Cell Phone Audit input

Has anyone done the retail cell phone store audits where you call the manager ahead of time to set up an appointment? I believe they were AT&T, but the jobs I see now appear to be "authorized retailers." How time consuming are they, and do they require a lot of photos and uploading to the MSC website? I'm trying to decide if $20 is a decent payment for the job...TIA for any info you can share!

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Phone Shops

So the fee has already dropped? Just last quarter the starting fee was $26. Around here they were all authorized dealers, no company stores.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2016 12:59PM by LisaSTL.

Oops, sorry Lisa, I may have been wrong. I just went back and checked, and they are at "Change Fee!" $28 now. It is very likely that I misread the number last night since I was browsing without my glasses on. So, they were okay last quarter? I don't like the amount of time it take to upload photos to the MSCs website, so I'm hoping there is none of that involved with the audit.

The photo upload was better than last I worked for them on audits which was several years ago. My first took an hour on site, the remaining two got down to 30 minutes. I expected the extra on the first and was really taking it slow. The best I could time wise on the report was 25 to 30 minutes. I would recommend giving them a shot. It worked well for me when they started calling with bonuses

I did two of these this month. They seemed more involved than other reports for the MSC, but they were still fairly easy in comparison to other companies. It took me 50 minutes to do the audit and that was with me skipping around and dealing with someone who did not work at the store usually. I think I spent maybe 30 minutes doing the report, including uploading photos. I upload all of mine in one shot so it's pretty easy. I recommend them, but it all depends on how technology savvy you are to begin with.

I used to really like these when they were done by a different MSC. You could download the Sassie Rover app and take all the pictures in the store and upload them before leaving. But I have not done one for the new MSC.

I think the pay was much lower with the old MSC and there didn't seem to be bonuses around here. The base pay was never enough to get me to even give them a shot.

i've done several both company stores and authorized dealers + the ones that are a combo of "general audit" plus a "security audit". they're both pretty easy, straightforward and don't require a lot of pics (unlike the other msc). The only pics necessary other than the store front, etc. is if the devices can't be connected to the internet cuz you have to take a pic of the device including the error msg(s). I always tell the store mgr. to be sure to have all devices in the store powered up and be sure they can be connected to the internet (other than those devices that are display devices only and not able to be powered up,.

There were more required photos than the storefront. It seems the minimum was 12 or 13 plus anything not working.

@LisaSTL wrote:

There were more required photos than the storefront. It seems the minimum was 12 or 13 plus anything not working.

yep...i think you're right...about 12-ish + the non-working.

sorry (a somewhat rare bit of being contrite).

Thanks for the useful comments, Everyone. I will sign up for one not too far away and see how it goes...

I just did two today. The first one took a little over an hour (because I was double and triple checking everything and there were customers in the store) and the second took 45 minutes. The report took about 30 minutes to complete on the MSC's app.

There were 12 pictures unless you have no answers, then you take pics of issues.

The managers try to make everything right before you get there, so the audits are usually smooth sailing.

The paperwork is a little tedious, so make sure you're familiar with it before you go.

Part-time Colorado Shopper since 2016.

I've only done one of these, that was HIGHLY bonused by a scheduler who called me directly. It took me about an hour onsite, but the location was very slow making it go relatively fast... Up until the very end where I spent 15-20 minutes waiting for the manager to break away from a customer to sign the form at the end of the audit.

Although I read through the paperwork first, I feel like it was kind of hard to comprehend it all until you're actually doing it, so your first will go slower, but subsequent ones should go faster. The manager will probably want to schedule during a slow time anyways, but you should be aware to aim for that as well just in case. During the day time on a weekday will go much faster than an evening or weekend.

Are there two different types of audits? Or is it based on the type of location? Most stores around me seem to start at $25, but there are a couple locations (at least one is in a mall) that start at $14. I wasn't sure what exactly caused the difference.

The reporting isn't horrible, except this msc's site has SOOO many different pages that you really need to make sure you've got a good, fast internet connection or you could eat up a lot of time just waiting for the pages to load.

I just did one and it was fairly easy. The manager was very helpful. The instructions are very detailed and there were 39 pages to print out. It took an hour to do in store and 1 hr to do form.

When I did one last month, the guidelines said not to call and make an appointment. This audit is basically two in one: 1) the in-store audit of products and displays, formerly done through a different MSC, and 2) an inspection that reminds me of business verifications - including checking the computer, software and shredder. It also took me an hour. I would be willing to do it again.

I actually like the appointment component. I was assured a manager or MOD would be available and they worked with me to schedule a time when the locations were either slow or there was sufficient staff so they could give me their undivided attention.

@LisaSTL wrote:

I actually like the appointment component. I was assured a manager or MOD would be available and they worked with me to schedule a time when the locations were either slow or there was sufficient staff so they could give me their undivided attention.

again the voice of reason with proper grammar, spelling, syntax and context.

hmmm.... maybe i could learn a thing or two about moderation?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2016 12:57AM by parkcitybrian.

Oh buttercup, flattery will get you everywhere, but don't go changing to try to please us*

*Credit to Billy Joel in case anyone thinks I'm plagiarizing his lyrics

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Cell Phone Audit input

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine