OK, you asked for it:
A Day In The Life....
of a mystery shopper:
Up at 5. It's gonna be over 100 degrees today, and with my car overheating so that I can't run the a/c, decided to leave for my shops by 7. So up at 5.
By the time I hit the road, it's 11 AM, not 7 AM. Car did fine the first 20 miles. Then overheated. Stopped at McDonald's, got a cup of ice water (free!), and poured it over my head. Noon, reach my shop. Get gas, using my card -- check. Go inside, buy a little something -- check. Go back to the car to grab my paperwork -- MY PAPERWORK? WHERE IS IT? Oh, damn, it's sitting on the table at home.
However, I'm a "seasoned shopper" (they tell me so!!!)....and I've done enough of these to do them in my sleep! Sit in the car and draw up a "cheat sheet" from memory -- oil display, photo of each pump, photos of interior of restrooms, photo of clerk, of porn material, of drug devices, etc., etc., etc. And price sign, and canopy, and building front, and every pump, both at a distance and up close.
Go in, introduce myself, give the manager my letter of authorization, and the first thing she says is "our credit card display is out here", and walks me to it.
Geesh. I had forgotten all about that!
I make up for it by taking 106 photos. I want to make sure I don't miss A THING, and I no longer trust my memory, LOL!!!!
It's 103 degrees. I walk around and around and around the gas station, searching for anything that might nudge my memory: "take a photo of me!!! me, me, me!!!!". I'm lucky -- this station has only 4 pumps.
Go back inside, shake the manager's hand, thank her for her time, ask her if there's anything she'd LIKE me to report She did, I made some notes, thanked her again, and left.
Leaving the parking lot, my car immediately overheats. I stop, go back inside, ask how much is a cup of ice, give her a quarter, and leave again. The shop took 40 minutes. My car has been sitting in direct sunlight for 40 minutes. It's 103 outside, probably 140 inside. Head west, to my next shop.
This one is a major station, major brand, right off I-80 -- lots of pumps. Get my gas with card -- check. Go inside. The sole employee is chatting. And chatting. And chatting. My pump failed to print my receipt, so I HAVE to get his attention. Grab an ice cream, get back in line. Finally get waited on, get my gas receipt, and pay for the ice cream (which has now melted).
No use, really, going to the car for my paperwork -- it's sitting right beside the paperwork for the first shop, comfortably awaiting my return. But I need my safety vest, camera, etc. Fetch it all, go back in, introduce myself, blah, blah, blah.
This is a BIG station, with a restaurant and a nice, cool indoors sitting area. So I sit there, and try to reconstruct what I'm supposed to do. (Different brand, different requirements.)
Surprise, surprise -- there's graffiti all over the inside of the men's room. So I have to go in and take photos. Ugh. Worst part of the job, EVER!!
An hour and 138 photos later, I'm back on the road. One hundred miles to home. I pour another cup of ice water over my head and in my lap (it's now 106 outside, about 140 in my car). Two hours later, home!!!
Phone rings. Will I do a shop tomorrow, 100 miles from my home, for $30? ROTFLMFAO!!!! (The REPORT for that shop takes
FOUR HOURS!!!) For $75? Nope, sorry. Not enough hours in a month to make a living making less than minimum wage. No thanks. Well, how about one 170 miles away for $150....well, I'll think about that one....I would do it for $200.....
So, sit down to work on reports. Due 9 PM Eastern, no ifs, ands, or buts.
First gas station: arrive time, 1:07 PM. Wait a sec -- I got there at 7 minutes after NOON!!!
No, I didn't -- I unknowingly crossed a time zone line! DANG.
Depart first station, 2:10 PM.
Arrival time at 2nd gas station: 1:17 PM.
Depart 2nd station: 2:11 PM.
OMG -- where's Einstein? Or Schrodinger? (Or his cat) -- because I was just in two places at the same time!!!
The MSC will never, EVER grasp this.
And I'm too embarrassed by the paltry amount all this earned me that I will not say how little it was. Well WELL below
minimum wage.
And I will be "fired" by this company, for submitting two shops with overlapping times.
(And what exactly did you do today for fun?)