Chili's
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I did this yesterday. Though I felt awkward taking the pics it wasn't too horrible and I didn't notice anyone even paying attention to me. Mine was set up really divided so getting a panoramic type shot of the dining room was impossible so I took five and sent all. For me I had a Dr apt close to there and this is absolutely the shortest report I've seen with this company so I was glad to go by myself had a nice steak with shrimp and drink. With tip it was 26.05 report took 10 minutes 
I totally agree, If the MSC Requires you to look like an idiot, Stand up and take the picture!!@macrophage wrote:
Concern about remembering or being caught?@plmccut wrote:
The picture that would cause me the most concern is the table AFTER you have eaten and are ready to leave.
At that point I don’t care what the staff think about me.
Has anybody stood outside the drive-through's and taking pictures of the menu boards with any Mystery Shopping company? Those are pretty obvious that I'm shopper. Who would ever stand outside a drive-through and take pictures of the menu board. I think I had to take 12 pictures.
@MScat wrote:
Has anybody stood outside the drive-through's and taking pictures of the menu boards with any Mystery Shopping company? Those are pretty obvious that I'm shopper. Who would ever stand outside a drive-through and take pictures of the menu board. I think I had to take 12 pictures.
Many times over the years. And have been paid for every single one of those assignments without any issue. If the MSC's client want those pictures and I can agree to their terms, count me in.
Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.
@Johannams wrote:
The scheduler in my area is presenting these as "premium" shops and is pairing them with pizza shops. I'm curious to see if we receive emails begging for them to be completed later in the month/year.
I just accepted one because they were offering a $20 bonus to get it done tonight. The strange thing is that these shops never showed up in the Events list for me and I could only see it through the link in their email. So of course no one's going to do it if they can't even see it! Meanwhile, I get 10 emails a day for the pizza shops I can't even do again for a few months because of their stupidly long buffers between shops.
I'm reading through the guidelines now, and this is so stupid. Why do these companies think using your phone at the table will give you away as a mystery shopper? Pretty sure everyone who eats alone uses the phone a ton at the table. And yet, they want you to stand up to get a picture of your table as soon as food is delivered. Because "it's for Yelp" will totally satisfy anyone who asks. I guess I need to dig out an actual book to do my "I'm just reading, not watching everything" act since I can't use the Kindle app.
@JaimeK wrote:
Don't accept these shops! They are low-balling you on the numbers. Similar shops reimburse at least that much if not more and pay at least a $15 fee. When they people don't sign up, they will give a reasonable rate.
Similar shops are coincidentally have longer reports....
Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.
I just completed a doughnut shop recently and there was no way I could get a picture of the menu board without standing in the drive thru lane to take the picture. The assignment said to pull into the business lot next door and take the picture, which I tried, however the menu board was blocked by a row of hedges. I had to wait for the drive thru lane to empty then I hopped out of my car and quickly took the picture. There was no way i was going to have my shop invalidated for no pictures.
Has anyone tried the Cherry Blossom margarita - it's the margarita of the month. Deeeelicious.
Kim
I have done this shop as well. Every time I have to try to discretely take those photos I swear I will never do them again...but I have....@Cricut157 wrote:
I just completed a doughnut shop recently and there was no way I could get a picture of the menu board without standing in the drive thru lane to take the picture. The assignment said to pull into the business lot next door and take the picture, which I tried, however the menu board was blocked by a row of hedges. I had to wait for the drive thru lane to empty then I hopped out of my car and quickly took the picture. There was no way i was going to have my shop invalidated for no pictures.
I think the secret is out on the simplicity of the reporting for the dinner version of these shops. So, I see these are either marked to be hidden (and used by schedulers as mentioned) or all taken except for the lunch version. I don't agree with pairing of shops in general, but the method is allowed. The rotation is a few months, so it might be hard to get enough people as indicated after a cycle or two.
The fast service pizza shop actually has only a 31 day rotation, but is marked longer to avoid emails to shoppers. However, I am not a big fan of these shops. The guideline is 12 pages which explains everything wrong with that pizza shop. I am not saying they are hard, but yes, they are much harder than many other higher value shops.
The fast service pizza shop actually has only a 31 day rotation, but is marked longer to avoid emails to shoppers. However, I am not a big fan of these shops. The guideline is 12 pages which explains everything wrong with that pizza shop. I am not saying they are hard, but yes, they are much harder than many other higher value shops.
The pizza shop for the same MSC that has Chili's is absolutely horrendous. I grabbed one last month because they were offering a total fee of $18, but then I spent more than half an hour just filling out the report. They wanted narrative to explain pretty much every single question. I'll never do that one again unless the fee is at least $25. Meanwhile, another MSC has a different pizza shop that is pretty much a clone restaurant with a much easier report; but of course they start it at $11 with no reimbursement, which barely covers the pizza and a small drink.
I did this shop last week and had no problems. Hopefully they will have this shop again
@ShopGuy9 wrote:
Meanwhile, another MSC has a different pizza shop that is pretty much a clone restaurant with a much easier report; but of course they start it at $11 with no reimbursement, which barely covers the pizza and a small drink.
There is yet another fast make your own pizza chain another MSC does that gives you a $15 reimbursement and $10 payment. It also allows you to get a pie rise pizza or an entree salad. The timings are also not to the second, and you typically only deal with 1 or 2 employees the entire time. It makes the 12 page guidelines one look absolutely ridiculous.
Yes, great company and nice employees, but I get questions about some store shops with them. I might try Chilis@Insight wrote:
I did one last night. Stood up to take the entree picture at the end of the table. Pretending to be taking a pix of my friend, The one at the end of the meal, I took from the corner of the booth showing what was left on the table. ORdering the 2 for $22 and one drink. with the tip it was $31.50 The server did not chatrge for the coffee and the cup was clearly shown in the picture,
I like this MSC, but almost always the editor has a question or two for my to respond to.
That's funny...I waited tables all my life, I tip big. But some MSC do say to only leave 15%@SoCalMama wrote:
@roflwofl wrote:
Depends on what you order. I did a lunch shop and took a guest. We both ordered the 3 for 10 special. The food bill was $21.60 with tax. I tipped $3.40. Total = $25.
I'd die if you left that tip with me. $3.40 for a full meal? You couldn't leave a full $4? (Beverage, app, and entree deserves more then $3.40 regardless of how cheap the food is. IMO)
I leave $2 per drink at the bar. Do you live in a low COLA area?
That's funny...I waited tables all my life, I tip big. But some MSC do say to only leave 15%@SoCalMama wrote:
@roflwofl wrote:
Depends on what you order. I did a lunch shop and took a guest. We both ordered the 3 for 10 special. The food bill was $21.60 with tax. I tipped $3.40. Total = $25.
I'd die if you left that tip with me. $3.40 for a full meal? You couldn't leave a full $4? (Beverage, app, and entree deserves more then $3.40 regardless of how cheap the food is. IMO)
I leave $2 per drink at the bar. Do you live in a low COLA area?
I forced myself to go out of my comfort zone and took one of these shops. I took my 16 year old daughter with me, and that was probably the biggest mistake right there. Her food was cold and had to be sent back, so she ate half of my plate while she waited. I took four photos before sending the food back, and included them all in my report. Trying to take the overhead shot was painful. I was already uncomfortable putting myself out there like that, but I was absolutely mortified when my daughter whisper/shouted "What are you doooooing??!" I wanted to crawl into a hole. The dining room picture had to be taken at an odd angle from near the entrance, but I got it without being noticed by the staff. There were plenty of stares from diners at nearby tables though. By the time I took the last photo of the table I didn't even care. I took the photo standing in the aisle. The report took 10-15 minutes to complete on my phone. Two days later I received an email saying the client had accepted my shop, and that I did a great job. Until this shop I had shied away from doing certain shops that required photos, for fear of being caught or having a report invalidated for poor picture quality. After this, I figure I can do just about anything.
As someone who has 20 and 23 year old daughters, I can totally relate to her comment. Next time just give her a heads up beforehand. My younger daughter is the best at taking photos casually as the younger set takes photos all the time. Make it a fun mom and daughter adventure. She might surprise you by actually helping if you clue her in before you go...
@AnneAshley wrote:
As someone who has 20 and 23 year old daughters, I can totally relate to her comment. Next time just give her a heads up beforehand. My younger daughter is the best at taking photos casually as the younger set takes photos all the time. Make it a fun mom and daughter adventure. She might surprise you by actually helping if you clue her in before you go...
This wasn’t our first time out together. She accompanies me on most of the food trips, and she’s my look out when I need a second pair of eyes. I asked her to take the picture because she’s younger and no one would pay any attention. She wouldn’t do it because there was no way of being discreet. I don’t think she thought I’d actually kneel on the seat to get a better view.
I was worried about that same photo, and to make things worse they sat me right next to the servers station where they input orders and processed payments. I was kind of surprised none of them even gave me a second look when I stood up to take my photos.
@ShopGuy9 wrote:
The strange thing is that these shops never showed up in the Events list for me and I could only see it through the link in their email. So of course no one's going to do it if they can't even see it!
This MSC assigns a rating to each shopper. They assign a corresponding rating to each shop. A shopper can only see shops that are at or below their rating. If you couldn't see the shops before it's because your rating was low. They offered the shop only because it was crunch time and they had to have the shop done.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I did not know that this company had a rating. Before this one I had done about four shops for them.
How will I find out my rating?
How will I find out my rating?
They won't tell you. I refer to it as their Super Secret Rating.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I think the overhead picture would be easier with a guest. I also found a table easier than a booth. Just stand as if you are trying to take a picture of your guest at a slightly greater distance and then angle done to get the table. As anyone not had a shop accepted of the overhead table shot where it was at a slight angle? I’m guessing they will be accepting pictures at an angle as long as they show the entire table before eating.
The same way you get high scores with any other MSC, of course. Turn in a well-written report on time, making sure to follow every guideline. I don't know why they won't reveal your shopper rating, but the rating itself is partially to protect you. It ensures high-end shops go to shoppers who are likely to be successful with them. Otherwise, many people would end up eating the cost of their rejected shops.
@Isaiah4031a wrote:
How do you get the rating high?
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