Help! -How to take a friend on a MS without them knowing

May 22, 2016 03:04PM

@BuffaloNY101 wrote:

And can you put that extra glass of wine on a separate check?

Most of the rules about drinking have to do with the MSC or client not wanting you to drink more than allowed, so you would most likely face having your report rejected if the restaurant could produce a separate check for the drink.

I would never recommend having the restaurant split the charge for additional drinks to a separate check. In the cases where it has ended up on my check, I have come clean to the MSC about the issue and it has usually been forgiven after a warning.

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May 23, 2016 04:30AM

... dinged yes. Also drunk too or an alcoholic "FREE BOOZE!!"

I would say no. Way to many cans of worms. Mistakes are not always forgive. A lot of restaurant shops have low reimbursement and its optional for a partner. I do the work. Im the one that is going to blow $25 on a meal. Max that reimbursement!

shopping north west PA and south west ny

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2016 04:40AM by cooldude581.

May 23, 2016 04:37AM

A wise unpaid reviewer once said , "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."

shopping north west PA and south west ny

May 23, 2016 06:43AM

I was indeed joking about putting the extra glass on a separate check. The ? was in reference to asking the waitress not posing question to the form I have edited my original post and removed it.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

May 23, 2016 07:21PM

I didn't have the time to read all of the comments. But if you're willing to pay for your friends meal I find it hard to see how you could ever make money off a restaurant shop. I barely see them ever posted for more then reimbursement of one meal...and then the tip usually eats whatever pay there was. The ONLY time i ever do restaurant shops is if I'm on a route of shops where I'm staying over at a hotel and could use the free meal. But I don't see how you could expect to do a restaurant shop, pay for two meals and make money

May 23, 2016 07:34PM

My problem is the opposite. I've looked for restaurant shops to offset expenses on routes and other than FF can never find any that don't require a guest. They usually reimbursement only and enough for two, so still useless for me. Are you finding shops that allow one person and pay a fee?

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

May 23, 2016 07:40PM

@1JJ wrote:

I didn't have the time to read all of the comments. But if you're willing to pay for your friends meal I find it hard to see how you could ever make money off a restaurant shop. I barely see them ever posted for more then reimbursement of one meal...and then the tip usually eats whatever pay there was. The ONLY time i ever do restaurant shops is if I'm on a route of shops where I'm staying over at a hotel and could use the free meal. But I don't see how you could expect to do a restaurant shop, pay for two meals and make money

Because some projects require 2 or more people in the party.

Because some shops actually have a very high reimbursement, where it's a use it or lose it.

Depending on how your Mystery Shopping Business runs, you can take advantage on the high amount of money spend on reimbursements for some additional cash (miles, rewards and / or cash back).

Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.

May 23, 2016 07:42PM

@LisaSTL wrote:

Are you finding shops that allow one person and pay a fee?

Yes but they are usually more casual dining and the fee is not very high. Since I don't do FF or salad bars or cafeterias, my choices are somewhat limited but they are still out there. Once in a while, I get a desperate scheduler so I can convince them to allow a solo diner with a small bonus to get the job done.

May 23, 2016 07:45PM

I must have not been able to stumble on any in the locations or time frame I was traveling. I was also wondering if they truly were a free meal meaning there was a fee to write the report.

May 24, 2016 07:30AM

Well Lisa I know BWW and Texas Roadhouse both hav single person shops. One report is super easy the other easy IMHO. Neither shop is hard on observations and they have limited requirements on ordering. Not great pay but the meal is worth the short report if you need the meal on a route while traveling. Time frames are 3 to 4 hours.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

May 25, 2016 12:46PM

I've given up on shops with guests. You really have to let them know and they will still manage to screw it up for you...or maybe I need new friends?

"To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful." Edward R. Murrow

Thou shalt not steal. I mean defensively. On offense, indeed thou shall steal and thou must.--Branch Rickey

May 28, 2016 04:13AM

This is a business for some mystery shoppers or maybe a fun thing for some people to do. If I were to take a guest they would be told what to order if it is food and to let them know I will enjoy their company. I am on assignment, so I want to do the right thing for the MSC and myself. The guest would need to know beforehand.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2016 04:15AM by gbarnes.

May 28, 2016 04:31AM

My wife and occasionally my kids are the only ones I bring to restaurant shops (oh and I got a few where I have to bring the dog too!) my kids are actually easy to control, but occasionally my wife will forget the requirements or take too loooooong to make up her mind with the menu...

May 28, 2016 04:32AM

Hi! So, do you just audio record your whole dinner...or only the timings...and do you text them to yourself or write them? Just curious after reading your post. Thanks

May 28, 2016 10:34AM

Many dining shops have a rotation. you can't do them two months in a row, so let your friend do it, if they will. You may or may not get to be their guest next time. Some fine dining shops have a one year rotation. You can't do the shop if you have eaten at the restaurant in the last year, even without it being a shop. I wish I had a friend that would take me on their shop so I got the free dinner without the long report. I have had many friends ask me about becoming a shopper, but in the end they never follow through. There are so many shops out there, you do not need to worry about compitition.

May 28, 2016 02:38PM

To add to "who not to take", would be your children under 25. My 20 year old ended up losing a MS company for me because she came into the store when I was not allowed to bring anyone according to the guidelines. I had informed her many times not to do this. Worse yet, the reason I was "caught" was because she worked for this store's company, and was recognized even though she worked in a different store. (There were no specifications on not performing a shop that you had friends or relatives working for.) My daughter had a million excuses "I didn't think that if..." This age range knows EVERYTHING, you see...lol.

May 28, 2016 05:13PM

@ladybug9 wrote:

To add to "who not to take", would be your children under 25.

I don't know about that! I took my almost-20-yar-old son on a dining shop with me the other day; he was immensely helpful in remembering details I didn't remember as clearly as he did. (His observations and memory helped me get a 10 on my report; I never hesitate to take him on a shop. I should pay him to help me!)

The younger one's a different story! Although I did take him on a Chipotle shop last month, and he did a great job!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

May 28, 2016 05:15PM

No way would I take an uninformed guest. If I have to kick the guest under the table, I want him to understand.

My adult kids still tell the story about a fine dining assignment early in my MS career when one of my sons decided to order water. After saying a couple of times "Oh, why not have a soda," I kicked him under the table and then a second time, harder, and growled under my breath while making eye contact "ORDER A SODA." When the server returned with his water, he ordered the soda.

The family is always very careful now to understand and follow the guidelines. Getting kicked under the table kind of made the point.

May 28, 2016 05:22PM

@jnoyolapicazzo wrote:

My wife and occasionally my kids are the only ones I bring to restaurant shops (oh and I got a few where I have to bring the dog too!) my kids are actually easy to control, but occasionally my wife will forget the requirements or take too loooooong to make up her mind with the menu...

I bet the dog never orders the wrong thing. Although getting her/him to wait until you take a photo of the food might be a challenge.

May 28, 2016 06:43PM

I have been reading these posts with amusement but would never take someone without bring aware that I am working. I have a trusted plus one who sometimes forgets the requirements but now I read the requirements to her in the parking lot. Whenever possible I try to get shops that dont require a plus one.

May 28, 2016 06:54PM

I do auto negotiations for SeeLevelHX and once when I was a bit more inexperienced at those "high level assignments" I was getting pushed so hard by the salesman that I got my elderly mom involved. She knew what I was doing before hand though. She helped me out in a bind. Extra people can be helpful but are too distracting to me. So far in my first two years of mystery shopping I have done most of my shops alone.

May 28, 2016 07:20PM

Extra people on regular shops are a distraction indeed as well as a potential liability. But when there is a spouse or significant other or someone else with expectations on your time it is handy to have restaurant shops to take them on to make them a whole lot happier about you doing mystery shopping.

May 29, 2016 12:23PM

@Flash wrote:

But when there is a spouse or significant other or someone else with expectations on your time it is handy to have restaurant shops to take them on to make them a whole lot happier about you doing mystery shopping.

Exactly! LOL....

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

May 29, 2016 01:22PM

What company has Chipotle? I've never seen those shops and love that place!

May 29, 2016 01:37PM

Google it. The company who shops them is proud of it but it's against forum rules for us to tell you.

May 29, 2016 08:41PM

Also, most MSC won't let you shop the same location within 90 days, so if your friend likes the locations you shop, just make sure you both schedule your shops during dates the other cannot. Then you both get to enjoy free meals at a great local and both get to take turns making some $$$.

May 31, 2016 06:52PM

Took my brother one time only. He knew it was a mystery shop and he was acting like he was 007. Kept asking questions in a too loud voice and asked if I needed to "check the bathroom" when a server was near. I love my bro but never again.

June 01, 2016 10:43PM

@TeriW wrote:

@jnoyolapicazzo wrote:

My wife and occasionally my kids are the only ones I bring to restaurant shops (oh and I got a few where I have to bring the dog too!) my kids are actually easy to control, but occasionally my wife will forget the requirements or take too loooooong to make up her mind with the menu...
I bet the dog never orders the wrong thing. Although getting her/him to wait until you take a photo of the food might be a challenge.

It is quite embarrassing though when the dog starts to lick his privates at the table. Woof!

June 02, 2016 02:30AM

ewww

shopping north west PA and south west ny

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Help! -How to take a friend on a MS without them knowing

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