I'm new to both, and enjoying them thouroughly. I signed up with 2 companies so far and have done about 3 dozen shops in the past month. Where can I find out which companies do the places I shop anyways??....like Shell, Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Exxon, etc. Is there a database or something?

Anyways, glad I found ya'll and looking forward to taking part in the group.

Hello Carmen: Welcome to mystery shopping and this forum. There's no database that shows who shops whom. That's part of the 'mystery' in shopping. We sign up with hundreds of MSPs to find shops we want. Confucius say "Check Jobslinger.com to see what companies shop your area", and "The MS gods help those who help themselves. Use the resources here, read, read, read and you will find the route to the information you seek".

3 dozen shops in the past month - - - a great start!

There is no database though it is strongly advised your build you own as you run across shops on the boards. Here is how that can work. I go to the job board of ABC shopping company to look for jobs in my area. Oops, nothing available. But . . . while I am there I will take a look at what they have posted in my state and nearby states. I see that they are shopping PDQ Burgers. I add to my database that PDQ Burgers is shopped by ABC. When PDQ opens a store locally it is time to check ABC's boards frequently.

Also you can pick up clues from conversations on the boards. Somebody mentions that they just did XYZ gas and PDQ Burgers that the scheduler gave them at the same time. You know that PDQ Burgers is done by ABC and now you know that they do XYZ gas as well.

I can tell you that Walgreens has been shopped in the past but I believe at the moment they are on vacation from doing shops. Shell is shopped, as is Exxon. I have done some shops IN Target where Target was NOT the client. Same with Walmart. I have not seen a shop of Target where Target was the client. Again, same with Walmart, though I understand that Walmart does not use an outside company to shop them but rather does shops in some areas of the country themselves. CVS I have not seen shop though I believe a friend in the NE was doing CVS shops.

It is a violation of Independent Contractor Agreements tell others who shops whom or many specifics about the jobs because we agree to not give out confidential inormation to which we may become privy. So do your exploration of the job boards of companies you are signed up with,check resources such as Jobslinger.com to see who has recently posted shops in your area and stay tuned to forums to glean what information you can.

Mert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello Carmen: Welcome to mystery shopping and
> this forum. There's no database that shows who
> shops whom. That's part of the 'mystery' in
> shopping. We sign up with hundreds of MSPs to find
> shops we want. Confucius say "Check
> Jobslinger.com to see what companies shop your
> area", and "The MS gods help those who help
> themselves. Use the resources here, read, read,
> read and you will find the route to the
> information you seek".
>
> 3 dozen shops in the past month - - - a great
> start!


OOH! I knew I lived in an Asian infused place, but I didn't know I morphed to Confuscious! Tee hee.

Actually, Walgreens is shopped for age compliance. You cannot perform the audit unless you are exactly 18-19 years of age.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2009 01:26PM by lame1.

Almost every store that sells cigarettes and/or alcohol is shopped for compliance due to the high penalties they face for non compliance. It doesn't mean they are "shopped."

I view any assignment that pays an evaluator a fee to be a "shop." Whether I am checking to see if they charge me for the bulky item I put on the bottom of my shopping cart, or allow me to purchase alcohol, lottery tickets or cigarettes if I appear to fall within a certain age bracket, I consider them "shopped." I only wish I fell within the age range necessary to perform these audits.

I have seen some compliance shop guidelines that allow the 'old' shopper to take a younger person, 18-19 or 18-30, with them to make the purchase.

Technically, lame, you are right. I just do not personally consider A/T compliance the same as shopping for customer service.

Sign up with Narms, Shadow Shopper, Indeed, Volition and of course MSPA.org - all with .com. Once you get signed up, you will be more jobs to sign up for then you can handle. Also I became a Merchandiser, demonstrator(good money sometimes), and an auditor. i have had my cars oil changed and it didn't cost me a thing. I was reimbersed for the whole amount.

Don't pay to mystery shop like you see in the newspaper or hear on the radio for $150.00 payment. The only one that pays to pay a fee is becoming a a registered mystery shopper at shadow shopper. Then you can do the really big mystery shops like cruises and fun parks. They have classes to take and then a test and then you become certified. I only took out for 3 month, but it was well worth it. A lot of applications ask if you are certified.
Hoped this helps some.

OK---
I've signed up at tons of places, and have done atleast 80 shops since mid July. But can't for the life of me find out who does FINA gas stations... I'm surrounded by these little towns and all of them have one, but I can't find out which co. shops them...Any pointers? I tried the "search" feature here already.

I have not seen them shopped. We have a few here but they are fairly recent so perhaps have just slipped under my radar. And although Shadow Shopper can help direct you to some jobs, I would not pay a fee to them or their help. They do have a free trial membership but make sure you cancel it in plenty of time to keep them from charging your credit card. Frankly as a shopper you should never have any fees paid to anybody for anything to get or try to get jobs. As soon as my credit card info is requested I close the window and go the other way--fast.

Rosewiles, I would not believe any claims that lead you to believe that Shadow Shopper's certification holds any weight with MSC's-those that want it want their own training modules or the MSPA's. And certainly just look the other way when SS tells you you will get cruise shops through them.

The only way anyone ever gets a shop that requires that much outlay of money (their own, usually, up front) is to have built a long time and trusted history of doing detailed hotel shops for the companies that do them AND do shops. Think about it-would YOU trust a shop worth that kind of bucks to someone you don't know who simply has "training?" I certainly would not, and have NEVER heard of any MSC's who have. Every time I hear of someone who did a cruise, they are always someone who had a long history of killer work on the best hotels and they had to front the cost.

Certainly the company I did upscale hotels/resorts and spas for required references from shoppers who worked for them before they would even talk with me. There were then several phone calls to get some sense of my background, training and ability to express myself. Then came their specific training, which was done over the course of a month to six weeks with both scheduled phone calls and extensive text to be studied and tests to take and return. There was also extensive narrative writing to adjust my style to their specific requirements. Then there was the phone call to download and reconfigure my laptop to accept and use their proprietary reporting software and testing it to make certain that I, my ISP and my machine could upload the needed files and formats. Once all of this was accomplished, my first shops were nearby ones that they did not have to fly me out to do. Certainly the pay was far superior to the standard hotel shops that pay $20-$75 and reimburse or back out hotel charges. But there is no way they were accepting experience or training from anyone else as being valid for their purposes.

Hey anderson, thats a lot of shops..did you make any money after all was said and done? I mean car expense like, , wear n tear at .45 per mile, gas, oil, ink, toner, paper, extra cell phone usage charges, time...... well, that may not be a good one, because I have found that most will work for nothing and dont value their time. I am curious, because that is a large volume of shops...Do you do any of the $5 and under variety?

Flamer to be ignored ^

there is that flamer comment again,, another 'fishy email' MMM

beisen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey anderson, thats a lot of shops..did you make
> any money after all was said and done? I mean car
> expense like, , wear n tear at .45 per mile, gas,
> oil, ink, toner, paper, extra cell phone usage
> charges, time...... well, that may not be a good
> one, because I have found that most will work for
> nothing and dont value their time. I am curious,
> because that is a large volume of shops...Do you
> do any of the $5 and under variety?

Beisen is still upset because, per his own last round of posts, he only earns enough cash to buy the occasional new nightie, while some of us earn significantly more than that. Let him have his little snit and ignore him.

yes. let us circle the wagons and ignore the truth. , come girls tea is ready

beisen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> yes. let us circle the wagons and ignore the
> truth. , come girls tea is ready


The truth is that some of us make money, and you don't, so you put down everyone else due to your own inadequacies, instead of helping them learn what is and is not realistic, and for what kind of effort over what period of time. You make fun of others as you cannot do it well enough yourself to make any money.

Hi, I've been shopping for about 7 years as a part time thing to earn a little bit of money and have fun. I have learned to be very selective because, as someone pointed out, your time and the expenses involved can leave you with nothing or in the hole. I shop many companies and only work for those in MSPA.

maybe I am doing something wrong? I take all the money I spent on gas for the year, all the costs to fix the car, brakes, tires, tune ups, oil changes, insurance, car payment, the cost of the computer,monthly Internet service, supplies, ink, paper, toner, and upgraded phone service, because you need to stay in touch and then I add up all my fees for the year earned, not reimbursed, of course and I come up with a net of $4 an hour. I am going straight to BK and insist on minimum wage of what? $7.55 and hour, I will almost double my income!!!! thats about 300 a week plus, PLUS!!!I will SAVE all the gas, car repairs, monthly upgraded phone service and Internet connection charges, so I will in effect be making almost 400 per week and never have to look at a report again, to redo, because I did not say it the way "The client wants it" MMM, heck I might even get a job as a mystery shopper 'spotter' and get a bonus for every one I bag! so watch out I'll be lookin' for ya!

Mystery shopper spotter? Is there such a thing? I did a breakfast shop recently and could have sworn this person was spying on me. He sat at a table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper, doodling in the margins and watching me. Paranoid, probably.

that was you?

Very funny.

He probably was not a spotter. Those are regular employees, you know, the ones who should be doing what they get paid to do! :-)

Maybe he just found you attractive.

beisen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> maybe I am doing something wrong? I take all the
> money I spent on gas for the year, all the costs
> to fix the car, brakes, tires, tune ups, oil
> changes, insurance, car payment,

This would be appropriate accounting if and only if you had a separate vehicle for shopping that you would not support otherwise. The beauty of shops is that your vehicle would be depreciating whether or not you used it for shops (yes, the depreciation may be somewhat faster for the extra miles doing shops, but incorporating your normal chores into your routes will make those mostly cost you no extra miles). You would be paying your auto insurance and annual tags and drivers' license whether you were shopping or not. Tune ups, oil changes, tires and other repairs may come somewhat sooner due to shops, but oil changes can readily enough be done paid for by shops. I drive a 10 year old vehicle in excellent condition because the oil changes have been done always a little before 'needed'. I spend a couple hundred bucks every other year or so for the radiator flush, new belts etc. The tires are beginning to dry rot because they are 6-7 years old and although they were gauged for 40,000 miles, even with shops and 'little old lady driving' for about that number of miles they still have good tread. When Uncle Sam is letting me write off around $6000 per year against my business for about the 10k miles I drive per year, that to me is a true bargain. I figure I have more than written off the entire purchase price and insurance on the vehicle over my years of shopping and it still runs like a top. Would I be better off leaving the vehicle in the driveway except for personal errands? I sure don't think so! I make money on the mileage every year in more ways than one.

I have seen some compliance shop guidelines that allow the 'old' shopper to take a younger person, 18-19 or 18-30, with them to make the purchase.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2009 02:41AM by depyou.

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