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Overthinking shops....

February 04, 2018 01:50PM
Do you ever overthink a shop, get all nervous about doing it, then realize, after the fact, you spent too much time fretting about it?

I did a roadside assistance shop recently. There are a ton of timings and detailed questions, and I was stressing about it. Would I remember the timings and be able to jot them down as I went, before the service truck arrived? Would I remember what music was playing in the background when I made the phone call? Would the provider give me an invoice or would I have to take a photo of the truck? (I'd done one a couple of years ago, but it was a different scenario and easier.)

It went fine, but I would have had a problem with the timings if I hadn't been able to jot them down while waiting, because my lap timer erased my times before I could save them. But now I'm mad at myself because I see I made a few typos in the report, and I hope I won't get my hand slapped by the editor. Anyway, my worrying was wasted!

What do you fret about, and do you find you didn't need to? Or, conversely, what don't you worry about and then find you should have?

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
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February 04, 2018 04:33PM
Guess I've been doing this too long to really "fret" over what will be. I've had a few that didn't turn out due to the Editor's fussy ways. The answer to your question is no, I just like to live in a more spontaneous way, go do it and let the chips fall into place. I pretty much know (by now) what I'm getting into, have cut out the unfair bullish MSC's and really work for those i've built relationship with, and are fair. Although my complaint is they all seem to have a rotation where they didn't up to a couple years ago, so I do less due to that. I'm lucky to be retired and able to control what jobs I take......that's why I'm still working now and then.

Live consciously....


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2018 04:55PM by Irene_L.A..
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February 04, 2018 04:54PM
I frustrate myself because I've been doing this for several years (although I don't have near the experience that many here do), and I feel like I shouldn't get "jitters." I wish I could be as spontaneous and have a more mellow approach.... Maybe some day! Shops I do on a regular basis don't faze me, but when I get a new one, I worry about doing it right.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
Reply
February 04, 2018 05:01PM
I think priorities have to be in place. I have bigger worries health, aging, staying vital and missing my daughter (although she's fine). I am mellow by nature, take things in stride, except when someone does me wrong, but, with the worries of the world, seeing if employees smile will be last on my list...smiling smiley

Live consciously....
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February 04, 2018 05:24PM
I overthink everything, and that includes shops!

Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994. I am an undercover connoisseur of customer service, a master of disguise in the aisles, and a sworn enemy of subpar experiences. I blend in, observe, and report—because excellence should never be a mystery.
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February 04, 2018 06:34PM
I just about do all of my shops as I would if I wasn't a shopper. I always prepare myself with the Guidelines and make sure if I have any questions I contact my scheduler. I have been shopping for so long that it is part of my day. If I have a shop in a grocery store, I use this time to pick-up anything I need. If I'm shopping a bank, I make a deposit or withdrawal from my account. If I'm at a restaurant, my little note pad that I carry is invaluable with the timing. I don't worry about the server, food, cost, everything is on the receipt. I am comfortable with Senior Living and apartments because I did this for my sister and mother. I owned a business, so the banking is really easy. I have had loans, Equity's, business accounts, retail, wholesale, for the past 40 years, lots of experience.
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February 04, 2018 08:04PM
Yes, I overthink them all the time.

But then I read here a shop was denied because someone asked about a patio heater instead of an outdoor heater and that makes me worry I am not overthinking enough!

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer
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February 04, 2018 11:17PM
I think back on shops I performed incorrectly, mostly over not fully reading guidelines every time thus falling into bad habits. Better to be over prepared than under.

My posts are solely based on my opinions and for my entertainment, contact a professional if you need real advice.

When you get in debt you become a slave. - Andrew Jackson
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February 04, 2018 11:54PM
@isaiah58 wrote:

I think back on shops I performed incorrectly, mostly over not fully reading guidelines every time thus falling into bad habits. Better to be over prepared than under.

Definitely, but my problem is that I prepare like a fiend and still fret!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
Reply
February 05, 2018 01:47AM
BirdyC,

I can relate. I deal with this as if it were mild test anxiety. I pre-read, I study, I take notes, I study some more, and eventually I take the test. I mean, eventually, I complete the shop. I am an excellent test taker. Based upon your posts, I would guess that you are, too. Good luck! smiling smiley

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)
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February 05, 2018 01:55AM
@Shop-et-al wrote:

BirdyC,

I can relate. I deal with this as if it were mild test anxiety. I pre-read, I study, I take notes, I study some more, and eventually I take the test. I mean, eventually, I complete the shop. I am an excellent test taker. Based upon your posts, I would guess that you are, too. Good luck! smiling smiley

Thank you for that perspective. It helps. I am a pretty good test taker, because I study and prepare, and finally get to the point where if I don't know it now, I never will, so stop studying and just take the danged test! By then I'm not nervous about it.

Never thought to look at mystery shopping that way. I'll have to tell myself, "If you don't know it by now, you never will, so just do it."

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
Reply
February 05, 2018 04:04AM
Don’t beat yourself up! I am an analytical person by nature there really isn’t much fighting it. I definitely overthink things almost all the time so I overthink my shops too... It’s funny because everyone that knows me thinks I’m very mellow and laid back, all of my overthinking is all in my head, I guess I’m good at keeping it from showing somehow.
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February 05, 2018 10:21AM
I overthink new shops/guidelines. I guess that's partly with age since I'm older with some experience. Used to fret alot during the acceptance period for reports. Now, it's okay when I didn't get 100% right on reports which does not happen often. I don't fret when instructed to ask for a very specific wording of a product instead of something else. At least I'll admit I made the mistake and make sure it doesn't happen again when I do the next round.
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February 05, 2018 12:28PM
I recently did my first gas station audit for a company that it seems many people here like. It took me a few tries to pass the certification test, and the guidelines were about 50 pages of various materials. I was a nervous wreck that I would miss something. I kept saying to myself "the people on the forum LOVE these shops, there must be something good about them." I thought it would take hours and be very time consuming, but once I went to the gas station and saw that it was a small store with only a few pumps, I breathed a sigh of relief. I took pictures of absolutely everything I could and returned home fairly confident that I had done a good job. Fretted for nothing smiling smiley
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February 05, 2018 08:10PM
I am a relatively new shopper, and most everything freaks me out. When you mentioned taking pictures at the gas station shop - my stomach turned! I worry about someome seeing me taking pictures, coming over to me and saying "What are you doing, what are you taking pictures of?" Hopefuly I will get over that fear soon.
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February 05, 2018 11:19PM
Birdy????? ...fainting

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
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February 06, 2018 05:25PM
@HonnyBrown wrote:

Birdy????? ...fainting

LOL!

Pretty much was doing no mystery shopping since June of last year due to picking up a labor-intensive freelance client and working seven days/week (at just my freelance business and my vintage business) for months. But getting back into it bit by bit. Back to having three jobs. At least I'm not bored! smiling smiley

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
Reply
February 08, 2018 02:06PM
Welcome back Birdie! I always get the jitters on a new shop or even a new location. I did a gas station/convenience store shop last month that was after work. Usually, I do breakfast or lunch. This was dinner and it was during rush hour. I was jittery.

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