Lesson Learned

Do not apply for shops your instincts tell you that you can't handle. I did after only a couple months on an aquarium shop which was a whole day and about 18 pages. I screwed up times, I had never been there before, it was a mess. Needless to say I lost my fee and reimbursement which I was expecting and don't disagree with at all. I wish I knew about this board sooner.. but I did get a wonderful day at the aquarium with my kids that we never would have had otherwise. My advice to my fellow newbies.. don't take on more than you can handle!

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Lesson well learned.....you will be fine, and yes, take job you can handle and grow, glad you had a good day in spite of it.

Live consciously....

Glad you had a good time. I love aquariums but not sure I'd want to shop one. I'm only a few months into this too, and shopped the wrong car that had a huge bonus. I can't believe that they gave me the thumbs up and approved it. I've had a more than a few where the instructions are so far off from what happens once the shop begins that my head starts spinning!

Finally someone admits they were wrong and did not blame the MSC. KristiC you are going to be a great asset to the forum and our business.

If the Aquarium shop is the MSC I think it is, yeah I can see that being overwhelming. I'm still slowly working my way up to them.
Glad you were able to take the positives from it though. Like tstewart14 alluded to, there are a lot of people on these boards who are never willing to blame themselves.
So long as the MSC didn't drop you it's a lesson learned and you'll know when you're ready for the next one!

I'm pretty sure I know which MSC it is. I've done a few Science Center shops for them and most recently did a Visitor Center shop. The first Science Center shop had a lot more requirements and I made several trips to the restroom to review my guidelines and make sure I didn't miss anything. The requirements for the next couple of shops I did had been cut in half, so I was able to enjoy the Science Center a lot more. The Visitor Center shop was probably the easiest, and the best part was that it got me out of the house to enjoy the best city park in America!

I've peeked at some of their other shops in other parts of the country, including aquarium and amusement park shops. With so many requirements, I'm not sure I could handle it.

Can I just say that my phone is my greatest tool on shops like this (or any really)
My phone is set to time/ date stamp all pictures. I don't try and remember times i just snap a picture. Also having my 16yr old or husband snap a picture of me interacting with the employees is a lifesaver. No need to remember the time or what the person looked like. Just concentrate on what they say.

That shop is not for the weak!

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Great advice! Thank you, I always get worked up over multiple times because I'm trying to read a name tag discreetly which was almost impossible. Another positive I got was finally scheduling my over due eye appointment.

Ouch Honny, lol.

One tip: I took one of my stepdaughters on a shop years ago when she was 10 (in one of those rare instances where kids are allowed). I instructed her to help me with names. She was about 4'0" tall, so perfect height to look at names while I was talking to the salesperson and cashier. She was/is a pretty smart person, so she remembered and discreetly told me the name when we were in the restroom. This was back before we had smartphones and such so I jotted it down on my notepad...my point is get your kids or other family member/friend to help you whenever they can.

I work better alone, when bringing a friend, get too involved in talking and enjoying. My mind is only on my job when I'm alone, so for me, shopping alone works....gad, if i had to bring a kid, I'd shoot myself.

Live consciously....

Omg that's crazy! My son would whisper in my ear! Lol

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Lesson Learned

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