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What do you do right before a shop?

November 14, 2015 03:47AM
I read over the guidelines several times and take notes on key items I need to cover. I also go on google earth to look at the building. On the way to the site, I repeat to myself key items I need to gather so I don't forget! Once I do one, it's easy after that, but new shops always bring a little anxiety.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2015 03:48AM by linda2422.
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November 14, 2015 03:51AM
@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I always park in supermarket parking lots (not anywhere near my shop) that have lots of little stores attached. I bury myself in the middle of all those cars, read my notes, and if I have any extra free time, I read my magazines until it's time to go in. smiling smiley

Envying you. I can not listen to radio or read anything except the shop info. I have to get my head set straight. It would be cool to confidently read a magazine and munch on popcorn waiting for the correct time. I bury my car to read notes, too.
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November 14, 2015 04:21AM
If it's a shop I've performed several times, I do not worry about it. If it's a new shop, I sometimes lose sleep over it! When I return home after the shop, I press my Staple's "EASY" button and it says, "That was easy!" and nine times out of ten it was and I am angry that I lost sleep. (Just kidding about the "EASY" button!)
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November 14, 2015 06:29AM
@pinchers81 wrote:

open Mystery Shopwatch

Thank you! I was looking for a stopwatch program like this one!
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November 22, 2015 01:04AM
Before I leave the house, I update my cheat sheet. Just before leaving the car, I skim it all over and go for it.
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November 22, 2015 01:16AM
Right before my Chipotle shop tonight I called and had a long discussion about the E Coli scare. That is not what I usually do but what I did this time.
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November 22, 2015 01:50AM
Who did you call? The restaurant or the scheduler?

"The future ain't what it used to be." --Yogi Berra
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November 22, 2015 03:00AM
I used to print out the guidelines and questionnaire and would study it intently before I go do the shop. I'd then park and study the notes (and with certain shops I'd have my notebook with me with notes scribbled in it) and go in and do it.

This year I invested in a tablet with a keyboard...so now I'll find a WI-FI hotspot and look at the guidelines online and jot down any pertinent info to help me along.....

Silver certified (since 2009) and willing to do shops all around the greater Chicago, NW Indiana, and Southern Wisconsin areas (including airports!.
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November 23, 2015 07:16AM
@pinchers81 wrote:

Who did you call? The restaurant or the scheduler?
I actually called the restaurant as my required call before the shop and used that as my required question to see how well they responded...it was with lots of knowledge. Depending on what the restaurant said I was thinking about cancelling the shop. I was reassured after speaking to the person who answered the phone so went ahead and did the shop. I feel absolutely fine today so no E Coli in my system.
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November 25, 2015 07:10AM
Nope. lol If I know the shop well, I just get out of the car and go for it. If I have areas that I know are harder for me, I glance at my notes before parking in my final place and I just go over in my head, even as I'm walking in.
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November 25, 2015 07:12AM
I would have called as well, if the timing worked out. I think health scares such as this are worthy of altering or passing up the shop. The money is not worth the sickness.
@sandyf wrote:

Right before my Chipotle shop tonight I called and had a long discussion about the E Coli scare. That is not what I usually do but what I did this time.
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November 25, 2015 05:47PM
@scanman1 wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I always park in supermarket parking lots (not anywhere near my shop) that have lots of little stores attached. I bury myself in the middle of all those cars, read my notes, and if I have any extra free time, I read my magazines until it's time to go in. smiling smiley

That is the new favorite spot for drug deals to go down. The dealer will sometimes have another car go early as a lookout to make sure it's not a sting. You could draw unwanted attention or witness a deal go south and be in the cross fire. Shootings in parking lot plaza's are becoming a common occurance around me when a drug deal goes south.

I shop in the good areas, lol! I look too old to be a drug dealer (over 40) and I have magazines, my cell phone and crackers to munch on. This is only done when I have a lag/wait time between shops and don't want to leave the immediate area, I often schedule the shops very near each other, to save on gas and double my bang for the bucks! I figure it's my car, my dime, my break and if someone wants to question me they are only going to find a bottle of water in my car.. smiling smiley
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November 25, 2015 11:09PM
@SunnyDays2 wrote:

@scanman1 wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:



I shop in the good areas, lol! I look too old to be a drug dealer (over 40) and I have magazines, my cell phone and crackers to munch on. This is only done when I have a lag/wait time between shops and don't want to leave the immediate area, I often schedule the shops very near each other, to save on gas and double my bang for the bucks! I figure it's my car, my dime, my break and if someone wants to question me they are only going to find a bottle of water in my car.. smiling smiley

Who wrote the above quote, I cannot keep track of quotes upon quotes. Anyway, when I see the pics in the papers or on TV of drug busts, sometimes the 28 year olds they are busting look like 50 year olds. It's a hard life they live sometimes so don't count yourself out if you are over 40!
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