LisaSTL Wrote:
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> Apparently goosechickenbullshit has left the
> building, permanently. Thank goodness, now we can
> talk about all the confidential, super secret,
> best of the best of the best of the best, golden
> companies.

Yep...
"This user doesn't exist or has been deactivated."

I'm still new enough to be sorting out the best of the best of the worst.

itsasecret Wrote:
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> I'm still new enough to be sorting out the best of
> the best of the worst.


Well... interpreting the worst can be a matter of preference. I personally PREFER to be paid... that's the defining line for me.... And I prefer schedulers that don't play games with shoppers.

I just may be tempted to give her/him the worst of the worst of the worst!!!!

Here's an OLD saying: "You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar". Also, "Ask nicely, and ye shall receive". This is a civilized and professional community. Kindly consider that those who have been MS'ing for a bit do have valuable insight that will help you immensely if you listen. Every shopper is different and, as with any employee, is a better match for different sorts of jobs than others. It depends on your preferences. You will have to spend days signing up for tons of companies. That's just the way it is. There are no shortcuts. Lick your wounds and then visit us again.

Hello,

I am a newbie to the auditor world and I am very thankful to find this forum. I performed my first shop the other day which was a retail shop, I was so nervous but my feedback was good and I recieved a 9 out of 9. I'm really excited about being an auditor and I am looking forward to building relationships with all of the veterans on here. I am looking to making this my career when I graduate from college in may. any advice anyone?

Welcome razzelspray. Congratulations on your upcoming college graduation. Just one question for you..if you are graduating from college, why would you choose mystery shopping as a career? Is your field in marketing or retail? (Not that it's needed to mystery shop) A piece of advice to you would be to try and gain employment in your chosen field and mystery shop as an aside or while you are searching for a job in your field. That's what I do and it works out nicely. Having a college degree can open a lot of doors to you for a lifetime career. Mystery shopping is great, but it is very difficult to make a career out of it. (Not saying it can't be done, but it's hard work for not a lot of money) It can take years to set up a solid income from MSing.

Good luck to you and sign up for lots of legitimate companies while you're still in school. Then do a few here and there to test the waters and see which ones you enjoy and work well for you. And, be sure to continue your studies diligently and finish your degree.

Wishing you the best.

Mystery shopping can be tough to do as a career. There are a few shops available to only experienced individual, but, by and large, there is not much room for advancement. As a sole source of income, it can be very inconsistent.

If you are actually looking to work for an MSC at the corporate level, I can't offer much for a suggestion.

razzelspray Wrote:
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> Hello,
>
> I am a newbie to the auditor world and I am very
> thankful to find this forum. I performed my first
> shop the other day which was a retail shop, I was
> so nervous but my feedback was good and I recieved
> a 9 out of 9. I'm really excited about being an
> auditor and I am looking forward to building
> relationships with all of the veterans on here. I
> am looking to making this my career when I
> graduate from college in may. any advice anyone?

Welcome to the forum, razzelspray. Is it necessary to cut and paste exactly the same message into 5 different threads? One hint for writing mystery shopping reports: repetition is a bad thing and the editors will criticize and lower your score.

For great hints on how to run a new mystery shopping business, go to the New Member area and read as much as you can. There's great information there for a new mystery shopping on how to start, build, and run your mystery shopping business. Most of us mystery shop to supplement our income, although some do make a living doing it. Whether or not you will find the volume of shops to be able to make it a career will depend on how committed you are to building your business, how willing you are to travel, and your location.

There's a great list of companies at the bottom of the page, the blue link, Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies. To research a particular company, use the "Search" option (at the top of the forum list). Put in a name and select "add dates."

Welcome, and good luck.

There are a lot of college graduates who can't find work in their major field. This would be a good way to get some cash coming in while job searching, and to get experience auditing if you want to become an auditor. But the people here who are actually supporting themselves this way seem to be few and far between and didn't hit the ground being able to pay all their bills this way. It took them years to build up the experience to do this efficiently enough to be able to make a living at it. I figure I'm making less than $5 an hour right now -- I'd be making more to be working at Jack in the Box instead of mystery shopping them! But I hope to become more efficient over time.

Good luck to you, razzle. But keep trying to find work in the career of your choice.

razzelspray Wrote:
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I am looking to making this my career when I
> graduate from college in may. any advice anyone?

Here's some advice, don't make this a career. There are no benefits and while you are young you need to be focusing on a lifelong career which will allow you to build toward your retirement. Most shoppers making some type of living with MS have one of these things in common,

A spouse with a steady source of income.
Homes and vehicles that are paid off.
Another source of income whether it is retirement, social security or another type of small business.

There is no such thing in this business as the best of the best. The rates have dropped, the schedulers are hard to reach and all you can do is set goals as to what you are willing to accept for payment, and work for those companies for awhile and see how they treat you.

Remember you are the shopper and they need you. Have faith that you will find better companies in time. Good luck, because the shopping industry has changed alot.

An Experience Shopper for 11 years.

G. Barners

THis is why the newbies take all the $1 and $2 shops and we sit back and complain. They do not know any better and some aren't willing to help them. I don't see the harm in saying. Try such and such company and see how you like it. etc etc.
IMO

People did try to help him and he wasn't satisfied. That was probably because he was a troll who just came along to stir up some crap. New shoppers deserve some help and it is all right here. Reading and researching are also required. Anyone who finds this forum should know better than to take $1 and $2 shops.

Anyone who comes on the forum and reads the stickies in the New Mystery Shoppers section will discover that some specific nationwide companies, such as Corporate Research, are recommended for beginners. If they read and read, they will find many, many references to the fact that Corporate Research will increase fees through the month. There are multiple threads about bonuses with various companies, when they happen, and how to get them. If new members don't care enough to read then I'm not impressed with their efforts.

I'm usually willing to help out anyone who needs new information or who is having difficulty understanding what's already been posted, but I like to see they are making an effort on their own. I want to help, but I don't want to teach first grade over and over. I expect them to pick up the simpler basics on their own, and come to the forum with specific questions about problems they are having. I believe it is better to teach them how to use the forum and information already posted than it is to answer every little question they ask from a knowledge base of zero. I want to see some sign of effort on their part before I'm going to make an effort on my part. If we don't encourage independence, we aren't helping.

Kind of like the old saying, giving a man a fish versus teaching a man how to fish.

Absolutely spot on, Lisa. I support new shoppers who have the spit and vinegar to figure out how to do this and get it going with a little coaching and guidance.

I realize that there are members on the forum who feel like newcomers are mistreated, and that newcomers should receive detailed and factual information for whatever question they may care to ask because they don't want to spend the time to search and read.

Well, OK, that's one way to look at it. But here's what I think ought to happen. Those who want to hold the hand of each new shopper should jump in here and start handholding. We need more forum members who are actually interested in doing something useful.

I'm encouraging everyone who doesn't like the way new shoppers are treated to jump in here, greet every one of them, post detailed suggestions, and answer all their questions.

MS Judi thank you you are very kind. Thanks everyone for the feedback, Ms Judi I am a Marketing major and I plan on continuing this while looking for work, I would like to work up to possably making this work fulltime, but I always have a back up plan. I believe in hard work,never being defeated,and turning every negative into a positive. I've had a job/gig since I was 14 and im excited about this new opportunity.

Razzelspray, good for you for having a practical approach to work after you get out of school. This is excellent supplemental work and there are some of us who are doing this successfully full time. This will give you some bridge income until you are able to nail what you want in your field. Because of the way things are now, it may take you a while to find what you're looking for, and mystery shopping will allow you more independence and a longer period of time to make a choice.

Doing your own homework is an essential task in MSing. I have a new shop tomorrow and my first merchandising assignment. I'll spend a few hours tonight doing my homework. Nobody can do it for me, because I have to do the assignment. I'm still learning, but I think I'm a pretty good shopper. Even though this is just a side job/hobby for me, I work really hard at it.

I'm thankful for the great information in the new shopper section. I must have read hundreds of posts before I started posting.

Incidentally, if one were to take two seconds to use the search function, one would find that there have been many threads on this topic. Some threads have some very helpful lists of MS companies.

I don't mind referring someone to MF, CoRI, Maritz, etc.. They will find these folks pretty quickly. Now the company that paid me yesterday for a shop I did Friday? No way I'm sharing that one!

Is that sig line new? Very funny and very appropriate

Thanks Lisa. It's my tongue-in-cheek response to some of the other sigs I've seen.

It's also probably accurate.