I have done more than 50 P.O. shops and can nearly do them in my sleep. Yesterday, though, I had something happen that caught me completely off guard (a horrible thing for a mystery shopper to admit!) I was doing Scenario B, which requires purchasing Priority Mail. There were two clerks, one was helping a guy with a humongous bin full of long packages, which I think I heard them say were calendars. The clerk I used was yakking with the other clerk and his customer. I set my package on the counter, he picked it up, set it on the scale, asked me a question about tracking, all the while yakking with the others. He attached my tracking sticker and gave me my total. I paid, and it all happened so quickly that it took me a minute to realize he'd never even asked me how I wanted to send the package. He had made an assumption, rang it up, and that was that. Even if I HAD realized that he'd done so, I'm not sure I would have said, "Uh, I need this to go Priority" because I think that would have given me away.

As I walked out, I looked at my receipt and saw that he had charged me for Parcel Post. Uh oh. I had a sinking feeling that I'd just wasted about $9 and wouldn't be paid either. But I figured they would want to know what happened, that a clerk didn't even bother to ask a customer how they wanted their package sent, etc., so I did all 65 questions (or whatever it is - it's long!) and crossed my fingers. I just saw that I will be paid in full and got a 10 on it. PHEW!


Also, I have discovered that most cake mixes weigh 18.5 ounces, which makes it a perfect thing to ship if you don't have something you actually need to send somewhere. They slip easily into the mailers and voila! I was happy to make that discovery and shipped 3 of them back to myself yesterday (which could be why the guy assumed that parcel post was fine because it was only Zone 2 and would likely arrive the next day anyway.)

I just did a bunch of these. A 39c box of mac and cheese and a 10c box of royal jello. PO weighs these packages as 1 lb 1.0 oz...

But the requirement now states 18 oz. And I find it very interesting that I can send the exact same thing and show a different weight on each receipt. It was pretty maddening to weigh my packages (when they required 1 lb.) at home on my postal scale, then have the receipt show under a pound. I'm sure it's situations like mine that got it changed to 18 oz., but I think they need their scales tested more regularly.

mrcomputer101 Wrote:
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> I just did a bunch of these. A 39c box of mac and
> cheese and a 10c box of royal jello. PO weighs
> these packages as 1 lb 1.0 oz...

This is a little off topic, but I thought I should add it.

I know that a lot of shoppers used the cake mix boxes for these shops. Betty Crocker cakes mixes now weigh just a little over 15 ounces. I think the other brands are still over 18 ounces though.

SpyGirl,

I had the same thing happen to me once. Without asking the clerk gave me Parcel Post. I assumed it would be going Priority and didn't know until I checked the receipt. I got back in line and asked her to change it to Priority. The package was still there and she just charged me the difference. I submitted both receipts. I wasn't sure how BAI would feel about it, but the shop was accepted and I was glad. Now, I always ask them, if they don't tell me.

I started buying bags of decorative rocks at the dollar store. Add 2 or 3 rocks and voila...18 ounces. Course my friends are trying to find straight jacket for me. Now she's mailing rocks, doctor.....

I did one today. I sent a can of Progresso soup. It was just over 18oz. It fit in a mailer. But now I am having problems submitting the report. It has to do with the times. It asks for time entered & time exited. then it asks for time entered line & time called. I put entered at 12:35 & exited at 12:44. I entered line at 12:37 & was called at 12:39. It won't accept it!! GRR. It says I cannot enter line after I exited! Did I state this wrong? I emailed and am waiting for a reply. I hope I get it soon.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2011 12:35AM by Dustygirl.

I am having the exact same problem with trying to submit the times on the report. There must be a glitch. I emailed the scheduler and tech support. Hopefully it get resolved soon.

My favorite: 1 lb or 2 lb bags of rice $0.69 or $1.20 from Walmart.

I have had that same trouble multiple times, but every time it happened, I'd go back and check them all again. Invariably, I had failed to mark one of the "pm" or something, and once I saw that and fixed it, it would submit. And what's with the boxes popping up on almost every question, even questions they don't have anything to do with??? Talk about slowing you down. They are just plain maddening to me. Grrrrrrr

Dustygirl Wrote:
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> I did one today. I sent a can of Progresso soup.
> It was just over 18oz. It fit in a mailer. But now
> I am having problems submitting the report. It has
> to do with the times. It asks for time entered &
> time exited. then it asks for time entered line &
> time called. I put entered at 12:35 & exited at
> 12:44. I entered line at 12:37 & was called at
> 12:39. It won't accept it!! GRR. It says I cannot
> enter line after I exited! Did I state this wrong?
> I emailed and am waiting for a reply. I hope I get
> it soon.

Did you not feel like it might be a giveaway? Especially if it isn't going far? If they know it will arrive the next day (which it did - I opened my front door to find 3 packages, insured and tracked!) no matter how it's sent, then why would you make a deal out of sending it Priority unless you were a shopper? That's my fear. But, if it ever happens again, I will certainly be more alert to the fact that I was not ask, and I will say, "Could you show me how much it costs for the different options please?"

MsJudi Wrote:
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> SpyGirl,
>
> I had the same thing happen to me once. Without
> asking the clerk gave me Parcel Post. I assumed it
> would be going Priority and didn't know until I
> checked the receipt. I got back in line and asked
> her to change it to Priority. The package was
> still there and she just charged me the
> difference. I submitted both receipts. I wasn't
> sure how BAI would feel about it, but the shop was
> accepted and I was glad. Now, I always ask them,
> if they don't tell me.

I was not offered Express today. He just said Priority would be best. The last time I was not offered Insurance and I did not ask. I was worried about it but I explained that I was not asked and it went through okay.

It sounds like you are having problems with the "AM"/'PM". Try putting in the time you exited first, then put in the time you entered.

In the box's "mind", it is set up to be a 24 hour clock. If you look at the box b4 you put in your time they both indicated a "AM" reading. When you put in your "PM" time, the exit box still is in the "AM" mode. That is why that phrase comes up about "exiting b4 entering.

I find this happens, when I do the shop in the afternoon. When I do a morning shop everything is koshered.

I usually skip the time question until the end. I let them come up as an "oops". I do the narraaivre first. B/c that can be consuming.

Isn't Scenario B a Readypost mailing? Those mailers are also good for shipping 4 DVDs, Weighs around 1 lb and 25 ozs.

I had a bunch of "B"'s last week. I went to a PO and weighed a few of the Readypost boxes, then went to Target and got a couple of cans of the cheapest stuff I could find and took it to the checkout to have them weighed. A little math and I buy the cans that will put me just over the 18 oz. Then I used the idea of a "D" scenario and found a Second Harvest a city away, so even if the weight comes out more than I intend (maybe if in a small PO they only have bigger Readypost boxes) I'm only a zone away and it'll take a lot more weight to put me over the reimbursement limit. The beauty of sending to a food bank is saving the Target receipt and using it as a charitable deduction on your taxes :-)

I've done enough of the POs that I can pretty much do them with my eyes closed, but I still remember the first time, whoa :-)

Time you Entered the Post Office: 12:35

'The time you exited the line cannot be later than the time when you exited the Post Office. Please check your times again.'

Time you Exited the Post Office: 12:44

Time you Entered the Line:12:37

'The time you exited the line cannot be later than the time when you exited the Post Office. Please check your times again.'

Time you were Called to the Window: 12:39

I think they have a problem with their form. It is past the 12hr limit so I will check it in the morning. Not going to worry about it anymore tonight.

It was fixed this morning and the report went through.
I am glad that does not happen very often!

That's right. You only purchase what you're offered, except that you MUST purchase Priority. Often I'm not offered anything extra and I don't ask. Sometimes I'm asked, "Did you need tracking or insurance?" or other things they'll add on, and I'll answer "Yes." Sometimes they'll then ask which thing, and I'll say tracking and insurance, and other times they'll just assume I meant one or the other and they'll just ring up either tracking OR insurance, and I just let them do it and report what they did. I have done over 50 shops and have never once been questioned or not paid. However, I did forget I was supposed to have cash and paid with a debit card, and even those went through, along with a comment reminding me that it is best to use cash. More than once, including this past week, I have pulled up and parked and then realized I would need cash and didn't have it. Then I'd have to go find someplace to get some, but thankfully there's always been a store nearby. CASH, CASH, CASH! I never carry cash.


Dustygirl Wrote:
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> I was not offered Express today. He just said
> Priority would be best. The last time I was not
> offered Insurance and I did not ask. I was worried
> about it but I explained that I was not asked and
> it went through okay.

My package was not going local, so asking to have it sent Priority should not have been unusual. The clerk apologized and said she usually asked, but had forgotten. I did not feel like it made me stand out 'cause I just said I wanted it to get there sooner and the price difference was negligible, like less than $.50, so it really made more sense to send it Priority anyways. This shop was before the weight change also so it might have weighed just over a lb., I don't remember.


Besides, I didn't care if it was going to be a give-a-way, because we HAVE to have Priority and I would have had to ask anyway if I noticed it while at the counter. I just didn't want the shop thrown out because the clerk screwed up and I didn't notice it. These shops go so quickly that we really need to be on our toes the whole time in there. You never know what the dumb a... clerks are going to do.

I shop a rotation for 4 or 5 post offices. Some of the clerks have been so unfriendly that even if they thought I was a mystery shopper, I don't think they would care. I especially liked the one who started off by saying "do you want to track this or just ship it regular?".

I have also forgotten and used my debit card. They never said anything. I try to remember to have cash for these shops. LOL When I used the debit the receipt was a long one so I just folded the part with the card info on it. It looked like a regular receipt then. Then it all fit into the scanner.

So glad to see that someone else had a time issue on these shops! I was losing my mind trying to figure out what the heck I did wrong. I just made a note of it and submitted it.

I was surprised to see so many accepted when a debit card was used. I had one that was not accepted. The reason is that the time on my receipt was 27 minutes before they close. It says not to shop in the last 30 minutes. I arrived at the post office 48 minutes before they closed, but they were very busy.

The clerk did not offer Express, insurance, or confirmation. I wondered if they would have accepted it if he offered all those things.

I always make sure I have an hour before close for that very reason. If they are busy and you pass that 30 minute mark you absolutely won't get paid. Then you get to eat the shipping charge for mailing that can of soup or cake mix (or rocks in my case .

Missing my post office routes! Can't drive. grrrrrrr

Then that's a different reason for it not being accepted than just the debit card problem. Did they say why it wasn't accepted? I've never had the problem (so far anyway) of running into that last 30 mins., but I would suspect that's why they didn't take the shop, not the debit card. But, I do wonder why it matters! What is the reason they want it paid in cash? I'd like to know!

lisams901 Wrote:
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> I was surprised to see so many accepted when a
> debit card was used. I had one that was not
> accepted. The reason is that the time on my
> receipt was 27 minutes before they close. It says
> not to shop in the last 30 minutes. I arrived at
> the post office 48 minutes before they closed, but
> they were very busy.
>
> The clerk did not offer Express, insurance, or
> confirmation. I wondered if they would have
> accepted it if he offered all those things.

SpyGirl Wrote:
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> Then that's a different reason for it not being
> accepted than just the debit card problem. Did
> they say why it wasn't accepted? I've never had
> the problem (so far anyway) of running into that
> last 30 mins., but I would suspect that's why they
> didn't take the shop, not the debit card. But, I
> do wonder why it matters! What is the reason they
> want it paid in cash? I'd like to know!

Oh, I know it was the time issue that caused it to be rejected. I didn't use debit, I used cash. I was just saying I was surprised to see so many who use debit get accepted since the guidelines say to use cash. I think the reason they want you to use cash is to save time. It will take longer to swipe a card.

But many "average customers" would swipe their card. I would think the client would want to know about that too. But the arches shops require cash too. I wonder what percentage of customers use plastic.

I think more average shoppers swipe their cards than carry cash, however, the cash thing can also be a check to see if the cashier is skimming a little money. If don't ring it up, they could quote you the price for the meal, but only charge for the burger, open up the drawer and give you the change and keep the difference. This could be tipped off as a possibility if they don't give you a receipt without asking or if they fumble around after you ask for it.

thanks for the reminder about cash. I am doing two Scenario B shops tomorrow. I really HATE using cash for tax reasons. By using cash, I don't have a record of the expense. I am getting reimbursed for it. Without the record the reimbursement looks like extra income. LOL.

Hey I just read the guidelines. I didn't see a word about paying cash. Can anyone show/tell me where it says we have to. I really would prefer to use my debit card.

I don't have any current shops pending, so I can't read any current guidelines. But it has been that way (cash) for a long time, and I read it not long ago. Maybe someone with a pending shop could find it for you. And you could always call or email your scheduler.

jersey07032 Wrote:
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> Hey I just read the guidelines. I didn't see a
> word about paying cash. Can anyone show/tell me
> where it says we have to. I really would prefer to
> use my debit card.