Has anyone done some of these? I'm sure someone has and I just wanted to know your thoughts. I was called and asked to do one plus offered a bonus. It looks like there is a lot to look for. A few pictures are required especially non-compliant issues. Any ideas on the best way to do this?

They are easy. I just did one today. Follow the simple instructions...

Speaking of grocery stores, Anyone getting any Meijer shops. Been doing them for years and since they switched to Sassie, nada.

If it was the one that I did, I'll never do it again. I was there almost two hours, and that's not including labeling and uploading pictures, and doing the report. Make sure that they give you a GOOD bonus.

I do the one's for <edited for ICA violation> and they are easy. Once you look over the paperwork and know what you are looking for, you will be fine. I take my 2 overall pictures first and then start walking around looking. When I see non compliant items, I take a picture and keep moving. This way, I have a proper tally of each area and the non compliant items.

Moderator Note: A previous post has mentioned a specific grocery chain, so MSC's can't be mentioned in this thread.

I did my first grocery audits at Save a Lot this week. The instructions make it look overwhelming but they were easy. I walked through with an index card during the mystery shop part and wrote down any OOS items. Checked for expired product (one store had expired milk), and looked for other issues. After I revealed myself, I knew exactly where to go for my photos.

Each shop took me about 20 minutes. Data entry was easy - no narrative at all. If you have done Shell for this client, you'll think SAL is a breeze!

Thats the one! When I saw the 35 pages to look over I wondered just what I had gotten into! LOL Can I use my iphone for the pictures or is it best to use the camera?

Hi Dustygirl,

I would use my iPhone for this because everyone is used to seeing people walking around with them and you can be more discreet. Pulling out a camera is still likely viewed as unusual and questionable behaviour among shoppers at a grocery store.

Enjoy your shop!

For the Save-A-Lot one that I did, the instructions said to wear your orange vest for the revealed part of the shop. There's NO being discreet with that thing on! (Although it did help explain why a white woman was in that neighborhood! I was more than a little nervous when I was taking the pics in the parking lot.) I got out my vest, clipboard and camera phone, and went to it. I did have a customer ask me where to find something. He was an elderly man and very nice, and I actually wound up helping him.


dcm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Dustygirl,
>
> I would use my iPhone for this because everyone is
> used to seeing people walking around with them and
> you can be more discreet. Pulling out a camera is
> still likely viewed as unusual and questionable
> behaviour among shoppers at a grocery store.
>
> Enjoy your shop!

I don't have a safety vest! I realized this tonight that I was suppose to have one. UGG!! Shop is tomorrow. Does Wally World sell them?

I responded to your other posting...

Thanks mrcomputer101 I seen the post. I will go find a vest in the morning before the shop. Walmart is across the street from the store.

Cool! Did you find the shop easy? I did 2 more yesterday and I will accept as many as I can get...

I was just offered two of these shops last night with a $25.00 bonus each. The scheduler wanted me to accept both of them in order to get the bonus money. I was not familiar with the shop and I was just arriving at a restaurant/bar shop so I told him that I would look into it when I got back home. (I have gotten myself in trouble in the past by accepting bonused shops on the fly like that.)

Then the scheduler told me that if I was nervous about the type of neighborhoods they were in, he would try to get permission for me to bring someone else with me. It got me wondering...where they h*ll were they trying to send me?

Shop2LiveinFL.....I've been in grocery stores in FL
that have police substation inside of them. Just what
you always want to see when you go into a grocery
store...armed police officers.

When I lived in Canada, a condo complex had a police sub station right in front of the door. I thought..nope. Not for me thanks. Tough neighbourhood and not my cup of tea.

Well.. my shopping companion would call it "the hood".

In all honesty, when I did a Save-A-Lot shop here, I called him as I was leaving, and he blatantly said that I should NOT be in that neighborhood. I was nervous, but the people were actually very nice, and the store was nicer than I expected. This location did not have big glass windows like most grocery stores, but there weren't actually bars on it's (much smaller) windows either. (When going into certain areas, I use the percentage of nearby places with bars on the windows to gauge whether I want to be there.) I wasn't happy with the amount of time spent on my feet and all the photos involved, and I am not doing another one, but it actually wasn't because of the location.

That being said, do be careful. I work in an area that has been "revitalized", and know that if I go in certain directions, I can quickly find myself in rundown areas with higher crime, etc. I did know where I was going that day, but I didn't know what I was getting into with the shop, and I definitely would not have done two back-to-back. You were very wise to be cautious about both the locations and the shop requirements.


Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Then the scheduler told me that if I was nervous
> about the type of neighborhoods they were in, he
> would try to get permission for me to bring
> someone else with me. It got me wondering...where
> they h*ll were they trying to send me?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2013 04:47AM by RiverSong.

cynb Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Speaking of grocery stores, Anyone getting any
> Meijer shops. Been doing them for years and since
> they switched to Sassie, nada.


Still shopping Meijer in Illinois, but the rotation rules are strictly enforced since the switch to Sassie.

I did an unrevealed grocery audit awhile back, the purpose of which was clearly to see whether the store actually carried the products for which they were submitting coupons for reimbursement. As soon as the owner caught wind of what I was doing, he threw me out of the store!

Sounds like you confirmed their suspicions!

How did you know it was about the coupons?

mitchk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did an unrevealed grocery audit awhile back, the
> purpose of which was clearly to see whether the
> store actually carried the products for which they
> were submitting coupons for reimbursement. As
> soon as the owner caught wind of what I was doing,
> he threw me out of the store!

RiverSong Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sounds like you confirmed their suspicions!
>
> How did you know it was about the coupons?


I had a letter to present to the store manager in the event I was stopped (which he didn't care about). I "googled" the contact info in the letter and found the association with a coupon clearinghouse!