@Robroy wrote:
"Earlier in the thread you mentioned that it was possible to provide my arrival time at the location and my time zone, and that the event description could be written for me...is that how you prefer to handle the reports, or is it just something you offer to make the reporting a little less difficult for the shopper?"
This is bad business on the part of the MSPs. Inexperienced people providing a notarized statement for PPV piracy, and having some other person write a description of the event is not a solid "hit." What happens if the notarized statement has to be redone? The credibility of that person is shot down. If the bar owner disputes the charges/fine there is too much leeway in their favor, i.e why did the notarized statement need to be rewritten; who wrote the description of the event (not good if it was done by a third party not at the location) and if it does go to court are you willing to testify? These are hefty fines, big enough to piss off a bar owner. You have been outed, they know who you are because you provided a notarized statement along with video. Many of these bars have surveillance and can match your face with your name and the car you drive. There are a number of legitimate ways to handle this type of sting, this is not one of them. Based on the fines that can be levied for piracy, the pay for this shop should be much, much higher considering you, the shopper, is taking on a tremendous amount of risk.
I'm not really sure what's up with all the doomsday stuff you have going on. Respectfully, who are you to tell anyone what is or isn't a good hit for another MSP? You are not the client, nor are you the MSP working for the client, nor are you at all even an employee or contractor for other. Why do you keep making all of these assertions about what is or isn't right. No one is changing a signed and notarized affidavit for crying out loud. That's not even remotely close to what is going on.
You are speaking without even fully understanding the process or what exactly is being done by the MSPs and I really think you should not be doing so.
There are some locations that are sketchy, there are some that are simple taco joints or italian places, there are bowling alleys, hotel event spaces, and everything in between. Every person I know who has people do these gives them the right to walk. No one is forcing anyone, no one gets fined, no one yells at them if they don't go in. They may not get other offers, but there is no type of forcing at all.
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In terms of court, as stated prior I have personally done over 100 of these and people I know have easily done up to a thousand at this point over the last 3 years. I dont know a single person who has had to go to court. Ask a lawyer, it's all about the settlement. How exactly does someone contest something with multiple agencies and live video showing that yes, they were indeed stealing?
It is indeed correct a possible risk and something that could theoretically happen.
"Many of these bars have survellance and can match your facae with your name and the car you drive".
Seriously? Do you have a single shred of evidence that this is a thing? If you do, can you also provide how many of these businesses who can't afford to pay for a fight can somehow afford to pay for a camera system to do this? I Mean yeah, i guess there's a CHANCE that they might have the video footage from MONTHS prior (which is how long it takes before they are taken to court) but this is like people who are afraid to fly. This is simply not a serious concern. The concern people should be taking seriously is what kind of location it is and making sure to not get caught which will have a confrontation. This is why it's important to not accept jobs like this blindly, it's 'important to do some legwork and figure out if the place is an area you are even willing to go into.
I would say well over half of people decline because of the kind of place it is. Race, age, gender, are all things that matter very much for these depending on your community.
These piracy jobs have been going on for decades. I would encourage everyone to google things likle "piracy investigator found murdered" or "bar caught for pirating boxing hunted down investigator" or words to that affect to get a feel for how often bar owners get peoples names.
You are bringing up real and legitimate things, but they just are things that are so incredibly unlikely based off a pretty large sample size after a few years of doing this. Ive gone into some pretty seedy places, I dont have a lot of places I wont go in. Ive never refused to go into anything and ive often been the only white guy out of 300. I am NOT your typical person but I am super comfortable around everyone and have no hangups.
Some random stats in my purely anecdotal evidence.
Ive had zero confrontations on my part. Ive never been caught recording. I also will not do a recording and just take the smaller fee if it comes down to it. My best friend got caught and confronted on his first shop and has never been willing to do another one again. I once caught NINE people in a night. Every single one was a hookah bar or regular bar and I made over 2500 that night for 4 hours of driving that night, and a 6 hour drive each way. (I went from Chicago to Detroit to do them)
Long story short is, the risk is inherent, but no one has to take any risks they are uncomfortable with. You must not accept them blind and you have to check out what is going on there. If it's a place with a lot of latinos, go find a latino wingperson and go have fun. If it's in a motorcycle club and you know no bikers, simply pass. No one will think less of anyone for doing so. There's no reason to simply paint every one of these assignments with a large brush and saying "these are bad, don't do them".
These need to be looked at on an individual basis. If you're not comfortable with it, then simply pass. Don't try to scare people by making it seem scarier than it is. People just need to be smart and not let the lure of money get them into a bad situation. If you're older, not comfortable in mixed race environments, easily intimidated, or just not sneaky at all these jobs are simply not for you. It's not that no one can do those jobs, it's just it doesn't make sense. Grandmothers are middle aged women are not going to be going into 20-30 something local bars and hanging out. They can certainly go and do the job if they want to, but I wouldn't recommend it.
The 5 P's of the military also apply to mystery shopping. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Do your homework people. Don't accept these kinds of jobs before you know where you are going. Do not commit if you are not 100% okay, and even then if you don't like what you see when you get there...walk. They can be incredibly lucrative, but you have to play it safe. Don't let the lure of money make you do things you aren't comfortable with and have something happen. These definitely take a special kind of person to do. And always, always always, i suggest going with a friend.
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US Wide route shopper with 12k+ shops completed over 48 states and 6 countries.
Airbnb host based in Chicago and 10% discount if you mention this forum