I'll play your game.

1. Not answering that
2. Not answering that
3. This is my full time job and only business. I am sure I have learned things that can be transferred to other businesses but since I only run this one it's not something I care to spend time contemplating.

*The reason I am not answering the first two question is that 90% of my income comes from invite only MSCs who do not want to be talked about publicly because they dont want to deal with the bombardment of people asking about their jobs.
**I am legally registered with a business name and business license so even under your ridiculous standards yes I run a business.

Oi.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

1. Why did the first responders not provide polite re-direction to specific relevant boards, threads, or posts?

2. Is that courtesy reserved for specific posters and withheld from others?

3. Is there a new forum guideline or rule rule against that?

That would seem a really good thing to do, Shop-et-all. So ..... why did you make a post criticizing how others responded instead of suggesting those things to the OP? Are you more interested in berating other forum members or making a newbie feel welcome and providing information to him?

I bet I could answer that question........

Hope this isn't DC reincarnated.....if I type out his full name, it only shows this: @#$%&. But y'all know who I mean, I'm sure.

@roflwofl wrote:

@Shop-et-al wrote:

1. Why did the first responders not provide polite re-direction to specific relevant boards, threads, or posts?

2. Is that courtesy reserved for specific posters and withheld from others?

3. Is there a new forum guideline or rule rule against that?

That would seem a really good thing to do, Shop-et-all. So ..... why did you make a post criticizing how others responded instead of suggesting those things to the OP? Are you more interested in berating other forum members or making a newbie feel welcome and providing information to him?

Alas, I entered a fray. It was already too late to separate them.

But we could discuss various question types and ways to answer them. Perhaps we can identify answer types that are preferable for whatever reason or reasons. Would anyone like to do that?

@bgriffin wrote:

I bet I could answer that question........

Did your guess match my response?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2017 08:39PM by Shop-et-al.

Time to stop feeding the troll folks. He and Shop et al will do fine together. Perhaps she will answer his questions, but I have not seen any inclination on her part to do so.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2017 08:48PM by walesmaven.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Alas, I entered a fray. It was already too late to separate them.

But we could discuss various question types and ways to answer them. Perhaps we can identify answer types that are preferable for whatever reason or reasons. Would anyone like to do that?

Alas. Since he continues to ask, it's not too late. Why don't you provide the things that you believe would be helpful to him? Not only would it satisfy his question, but you could set an example to others and maybe others will chime in and build on what you provide.

rofl,
I think we cross posted. Great minds and all that.

She entered the fray to throw gasoline on the fire. Some of us were dragged into it unwillingly.

Are you willing to discuss question and answer types?

Lisa, I see that differently. If a cyber-hose were handy, I would have turned it on the lot of you. But there was nothing like that available at the time. Alas.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2017 08:54PM by Shop-et-al.

Spicy1-----wipes mud off windshield of this thread.

MF, HS Brands, Maritz, IPSOS, Seelevel Intelli and others I have the most consistent work and travel work with; some I can't mention.

I've been able to describe someone in great detail when needed because of my MS, people are always pretty shocked and in awe because of it.

@sirblase27 wrote:

Wow *5 yrs* exp and you learned NOTHING from MSing that could be applied outside to "other endeavors."

Why would you assume that someone who has been a forum member for 5 years has only been shopping for 5 years? And if someone is solely mystery shopping currently, than how could things being learned while MSing apply to any other business endeavors?

WOW to Shop-et-al about the cyber hose, that's just wrong of you to say that. And yes, that's coming from someone who gets accused of personal attacks here and there because I type what I think and feel. I am telling you that you can turn that hose on yourself and if the mods find that a personal attack then they need to edit your post as well.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2017 10:54PM by JASFLALMT.

@sirblase27 wrote:

Hey, I have a three-part question for anyone who has valid input: 1) Which MS company/job has been the most consistent for you? 2) Which company/job that offers work in places where you may travel to for short periods of time? and 3) What skills have you learned from MS that you have applied to another career OR has your experience in MS given you skills that could be applied outside the field?

You sound just like "he who shall not be named" (courtesy of Lisa). Others suspected it and I am wondering the same.

So here are a few more questions. Is it more important to be right about the OP (such as if they are a repeat troll or someone else who is on your s list), or is it more important to avert cyber-war within this forum?

(I would prefer it if the membership agreed that it is more important to avert the cyber-wars. However, I do not control that.)

Is it more important to defend the details of oneself, or is it more important to take an opportunity to explain oneself?

(For example, I need not defend the concept of a cyber-hose. But I can explain that in RL and earth space, people have been turning their garden hoses on fighting animals for years. I am reasonably certain that many posters already knew that and already had thought of better analogies for potential solutions to the fight that was in progress when I began to read the posts in this thread.)

@spicy1 wrote:

Spicy1-----wipes mud off windshield of this thread.

MF, HS Brands, Maritz, IPSOS, Seelevel Intelli and others I have the most consistent work and travel work with; some I can't mention.

I've been able to describe someone in great detail when needed because of my MS, people are always pretty shocked and in awe because of it.

Thank you!

Q.1 My most consistent company: Market Force. Q3. Transfer Skills: Objectivity, the abilities to negotiate my fees, and willingness to walk away from an offer/ job if its not an appropriate fee for the time & effort spent. Basically, MSing subtly reinforced theses skills.

I do not have direct, clear-cut answers for the OP's 3 questions. I have recent life changes.

I rarely work in this industry and have little to share about MSCs except that I never met an MSC that I didn't like. The skill that contributed most to this condition is resourcefulness. The supporting traits are living longer, contemplating more, and being able to enact for myself that I can/cannot, do/do not, care/do not care, refuse, must, will, won't, etc. These traits are more and more important in my life as they relate to work and personal matters. They enabled me to identify a primary job and focus on it. This change has streamlined my activities. I do not recommend this for anyone else.

1) Which MS company/job has been the most consistent for you? Lately, Ipsos.
2) Which company/job that offers work in places where you may travel to for short periods of time? Coyle, Mintel
3) What skills have you learned from MS that you have applied to another career? I think it's the opposite; skills I learned elsewhere brought to my MSing.

That's a good qualifier iShop123.......Lately, Ipsos.

I've been tossed out of the rotation for companies and so I have to rotate

Whereas I do not agree with the attitude of secrecy with my MSC list, I have worked hard to hone in on what works for ME. These same companies may not do shops that you like or are qualified to do. Most reliable would be North Fork, Alta360, IPSOS...Out of town, I have had luck with Confero and A Closer Look.

My skills from my extensive business resume are used within all of my shops. I understand the clients' needs and reasons WHY they are requesting specific shops. (makes me a better shopper.) But I have learned new skills and keep up with different industries through MS'ing. For example I pay more attention to getting my monies worth now because MS'ing has told me what I SHOULD be getting when visiting their locations. I often take MShops for things that I am going to be doing anyways. For example; I need new carpeting so I do the carpet purchasing shop from iMyst, I grocery shop so I like to thoroughly know what the sales are which is covered by those shops with North Fork Research, I needed a new screen door so I took a handyman shop to get some information about doing this.

We should all be looking to expand our knowledge base, everyday, in all that we do otherwise you become stagnant in life - NO growth. What if I only understood now what I knew at 18 (when I thought that I knew it all!) compared to what I really know at 50?

I always believed that you had to have a business license/FEIN to be considered a small business. Even though I do a lot of the same things in my MS'ing business that I've done in my other small businesses. One example is business credit. You don't build credit in MS'ing. You are not tracked by BBB for your performance. Usually, you don't use a FEIN other than to report income and mileage. There is no schedule of depreciation on your equipment or property for MS'ing. I understand that there are services being done and monies being paid but there is no inventory, payables, expenses such as electric or cell phone being paid only by this "business". Just as examples. I do understand that the IRS considers us a small business for taxing purposes but an IC doesn't carry the liabilities or insurances that are a necessary part of a business. These are just a few thoughts and not based on any "legal" code or anything of the sort.

We report our MS income on Schedule C, which has a link to a depreciation schedule for our equipment and, f we so elect, for our vehicles. We can, and most do, report to IRS using our Social Security numbers not an EIN. There are, in fact, many expenses that can be claimed, legitimately, as for our small MS businesses and those may include home office space and (if that is claimed) a prorata share of utilities, for instance.. Please visit the New Mystery Shoppers area for more information and either use a tax professional or something like Turbo Tax to walk you through what really are legitimate expenses. If you are not using IRS Schedule C to report MS income and expenses you may be making some potentially expensive mistake, like not claiming part of your health insurance premiums thru the business and not seeing that you may need to be paying self-employment tax as well as income tax.

I depreciate my vehicle and electronics, work desk etc and have a separate phone and car for my I.C/mystery shopping work and I use an ein and have a business name. Some of my mystery shopping companies still pay me under my name and ssn.

I think that by IRS standards we may be considered micro-businesses, but that's splitting hairs. Either way, depreciation is allowed and we are given status as a businesses without need for a license in CA.

I have a DBA for 2 of my business, but only because they were required to open checking accounts under the business name. Nothing else was required, except an annual tax filing with the city.

The problem with the OP's question as I see it, is that it's just too vague...and certainly has been asked and answered elsewhere.

No one can tell you the best MSC for you, since it's going to vary greatly by your location, financial status, age, education and particular interests. I have taken away skills that I developed with MSing that enhanced my other business ventures, however. It has increased my organization and time-management skills in a way that allowed me to be more productive in my career outside of MSing.

@LisaSTL wrote:

If I am reading it correctly, merely responding was insufficient. I should have researched other threads and posts, then included links for the OP and anything else was justification for a personal attack? .

how much r u going to charge op for your research services. it could be another small fake side biz.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Are you willing to discuss question and answer types?

Lisa, I see that differently. If a cyber-hose were handy, I would have turned it on the lot of you. But there was nothing like that available at the time. Alas.

y r u here in this forum then? boredom? no social life? no shops?

@sirblase27 wrote:

1) Which MS company/job has been the most consistent for you?
2) Which company/job that offers work in places where you may travel to for short periods of time?
3) What skills have you learned from MS that you have applied to another career OR has your experience in MS given you skills that could be applied outside the field?

1) the companies/jobs op doesn't work for
2) the company/job op doesn't work for
3) skills learned from ms are ones op will never learn because he doesnt want to listen to anyone by himself

There have been times when people start a new thread that talks about how inappropriate a different, and specific, thread is.. That's like what Shop-et-at is suggesting except that it isn't a general thread on what is and is not acceptable.

I do wish that the self-proclaimed more experienced people wouldn't rain and poo all over the threads where people ask questions that they think are elementary. It really takes away from the group of mystery shoppers who are in the same experience level or category from being able to discuss issues and concerns that are valid to them and so that group of new people don't participate. Experienced Poo can really stink up this forum.

eta: quoted from MSNinja
1) the companies/jobs op doesn't work for
2) the company/job op doesn't work for
3) skills learned from ms are ones op will never learn because he doesnt want to listen to anyone by himself

Who is bored?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2017 04:06PM by spicy1.