Well I am venturing into new territory this weekend...an Airport Circuit Shop.

This will be interesting to see how this all turns out....nice payday once all is said and done.

How many venues are you shopping?

11....this isn't a huge airport so I won't be spending a whole lot of time trying to figure out where I am going....

Sounds like a nice simple start for that sort of circuit. Most airports have an on-site information center with a map of all of the restaurant and retail outlets available. Don't forget a small case on wheels and some ziplock bags for taking home food!

I've flown in and out of this airport enough where I pretty much know my way around with the different vendors. Unlike some airports, there is one central security point and beyond there is where it splits off for each terminal...in that central area there is a food court and some shops.

They are so fun! And 11 is not a bad day at all. I suggest bring luggage with a jacket and some Tupperware if you have a lot of food shops. I also bring my phone charger, laptop and charger. You can complete some shops while seated in a corner of a restaurant. where no one can see what you are doing. Good luck!

I was planning on bringing my tablet/laptop so I can enter information in....and eventually I'm working towards getting badged at our other airport...double the fun! And I am hoping to eventually get another shop or two from other companies to make it a really good day (once I've done these circuit shops a couple of times)

I love airport shops. I did 17 in one airport the other day. Actually, I did 17 then flew out of another to my home airport (after taking the train to another location), adding 3 more shops. Then, the next day, I hit a huge airport for some big shops, not 10 minute in and out stuff.

Funny, after that, I went to my kid's sporting event and could confidently declare that the prices were worse than at the "airport". Sheesh. I had receipts to prove it!

Enjoy the airport shops. It's my cup of tea. Plus, I fly all the time. I love picking them up. My kids get the most random stuff for their lunches when I can buy stuff that won't need to go into the trash. Otherwise, I am just grazing all day long.

Check your directions, some clients allow no alcohol (even at bars...). Some want prepared items when they mostly have grab and go cases. Usually a coffee, panini or pastry solves that.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2015 08:40PM by SoCalMama.

SoCalMama: Thanks...I intend to....

I am looking forward to trying this out and hopefully (on my Mystery Shop bucket list) incorporate a circuit shop into a weekend getaway eventually.

The survey for the shops doesn't look all that bad so it should not be too hard to do.

How are you getting badged at airports? Do you already have airport related employment?

The MSC helped me to get badged....had to fill out some paperwork and go to the badging office at the airport where I got fingerprinted and also had to have a background check.

That is a good deal. I take airport assignments when I fly in/out or pre security. I have thought about doing a refundable ticket to get in, if there were enough to keep me busy for a day. I am 20 minutes away from one of the busiest/largest airports so this really should not be an issue. I think you can volunteer for USO and get badged. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time on my hands to commit to that.

This particular MSC seems to specialize in airport shops.....as we have the two here in Chicago I am eventually going to get badged at the other airport which is larger than this one.

Its funny when I went to my badge last week the lady who helped me was curious about Mystery Shopping....as she mentioned someone else was getting badged for the same reason. Told her my reasons and she said she might check it out after she retires.....

@petrohd wrote:

This particular MSC seems to specialize in airport shops.....as we have the two here in Chicago I am eventually going to get badged at the other airport which is larger than this one.

Its funny when I went to my badge last week the lady who helped me was curious about Mystery Shopping....as she mentioned someone else was getting badged for the same reason. Told her my reasons and she said she might check it out after she retires.....

Don't worry. Everyone thinks that they can do your job. 99% of them never follow though. I hear it all the time at amusement parks during the reveal. Yeah right. You can't even offer me a large drink. You aren't quaklified! Jeez.

I did airport shops for a while but the amount of detail they wanted and the time it took me to drive back and forth with the next day lost to doing reports made it not worth it for me. I figured out my time as driving and parking 2 Hrs, 10 shops 5 hours, then 7 hours for the reports, so 14 hours for call it 110.00 I made about minimum wage for a full weekend lost. I just changed my current job and I can get overtime, takes me a lot less time to make 110 bucks.

@petrohd wrote:

SoCalMama: Thanks...I intend to....

I am looking forward to trying this out and hopefully (on my Mystery Shop bucket list) incorporate a circuit shop into a weekend getaway eventually.

The survey for the shops doesn't look all that bad so it should not be too hard to do.

You should take the airline shop with 50% off air fare. I enjoyed the airport shops and was badged a few years ago, before they changed msc and I had to turn in my badge. Now that I am shopping the airline and the report is not that bad, I might take up shopping the airport again.

I was thinking about doing that in January but we'll see....

Komomdor,
I'm not sure what you are doing, but 5 hours for 10 shops is to long. I take 15 minutes as an average for shops, this includes filling out the paper report at the airport. Your parking is paid for. The submitting reports should only take about 20 minutes per shop. Only answer the questions asked on each report. I have been shopping airports for 9 years. I mostly get 10s.

@shopper8 wrote:

Komomdor,
I'm not sure what you are doing, but 5 hours for 10 shops is to long. I take 15 minutes as an average for shops, this includes filling out the paper report at the airport. Your parking is paid for. The submitting reports should only take about 20 minutes per shop. Only answer the questions asked on each report. I have been shopping airports for 9 years. I mostly get 10s.

I agree. I did 17 shops in 5 hours and that included two sit down meals.

@cubbiecat wrote:

You should take the airline shop with 50% off air fare. I enjoyed the airport shops and was badged a few years ago, before they changed msc and I had to turn in my badge. Now that I am shopping the airline and the report is not that bad, I might take up shopping the airport again.

I'd never take that 50% off shop for work. I get paid to fly (that is 100% reimbursement, mileage, airport parking and 3 meals a day if I choose to eat them). You'd have a hard time making enough money doing an airport circuit to pay for 50% of a flight, plus, you get no miles or flight credit.

I do about 22-25 airport shops at Dulles, which is huge, in about 4 to 4.5 hours. Cannot imagine what is taking the poster do long! Three minutes in airport retail store or 2 at a kiosk or newsstand, is a lot of time and provides the scope needed for the SA to upsell, provide info about the product and all of the other things required. Food shops take 5 to 8 minutes. Four restaurant seating stops become a succession of: soup, salad, small plate, dessert, each taking about 20 minutes, less when I can say, when the food arrives, that I have had a call and must leave and will have to take the food with me, . (All timings except the check out will be complete at that point).

Walesmaven: This was my first time doing this....as I didn't quite know where everything was it did take a little longer (plus this was my first time through security with the badge (didn't know how to get "checked in" so to speak)).

All things considered it went well and took me less time than I thought it would.

I will definitely do more of these "circuits" now that i know what to expect and will be considering getting badged for the other airport in the area.

Thanks everyone for the tips...it did help thats for sure (walesmaven, thanks for giving me an idea of how long it takes you to do your shops....I'll definitely use that as a template going forward)

I'm a regular airport shopper for 3 airports in the Northeast. Since I know those airports pretty well, a list of 12 normally takes about 2 hours, so 6 shops per hour including sit down meals, and larger lists can sometimes make it 7 per hour. Below is what happened with an unfamiliar airport:

I recently had a shop trip with a scheduled 3 hour layover in an airport that I've never been too; and this one is a HUGE hub airport for a Legacy carrier. One of my long time schedulers put together a list of 11 in 1 terminal, and I got lucky by not having any sit down meals, only a few grab and go, food court, some inquiry only, and a couple news stands. Found a shop from another company to add on as well. So I have 12 shops planned, not a stress. Since i was flying in on a regional jet, and out on a main line jet, it seemed like an easy run in the one terminal.

I'm up at 6 AM in a time zone 2 hours different than home, to prepare for my last couple things to finish and check out. Leave hotel at 9:30 AM, 1 hour drive to make 1 stop on the way for some things I can't get at home, then 30 minutes to the airport to drop the rental car. Get through security, and ready for first flight of the day, which is now delayed 30 minutes. But it looked like everything would work out, especially since my arrival gate, my shops, and departing gate were in 1 straight line. I planned in advance by looking at the airport website and maps, which was a big help. Text my wife and scheduler that things might get dicey with less time in the hub than expected. Off the regional jet at 3PM at gate 47. When we left, they said it would be gate 84. So I got real lucky that the first shop was only 1 gate away. Work my way down the terminal from there all the way to 24, and I'm thinking that it is too easy, and I can get all this done in about 1:30. Took me a little longer to jot my notes after each shop, as I wasn't familiar where I was, as opposed to my regular airports where I have places I sit down off to the side out of sight. Take a bite of each food item for taste and quality, then into the trash. My roller and backpack were heavy and loaded enough already.

So I get my 8th shop done, and the message pops up on my phone that gate has changed to 45, and boarding starts at 5:05 PM. I'm committed to finish, so I hustle down and get my last shop done at 4:50 PM right in front of gate 24. Now for the long trip all the way back to where I started. Get to the first set of moving walkways, and my luck has it that a couple ahead are blocking across. Next set has 2 out of 4 out of order, and a large group of people had come off a plane. Hustle through the middle shopping area, and onto the 3rd walkway. Get to the gate just as they are calling my boarding group. Once I settle in, check my notes, make sure I have all my receipts, text my scheduler, as well as my wife. Flying home all I do is type up 1 narrative for the pick up shop I took, as it had a 12 hour window.

Got home just before midnight, connected to send my short window shop, then to bed.

Will I add on another circuit at a new airport when I'm really traveling? Only if I have a layover of at least 3 hours, but I won't seek out a long layover when on a trip. Was it stressful? Yes. Did I make a ton of money on the circuit? It wound up being decent, not as much as I've made on some, but still relatively lucrative.

My shops all wanted me to spend at least 10-15 minutes in the store had to ask questions and talk to clerk. I also usually had 3-4 din in shops with a minimum of 20 minutes plus about 60 minutes each way to get to and from the airport and then add in time to get thru security and to the terminal. The reports all had about 30+ questions and wanted a full essay from start to finish for the shop.