Has the MSC changed for these? I used to do them all the time but have not seen them recently.

It's been the same MSC for years - they did change their name several years ago.

I quit doing the bar shop because the bar started getting more popular and we had trouble finding two seats together - or even one spot sometimes! It's hard to tell the hostess that you'd rather sit at the bar, since the TVs can be seen from several tables. Also, the $25 was not enough reimbursement.

I just wish the rotation was shorter than 90 days.

I love their shops. I have driven 30 (highway) miles out of my way just to eat at Texas Roadhouse as a regular diner, as well as as a mystery shopper. I love their food and they are worth the trip. Just as the OP said, the shop is one of the most simple and the company handling their shops have great schedulers who, when needed, work to accomodate your schedule.

Someone was wondering about the MSC, who does these. (Name of MSC removed) I have done several of them and, like most, with the rotation was shorter.

Mod note: Welcome to the Forum. Please do not provide information the links an MSC with its clientele. This violates the Forum rules and probably also a breach of your ICA.

@ravensr4real wrote:

I must be in the minority on these shops because I pass them up all the time. Not worth the wait at the one up my way just to get reimbursed way less than what you'll end up paying. I like the food but with no pay over top reimbursement? Nope, not for me.

I am not sure you read everything shared so far. For an individual the reimbursement is more than enough, including an alcoholic drink if you are so inclined. For two people, the dinning room visit should cover everything.

As for the wait, YMMV. For the dining room target the latter part of the time frame, or at minimum avoid Friday's or weekends. For the bar, get there just after 5 and there should be no wait. You do not have to wait to be seated when dining at the bar.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2017 02:37PM by isaiah58.

I always get call ahead seating, hardly a wait. I do not shop on week-ends. Wednesdays are the specials for steak. We get the Coors beer, which is their special. You have to ask. This is an order that comes in at the $35.
Two steak dinners, special is the next larger piece for the same price. 11 oz. special, Wild West.
(Road Kill is a sirloin ground with peppers, onions, cheese, this is good too. It is not a burger.)
Two large Coors Duke beers. $3.99 each
Two salads, their dressing are really good.
Two baked potatoes with sour cream and butter.
Sweet Cinnamon rolls.
(You can get wine at $5.49 a glass, house.)
This came to $32.59 without the tip. Give a little, your getting a free meal that is well worth the money. You have to know how to order. I do not order any special sides, they don't always tell you that there is a charge.

My thinking exactly..........

No, not necessary if dining alone. You would not want to take up table space

I checked their site last month and they were there. Being around Christmas, I didn't want out of pocket expense.

What company does shops for Texas Roadhouse?

Mod note: You have asked on multiple occasions for members to break their ICAs and to break the Forum rules. This is not acceptable. Please desist.

@LizRich wrote:

I did a Texas Road House bar dinner on December 22nd.

I wonder if the regular dinner (not belly-up-to-the-bar) is just as easy a report? The food reimbursement on that one is higher than the bar dinner, and usually more money means more work.

My biggest issue is the only ones available are 3 hours away from home and I'm already exhausted.

Was going to try the dining idea for my birthday, but people don't understand the no reschedule rules.

The requirements on the regular dinner (not belly-up-to-the-bar), is not that hard. there is a little more timing than the "belly-up-to-the-bar" shop. It is a fun shop. It should not take more than 30 minutes to a half hour to report the shop.

If you consider the $30 reimbursement as a discount rather than payment for actual expenses you would not mind acting like you are a "regular shopper" rather than a mystery shopper on a $30 budget. If you act like a mystery shopper on a $30 budget your server will know.

The guidelines require you bring a guest.and that you order a $15.99 steak and a second entry for your guest.. I can not remember if you are required to buy a soft drink. or two. You would be noticed and suspected of being a shopper if you try to make the second required entree the cheapest dinner on the menu or you ordered water as your drinks. or ordered one soda(all you can drink) soda with two straws. That is what you must do to avoid going over the $30 reimbursement.

If you invited your spouse or a friend you would be eating the hamburger rather than the $15.99 steak. or you would risk offending your guest If you do not get an appetizer it might tip the server that you are the mystery shopper on a budget.

To be "safe" and "enjoy your meal" you would want to put your hand in your pocket and with the mandatory 15% tip you may spend $30 out of your pocket if you buy a alcoholic drink and an appetizer. You should only buy one alcoholic drink and be sober to drive home. I believe the client would invalidate the shop if you drank more than one alcoholic drink

If the client was smart they would raise the reimbursement to $50 to cover the tip and appetizer and a dinner your guest might enjoy eating more than the cheapest item on the menu and would not think you are a cheapskate if you are eating the $15.99 steak. We, my guest and I, consider the $30 reimbursement a discount.. We usually spend more than $50 and if we have another party,you can bring up to four people including yourself, the actual cost to the client is nothing, they get the report for free as the overhead for serving you is paid for even if the client takes $30 off the $60 or $70 bill for four people.

Don't you hate it when you do a restaurant shop that is so bad that you want to leave but you are trapped. The manager gives you the experience for free but you were getting the meal reimbursed anyway so you got the abuse and no compensation?. That only happened once when we went to a location that just opened and the service and the kitchen did not have their act together, The experience was a disaster rather than an enjoyable experience,

The reimbursement is $35. Also, how is it tipping anyone off to order water? We order water all the time. My kids get water with kid's meals that come with free drink options. We just prefer to eat our calories. And if you have a friend who is offended you aren't getting them an appetizer when their meal is already covered, you may want to evaluate that friendship. Nothing that you listed over should tip off anyone that this is a shop. There are frugal people who go to nice restaurants all the time. I remember when I went to a nice steakhouse with my husband before I was shopping. I wanted scallops. They were almost $30 and came with nothing on the side. I was so hungry and the waiter asked if he could bring me anything else because he knew I was so hungry, but I didn't want to shell out more money for sides. I don't think he suspected that we were shoppers (the place does get shopped but they are generous with the reimbursement as they WANT you to order many courses!). If only two people go, the $35 can be stretched yet still enjoyed without ordering the cheapest thing on the menu. They also serve large portions so there really is no need to get the appetizer. Let the bread and butter be your appetizer It's amazing!

I wanted to plan this shop for my 60th birthday. Unfortunately, none of my friends or family understand the concept of do it or lose it.

I was smart and didn't commit.

Try the bar shops. Much easier and it's usually not a big problem getting a seat.

When my wife and I went last year I got a steak and I don't remember what she got. But we got a appetizer and we both got water. With the tip it was $35. We went after 6.

I got water all the time. Sometimes she gets a soft drink or tea. Hopefully I can do this shop again

I think Piled Hip Deep is overthinking too much about what might tip staff off that you are a mystery shopper. Wait staffs see all kinds of people, all kinds of requests, all kinds of budgets every day. About the only thing that could tip them off is if you say something like "My mystery shopping company is only allowing $35 on this meal, so I need to keep it under $35." or if you pull out the report and fill in notes table.
Mystery shopping has been around for years, and even though many employees know that, most don't. And they certainly aren't out there trying to figure out if you're a mystery shopper or not.
Just be yourself, if you go in having to budget then budget. The wait staff couldn't care less...now if you are on a date and don't explain this to your date, she/he may care.

I believe Texthinker is not aware of the reality and experiences I have had. over the past 10 years. I was shopping for a cell phone (I was not doing a shop). I went to several malls and I was asked "are you a mystery shopper? They did not wish to waste their time on a mystery shopper who was not a real shopper. At places like Best Buys. I recently bought a new vehicle. I asked for a business card and took notes. The car dealers are so over shopped they believe everyone is a Mystery shopper. They want to rush you out the door and get back in rotation for a real shopper If you want to have some "fun" with a server because they are taking their sweet time getting to you at an Applebees or TGI FRIDAY or On The Border, etc, take notes on a napkin even though you are not doing a shop. Most employees will not ask if you are a Mystery shopper, they will not attempt to reveal you. You will see managers and servers spread the word "mystery shopper in the house" The service will get better, the scraps on the floor will be swept. etc.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, and I know it may not have been clear, but my post was primarily dealing with Texas Roadhouse, and restaurants in general. Because again, the waitstaff there, even if they know you are a mystery shopper, could care less. Why? Because at the end of the meal, regardless of if you've "written on a napkin" you pay, you tip, they make money. The better they serve the better you tip, in a perfect world.
Cell phone shops, car dealers, etc. They live off commissions, so it's a different world. But still I would love to see the video or even hear the audio of you walking down the mall, or going to a car dealership and someone says "Hi I'm Dave.Are you looking for a cell phone or mystery shopping?" "Can I interest you in test driving this Tesla or are you another mystery shopper?"
Seriously, I'd love to see that video
Maybe your reality is that everywhere you go people assume you're a mystery shopper and it happens. If that's the case you were probably outed years ago and word has gotten around. Eventually yea for all of us someone will figure out were a mystery shopper. But even when I recommend mystery shopping to friends that work in retail, most people I talk to have no idea what it is, or how it works.
I'm not saying we don't do things to give us away. Heck one gas station shop here wants me to stay in the gas station for 15 minutes and make a purchase of under $2. Who stays in a gas station walking the aisles 15 minutes? Still the cashier more likely assumes you're scoping the place out the rob rather than mystery shop.
What normal person watches the person at the fry station shake the fries 15 times? What normal person walks around with a big bulky item, passing by empty shopping carts, waiting for an associate to offer one?
I could go on, but my point is, don't be paranoid that every little thing you do is giving you away as a mystery shopper. They aren't. A paranoid mystery shopper is giving themselves away as a mystery shopper.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2017 09:16AM by texthinker.

The only time I was outed was when the drive up station did not work and I heard a garbled "move up". I reported that as the car in front of me was having the problem so they would not know it was me. The company gave my description and everything else

I do not do gas stations as I woul hate to drop my camera into the toilet bowl to give them a picture of the messy housekeeping.

I am not paranoid. I have been to Ronald's inter-city burger joint and seen car chases end in the parking space next ot me and talked with the "ladies" who wanted to sell you "pleasure" for the price of a fix, and the guy who asked for "change and got into a nice set of wheels that he and hi8s gang kept an eye on. I have been on BOTH SIDES on a different job I asked if they were buying or selling (drugs) and was asked by under cover officers if I was buying or selling. I was just buying a hamburger, that's all.

So many stories, all of them true. I bring them to the forum for entertainment and to keep you safe, If you do not know where you are going and it looks a little ruff keep on driving and blame it on your scheduler for not telling you you need special training to handle that shop.

Tell me you never looked at your watch and wrote on a napkin to get better service. You got their special attention. even though you were not a a shop.

I do the bar visit and go alone. I usually come about a dollar over after tip and that's with ordering a steak. Fewer timings and easier report than the dining room.

I love TRH. Between the bread, the peanuts, and the portion sizes, I can't imagine ordering an appetizer whether there is one of us or two of us.

On the bar shop, for example, I will shop it by myself. I can get the middle-sized prime rib end cut and a soda and go just cents over the reimbursement. I end up with a doggy bag big enough for at least two meals. Seems like a good deal to me. I don't worry about drinking a soda at the bar. The line to get a table is usually so long that I can make a comment about getting faster seating at the bar to cover any weirdness about no alcohol.

There is only one near me, so I shop it only once or twice a year as a shopper. I am on the Board of my HOA though, and we go there every year for Christmas as well. So three free meals at TRH is good for me.

We just had a TRH open in my city. Any idea how long before an organization will start shopping that location (if ever)? In this case is it a company store or a franchise? I know that could affect the answer. Thanks

I snagged a shop for this week with a bonus. The timing is from 5pm-9pm at the bar.

I have a 2nd Location opening soon near me can't wait as its another shop at TRH I can do. According to my guidelines you and guest if you have one must order a beverage other than water. I have not seen the order a $15 steak requirement is that new? I almost always do the belly up to the bar shop alone and guess what I order soda.

It's not much more to get a tall draft beer than it is to get a soda.

I don't doubt that. Personally I don't drink beer and rarely drink alcohol so I will take my unlimited soda. It does not matter if you order soda and eat at the bar is what I was trying to point out to others here.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

It's not much more to get a tall draft beer than it is to get a soda.

Absolutely agreed! I know of at least two people (non-shoppers) who are comfortable sitting at the bar drinking soda or tonic with no alcohol, as they are both recovering. They do, however, enjoy the social interaction at the bar and are quite naturally comfortable there.

The shop that i signed up for doesn't mention ordering a steak. This is at the bar beteen 5 and 9, stay 45 minutes. There weren't a lot of requirements in the guidelines or the video.

What am I missing?