not allowed ask about companies that do certain restaurant shops?
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Asking isn't the problem, answering is. When a shopper signs up with a company the ICA that they sign almost always includes a non-disclosure clause. Meaning they are not allowed to talk about the specifics of what they do, which includes which clients they are working for through that company. Additionally, it is a rule of this forum. I didn't make the rule, but I would guess it was made for several reasons, including compliance with the ICA's, and to stop this forum from turning into a whole bunch of who shops who instead of actual discussion.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Searching for restaurant's like searching for a job. Doing a lot of Googling and finding keywords to search, like "[insert restaurant] mystery shop," or "restaurant mystery shop," etc.
Sometimes MSC's are OK openly revealing who their major client is. Sometimes you'll just have to explore and sign-up for the MSC to see what they've got.
Sometimes MSC's are OK openly revealing who their major client is. Sometimes you'll just have to explore and sign-up for the MSC to see what they've got.
Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!
You can sign up for a whole bunch of companies. Or, you can just do the shops you find and use the money to pay for the restaurant, which almost always ends up being the more financially lucrative way of doing it.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
The time spent searching for one or two specific clients can take away from registering with new companies which is more productive in the long run. The best way to find a variety of shops is to sign up with as many companies as possible.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Especially considering there is a strong chance that whatever restaurant you are looking for isn't even shopped. Also, it is not against the rules to ask if a restaurant is shopped or not, just don't ask by whom, just understand that many are shopped regionally or by a franchisee and not through the whole system. So while you might ask if say Applebee's is shopped, many people will tell you it is, however in my area it is not.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
i am registered with lots f MSC but computer crashed adI lost info (name)on particular one that does O Charleys ad i googled and still no luck
Dawn
@wildfire wrote:
bgriffin I know it is shopped cause I dd 2
Have you looked into your archives? How do you track your history of shops and payments?
Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!
@wildfire wrote:
computer crashed
What about your bank and / or PayPal deposits?
Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!
And you aren't tracking those? You do realize the gift cards can be considered income for tax purposes?
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
@LisaSTL wrote:
And you aren't tracking those? You do realize the gift cards can be considered income for tax purposes?
Since wildfire's computer crashed, wildfire's tracking report may have gone with it too.
Lesson's learned: USB drives of high capacities are cheap and affordable these days. Invest $5-10 on an extra 4 GB drive to backup your records.
Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!
Even better sign up for dropbox, google drive, icloud, onedrive, or any one of the other 100 or so similar companies offering cloud storage and have everything saved to it instead of your local computer.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I realize the computer crashed and back up is important. What triggered my question was this comment, so there is no pay just free dinner, which makes it sound as if they were not being tracked anyway.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
I don't remember the O'Charley's shops I've seen pay via gift card. But then I don't even remember where I saw them and I've only seen them once.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
LisaSTL – Good point that you brought it up.
Unless the out-of-pocket costs for the assignment exceeds the gift card payment, I agree with your statement about claiming the net amount of the gift card.
Unless the out-of-pocket costs for the assignment exceeds the gift card payment, I agree with your statement about claiming the net amount of the gift card.
Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!
It's the reason I don't work for gift cards. I don't want the headache of tracking them separately for that not-so-free meal
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
LisaSTL – It shouldn't matter if your tracking sheet tracks fees and out-of-pocket expenses per assignment in the first place. 
Agreed though, there are certain MSC's I avoid just because of the gift card thing.
Agreed though, there are certain MSC's I avoid just because of the gift card thing.
Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!
It matters to me because my fees and expenses are tracked through Quicken. I briefly had some work with a company paying by a Visa card. I would go get the cash from the card and deposit it into my bank account for record keeping. Same thing with PayPal, all the money gets transferred to the bank account where it is split into fees versus expense reimbursement.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
It would not be a contract violation to say that X MSC does supermarket shops in upstate NY...
it would be a violation to say X MSC does Publix shops..
but most people here are territorial and will not help others out--because they don't want to risk other shoppers taking jobs in their area.
it would be a violation to say X MSC does Publix shops..
but most people here are territorial and will not help others out--because they don't want to risk other shoppers taking jobs in their area.
I would not describe it as territorial or being unwilling to help others. If we weren't willing to mentor new shoppers why would we be here? Mystery shopping is a business and like any other business it is highly unlikely you could go to others in the same line of work in your area and expect them to hand over their client list. It is actually remarkable the level of assistance provided compared to other businesses. MSing does require someone be a self-starter so the old adage of teaching a man to fish versus giving the man a fish would be more applicable.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
@GMNJ wrote:
It would not be a contract violation to say that X MSC does supermarket shops in upstate NY...
it would be a violation to say X MSC does Publix shops..
but most people here are territorial and will not help others out--because they don't want to risk other shoppers taking jobs in their area.
I beg to differ. I have seen lots of great advice on this forum, but will I tell a fellow Chicagoan which MSC has the most lucrative assignments in my area? Hell no. And it has nothing to do with being territorial. That is potentially money out of my pocket, and I am ultimately in business to make money.
@GMNJ wrote:
but most people here are territorial and will not help others out--because they don't want to risk other shoppers taking jobs in their area.
Yes.
But when it comes to general information that is not competitive, then this doesn't apply.
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