the hidden gems. I took a couple of days and went thru the list on this website. I did not sign up for them all - probably only 30-40 and only work steadily for 5 of them. When I signed up for a new company I would search this website for information to see if it would be a good fit. It is time consuming but you only have to do it once and it opens many more doors for mystery shopping. Your inbox may get a bit full at times with all the emails but at least I know there is work when I need it.

Great advice, thanks!

I think my favorite was a small resort in Orlando. I had to evaluate the check in/out process, the pool, arcade and gift shop (only a few shelves in the lobby), room cleanliness and report one problem with the room. The entire process took less than an hour. The report wasn't very long and we had two days to do whatever we wanted. After I had completed everything I had to do, we headed out to a timeshare tour and picked up free EPCOT tickets (my favorite place in the whole world). We got our tickets, $10 cash and a free breakfast and headed off to EPCOT for the day. As if that wasn't enough the shop fee was $120 on top of the reimbursement for the resort stay.

There are two types of people in this world: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.

So far my best shop has been a night at the Casino.

Paid night out with food and drinks included. Winning is even better!

Getting paid to pee (in a cup, mind you.)

I've been mystery shopping about 15 years. I did many, many cell phone shops, fast food and gas stations before I "graduated" and now hotel shops are my favorite. I live in Arizona, so I love getting California hotels and getting out of hot AZ occassionally in the summertime! I am also happy to take phone shops especially when it's 110 degrees here---sitting in my comfy air conditioned house talking on the phone!

I used to do a Vet shop that paid $25 and reimbursed $125. It saved me a lot of money taking care of my dog. Unfortunately, I don't think that vet shop is still shopped.

Many years ago I did a series of shops for a photography studio called, "Glamour Shots". They were in shopping malls but I think they are gone now. They had stylists who fluffed up your hair, put on heavy makeup, and you picked costumes for various poses. I got outragous but was also able to convince them to let me do a professional one in a navy suit that I could use in my job. After a while, my skin broke out from the heavy makeup. I still have all those photos in a drawer somewhere.

More recent my favorites are the retail thrift store/donations, the garden store shops for $30, and the nice restaurants.

I have yet to try the hotels or casinos but I'm getting ready. Thanks to your great success stories.

Just scored another resort shop!

Just lost trying to find a fire pit in a concrete jungle wishing it was a wooded glen...

if it wasn't for bad luck, I would have no luck at all

My favorite so far is a $100+ hair cut at a high end salon. The bad news is she did such a great job that I want to go back.

@gypsymonkey wrote:

Just scored another resort shop!

Are your dogs able to join you at the resorts?

I enjoy several but I probably love the "charm"jewelry most for the reimbursrment. I currently have about $600 worth of silver charms on just that shop alone.

I have also been able to eat at some of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Next week I have one with a $250 reimbursement for two people!

Unfortunatly no however I have a really good friend that watches her. There are ducks, kittens, cats, dogs and such that my pup loves the 'vacation' time from me. The best part is my friend only requires dinner as payment for pup sitting! I make the resort stays as part of a route that has more shops then down time though. I can come out way ahead by doing these resort stays. And the report was so easy!

@elcarev68 wrote:

@gypsymonkey wrote:

Just scored another resort shop!

Are your dogs able to join you at the resorts?

Just lost trying to find a fire pit in a concrete jungle wishing it was a wooded glen...

if it wasn't for bad luck, I would have no luck at all

Coolest job? Frozen yogurt at an airport last week was literally quite cool!

I watched my beloved Blue Jays with my son, and the tickets and parking were reimbursed. Tickets were a $100 each. On the 7th inning I did my work and then back to my seat where I clapped to my heart's content and did the 'wave' and so on. The Jays won! I did that a few times.

I also enjoyed the high-end restaurant shops with my family and friends. Movies, tickets for me and my companion, reimbursed. I find the shops very easy.

I also enjoyed shopping at very upscale retail where part or all of the purchases were reimbursed. I find I am up to date with fashion because of those regular trips to the high-end retail stores.

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