I recently did a shop where it was requested that I take photos with my Smart Phone discretly....It was a challenge and really impossible. First I needed pics of the outside logo, door close up, door away, sign of business in strip mall, which wasn't that hard except the charge logos were small so you had to get out of your car and do them close up in order to get clear photo, someone saw me and went in and reported my actions to an associate who came outside and asked me why I was taking pictures was it for the competition? I assured him it was for a FRIEND OF MINE WHO WAS OUT OF STATE AND NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE BRAND or the unique décor and I thought it so beautiful I wanted to send him a sample photo. Well then It was requested by the directions that I take a picture of the terminal before a price was entered ( difficult while in front of clerk) and then when article was rung up on terminal I was to take another picture of the screen ( associate standing there waiting for payment). these last two were almost impossible because of the proximity of the clerk. When he asked why, I told him I really wanted the photograph the ENTIRE experience ( what else could I say?)....he produced my order and kept an eye on me the entire time probably thinking I was stealing all his companies business secrets. It was challenging and hardly allowed for a discrete shop experience. I can imagine what the clerk thought when I drove off into the sunset with my order and all my not so discrete photos..!

I've done a few of these.... It is impossible to discretely take pictures when the only angle that allows you to see the object you are to photograph is to stand at the register. I've been nearly tossed out of two stores for it. I've always gotten paid, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I have done a few shops where it was impossible to take a required photo discretely. In those cases I just turned on my Android's video camera and put it in my shirt pocket and filmed what I needed photos of. It was just a simple matter of uploading the video to my pc, pausing the playback, and taking screenshots of the stills that I needed. If you use this method, be sure to stand still for a few seconds in front of your subject when shooting the video.

Don't ever take any "discrete" photos in a bank. Do not even pretend you are taking photos in the parking lot. You WILL meet the local F.B.I. At your home. They will take you for a ride. Long story short, after 4 hours of questioning, my prankster brother learned a very valuable lesson about hidden cameras and bank security.

Of course our photos have to be taken discretely--unless you have a camera that can take more than one photo at a time!

I had to discreetly take photos of a menuboard while standing in the middle of a McDonald's dining room. Not possible, especially when another customer says, loudly enough for the staff to hear, "Oh, am I in the way of your photos?"

I usually pretend I'm one of those obnoxious people who are glued to their cell phone even while at the register interacting with an associate. I just turn the flash and sound off on my camera and pretend I'm texting. This seems to be so common now a days that I never even get a funny look.

I figure it's better if they think that I am an @#$%& than that they think I'm a mystery shopper.

Asking you to take that number of close up in their face photos and then asking you to be discreet is a real challenge. Unless they are paying you a figure you cannot refuse I would put that type of job on my ten foot pole. I did one with similar requirements the other day but they said if i cannot get a discreet photo just report what the sign said that they wanted photographed. Much more reasonable a request.

I did this shop once and missed one photo thus won't be aid the measly $15 fee. I would not do this shop again unless it was $40 or more. I can play jackass with lines oh this new hip thing is so neat I need photos to remember this experience.

@BirdyC wrote:

. Not possible, especially when another customer says, loudly enough for the staff to hear, "Oh, am I in the way of your photos?"

Nope, i was taking pictures of your butt

When the requirements say "discrete photo", I wish they would tell you how the H to do this. I did a "secret salon verification" Must be done during the hours the shop is open. I think, OK, no problem. At the strip mall, walk up and take an overview photo of front of shop. Easy.Now take 3 photos, from outside of the glass of each side of the salon, including signage, reception desk, fixtures. Umm, face pressed up to the left side window with camera, click, walk over to center window, click, walk to right side window, click. Photo of door with hours. Very small lettering, have to get about 2 feet from the glass door to get a clear shot. While this ludicrous activity is going on, there is a stylist sitting in a chair, in the center of the store watching this very suspicious person taking pictures. Sometimes there is no way of being discrete. I did get paid, and, she didn't call the police. I guess that was a win, win. It is also a personal never, never again.

When the shop guidelines state, verbatim, to "take a discrete photo," I would e-mail them and say, "I don't think that word means what you think it does."

Sometimes it's inconceivable what we are expected to do

Don't you sometimes think that employees must think we're really stupid? Or, really weird? But, I'm OK with that--if I'm being paid enough that I don't care if someone thinks I'm stupid or weird. But the pay has to be commensurate with just how stupid or weird I'm going to be perceived as!

There's a ice cream shop that required you to take photos of the POP advertisement placed on the napkin holders, posters, gift card holders, and straw dispensers. Most of the time, the napkin holders, gift card holders and the straw dispensers are placed on the counter by the register. How in the world can you take photos discretely without being labeled as the shopper?

I don't even pretend. I'm sure they know I'm a mystery shopper. I take an up close picture of the shirt missing the name tag, and they pretend to work.

I have done three of these and want to see if I get paid before I decide whether I will do any more. I was unable to take one of the pics at the terminal because the associate was standing right over my shoulder, and I explained this in the report. The report was rated "9" but with the caveat that the client would have to accept the shop before payment.

I'm not sure if there's a thread here already for this, but there needs to be one for "ms word definitions."

For example: When I know that a shop says "discrete" photo, or try to remain "discrete," think of 'discrete' as "full-reveal shop shopper fee."

Add up your time and expenses fees, which every good mystery shopper should compute for every ms, then whatever you are used to recieving for announced, full-reveal mystery shops (say at least $20.. Maybe $40-60 if you're like me and try to be a stingy mystery shopper with your time). Send that total to the scheduler asking you to do shops with "discrete"... I MEAN FULL REVEAL shops and if they don't agree to your terms, ask them to "help you out on this one" by forgetting your email address and phone number.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2016 05:29AM by timgordon2448.

@BirdyC wrote:

... But the pay has to be commensurate with just how stupid or weird I'm going to be perceived as!

And they all said, "Amen!" Just like WWE's Million Dollar Man used to say: "Everyone has a price!"

I recently did a shop where you have to go to the register and take four pictures, one of the surrounding area by the payment screen, the screen at start, the screen before you pay, and the screen when it asks for your PIN. How are you supposed to do this discreetly when the cashier and another customer is right by you, waiting for you to just pay already? I just pretended I was having problems with my phone, but I did the epay scenario and not the debit card one. I can just imagine fumbling around with your phone when you're supposed to be paying with a card....

I'm 51 years old and when they ask me to take pics of teenage workers inside the store it's a little creepy. Especially when they always say discretely.

Oh that's GREAT...We are independent contractors but now at the mercy and judgement of a third party? Is this even legal since your contract is not with them? Perhaps we should form a group and have an attorney on retension so when these type of matters come up we can have an independent legal ruling.

@rbarker wrote:

I'm 51 years old and when they ask me to take pics of teenage workers inside the store it's a little creepy. Especially when they always say discretely.

If there is a protective relative / friend around while the "discrete" photos are being taken, there may be a whole different set of challenges on the immediate event horizon. Yes, creepy stalker would be my first thought. It could go very badly from there.
What planet do these people live on that come up with these requirements? Let's see how deep we can get a shopper in a potentially ugly situation?
Please tell me that they at least have a LOA you can show if you are confronted?
What is next? Discrete photos of children at Disney, Chucky Cheese, Build a Bear?

Hmmm. Were you asked to take photos "discretely" or "discreetly?" I wanted to be more discreet since discretion is the better part of valor, but after seeing the word spelled incorrectly throughout the entire thread..............LOL.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Hmmm. Were you asked to take photos "discretely" or "discreetly?" I wanted to be more discreet since discretion is the better part of valor, but after seeing the word spelled incorrectly throughout the entire thread..............LOL.

Thank you for that, Lisa! I've tried throughout this thread to subtly, and not so subtly (!) point out that "discrete" is not the correct word. Some got it, some didn't. And it's been driving me crazy that people continue to use the wrong word!

Not sure about the androids, but on the iPhone you can take photos using the volume button on the side. It looks like you're just holding the phone.
This particular company was understanding when I missed a photo. They want them to be discreet so they can't expect perfect clear results.

My smarter-than-me phone has decided that is the way to spell it. It changes so many words on me, I either use a different word or live with it. It changed about a dozen words on me already today. But, for the convenience of using the phone as opposed to firing up the desktop, I will just hope it still gets the idea across.

Phones are easier to train than to retrain. I once spelled scheduler, scjeduler in a text. My phone then kept trying to spell it that way for what seems like months.

@cindy55 wrote:

My smarter-than-me phone has decided that is the way to spell it. It changes so many words on me, I either use a different word or live with it. It changed about a dozen words on me already today.

I've had to turn off the auto-fill feature on my phone! It has absolutely refused to let me change its incorrect words to the correct ones. Ends up being faster to type everything out than to try to correct a word my phone won't let me correct! My tablet is better--much easier to discipline.

most of the work i do now consists of doing undercover photo audits for different apps. the plus side is they pay very quickly,and there's no real report, narrative wise... downside is you basically have to be a ninja, and the pay blows unless you can hit tons of stores.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2016 03:08PM by jay225.

@verysecret wrote:

Re: When the directions say "Discretly"...!!

If the directions say "Discretly"...I would email the scheduler and politely suggest that the MSC learn how to spell "discreetly".