Hi All,

Our company has a first coming up. One of our long time clients is opening up what they are calling a non-traditional location at LAX. The trouble is that the location will be on the side of Airport Security where only those with Boarding passes are allowed.

I know that this isn't a first for the industry and so I am reaching out here to the Shopper community for some advice. (After all; you guys know better than anyone about this kind of thing.)

Is there a group of shoppers already out there that have figured this out and if so is there a suggestion about how to access that group?

Does TSA grant any kind of clearance for this? If so, how does a Shopper apply. Is there a fee?

Do MSP's generally pay a premium to someone that does have clearance? Anyone care to divulge a reasonable premium for this?

I'm sure I am missing questions here so I am open to any / all information anyone wants to provide and will surely appreciate anything at all.

Best!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2015 08:50PM by shopscamp.

Please identify your company. Thanks you.

It is in my signature. ServiceSense. I'm the owner

As long as the location is not in TBIT, you won't have any problem finding people with tickets.

I'm in LAX at least one a month if not more. Although, I don't think I've done any work for service sense (out of Texas?) for at least 10 years now.

ETA: Wrong Service Sense. This one in this thread is in MA.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2015 10:37PM by SoCalMama.

Sorry, the new forum system cuts off part of your signature.

The TSA typically will badge shoppers only if the MSC is contracted with the airport manager of vendors (not the manager of the airport, lol) and that MSC signs the application as the "employer", pending the shopper passing a security check and some airport security training. So, if you are lucky enough to attract some of the very few shoppers who have been badged through that process, you may be home free. (The MSC that got shoppers badged at LAX works with fewer than 10 shoppers there, I think, so that will ne a "needle-in-the-haystack" situation. Even the MSCs that have contracts with the folks that manage the airport vendors have a tricky time convincing some airport managements to let their shoppers get badged when they may thave those few shoppers doing upwards of 2000 shops per year at that airport. Therefore it seems somewhat unlikely that you will be able to get one shopper badged to do one location a few times per year. YMMV

Otherwise, you will need to look either for airline or airport employees who are badged or frequent travelers who are ticketed to be on the right concourse at the appropriate time, or shoppers who are willing to purchase a refundable airline ticket that will give them access to the right concourse at the appropriate time.

Good luck.

Thank you. That is helpful.

It does not seem that this is going to become the next new thing to excite me and make me start getting up earlier to hurry to work. :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2015 09:23PM by shopscamp.

LAX is a big airport. When I travel through it, I look for shops. Typically airport shops pay more since there is a much more limited cadre of available shoppers. Some airports seem to have issues. I am regularly bombarded with entreaties to complete shops are small airports in Central Pennsylvania and Long Island. You may need to be more flexible with the timing requirements, both for performing and reporting the shops since people are getting on airplanes and may not be able to meet normal deadlines. Pay particular attention if the shop is in an international terminal, or the flyer is beginning an international long-haul flight. Many of MSCs ask for the flight date and flight number and whether it is an originating or connecting location for the shopper. There is more risk involved. If I am scheduled to complete a shop during a layover at Dulles, and the airline decides to re-route me through Chicago, then there is not way that I am going to be able to complete the shop at Dulles. And the first time I get a citation because a flight was cancelled, delayed, or I was rerouted, will be the last time I ever apply to do a shop for that MSC. If you ask me for flight details, and I provide them, then the burden of assuming the risk (of a cancelled, delayed, etc. flight) that I can't do it is on you, not me.

Some shoppers are willing to buy a completely refundable airline ticket. That generally involved fronting hundreds of dollars and may need to be done weeks in advance to ensure that you really have the reservation. Airport shops which I have done typically pay for parking. An hour of parking at a big city airport would wreak havoc on shopper fees. I have also been allowed to apply the parking fee reimbursement towards the cost of an airport shuttle.

There is more that I could write, but this should give you food for thought.

Thanks; yes that does give me more to think about.

Most MSCs with a limited number of shops seem to rely on shoppers that happen to travel through LAX. The fact that each terminal is a separate entity makes it a difficult location as well.

The easy of finding shoppers is definitely terminal dependent. One MSC that used to have a yogurt shop in terminal 1 (Southwest) would offer $25 for those and get them done regularly. There are a lot of frugal travelers and mystery shoppers that fly Southwest, I think. You can also do the shop any time of day, and upon arrival or departure.

Difficulty increases with TBIT because you're dealing with international flights, and the shops can only be accessed on departure. The arrivals queue puts you directly into customs, and exits outside security. I also would not feel comfortable purchasing and canceling international tickets for reasons that go beyond the obvious budget issues. The one shop that I took at TBIT this year was a pain, since it often has some of the longest security lines and I ended up having really limited time before my flight departed. I also was on a flight to Europe, so after arriving, I had to deal with getting online and submitting the report. I'm certainly not going got do that again unless there's a significant fee attached to the assignment.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The easy of finding shoppers is definitely terminal dependent. One MSC that used to have a yogurt shop in terminal 1 (Southwest) would offer $25 for those and get them done regularly.

I see those yogurt shops every few months now going for $52 at LAX. Almost makes me want to fly somewhere.

@sandyf wrote:

I see those yogurt shops every few months now going for $52 at LAX. Almost makes me want to fly somewhere.

...but does it make you want to fly with Southwest?

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@sandyf wrote:

I see those yogurt shops every few months now going for $52 at LAX. Almost makes me want to fly somewhere.

...but does it make you want to fly with Southwest?

It's ok my dear. I do them at $52. Enjoy a glass of merlot, and let me cover those, ok?

I 100% agree about accessing TBIT. I was offered a round trip to Berlin if I would do the shops they needed. They found a flight attendant at the last minute (who took 10 days to submit the shop I might add).

It's ok my dear. I do them at $52. Enjoy a glass of merlot, and let me cover those, ok?

Okay, I will meet you outside the terminal. Buy me a glass of wine and you can go in and do the shop and then come out and let me know how it went.
I'm the silly person who did it a few times a couple of years ago for $10...I will not even do the local ones anymore for that price, let alone the airport! I can get a small yogurt at Yogurtland for a couple of dollars and no annoying reports or pics.

@sandyf wrote:

It's ok my dear. I do them at $52. Enjoy a glass of merlot, and let me cover those, ok?

Okay, I will meet you outside the terminal. Buy me a glass of wine and you can go in and do the shop and then come out and let me know how it went.
I'm the silly person who did it a few times a couple of years ago for $10...I will not even do the local ones anymore for that price, let alone the airport! I can get a small yogurt at Yogurtland for a couple of dollars and no annoying reports or pics.

I did one on my way out to Florida once. I had it reported and uploaded before I left the terminal.

I don't do the local ones either. Frozen yogurt reminds me of the 80's.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I don't do the local ones either. Frozen yogurt reminds me of the 80's.

Totally tubular! Like, gag me with a spoon. As long as the spoon has frozen yogurt on it.