Good Morning! I wanted to introduce myself “officially” as a new shopper. I’ve been reading so many forums and posts that I believe I’m now cross eyed. As a newbie, the site itself can be very overwhelming so I’d like to THANK all of the veterans and schedulers for providing such informative advice. I’m currently only registered with one company and at a loss as to what I need to do next. I’d like to think I could do this PT and be successful but having lost my job; I’ve got to really get busy. So, I have 2 questions.....First, do we have anywhere on the site, a list of all these acronyms you all use? It’s mind boggling. Secondly, does anyone have any additional advice they’d like to share that perhaps I haven’t run across in my long hours, long days of reading, reading, and reading? Oh, did I mention reading? Lol

Welcome!
First, if you have not done so, I would strongly suggest reading the "New Shoppers" area on this forum. It gives the best overview of the world of mystery shopping that I've seen. Second, you need to sign up with more companies if you want to keep yourself busy. I do this part time and am with around 100 companies. There is a list linked to this page that will give you over 200 options. Note that most are small companies and only have regional work. You will have to do a certain amount of trial and error (signing up for companies that my not have work in your area) to find companies that have options for you. However, if you start with the "15 most discussed companies," you'll likely do pretty well as all are larger companies that have work nationwide.

Once you are signed up for a company, click on their "job board" tab and see what work is in your area. From there, simply apply for the job. (Websites vary as to how they are set up, but most are pretty self-explanatory.) Read the instructions, make the visit, submit the report online.)

As for acronyms.... Never be afraid to as when you see one you don't know.... Here are a couple:
MSC: Mystery Shopping Company
ICA: Independent Contractor Agreement

Thanks. I’ve read New Shoppers front to back, back to front. Taken notes, read some more, etc. In fact, I must admit that I’ve read so many of your posts, you keep me smiling. In fact, I have a few shoppers I’d like to add to my buddy list due to the honesty, professionalism, candid humor, etc. Is it appropriate to do so?
I spent another 5hrs last night reading as I suffer with insomnia. Ugh.

MpH,
Just start posting questions about any confusing acronyms in the Mystery Shopping area of the forum. You are certain to get answers.
welcome aboard. And, above all, ENJOY !

@Mphsgal - Hi and Welcome to the world of Mystery Shopping!
As you may have already discovered, this forum is absolutely wonderful and the members are very supportive of newbies, always sharing their knowledge and experience. In like kind, BARE has a solid industry reputation, celebrating 30 years in business and is known for its credibility, stability, and variety of opportunities.
You can become an Evaluator of BARE here: [www.bareinternational.com]
We'd love to see you come on board with us as a new shopper!

As an Evaluator for BARE International, you become a valuable part of providing game-changing insights to our clients. You can have an impact on how our clients provide customer service and make business decisions. The same ethical standards we uphold when designing, implementing, and analyzing research strategies for our clients also applies to you as one of our Evaluators. We strive to create opportunities as worthwhile to you as your work is to us.

Benefits of Being a BARE Evaluator
1). Extra Income - Earn with our transparent evaluation system that helps you improve your work and ensures fair, democratic scheduling.
2) Fun Work - Learning more about interesting products and brands is fun, and helping companies make a difference is truly rewarding.
3) Feel Valued - With competition increasing daily, you’ll be a valuable asset to companies looking to improve customer experience.
4) Fair Pay - BARE ensures reasonable compensation and maintains secure and accurate financial control systems.
5) Flexible Hours - Enjoy less stringent validation processes and full control over dates, deadlines, payments and workload.
6) Professional Reputation - BARE has a solid industry reputation, celebrating 30 years in business and is known for its credibility, stability, and variety of opportunities.
You can become an Evaluator of BARE here: [www.bareinternational.com]

Feel free to message me if you need anything!
Best,
Lisa S.

Welcome! I would advise don't overwhelm yourself. Every shop requires homework of some sort. Newbies don't realize the ramp up time involved. Good luck!

Definitely get signed up with many companies, but because of the variety of platforms, proprietary or not, juggling many new jobs in a single day or two with a large variety of different reporting formats can be stressful, especially with unique or excessively detailed shops and/or all of that paired with intense narrative shops. The platforms are not necessarily complicated, but as you start out, keep it simple and get comfortable with it all. I still have not done much with shopmetrics, and with some opting into Gigspot and others not, it can be a bit confusing.

In time, you will discover a company or two that offer a collection of basic shops that you can routinely execute. But always pay attention to guidelines. I have shopped multiple locations for one client, and thankfully have always caught the odd shop in a month with a completely different scenario than all of the others I have done. So never take it for granted that guidelines are always the same.

Above all else...keep an organized list of companies with passwords.

Hello I wanted to know if you have started working, I am really interested in this position