As hard as it is to believe I can't find anyone to go with me so I miss out on these types of shops. Can't they make it optional?

If you need a someone to go with at a shop then go to the housesless shelter.
(I hate the term homeless because no one is homeless - each of us have our own version of our home. A house is a dwelling without love. A home has love. A home may only have 1 person and maybe an animal but if there is love than it is a home. But that is another post)
Anyway, there are plenty of people hungry that you can take with you. Maybe a friend or two. Someone from the retirement community down the road. That person holding a sign on the street corner. Heck go to the DAV (Disabled Americans Veterans) and ask if anyone wants to go. Also if your a church goer, ask the missionaries if they want to go.
Basically there is always someone you can go with. It helps you grow on many levels, gives your karma a positive boost, and you can learn something.

I'd do that if we had separate transportation. Sorry but there is a lot of crime in my city and not sure I trust strangers in my car. Don't have friends that are available for that.

It is rare for me to take a shop that requires two unless it is a lunch shop. I have three adults in my household, so I typically don't take the dinner shops requiring two diners.

There are shops for one diner, but many upscale casual and fine dining clients want evaluations and reports that cover and experience with two diners. There are a lot of possibilities when you are looking for a dinner companion. I probably would not visit a shelter to find someone hungry, but I agree with some of the other suggestions gypsymonkey made. Has anyone you know recently lost a spouse to death or divorce? That person might welcome a evening out with a nice dinner. The pastor at your church might be able to direct you to someone who is alone and would love the company, and a meal, possibly an older person. Maybe you have a neighbor who would enjoy a night out.

None. I live on crime ridden street. Can't get my 90 year old mother to move and she won't go out to eat. I am earth based do on my own so don't go to a traditional church. Have to be related to elderly or Veteran to take out where I live.

A scheduler once confirmed what I thought was the reason. The overwhelming number of such assignments that require 2 people are either casual or fine dining. As most shoppers are women and one rarely sees a female alone in that type of eatery, excluding the bar, they insist upon a pair of diners as a manner of not drawing attention to the contractor. As I've noticed, though, it's not at all uncommon to see a lone male in a booth.

Strange. I see a lot of women, including myself, that dine alone in these restaurants.

Taselle Wrote:
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> As hard as it is to believe I can't find anyone to
> go with me so I miss out on these types of shops.
> Can't they make it optional?

Do you know other shoppers in your area? I have a husband and friends to take, but have taken other shoppers for FD and hotels. I get invited to go with them other times, when it's their shop.

I know of other shoppers in my area from this forum, FB and forum inside the Easy Shift app but none personally.

I rarely do the 2 for dinner shops for the same reason. I did a couple of 2 people shops (I have 2 daughters that are able to accompany me from time to time) but it always costs me more than the maximum reimbursement.

I do a lot of dine alone shops and they are easier on my shopper budget as they may reimburse but the actual pay is slim or sometimes even none...

Taselle, there is another discussion that is titled "Location Rollcall" or something similiar. I couple of people in my area have reached out to me because of the location I said in my discussion. If a shopper is in your area, maybe you could reach out to them and find a dining companion.

Taselle Wrote:
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> Strange. I see a lot of women, including myself,
> that dine alone in these restaurants.

Absolutely, Taselle. I traveled extensively in North and South Americas and Europe for my job and I frequently dined alone. I did not have trouble except for one time. The diners who look askance at a single female diner, need to come into the modern world.

I do like the idea of inviting a senior who needs to stretch their food dollars out now and then. They don't usually drink themselves into oblivion and you to the poorhouse and they respect the reimbursement limits. As a woman shopper, I would be leery about taking a homeless individual too.

I will give pizza to a homeless person or maybe buy them something at a fast food joint but I doubt a homeless person is going to "look the part" of a fine dining companion. Most likely, they won't have the right type of clothes and depending on their background, they might actually feel uncomfortable. I'm not trying to sound mean; just realistic.

For every suggestion that either I or others have given, she has found some reason to negate it. It sounds to me like she is looking to gripe and not for an actual solution. We all have given good ways for the shop to be done by her, if she wanted to do it.
I understand that many are leery about the stranger on the corner but did yall know that many shelters have woman that are normal and just trying to get back on their feet. Take the check-in person out to eat and strike up a conversation with them. They will tell you about the organization and you will tell them about what you do. Together you can come to a mutual understanding and together you can help someone in need. Just by sitting and listening to someone talk about what brought them to what ever point they are at, can really help someone. Call this a service project and you will be surprised by how many you can help, just by asking whatever higher being you call on to bring that person into your life.

Look, I understand that I am not the majority over here. I am born and raised NY'er (city and Long Island) but I also pickup hitchhikers, walk up to that person holding the sign and strike up a conversation. I have been on the road since '08 and I have learned so much more when I stopped being scared of everything that "could" harm me, and prayed to find those that I could find mutual ground with. I am not saint over here - far, far from it. I have, however, helped rescue pups that were being cruelly treated, brought a dude home to his sick daughter that just lost his home to a fire, talked to some hitchhiker that was so lost she had no direction except the next town over, camped with some ol' vet that fought in 'Nam, and so much more. What I learned was how to hunt better, where to find inner peace, what was really important, why many really hold a sign on the corner (and it aint for drugs believe it or not), how and where it is safest to park, where and how to take a shower when your "rubber trampin" (RV folks or folks that live out of their vehicles) and so much more.

My point is simple: when you open yourself up to others one of two things occur - a) you get judged and ridiculed for living "stupidly" or b) life embraces you back and shows you that there is so much more than your tiny corner of the universe. Now I have probably said too much and divulged too much of how I am here, so I shall close myself off and return to my tiny corner of the universe...

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
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> I will give pizza to a homeless person or maybe
> buy them something at a fast food joint but I
> doubt a homeless person is going to "look the
> part" of a fine dining companion. Most likely,
> they won't have the right type of clothes and
> depending on their background, they might actually
> feel uncomfortable. I'm not trying to sound mean;
> just realistic.

On a mean scale, you are -10. I saw your compassion toward the homeless and...you gave food to them.

Usually I have people to take, but last summer I was continuous in a bind. One day I was given a $60 bonus to do a quick and easy sit down lunch shop in a Chipotle style quick serve. I asked young students, as well as elderly waiting at a near bus stop. In my desperation, as the deadline was fast approaching, I asked the best well groomed homeless I found near by and treated him to a great lunch. I promised myself never again, but the following week an even higher bonus to a mid range dinner place that I had never been before but really wanted to go, so I answered an ad on craigslist from someone who was new to town and wanted to make friends. He was blind, which would not be a problem but this was a fondue style restaurant so I had to read him the entire menu and make sure that he did not burn himself accidentally as there was open heat in the middle of the table. My final lunchmate was for another bonused lunch in a grudgy Irish pub and we were the only people there. I was buying something from her from craigslist so I arranged to meet her at the pub and treat her to lunch. I said that I was a food critic!

That's why I hesitate. Down in the country you are a lot safer than we are in St Louis. I do hesitate asking for these jobs because the 2 or 3 times I applied I had people who said they would go and then came up with some excuse to not go at the last minute which didn't look good when I had to cancel. It's not that I don't appreciate the suggestions but as a woman who has killings going on her own street I am very very leery of strangers. I'm not young and can't run. I know about the veterans hospitals as my Mom volunteers at Cochran. I put my location on the location roll call thread. I have tried that suggestion a out the bus stop but in areas where fine dining are there are only rich people who snub you if you offer. I didn't write this to complain but rather as a suggestion to schedulers and msc's to maybe look at this more closely and revise the rules. Most people here dine alone during lunch hour. Unless I can combine this with volunteering but then it wouldn't really be from the heart as the ulterior motive would be to get a higher paying shop. I'll think over the suggestions presented to me on here and thank you all for your help.

If you go alone then you run the risk of looking like this:
[tinyurl.com]

I thought that's how we all looked up here.

Nope. When we go with others we look more like this:
[tinyurl.com]

I guess as an aromantic asexual I just never understood the need to have someone with you all the time. These restaurants here are so used to me dining alone they would be suspicious if I came in with someone.

Taselle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's not that I don't appreciate the
> suggestions but as a woman who has killings going
> on her own street I am very very leery of
> strangers.

I'm not sure if this will translate well online and it is somewhat off-topic from the restaurant question. It is good to be cautious but you can't go through life scared the whole time. I have been performing a large gas station route for the month of January. Less than two weeks ago, I arrived at one of my locations and the entire gas station including parking lot and the store were surrounded by yellow crime scene tape. There were flashing police cars everywhere. A 20-something man was shot and killed while sitting in his car less than an hour before I arrived at this gas station. And no, he wasn't robbing the store or doing a drug deal in the parking lot. His wallet was still on him so it was not a robbery. For whatever reason, he was just sitting in his car. I am guessing that it was a gang initiation but the police aren't saying. How many of us have sat in our cars to write notes, check e-mails, or text messages prior to driving? It did shake me up for awhile and I even considered dropping the route but I made a commitment and I am following through with it.



> I didn't write this to complain but rather
> as a suggestion to schedulers and msc's to maybe
> look at this more closely and revise the rules.
> Most people here dine alone during lunch hour.

I could be wrong but I don't think the MSCs and especially the schedulers have much, if anything, to do with making up the shop guidelines. It is the client who puts these restrictions on a shop. Maybe someone from the MSC actually writes the guidelines but according to what the client tells them. There is probably a reason why they want two diners. As for lunch, I have seen and performed many lunch shops that only require one diner.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2014 06:16PM by Shop2LiveinFL.

I haven't done one of the two-diner shoppers yet, but it's my understanding that they routinely ask that you order two different entrees. So, does that mean that, in the food evaluation section, they want to do an average? In other words, they're hoping/assuming that you'll sample each other's food, and they'll get a report on both entrees? In that case, they're less apt to get a 'this food was absolutely horrible' report, just because you ordered something, didn't realize that it has ingredient x in it, and you absolutely hate ingredient x.

That's a possibility about the two entrees.

I occasionally will ask about doing one of the two person shops alone. If it's close enough to the deadline, I usually get the job.

You don't sound mean, Shop2Livein FL, you are being realistic. My in-laws and my parents could easily fit the pattern of the fine dining companions ($200+), however, all four would be terrible as a mystery shoppers companion. I can see my father now, "I'll have the same entrée as my son!" or my mother in law, "No thanks, I never order dessert!"

The ONLY person I trust with the fine dining is my beautiful wife and vice versa. I don't believe anyone can follow the guidelines. Even for those $25 - $40 dinner shops!

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I will give pizza to a homeless person or maybe
> buy them something at a fast food joint but I
> doubt a homeless person is going to "look the
> part" of a fine dining companion. Most likely,
> they won't have the right type of clothes and
> depending on their background, they might actually
> feel uncomfortable. I'm not trying to sound mean;
> just realistic.

I also wouldn't feel comfortable with a stranger off the street. But I actually kind of would enjoy dining with a fellow shopper from the forum... maybe that should be a new service! A nice dinner, a new friend and no report? Sign me up!

So the real question is...

Is you took a MS'er on a fine dining shop, would you expect that person to help out in writing the report, taking timings or pay the difference if you go over the allotted reimbursement? Or would it be a total free meal for them?

(I figured this might start up a good discussion!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2014 08:26PM by Shop2LiveinFL.

Being mystery shoppers it seems inconceivable we would not help pick up unreimbursed expenses and even help with observations.

Sounds like you are confined to the Arches. They are the only idiots that require you to go alone. I shouldn't call them idiots, when the pay is good, it is good.