Shopping with kids

Hi, I'm pretty new here. I've only signed up with a couple companies so far. I'm a stay at home mom and I just want to be able to contribute a little to our household income. So far the majority of the shops I've seen listed stipulate that I can't bring my son. Are there a fair amount of available shops that allow children or will I likely need to coordinate my shopping with my husband's work schedule?

I'm not trying to do this full time but I would like to know their is enough locations I could shop without trying to make arrangements for my son.

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I'm sure some shoppers with kids can tell you about some where he would be allowed. In general, unless it is a store or activity geared for children you will not be able to take him. Companies want to be sure shoppers are not distracted and are not memorable.

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.

For the particular grocery chain that I shop, I had contacted the scheduler to ask if I can bring my child along. It was spring break then. I got permission in writing.

All other shops, I shop alone.

There can be a lot of observations and timings, and children can be very distracting. Only once when my stepkids were young did I take one of them on a shop with me when she was 10 and I had permission to do so--she was helpful on the shop, but younger kids can be very demanding and even the best behaved children can occasionally have a meltdown, so I never took them on shops when they were little. There are shops that are geared towards families, like amusement parks and a certain restaurant that we all know of that has the worst pizza and is known for a place to have birthday parties, but those tend to not pay much and are generally reimbursement shops. If you are new, you might want to make arrangements until you have some shops under your belt before you look for kid friendly shops.

Edited to add: you might want to consider phone shops or pizza delivery shops, since you don't have to go anywhere to do those.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2017 07:28PM by JASFLALMT.

Agreed with JAS, they can cause distraction if they are young.

And redoing the shop means more work, less time and resources.

Some restaurant shops (A Closer Look, Reality Based Group) and apartment shops (maybe Remington?) allow kids. It's always best to check with the scheduler.

Yes, but if you are a new shopper and it isn't second nature to you already, it might be hard to concentrate on getting the important and necessary details if you have a child with you. When I was new it was hard enough sometimes for me to complete all of the observations if I had my MIL or husband with me (especially my MIL because she LOVES to talk). Now I can get necessary details such as descriptions, names, what the individual I am shopping said to me in way of greeting, suggestions, etc. without even thinking about it.

Also, children tend to get the attention of the server, sales associate, etc, which may mean that they fail their timing targets. Not fair to them.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

@walesmaven wrote:

Also, children tend to get the attention of the server, sales associate, etc, which may mean that they fail their timing targets. Not fair to them.

Then shame on the client and MSC for allowing it. If it's right in the guidelines that kids are allowed, then it's not the shopper's concern as long as the timings are accurate. The apartment shops might be a good shop to start with as they don't have timings,

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2017 10:00PM by ChrisCooper.

I have never heard of an apartment shop allowing children.

@LisaSTL wrote:

I have never heard of an apartment shop allowing children.

Really? That statement is beneath you.

Chris, what's wrong? Are you okay? I didn't see where there was anything wrong with what Lisa wrote. You seem a little hypersensitive today. I hope all is well in your world.

Jas, thanks for your concern. I have been snippy in what I posted today, and the ones that I self-censored were downright ruthless. It's time for me to give up caffeine.

Remington allows kids on apartment shops; i just reread the guidelines to confirm.

Maybe just no caffeine after noon? That's been my rule of thumb for a number of years.

I think it's fine for experienced shoppers to take kids when they are allowed. My only concern with taking kids, like I stated previously, is for a new shopper having a hard time getting all of the observations and details needed.

Thanks, everyone, for the input! I have my first shop scheduled for tomorrow. It's for a pizza place that wants very precise times. I'm a little nervous about remembering everything. I hope I don't mess it up.

Good luck!

Do you live in a one party state (where you can record someone without getting their permission)? If you have an app on your phone, record the whole transaction. Then you can go back and listen to it to help you remember.

You'll do great.

@sensei wrote:

Thanks, everyone, for the input! I have my first shop scheduled for tomorrow. It's for a pizza place that wants very precise times. I'm a little nervous about remembering everything. I hope I don't mess it up.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

I'm not sure. Do you know where I can go to find out if I'm in a one party or two party state? I think we're allowed to record people as long as it's not someplace where there would be a reasonable expectation of privacy (like bugging a bathroom or dressing room with recording devices).

Here is a post written by walesmaven. She also included a couple of links to updated information. This is one of the subjects pinned to the top in the New Mystery Shoppers area. There is a lot more great information about starting your business, taxes, etc. A really useful read.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Most of the large reimbursement shops for food allow family. There aren't too many. Some are in-descriptive but if you read closely the directions are a little intensive so the math there is to not bring a child. I'm not sure how old or responsible/accountable your son is but some companies let you get tasks done doing friends and I do that to shop the state for bonuses. If your son can handle the directions or its a shop you know inside out, you can just wait in the car or let him do that part of the mall while you hang out at Starbucks. Examples not options. My girls are 2 and 5 so they don't come unless the family is allowed. Only three MSC and seven assignments between them come to mind. I've only signed up with 20 or so companies and frequently shop only three.

Rant: CFA burned me pretty bad recently on a falsified complaint that had no evidence and I do not plan to let go unnoticed. They allow helpers. I never use helpers and that is of the three points listed within the complaint that is false. You should not bring your son or count on CFA to be a professional employer for these reasons.

Prepmaster, CFA is not or was not your employer. They were your client.

What's CFA?

Certified Field Associates.

Sensei there is at least one shop I know of that REQUIRES you to bring at least one child under 13. Guess what store it is? Disney of course. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what MSC has these shops. But it is a large company that I believe is a common starter company. Maybe it's one that you're already signed up for. I hope so or at least you can find it on your own.

What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Prepmaster, CFA is not or was not your employer. They were your client.

Ummm.... my bad. contractor agreement holder.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2017 02:20AM by prepmaster.

@sassymmmm wrote:

Sensei there is at least one shop I know of that REQUIRES you to bring at least one child under 13. Guess what store it is? Disney of course. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what MSC has these shops. But it is a large company that I believe is a common starter company. Maybe it's one that you're already signed up for. I hope so or at least you can find it on your own.

I don't recall which one it was but an MSC out there does Gamestop or Bestbuy or both and requires a child in the teens I believe.

I do mostly restaurant shops and I am usually allowed to bring my child. I just have one though. She is 5 and behaves well. I don't tell her why we're eating where we are, cuz she would surely blow my cover. I did do one shop that did not allow children, as it was a "hooters type" restaurant. A lot of the food shops do not pay much extra, usually reimbursement only. But I love not having to cook some days and it works well for us when the fiancé is out of town on work. Can't tell you who they do but I would recommend signing up with A Closer Look, SeeLevel,, and Reality Based Group.
If you are looking for fun stuff to do you can check out Amusement Advantage. They do skating, amusement parks, stuff like that. Their reports are long and usually take me 2 hours. But I'm also kinda slow, lol. I always come out ahead with them since they pay a flat fee.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2017 05:17AM by pfaffkim2.

@sensei wrote:

Thanks, everyone, for the input! I have my first shop scheduled for tomorrow. It's for a pizza place that wants very precise times. I'm a little nervous about remembering everything. I hope I don't mess it up.

I use an app called "Shop It". It was $4.99 and I normally do not like paying for apps. But it has worked really well for me. I can basically just tap the screen in the app and it records my times. It's easy to tap it while you are doing the shop. Then later you go and looked at your saved shop and your times and notes will be there.

Frankly, I would recommend a new shopper leaves kids at home. At least until the shopper is really, really comfortable with shop requirements. Even adults, who know exactly what you are doing, can screw up a shop ROYALLY.

At least for the beginner, I would recommend scheduling around hubby's work schedule.

Possible shops to take child: drive thru fast food. I can't believe that's the only one I can think of, but it is.

Companies to be sure to sign up with: Marketforce, The Source (grocery stores) (kids NOT allowed), Maritz (gas station mystery shops; doesn't pay much, but we all need gas; and the mystery shop ones, well....I couldn't leave a kid in a car while I went inside, but some people don't have a problem with it).

But I'll be watching this thread, because I'm about to take on child care for my 2 month old granddaughter, and if I can find shops I can take her on....I'll be happy!!!!

Thanks, everyone. My son is just a toddler right now. I think while he's really little I'll leave him home with my husband, at least if the shop requires a lot of precise timings. Or the 3 of us will go for restaurants that allow me to bring an adult and a child; I'll still be working around my husbands schedule but at least we'll get a free meal out of it.

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