Advice needed when performing a luxury car shop. I was just wondering those of you who shop the lamborghini, porsche and Maybach assignments. Do you walk to these locations or rent a "luxury" car just for these assignments
I drive a pretty beat up vehicle and when I pull up to the dealership in these locations am not sure how the sales associates will treat me.Do I say I just won the lottery or how do I explain that am looking to get a car worth over 100 K when am driving a car valued at less than 10K.
What I do not like about these luxury dealerships is the customer parking is right in front and there is no where to hide my "real car".I have considered parking nearby and walking in to the dealership or grabbing a cab.
PS I have faced second class treatment before when I did a luxury apartment shop but I persevered. It was a recorded shop and having strapped the voice recorder on my chest I proceeded with the shop as it was paying 85 for 30 minutes of my time.It was not fun and the sales associate was sneering at me as I left in my "car"
In my real life I try to avoid snorty places but it appears car shops are the only ones that are paying anything worthwhile

They typically require you drive a car worth a certain amount. They say it wouldn't look natural to drive up in a clunker and ask to look at $100k car. Have they already assigned it to you?

I drive a Honda and when I've done luxury car shops in the past, I've always said we bought Hondas and promised to drive them into the ground but damn, they won't die. Now I want to treat myself.

More like 300k. I am all for creativity on shop applications, but if you don't show up in a qualifying vehicle, you stand a strong chance of getting your shop rejected. Rental car blows half your fee, and the license plate is frequently a tell. These people are looking very carefully at how you arrive even if it isn't apparent.

I sometimes say that I just dropped off my mom at a salon and am using her car. A perm or color take a couple of hours, so if it were true, I'd have enough time to look at a vehicle. It also provides an easy exit, "Listen, I really have to pick my mom up. Let me think about it and I'll be back later and we can take care of the paperwork." (or whatever you have promised)

Thanks for all the advice. I have not yet been assigned the shop but I did lie to the mystery shopping company that I can get my hands on a luxury brand.I will think of something even if I have to walk in after being dropped by the cab.I never have a problem making it up as I go it is just the condescending attitude from some of this sales associates that I cannot stand considering they are there to sell the vehicle not grade the customers some of them do sell vehicles that cost more than they make in a year you would think that would humble them.I will dress expensively and if the guy starts using car jargon that I cannot understand I will say I have to rush out to get my mother from the hair salon.The best part will be to test drive.Since I will never own such a vehicle I might as well experience the ride if just for 10 minutes.I looked at the report and it was not that bad

I recently applied for a used Porsche shop and the scheduler sent an email with a list of allowable vehicles (very specific with make and model) that you could arrive in and asked if I could borrow or rent one. My own car is a nearly-new, $30,000 hybrid but not on that list and they did not give me the shop. I had offered to role play that "the Beemer" was in the shop or that I had just bought this hybrid and didn't like how it drove (drawing on actual complaints about the car's handling I'd read on owner pages) but they wouldn't go for it.

You'd think $30,000 trading up to a used Porsche would be good enough (they can be had for less than $50,000) but they had this specific list.

They're the ones who want the information; if they want to put conditions on it, they must have their reasons.

Other high-end shops don't specify brands but do say to show up in a car worth $30,000 or more so I hope to get some of those. But I guess Porsche has a reason for their criteria.

Okay, bogibenda, you have just lost a lot of respect with probably the majority of the people on this forum.

It is never okay to lie to get a shop, nor is it okay to accept the shop and then lie about how you performed it. People like you are the reason MSC's keep putting more and more requirement for proofs. If you get your report past the scheduler and it goes to the client and they pull the video tapes and prove you arrived on foot or in a cab or in a beater and that you were so clearly just a tire-kicker and just wanted to drive a car you knew you could never own, not only will the report be rejected by the client, but you will be banned by the scheduler, and you put the MSC at risk of losing the client for sending such an unqualified shopper to do the shop in the first place.

Successful shoppers have to be convincing. If you're getting a condescending attitude from the salesmen, that is proof right there that they see right through your charade. They may not know you're a shopper, but they'll know you're not a buyer and they will not "sell" to you like they would someone who did the shop correctly.

Thanks DPEAKES but I will never apologise for being poor. I will take my chances. Since you are so convinced the client will pull the video let them.I do not live my life based on ifs or maybe. At the end of the day it is about evaluating the sales men and few sales women.These people if doing their job right should sell me the vehicle no matter what I look like.There is no dirty or clean money and as for making it harder for other shoppers to do the shops give me a break.This job is based on a lie if I can think on my feet and you cannot all the better for me.I will do what needs to be done to feed myself.Poverty is not a crime.

It has nothing to do with getting caught. The only thing we are selling is our integrity. You don't have to apologize for being poor, neither do I (the $30,000 car was an inheritance, BTW). It also has nothing to do with how you are treated by the salesman once they figure out you're not a real buyer and know with certainty that you're just wasting their time. If you can't do the role play for a luxury car shop in a convincing manner, looking and acting the part, then go find another shop to do where pretending to be something you're not isn't a factor.

And I can think on my feet just fine, thank you. I'm a published author and can write a scene in my head for any scenario. But the client is not wanting to know what kind of job the salesman does with someone he knows isn't a buyer. They want to know what he does when he thinks the sale is actually on the line.

If you get busted by one MSC for lying about a shop, you can bet you will be banned by them and your name will be mentioned to others. If you're mystery shopping to make money, why would you risk blowing it just so you can test drive a car? Go test drive the car without being on a shop if you want. What's stopping you?

It's one thing to lie to the target; we all have to do that, it's what we do and part of the job. But lying to the MSC about your qualifications to do the shop and then lying about how you did the shop is another thing entirely.

You have entirely the wrong attitude about this business. Thanks in advance for making it harder for the rest of us to get these jobs. They'll be wanting to see our registration slips next, to prove we own a qualifying vehicle, and copies of our bank statements so they know we won't be going in acting shocked at the prices. More hoops to jump through because some shoppers think those requirements are for other people to meet and the shop instructions are just a suggestion.

Just for the record, I bought a new car recently. I drove to the car dealership in a car worth $450, (and no, I did not leave off a zero), and came away with a $25,000 car, which is no big deal for a new car, but certainly was a huge upgrade.

I'll confess that I hid my car across the street, to make sure that the salesperson took me seriously. However, if I had driven my 1986 car onto the lot, and the salesperson had not taken me seriously, wouldn't she have been making a monstrous mistake?

So, that doesn't mean that we should lie to a MSC, but I do wonder if the clients should worry about making sure that their salespeople try to make sales, even if someone doesn't seem to fit the profile of a likely buyer.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2014 03:27AM by Ishmael.

Don't worry too much, the msc's don't want to verify the claims of the shoppers. Have you ever had a reference contacted? Anyone? It is a form of implicit collusion.

The MSC's requirements may not seem fair or realistic, but they exist as a contract of employment. If they cannot obtain shoppers as a result of it, they will relax the requirements eventually. As a funny aside, I believe that a good car salesperson should never identify wealth by the car driven to the dealership. My dad owns an old beater truck to haul his vintage motorcycles.........dents, no air, etc. He drove it to the Cadillac dealer wearing his usual grease stained levis, disheveled hair and open fly. The salesperson treated him like gold and he walked away paying cash for a new CTS.

Wow. Just... wow. :/



bogibenda Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks DPEAKES but I will never apologise for
> being poor. I will take my chances. Since you are
> so convinced the client will pull the video let
> them.I do not live my life based on ifs or maybe.
> At the end of the day it is about evaluating the
> sales men and few sales women.These people if
> doing their job right should sell me the vehicle
> no matter what I look like.There is no dirty or
> clean money and as for making it harder for other
> shoppers to do the shops give me a break.This job
> is based on a lie if I can think on my feet and
> you cannot all the better for me.I will do what
> needs to be done to feed myself.Poverty is not a
> crime.

I originally read this last night and the more I thought about it the angrier I got. How dare you think you are qualified to be a mystery shopper for high end items if that is your attitude? Our job is important to the clients who engage our MSCs and they expect quality people to perform quality jobs for them. Our job is not lying it is acting. If you think you are going to be treated second class then you need to up your acting skills and perhaps your costuming and props as well.

I don't do luxury shops, would I like to drive a Porsche? - heck yes - but I don't fit the part, I'm a 45 year old Mom of 3 driving a 7 year old Town & Country, while sure there are plenty of folks who have the same demographic as I that could be in the market for a luxury high end car they are likely few and far between, I don't fit the part so I would not take the shop.

A fancy night out in a high end restaurant can be pulled off a lot easier because people often do save up for a nice night out, a vacation can be believable for the same reason. High end apartments, houses and luxury cars are not for the feint of heart and the levels of ability required are beyond a lot of folks.

I'm happy to shop the car dealerships that have cars that I'm likely to be in the market for anyways - I learn a lot and I have some good ideas about what I'll be interested in buying for my next car.

If you don't want to be poor, start at the bottom and work your way up, don't expect to start at the top, the only direction left is back down to the bottom.

Hey haters I got the car shop. I will be taking a cab to the dealership and when I do the test drive I will be thinking of you all
For the record I have been doing this for the last 7 years , I have shopped luxury apartments and new home shops .I do the snorty shops out of spite and yes everytime I am treated as I do not belong it only serves to encourage me more.I have lied about my qualifications and that is why I get shops that I would not get because am POOR.Do report me to the MSCS since it appears some of you have nothing better to do. I will not be adjusting my attitude any time soon if anything I can hardly wait for the summer when I stay in the luxury hotels .How dare you tell me that I cannot do certain shops you are not the client nor are you the MSC.And for the record this person calling themselves Dspeakes go write a book on integrity whether you are an author or a doctor tell it to the birds I would care less.The 45 year old mother driving the wreck get a life and by soon I mean yesterday I do not have time to address newbies. I WILL BE A DUCK AND THIS STUFF ROLLS RIGHT OF MY BACK.
iT NEVER AMAZES ME HOW IGNORANT SOME OF YOU ARE I HAVE DONE THIS FOR A WHILE THE ATTITUDE OF SOME OF YOU STAYS THE SAME .I will be laughing all the way to the bank.

For the record, I have driven a Porsche to used Porsche shops and both a Mercedes and my Nissan to new Porsche shops and many others requiring a high end vehicle. The difference is the MSC was aware of what I would be driving in each and every circumstance and it was all good.

What bothers me the most is the preconceived notion a sales associate will treat you differently. Personally, it is one of my pet peeves. A sales associate should treat each and every potential customer the same way. Before you think it means I agree with what you are doing, it does not. Most shops are ordered by the manufacturer. They want to know how the dealership represents their brand and how well their training is being implemented. Like most market research that means they want a somewhat level playing field.

While I have been aggravated about Lambo, Bentley and Rolls shops it is not because they are for men only. It is because of the disparate pay compared to shops for any gender. OTOH, the additional fees for those shops are more than sufficient to justify renting the type of vehicle required because at the end of the day you would still end up netting a fee equivalent to or more than the average non-video new car shop.

I don't understand why a shopper would feel the need to be dishonest with an MSC to get shops. Seems to me the shopper runs the risk of not only having the shop be rejected, but also having their reputation and integrity thrown out the window after investing so much time and energy building relationships with MSCs. Our reputation, integrity and honest hard work is, really, if you think about it, all we have to stand on. Eventually, shoppers who are dishonest and cheat will be found out and that will be it for them. Unfortunately, the good shoppers have to jump through hoops because the bad apples do not feel that rules apply to them.

bogibenda Wrote: (and I snipped)
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have lied about my qualifications and that is why I
> get shops that I would not get


Holy crap. Just unbelievable.



> I WILL BE A DUCK


I think you got a letter wrong in "duck".



LisaSTL Wrote: (and I snipped)
-------------------------------------------------------
> What bothers me the most is (...)


And not the outright *lying* to falsely qualify for jobs?! Really?



What a piece of work this one is. And he/she suffers from the delusion that people treat him/her differently because they're poor? If people really do treat him/her differently, it's because of the bad attitude and hostility. That can be sensed easily by most people to begin with, but then this person goes right on to prove it almost immediately. And repeatedly.

I'm poor, too; always have been... but I don't have a chip on my shoulder because of it, and I don't lie & cheat to get what I do earn. I also don't expect to be treated any differently, and you know what? I'm not. Because I act like a normal person instead of a jerk. I also don't apply for the high-end jobs, because I don't fit the profile. Does that offend me? Hell no. It's the truth, and it's not a judgment on my status, it's just what is. Most jobs out there aren't the high-end ones anyway, at least not in my area; so what do I care?

And, FYI, it's *not* "snorty". It's "snooty". And what you present yourself as, is snotty. Among other things.

Oh, and it's not us telling you you can't do these jobs. It *is* the client and MSC telling you you can't do these jobs. The only reason you get them is because you're a liar and a cheat.

You are dead wrong - and working with a bias and attitude that is apparent. No, poverty is not a crime. But don't take high-end shops if you can't act the part. You are coming off like a spoiled child. Quite unbecoming.

What I don't understand is why you posted this! Are you proud of the fact that you lie to the MSC's? Or that you get away with it? What kind of response were you looking for from the members here?

I also don't have a lot of money. The one high end car shop I did, I borrowed my daughters car. BUT, I sure didn't lie to the MSC. They stated what their qualifications were and I followed them. I agree what the other's have said here, it is the actions and attitude of shoppers like you that it make it so much more difficult for the rest of us.

Hey everyone. That bogi (bogus) poster is laughing right now. I wouldn't say another thing. Some get off with this stuff. Let's deprive him/her, k?

Wow the hate continues. I am very proud of myself as I said I LIED about my qualifiactions and I DID GET THE JOB. It is not the first nor is it the last time.. I am snorty yes and am a piece of work indeed.Save your grammer correction skills to another being who gives a damn. I do feel the need to brag is it not obvious. Mail me your integrity I can use that to pay my bills as I test drive the vehicle
Just me the Duck or whatever else you feel the need to describe me as it rolls off my back. I will be drivin sorry cruisin in a car I LIED about"note the caps" I will keep you posted when I get paid .Did I tell you I will be using a cab. I am, already working on my intro oh my what fun I will have with the sales rep. Gee I came by plane but there is no pad to land my jet and the lies go on.
7 years some of you haters have never changed yet you wonder why it is always the same ones posting the same ol gabbage each time. Newbies are catching on to you.

On all high end shops I do, I tell the salesperson that I either just won a lawsuit or received an inheritance and can't wait to start living the high life. You should see the faces of the salesperson light up lol. They will try their best to get you to buy, thinking that since you just came into some money it's burning a hole in your pocket. Works every time. I get the same treatment as someone who drove up in an older model of the same vehicle your shopping. Give it a try. About misrepresenting yourself to the MSC...big no no! We work hard enough to show that ms is serious business. It is to me anyway. Our integrity is at the top of the list. If you feel the need to lie, maybe you need to find another line of work. Have confidence in yourself....it's easy when your rich enough to buy a Lamborghini, or pretending to anyway lol. Let's all face it...none of us would be ms if we REALLY were able to afford any of the things the high end shops offer lol. I'm happy to see that so many of you take ms as seriously as I do. These companies rely on us to be honest and accurate in order to maintain a certain standard they want their business to adhere to. I take great pride in being a part of that. We don't need people in this business that make it harder on us by lying to the MSC. So either pick up your game or go play another one.

bogibenda Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
.Did I tell you I will be using a cab.
> I am, already working on my intro oh my what fun I
> will have with the sales rep. Gee I came by plane
> but there is no pad to land my jet and the lies go
> on.

Hmm. I have two strong premonitions about this guy:

#1. The sales associates at Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche or wherever will have a good story to tell in the break room about "the crazy dude who rolled up here in a cab yesterday." That scenario - shopping for a $90,000 - $269,000 luxury car from a city cab - is not believable in the least.

#2. The four MSCs who schedule luxury auto dealer shops are reading this thread and will yank your report. Hope you dont spend too much on the cab fare.

And - the reason you are asked to pull up in an appropriate vehicle is so the client will get a report on whether you were offered a trade in. It is not about judging you, your income or profession. The manufacturers want to know if the sales associates are offering appropriate trade-in values to potential new car buyers. Pulling up in a cab, or sneaking around the corner, or getting dropped off, does not give the sales associate the opportunity to offer to assess your car for a trade in, one of the key metrics that the client is interested in.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2014 06:57PM by ColoKate63.

We should refrain from "feeding the troll". There is integrity in what we do, and there are companies and people that depend on what we do to improve their businesses and employees. Also, employees are affected by us reporting facts as they are. Some might get a raise, some might be frown at, and it is our responsibility to be truthful, accurate, and ethical.

18 years of building my reputation could go down the drain in just a few seconds if I were to misrepresent myself.

Poverty is usually in the eye of the beholder. I spent about $31K last year and about a third of that was overhead to be a mystery shopper. Yet, I live like a king. My partner and I took a cruise, we went to Vegas for a week. We ate in nice restaurants from time to time. I paid my own health insurance. I even bought an Italian scooter. Like a king. On $31K. No, that's not minimum wage, but it's not a lot, either. (Incidentally, I earned more than that by mystery shopping, and I did it with integrity.)

Life is about choices. I learned many years ago that lying and cheating, while they might benefit me in the very short term, would ultimately come back to bite me in the ass. I think if you adjusted your outlook and focused more on living an honest, positive life, you'd be so much more successful. Being bitter about being poor breeds greater poverty. A virtuous, depressing cycle.

I have done probably 30 of these Porsche shops, and the MSC knows what kind of car I drive, and it is not one of their approved vehicles (even though my car was a 2012 and now a 2014 and worth $30,000). My story is it's my company car and my personal vehicle is whatever I decide to say it is from the approved list that day. Usually it's a Hummer, and I'm usually shopping for a new car because the Hummer is "just too big for me."

The difference is the MSC is fully aware of this scenario and in fact, suggested it because they were desperate to get these shops filled when I first started doing them. The scenario worked so well that it's my go-to story.

See, there was really no need to lie. So I didn't. And 30+ Porsches driven later....I've tapped out the market in four states.

ShopperShel, I had a similar situation. They needed one done and my vehicle is a 2001. They were desperate so I said my story would be that I'm giving it to my niece/nephew in [insert name of local college] because their car is nickel and diming them to death. Like you, my car for trade is on the list. The first shop was for a used Porsche. They saw the video and have allowed me to do shops for new Porsches with the same story.

I have done some luxury car shops before. I have a 2006 van with out of country license plates. I asked the MSC if I could use it for the shops under the scenario in which I had just moved to the country and was looking for something nice. I was approved. I guess that communication is key here. MSC and schedulers are flexible most of the times.

Now I have a small 2014 Nissan Versa, it might not be enough in terms of value for the highest scale, but the van still doe the job. =)