I have just applied for my first mystery shop so I don't want to ask the MS guys too many questions before I've already started. Anyway I have applied for a lunch job at a high class restaurant, do you think it would be a problem if my guest was a child? There is no indication of a restriction on the information I have relieved from the MS company.

Thanks for any input.

You will be very busy getting all the various timings, interactions, and observations. With an adult they could be an extra pair of eyes. With a child, they may be a distraction. On your first shop, it may not be a wise choice.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Sometimes it depends on the age of the child. They would think a toddler would be too distracting and you could not leave them alone to go to the restroom, etc. With an older child (teenager), it depends on how well behaved they are and the type of restaurant. Typically, if alcohol is required to be ordered, the guest must be an adult. Otherwise, it is up to the discretion of the MSC. Some even say that a "Well behaved child is acceptable as a guest". Some even require the guest to be a child (think a Chuckie Cheese restaurant). Some restaurant shops do not allow guests at all (this is usually fast food but not always).

Thanks for the input. He's a well behaved boy. Taking him is a back up plan in case my preferred date isn't available.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2016 12:04PM by ChrisCooper.

Welcome to mystery shopping! This is the MSC's first look at your abilities. Don't do anything that would cause them to shake their heads saying "What was she thinking?" Even if the guidelines don't exclude taking a child, is it reasonable to do so? If you gamble and you're wrong, not only will you not get paid, but you won't be reimbursed for those 2 meals. "High class restaurant" usually equates to "expensive." Can you afford not to be reimbursed? Plus, you don't want your first shop to be a negative experience. Just contact the scheduler and ask. The MSC would much rather answer a question before the shop then break bad news to you after the shop.

Good luck!

A young child is not a good idea on a first shop, no matter what it is, or on a restaurant shop unless, as mentioned, it's a child-friendly place and children are encouraged as "shopping guests."

With an older child, I think it depends on the age of the child and how well behaved he/she is, and whether or not he/she can help with observations. Honestly, on a first shop that's a high-class restaurant, I'd be very hesitant to take a kid along. My 19-year-old? Yes, because he helps with observations and timings. My 14-year-old? Nope, even though he's well behaved (in restaurants, anyway!). But he gets talking and can definitely be a distraction. Five Guys and Chipotle are the only shops I'll take him on if it's just the two of us. I'll take him to BWW shops only when my husband is with me.

As cindy55 said, you're going to be very busy with timings and observations!

@albionaces wrote:

I have just applied for my first mystery shop so I don't want to ask the MS guys too many questions before I've already started. Anyway I have applied for a lunch job at a high class restaurant, do you think it would be a problem if my guest was a child? There is no indication of a restriction on the information I have relieved from the MS company.

Regardless of whether it is prohibited by the MSC, if the child is less than 12 and the restaurant is high class, it would be no way for me. Is the atmosphere elegant and formal? What the mystery shopping company wants is a shopper who is the "regular customer" and who fits in. Is this a restaurant where the average customer usually dines with children? Or would you stick out like a sore thumb in the dining room?

Your first mystery shop will be harder than subsequent mystery shops. They get easier but the first few require a lot more time and effort. You'll be making observations and timing the service. You will be busy and you must be sure you adhere to the guidelines. If you do not, you will likely not be paid. When you do a mystery shop, you are responsible for getting everything right and you will be held responsible for your guest as well. In addition, mystery shopping with children makes you stand out. It makes you more memorable to a server, so there is a greater chance you will be identified as the shopper, which is not a good thing.

Let me repeat for emphasis: You have to do the job right, according to the guidelines, in order to get paid. Many new shoppers post here telling us they were not paid for "little" mistakes, maybe their timings were off, or they did not follow the guidelines completely when they ordered, or they did not take the correct photos if required. It's hard enough to remember to do everything right, especially your first time, without having a child to care for while you are doing it.

Some shoppers report on this forum that they learned to shop by accompanying their parents or others on shops. These shoppers might tell us which types of shops they were allowed to "do" when they were children and how the experiences were for all involved.

surprised scheduler gave brand new shopper high end shop for 1st shop. surprise 1st time shopper would risk losing all that $. not much room for learning curve here.
op, which client? dont name MSC. Other members will know better if we know which client. Better advice then.

I wonder if "high class" might be not really fine dining. Maybe an upscale casual place like Seasons 52 or the like. That's why I mentioned that if alcohol is required, usually the guest has to be an adult.

However, even Seasons 52 would be daunting for a first timer. Seems like a Buffalo Wild Wings would have been a better fit for a first time sit-down restaurant.

I've avoided sit down dining shops so far. Keeping track of multiple timings along with all the normal eating establishment observations makes me nervous, even with a year of shopping under my belt. I can't imagine taking a high-end one as my first job. Good luck.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2016 06:02PM by wwin.

@lbw1000 wrote:

Seems like a Buffalo Wild Wings would have been a better fit for a first time sit-down restaurant.

But not with a child in tow, depending on the age of the child.... There are a lot of timings and observations with a BWW shop. Although I forgot that I did do one with just my youngest child with me, and it went fine. But I'd ton a lot of them previously. I'd have been too nervous to do my first one with taking just him with me.

@MSNinja wrote:

surprised scheduler gave brand new shopper high end shop for 1st shop. surprise 1st time shopper would risk losing all that $. not much room for learning curve here.
op, which client? dont name MSC. Other members will know better if we know which client. Better advice then.

It is a 5-star hotel belonging to a famous hotel group. I should have mentioned previously that it is a lunch job on the weekend. I guess other families might be in the dining room so it would be easier to blend in than if it were in the evening.

My husband travels so I often take my 15 year old with me on shops, she does all the timings using an app and will text me greetings and other relevant info. I started her out at 13 with Five Guys, Sonic and other casual shops, I probably would never have started with a nice place with all the observations. She plans on mystery shopping in college, so this is good practice for her.

I forgot to add, I always ask the scheduler if it is okay on a nicer place and would never take her anywhere that says two adults only.

I think it depends on the shopper. I shop with my 2 year old as much as possible. She is a little naughty but no more than can be expected. In reality I just like hanging out with her, but as a bonus it makes the shops easier and more organic. Kids are awesome at getting people's names (hi I'm socially undeveloped, what's your name??). I never get a second look when I take a photo when we are together. I use the shop-it app which makes capturing timing a breeze.
Ask the scheduler before you bring a kid with you. Even if the shop excludes children, they are sometimes happy to make an exception.

Suggestion for timings in restaurants - I have a "spy camera" pen which will record up to 90 minutes. I clip it into a pocket or stick it on my purse, turned on and facing the server, and it catches everything for me. I get them myself as well, but if I miss something, I have backup. All the conversation gets recorded. I watch the video when I get home (plug the pen into the computer USB port) and take notes on timing, exact quotes, etc. Best $30 I ever spent. It may not be legal where you are, but where I live, it's legal to video any interaction in which you participate. Great for hotels, checking in and out, too, and for interactions with sales clerks.

@cordener I like the spy camera idea. What is the name of the one you have? Thanks for the tip!

@jellybee wrote:

I think it depends on the shopper. I shop with my 2 year old as much as possible.

I do the same, where my kids are allowed, of course. Now, my five-year-old always says "His name was Ted," or "Her name was Jill," whenever we get to the car, whether we're on a shop or not. And, funny thing, I never "trained" her to do that, she just caught on.

I'll agree with the "depends on the age" crowd. But with Mommy/Son, Daddy/Daughter dates becoming more and more normal, I wouldn't say that a preteen/young teen/older teen on a 'date' with their mom or dad at a fancy restaurant would be completely out of the norm. But yeah... under 10yrs (or under 10yrs maturity level) would be more of a distraction than a help. Plus.... kids aren't always great at keeping secrets.

I can see it now... "You better do a good job! My Mommy/Daddy is a secret shopper!"

@cordener wrote:

Best $30 I ever spent.

I would love to know the model/brand for this, too, as well as where you got it.

I usually use the voice recording app on my iphone and put it in my shirt pocket. That way I have exact times and exact quotes too. For most shops, I will turn it on in the car, then cough as I walk through the door, so I know how long before a greeting or something.

It does not matter what all the shoppers here think. If it is not specified in the shop, ask the scheduler.

It best to ask questions. Unless, the shop say children are welcome, do not take them under any circumstances. You cannot take another adult unless the shop specify it okay to bring another person along. That's why we pay close attention to our shop guidelines and read every surveys before doing the shops.

I do dining shops with my teens a lot, but I would not do a fine dining shop with them. They would both be great companions, but I think it would draw attention as it's more unusual. I might make an exception for a hotel dining room, if I were actually staying there (but I would ask first).

I took my granddaughter to a Buffalo Wild Wings shop when she was about 10. It was my very first shop. We had a great time and I turned in a fairly decent report.

My son is 24 and I still don't like to take him or my husband because they always ask - what do I have to order? how much do we have to spend? Ca I have 2 cocktails? or the dreaded Is this allowed? Always in front of the server,

@cordener wrote:

Suggestion for timings in restaurants - I have a "spy camera" pen which will record up to 90 minutes. I clip it into a pocket or stick it on my purse, turned on and facing the server, and it catches everything for me. I get them myself as well, but if I miss something, I have backup. All the conversation gets recorded. I watch the video when I get home (plug the pen into the computer USB port) and take notes on timing, exact quotes, etc. Best $30 I ever spent. It may not be legal where you are, but where I live, it's legal to video any interaction in which you participate. Great for hotels, checking in and out, too, and for interactions with sales clerks.

I love this idea! I think I will do it.

Op, I'm still "new" time-wise, as I did my first shop in December last year, but I dove in head-first in January and have logged over 600 shops, so I feel like while I still have a lot to learn, I've gained a decent amount of experience in that short amount of time. Honestly, I find resturant shops the most daunting initially. They often require more exact details (like back to back timing to the second) than other shops, and all these observations are supposed to occur back to back, during an interaction that may only last 10 second. How long before host seated you, did they stay servers name? How long til server greeted you? Name of server, description, specials offered, did they ask if you were celebrating something? Did they up sell? Did they state "x" specific greeting...im supposed to remember all those thing without taking obvious notes, and be able to respond and engage with the server without pausing to think or asking them to repeat something because I wasn't listening???...Thats a lot to take in! I don't think I've done a single resturant for the first time without getting to the report and coming across some question that I forgot I was supposed to note. Often I can recall what happened anyways, but I just got lucky. One time I had to admit I forgot to go to the restroom...I got sent back to the location. Fortunately it was a location where I could get in and just go to the restroom without being noticed, so I didn't have to make another purchase.

I also generally dislike shops that require you to take someone. I've taken 4 different people (all close family) on multiple shops. Even when I think I've explained every single thing they need to know, they still often do something to screw it up in some way.

My dad asked at a children's museum food court, when a busser was nearby "how many different booths do you still have?" and "well if Mason wants a hot dog go get it. What? Oh you have to wait another 3 minutes? Why's that?"

Mother in law claimed the very first barstool she got to at the end of the bar, and called out her order before I'd even had time to help the short old lady onto the barstool... All of a sudden I'm supposed to be timing how long it took to make the drink and serve the drink, as well as observing pour count, if the order was rung into the register, and so on... But I don't have a hand free to start a timer, and all the bar tending action is happening behind my back because of the seat she chose, and wouldn't it look odd if I constantly turned away from the person I'd come with? When sitting in the dining room she asked "now what am I supposed to order?"

When we were still together, my husband thought he was helping at a casino shop, and whispered "it's 2:13. Four people in line. 3 Employees but only 2 windows open. Now 3 in line but with 2 open windows." Well, half a second later the other employee (who was the cage manager) opened her window and waved me over. Coincidence? Nope, the look on her face told me she heard some of it at least. Luckily, she just thought he was a impatient jerk (but this made me mortified to be cashing in my 7 cent winnings voucher).

The only guest I've taken who didn't jeopardize a shop was my brother. And that was probably because he didn't really care. All he heard was "meal I don't have to pay for." And wasn't interested enough to care about the details surround how or why.

One thing I do when doing a sit down restaurant, is I ask the server "What is your name in case we can't find you later?" This always gets a laugh and response like, "I am denise and I will make sure you can find me."

I take my 5 year olds to lots of shops. Don't hesitate to double check with the scheduler if you aren't sure. As for a nicer restaraunt, i reserve those for date nights with my husband and get a sitter. Otherwise, our rule is he takes care of her and I focus on the instructions. He also acts as an extra set of eyes. For a first shop though, I'd just take your spouse and make sure you both know the rules.