In about two weeks I have to do an audit for Kmart. I've only done 1 MS so I'm new at this. The pay is $20 and the description said to be prepared to stay for 2-3 hours. After reading the information on what to look for I think I bit of more than I can chew! What is the process for doing one of these? I don't want to go there and not be confident in my work but the pages of information is making me rethink things. Does anyone have any advice?

If its the one I think it is with the MSP that does Five Guys then $50 is what the shop/audit is what it is worth. If you have already committed suck it up and do it lesson learned. 2-3 hours is a fair estimate at the store and maybe another 30-45 mins to report. Its been years since I did it o can't remember exactly. Try to book another shop or 2 in the area to lessen the blow.

We've all done a few stinkers....Look on the bright side:
1. You will build up a reputation with the MSC, making it easier to get more attractive shops down the road.
2. You've had your first lesson in "identifying and avoiding stinkers."

I remember those. Try to group things together as much as possible. You don't have to run all over the store get 5 things here and 3 there and 2 there. It's ok to do a run through one department and knock off a bunch of them.

@a171989 wrote:

In about two weeks I have to do an audit for Kmart. I've only done 1 MS so I'm new at this. The pay is $20 and the description said to be prepared to stay for 2-3 hours. After reading the information on what to look for I think I bit of more than I can chew! What is the process for doing one of these? I don't want to go there and not be confident in my work but the pages of information is making me rethink things. Does anyone have any advice?

Yeah, my advice is to run! If they're estimating 3 hours, it's easily 4, especially if you're new to it. I've never done an audit but come on. Twenty bucks!? Don't feel bad about canceling if it's not making you money.

I did 2 of those a few years back but I held out and got $80 each. They take about 2 hours if you have a good manager to help you with it. I'd really avoid doing these around the holidays.

If you haven't done the shop yet, contact the scheduler immediately for at least a $20 bonus now that you have a better understanding of the full scope of the audit. It never hurts to ask especially where your request is not only not unreasonable, likely the scheduler expects to hear from you given the initial low pay offered. If the scheduler is unable to meet your request, confirm that you will not receive a citation and cancel the shop. In many cases, you will see the same shop on the boards later in the month with a bonus added.

Thanks for the response everyone! Is there any penalty for cancelling if I can't get a bonus or am I truly stuck doing this? I didn't even think about the fact it's the holidays and things may be out of place everywhere.

Yes, yes there is. Knowing that MSC cancellations and changes will count against you. Sorry, they're kinda jerks that way.

double post. sorry.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2017 10:00AM by Shop-et-al.

@a171989 wrote:

Thanks for the response everyone! Is there any penalty for cancelling if I can't get a bonus or am I truly stuck doing this? I didn't even think about the fact it's the holidays and things may be out of place everywhere.

I loved these audits! Take all of the following information with a grain of salt because my last audit was completed a few months ago.

Take a deep breath. This does not have to be a bad experience. Your first audit in a K-Mart location can be a discovery or an adventure. We do not know what will happen with these stores in future. What if you like the audits and want to do more of them later? It is possible that you will enjoy the process after you have some experience with the tasks. And, after you have completed one audit, you can use this solid experience in your discussions about payment for future audits. I do not know what you already know, and the following information is general. Here are a few tips that have helped in the past. After reviewing your audit information, you will know if these are right for you. You might not need any additional information. But if you do, you might develop other little tricks and tips that incorporate what you already know.

- review retail lingo. What are soft lines and hard lines? End caps and bulk? What. This is important! Elsewhere in the survey, you may include bulk as a fiber item that is checked for the health and beauty entries in the survey form. In the past, health and beauty contained a large number of regularly priced items. (No pun intended.) At that time, it was helpful to remember this factoid if you could not find specifically priced items for various categories in the survey. But you need to know about today's prices in K-Mart. The next tip may provide an opportunity for you to find out what is happening with K-Mart and prices now.

- visit a K-Mart store before your scheduled audit. Notice where things are, generally. If you were conducting an audit at this time, would you be able to move more or less efficiently through the store? For example, if the store has a fitting room, would you remember to evaluate it when you are checking prices in a nearby department? How close to or far away from price signs do you need to be in order to see the color coding and other information? You might be able to use this information as you seek items that fit the requested categories in the survey. If the audits have not changed substantially, you might now think to yourself: 'Great! There are at least three shop-your-way signs in the kids' clothing area. Twenty feet beyond those racks are fitting rooms that I can evaluate on the way to the nearby infants' department. As we work, I can notice the distances between racks and aisles. Is there enough space for a wheelchair to pass between fixtures? After we finish our work in the infants' department, we will be near sporting goods. In that department, there may be multiple end cap items, some items from the current flyer, and a register to evaluate for ADA purposes.' This fictional path through an example store may vary from your route in a real store. End caps are in many departments, as are specials and sales. This is just an opportunity to think about the tasks. If the audits have changed, you would adjust your approach and consider current requirements.

Give yourself a chance.

You can't really call the MSC jerks if the IC agrees to do a job at a certain rate, tries to negotiate a bonus after the fact then cancels. This one does state the 2-3 hours prior to the job being self-assigned.

My advice, don't waste your time going to one of the stores in advance and don't worry too much about hard line versus soft line. During my early days I completed several of these. It is a damn dirty shame the MSC has to race to the bottom with fees. Eight or nine years ago they paid $30 and even then were not worth it. Unless things have changed you complete the audit with a manager and report only the items priced incorrectly. The manager knows what and where the items are so a good one who is available right away can speed up the onsite. Mine were as short as 75 minutes with the worst still under two hours and the report took 10 minutes or less.

Yup, I remember when they paid $30 also. I did two or three of them about 6 or 7 years ago. No more. Not for the fee listed.

I completed some audits in an hour or less. This was possible because I had familiarized myself with the general layout of the stores. I still believe that it is possible to complete them in even less time, under certain conditions: manager is available immediately; customers never need attention; employees never need attention; manager has nothing whatsoever to do that day besides walk through their store with an auditor.

@OP: Please don't be scared away from this or other audits. You will find out soon enough what you like or don't like about this project. You might find something in there that is interesting because of interactions, the business, or the prospect of more audits of various types. Some of us like the audit more than others do. What you think about it after experiencing it for yourself is all that matters. We have done our best. We have provided hints, tips, scare tactics, scorn, and a little hope for the future. We directly addressed your expressed concern about feeling confident in your job performance. I came to this audit with various relevant experiences. You stated that you are new in mystery shopping. You did not state whether you have other experience that can help you to feel confident in your job performance. Now it is up to you to experience it for yourself.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2017 04:26PM by Shop-et-al.

I have not done this audit, but I would never do a shop for $20 that takes hours to shop and report. This maybe a good experience for you. I would start Mystery shopping at a much smaller shop and build up to auditing.

Most of these audits have taken me about an hour and a half to do and another half hour to report. I’ve done about a dozen of these audits and would like to do more but sadly most of the KMart stores in my area have closed. With a good manager you can zip through these since you hand them an item, they scan it, read off the UPC number to write down and check if the price matches the sign or shelf tag. I admit the rate of pay has come down since the first one paid $50

imho, this audit should pay more than $50 at base pay. The shopper is required to set aside a specified amount of time for the on-site portion. Even fast auditors may encounter delays that are beyond their control. It may be difficult or impossible to fill unexpected free time with additional paid work when an audit is finished earlier than anticipated. However, completing the shop at the agreed pay demonstrates integrity. This good work habit might pay off in a good way or the OP. Because the pay is low but getting the experience is good, I strongly recommend that newbies prepare themselves in every possible way for the job.

I totally agree $50 plus should be the base rate. I went on Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 9 and 9:30 so the stores were quiet and the manager's were able to give me their full attention. The best deal I ever got was after the fees had dropped. The job had a bonus bringing it up to $27. The store was one of the freestanding Sears appliance stores which was tiny, well-staffed and had no customers. That one took less than 30 minutes

@a171989

To answer you directly: I would not cancel. Cancelling assignments is a way to get an MSC to no longer want to work with you - it's a pain in the next for them to have to find new shoppers. They keep track of who does what the sign up to do - and who does not. So, there is a limited number of times we can cancel before we simply won't be able to work with a given MSC or scheduler any more. Moreover, those who bail on shops will be far less likely to be offered shops will high bonuses when they become available.

That said, we all have have to do so from time to time. Build your reputation by sticking a few stinkers out. That will buy you the slack you need when you have to cancel.

So I asked them about getting a bonus but they I pretty much agreed to that price when I accepted the job. I can live with that, its fine. You live and you learn. I know the lay out of my Kmart pretty well so I hope it doesn't take too long. Next time I know not to accept anything under $50 for an audit. Now I know $20 isn't worth the stress.