10am first shop (property $30)

11 05 second shop (bar 20+20)

12 15 third shop (new car shop $17)

1: 10 fourth shop (new car shop 40+15 gas). ended at 2:30

then another 3.5 hours filling out these dam surveys.

Ironically, the cheapest shop had the most annoying survey and I will NEVER work for them again. Their survey begins with "describe your experience" and Iam thinking "thats all they want? Just me to write a narrative? So I write a whole college-level essay and thinking iam done and I click "next" only to discover the survey is extremely long and questions are repetitive and stupid and they want me to comment on EVERYTHING and basically that essay i wrote was a waste. I'd pay someone to write fill that for $17 myself. jesus. On top of that, on one of its pages, it wouldnt let me go further because something is bugged, so I couldnt even finish it and I emailed that company explaining that.

anyways, I liked all shops but from now on I wont risk going for any shop below $20 because It feels like you will never know how many hours some cheap shop will expect you to waste filling out the essays. Might as well be an expensive one than some cheap $17 hour long shop then another 1.5 hour survey

And the hardest shop I felt is the bar shop, although it is also the most fun probably. Its hard because I had questions like "what color belt or pants or shirt were ALL personnel wearing(as in, was anything wearing something un-according to their rank)? Were the shirts dark grey or light grey?" The FFFFFF am I? Jason Bourne? Plus they expect me to be some Mr. CHarisma or some @#$%& or an invisible man to know everyone's name if nobody has a name tag and comment on "why did or didnt other customers have fun?" Plus it seems like Managers and everyone else is supposed to come talk to me? What is this? Why would I, as someone who supposedly came to a bar to get a beer and relax, want managers and other staff and Sh** bothering me with their constipated smiles and meaningless small talk?

Not gonna lie, I had to lie on a lot of the survey questions because I couldnt remember every detail at the end of the day. Couldnt spell and grammar check everything either. so glad i dont need to apostrophy or capitalize everything on this forum like i haf two on surveys

anyways thanks for listening. I'll wake up tomorrow and sign up for another full round of shops. Maybe 5 this time

Those are actually some pretty heavy duty shops that each require an hour or two to complete with spell checking and grammar and checking facts etc. I have stayed up till 3-5 a.m. when I had a bunch of shops like that and vowed never again lol. The MSC are pretty specific in their guidelines and it is definitely a commitment to complete a quality, honest and reliable shop.

Arty, you crack me up! Are you messing with all of us? "Haf two on surveys," lying on surveys? Pranking your mom's place of business?! I hope you do very well in your new found career but please try a little harder to approach this line of work a bit more professionally. Lying is unacceptable and will make it where your days in the business are numbered. Good luck though and keep us posted!!

Because there are so many facts to remember I have to rely on my cellphone. I repeatedly send myself a running "draft: message that I can document names, times, conversations, suggestions etc. as I would not remember everything. And this way it is just a couple of seconds "looking" at your phone a few times during your shop like everyone else is doing.

Arty, congratulations and good job getting through your first day. You picked some tough ones for starters but now you know the expectations on four different shops. As you go along you'll become familiar with more and more reports and the frequency of shock and surprise will drop sharply.

I understand you're disappointed on that Bestmark shop but it might be a good idea to back off but not quit the company. As long as you don't deactivate yourself you'll have the option to shop for them again. Maybe they can get that report glitch straightened out so you can submit your report and get paid. They're good to work with new shoppers and it would be a good idea to keep them in your pocket instead of kicking them to the curb.

Sounds like you're going to have more adventures to report and I'm looking forward to your stories. Love your writing style.

You are the greatest Mystery Shopper ever.

@ShopSouthTexas wrote:

Arty, you crack me up! Are you messing with all of us? "Haf two on surveys," lying on surveys? Pranking your mom's place of business?! I hope you do very well in your new found career but please try a little harder to approach this line of work a bit more professionally. Lying is unacceptable and will make it where your days in the business are numbered. Good luck though and keep us posted!!

so if i dont remember exactly how many seconds it took for people to recognize me or I forgot to check the exact time I finished the shop or I wasnt sure how many rings it took for someone to pick up the phone or who had or didnt have a grey belt on, you expect me to say "I dont know"?

Arty, in time you will learn to get all those details and it won't seem like a big deal at all. The timings are important to the client. One of the first things I do on a new to me shop is write down all required timings (in order) on a 3 x 5 index card. You can fold this in half and hold it in your hand for a prompt on the timings you have to get. Or you can put the notes on your cell phone if you're more comfortable with that. Whichever. It's important going in that you know what you need to have coming out.

You're trying to do more shops and more difficult shops than I would have been able to handle starting out. If you slow down some for just a few days it will be a lot less stressful.

Remember that each MSC is a source of work today, tomorrow, and from now on. The reports are important to them, and turning in good reports is what will make you important to them.

The schedulers, editors and MSC owners who visit this forum will just love this new "shopper" with a prison record, lack of writing skills and a public admission of lying on his reports. I hope the other shoppers in his area are ready for some highly bonused shops coming their way. And we can be entertained when he returns with a rant written in ALL CAPS about his report being declined and he was not paid. Get the popcorn ready.

No, neither of your choices are acceptable. You are expected to know this information because it is in the shop instructions. Now that you've done them, you'll know in the future if you want to take these shops or not. There are literally hundreds of apps, suggestions, and solutions for keeping track of shop details. Schedulers and editors read this forum, too. If they figure out who you are, you'll be dropped like a hot potato for lying. This is not just a job, it's a business - and running a business is hard work.

@Lisa4984 wrote:

No, neither of your choices are acceptable. You are expected to know this information because it is in the shop instructions. Now that you've done them, you'll know in the future if you want to take these shops or not. There are literally hundreds of apps, suggestions, and solutions for keeping track of shop details. Schedulers and editors read this forum, too. If they figure out who you are, you'll be dropped like a hot potato for lying. This is not just a job, it's a business - and running a business is hard work.

so youre saying youve never lied? Youve never said "3 seconds" but wasnt sure if maybe it was actually 4 seconds? And let all MSP's read and know me. if they choose not to have me it is their loss. The one thing that makes me really different from you, is my honestly. We are all dishonest, there are just few of us that can see and understand that. It takes great judgement and attention-to-detail skills

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2015 01:50AM by arty.

*(sniff, sniff). Pass the popcorn, please.

Handing Lisa4984 some hot, buttered popcorn and a box of Kleenex.

Arty, you're new at this and I don't know if you realize you can access those reports before you do the shop. I always go into the report and study the report. It goes along with the guidelines but studying the report form will clear up a lot of questions about what is really important and what information you absolutely must be able to provide.

It's good at first to learn to do one shop and then learn to do another one. Trying to learn several "new to you" shops at one time is hard for anyone.

I'm fairly certain someone is yanking y'alls chain.

@MDavisnowell wrote:

Arty, you're new at this and I don't know if you realize you can access those reports before you do the shop. I always go into the report and study the report. It goes along with the guidelines but studying the report form will clear up a lot of questions about what is really important and what information you absolutely must be able to provide.

It's good at first to learn to do one shop and then learn to do another one. Trying to learn several "new to you" shops at one time is hard for anyone.

good point but I want to try and do this full-time. Of course I read the guidelines several times, and once immediately before each shop (I didn't necessarily read through all of the survey questions though)

I may have exxagurated as to how much I had to lie. It's not that I "lied" its that I couldnt remember EXACTLY everything word for word or minute to minute. And I mean I spell-checked everything, just not as well as I could have. At this point I am not even sure how or what the MSP's were expecting me to write, so I figured it is ok for it not to be perfect

and I have to do alot of shops and go all in on it. Thats just how I am. I cant just do 1 shop a week, or attend one university class a week. Iam the type of person who would do better in ALL classes if I were to take 25 credits in a semester, compared to 3 credits in a semester. And I once actually took 24 credits in a 8 week summer session and I loved it. You get to school at 8 am and come home at 11

the more "free time" I have, the more of it I want. I think it is the same with everyone, many people just dont realize it. Think about it: when a person is fired/leaves a job, he is less and less likely to find another job over time


(of course you might argue there are other factors at play as well, such as a person being left qualified for the same type of job due to longer and longer absence of experience with that job)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2015 02:30AM by arty.

Maybe so. Maybe not.

Edit ...... this post was in reply to bgriffin, not to Arty. Arty's post slipped in ahead of mine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2015 02:34AM by MDavisnowell.

Arty, you can eventually do this full time but not while you're working for your mom and you're still in school. It will work better if you do fewer shops per day for a while and then ramp up the pace. You need time to study the reports as well as the guidelines and of course you need time to actually fill out and submit reports and sleep. The most critical part of this is doing a careful shop so you can do an accurate report. Speed is not the king. Quality and dependability reign in this type work.

I kinda just want to hang out with you one night. Just to see what happens. You're my new favorite person.

@arty wrote:

I may have exxagurated as to how much I had to lie. It's not that I "lied" its that I couldnt remember EXACTLY everything word for word or minute to minute. And I mean I spell-checked everything, just not as well as I could have. At this point I am not even sure how or what the MSP's were expecting me to write, so I figured it is ok for it not to be perfect

Back paddling already? Too funny.

Exxagurate... This sounds like something I want to try one day! Hoju, I need to hang with you guys too

Exxagurate--regurgitating exaggerations?

Wow: Absolutely loved reading your post and all your details. Laughed several times knowing exactly how you felt.
Amazed at your mystery shopping 4 shops in one day back to back to back! That's like borderline expert!! Looking forward to reading more about your shops.

.

@arty wrote:

It's not that I "lied" its that I couldnt remember EXACTLY everything word for word or minute to minute. And I mean I spell-checked everything, just not as well as I could have. At this point I am not even sure how or what the MSP's were expecting me to write, so I figured it is ok for it not to be perfect

On auto shops I ALWAYS carry my cell phone (in a case) and have it recording. I don't know nor care if it is legal or not. No way I could remember every feature, comments, etc. that a salesman makes in 45 minutes. It is good for timings, too. Unfortunately, one of the "job requirements" for a mystery shopper is attention to details and remembering stuff any way you can. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to do 4 timings and remember names and what's on the right, top, and left side of a menuboard while I am doing a drive through shop, tomorrow....

It might be easier to do one or two new shops a day especially when you're starting out. Car shops and bar shops both have lengthy narratives.

Wow lots of criminals & felons in forum lately. I just read 3 or more posts where laws were totally ignored. Great way to be mystery shopper.

Harsh.

I don't think harsh is right word. Breaking law & bragging on public forum is stupid not harsh, No wonder mscs say you only need pulse to do mystery shopping.

The statement about only needing a pulse was made by Judge Marilyn. The attorney representing the MSC only murmured an assent to Judge Marilyn's statement. The attorney represented the MSC so I guess in a roundabout way we can say the MSC agreed with what Judge Marilyn said, but in a straightforward way we could say that regardless of what the attorney thought about the statement, arguing with Judge Marilyn in her court by defending the shoppers would not be smart. I work for Market Force and I assure you they require more than a heartbeat.

Who is a criminal and who is a felon should not be determined here based on a casual post communicating with other shoppers. That's a decision to be made in court.

Shoppers should do honest work and make truthful and objective reports. If someone chooses to leave on a phone and record so they can make an accurate report I do not consider it my business. If someone did not capture whether hair was dark brown or black and they go with their memory, I don't have a problem with that either, not my business. I wish we could discuss what we do and how we do it without criminal! criminal! felon! felon!

I have no issue with helpful efforts to provide information to shoppers who may not be aware that they are possibly breaking a law. I do have a problem with criminal/criminal/felon/felon. Have we nothing better to do? Apparently not.

Yes, harsh. Harsh harsh harsh.

I am an international terrorist
(Mod note: It is understood that this comment was made in jest in response to previous posts however in this day and age it is not wise to make such comments. You may get taken seriously by the wrong people and cause yourself all sorts of grief)