How much work is the Barnes and Noble shop, cafe drink required.

Hi, I just came across a Barnes and Noble shop..very excited at first..this is right up my alley..may'be a 5 minute drive for me and I absolutely LOVE BOOKSTORES..Only catch I'm seeing is it's only a 5 dollar reimbursement for a cafe drink, but stating 0 dollars for the job fee?? I might do it if it only requires a couple of pics and brief summary on the bathroom. Other thing that is bothering me is they don't show the guidelines for this one, so automatic bells going off to stay away from this one. Just wanted to check if it really is just a very easy shop or if it is a difficult shop disguised as easy..

Shopping Idaho and Oregon/Idaho border region.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

I believe we are talking about the same MSC: I did this one but there was a $5 fee (only reason I considered it). Usually no fee...so a big turn off but one day they had a fee attached. You have to go to the associate and ask about a book that is no longer carried (you pick from a list) then you have to go to the different departments and request help. When you have done all your departments, you go to the café and order what is required (I think it was a pastry and a drink) you get the names of the associates in the café, you sit down and I don't remember how long you sit....maybe 10 minutes.

I would not do this one again without at least a $10 fee.

It took some time to go to each department and try to find an associate. They don't want you to use each associate more than once, so that became a problem when they were low on staff. There might be more to this shop (restroom) but I don't remember. Either way, it is NOT worth no fee for all you need to do.

I remember another book store chain and that one I loved.

Different MSC....I got $10 fee and $5 for the café. You only needed to check the restroom and browse, asking for help one time. My fav but this book store chain closed, sadly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2018 10:36AM by SunnyDays2.

I did it a year ago so guidelines might have changed.... but cafe purchase is reimbursed while book store purchase is NOT reimbursed, and it's hard to find something cheap at B&N. I bought a chocolate bar that turned out to be $3. Did it for a bonused fee of $10... would do it for $15 or $20 now that I know what's involved.

I did it for $20. The above posters are correct about the interactions and reimbursement. Café is reimbursed. Book store purchase is not. I found a greeting card for $2.50. Next time I might ask for $25 so I could use $5 toward purchase. I had trouble too finding different associates to interact with also. In addition to asking about a book from the list they provide, you had to have an interaction with someone in a couple of different departments, café (purchase) and cashier (purchase). I would definitely not do it for no fee.

Kim

I did this job twice. Once for $15 and once for $20 plus reimbursement both times. I recall making a small beverage purchase in the cafe because the reimbursement would not cover anything else. One time I found a tiny notepad on the clearance table that only ended up costing me about $0.75 over the reimbursement. The other time I purchased a book and returned it. I also recall taking a photo of the exterior in addition to all the inside requirements. This job is absolutely not worth anything less than $15 - $20 plus reimbursements.

Note that if you buy a book you can return it right away.

Thanks everyone..figured there was more to it...I will be keeping my eye on it though to see if they bump it up between 15 to 25 dollars..this msc is notorious for their low fees though so we will see

Shopping Idaho and Oregon/Idaho border region.

@dawnhu wrote:

Thanks everyone..figured there was more to it...I will be keeping my eye on it though to see if they bump it up between 15 to 25 dollars..this msc is notorious for their low fees though so we will see

I forgot to add: I did end up buying a shopping bag (purple) as it was required to make a small purchase. (hard to find anything for under $5 bucks but that bag was like $1.99)..This shop is not going to fly doing it for FREE and just being reimbursed only...too much work..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2018 11:50PM by SunnyDays2.

IF you do not love books and bookstores, this shop will be torture for you. If you love books and bookstores, you can get a few bucks for doing just a little more than your beloved hobby.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

I love burgers, but I wouldn't go to Five Guys if the fee was $0 and the reimbursement covered the burger but not the fries and drink.

I love books and would shop at any bookstore at any time-- and that is possible only in my wildest dreams. By the time I get near a shopped store, it is already late in my day. I would love to begin a bookstore shop early, enjoy it, and then report about it. Some shops should be completed early in my day.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Way too much work for the standard of no fee and $5 for the cafe. Right now they have bumped the fee up to about $6. I only take it if it goes over $10. I have a gift card for the store with about $18 on it so I can buy something I would actually want. But this is a PITA with different scenarios, departments, associates, etc.

There was an easy coffee-and-pastry shop I did a couple of years ago in the bookstore that replaced my local Borders. Small fee, but a reimbursement that covered the purchase. I think the program's been discontinued, though, as I haven't seen it since just a few months after the first one showed up. I love bookstores, so this was disappointing.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

You can return the bookstore purchase. And if you can't find anyone in a specific department, just go back to the person who helped you previously and ask if there's anyone in that department. They will offer to help you, on the report just explain there was no one else available.

I've done this shop twice, once with a $5 fee and the other with a $15 fee (make an offer)
And fyi: you can always email help desk and offer a price for a shop. I've done it a few times and half the times my offer was accepted.

Doing this for just the reimbursement is downright silly. Maybe if the evaluation was only the cafe, but it includes several interactions in the bookstore plus the cafe. I took one at $11 only because I planned on going to pick up a book anyway. For that price I would not have gone out of pocket purchasing a trinket or been bothered with a return. Between my member discount and the fee, a new release I wanted ended up costing me about $5.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

I wouldn't do it again. I did it with a fee of $7 and $5 reimbursement in the cafe. It was a lot of work for very little pay, and you need to do so many interactions (two with floor associates, one with the cafe cashier, and another with the bookstore cashier) so it wasn't worth it for me. I have never regretted doing any shops, but this is one I think back on and know it wasn't worth it.

I've done it once. It was the "make an offer" feature and they must have been desperate because they accepted my $35 offer. I've offered the same a few times since then and been turned down. I would do it for $25...the one in my area is way across town and not worth the drive without a substantial fee.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2018 06:26AM by JASFLALMT.

Location, location, location. Mine is less than two miles away. It is also across the street from Trader Joe's and around the corner from my local grocery store which means I pass by it several times a week.

For the record, they sell the daily newspaper if you want something cheap and don't want to make a return. The couple times I did it (because it is within walking distance and had a decent fee), I scheduled it for Sunday so I could get the weekly coupons from the paper.

I did it once long ago before the current shop. It does sound like the same shop though. My local store does not have a cafe so they pay $5 and i have never seen it go above. If I want to browse the bookstore I will forfeit the $5 minus what I purchase and the longish report that is required. My local sells postcards which are around a dollar with tax.

The one time I did the shop there weren't any associates in a couple of the departments. After spending the required time in each I was able to move on.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

I have a Barnes and Noble in my town and I drive by at least 1x a day. I've never taken the shop here because my time is worth much more than the fee.

As much as I like bookstores I don't think that it is worth the time that I have to spend there. For me it was not a quick in and out shop. The ones that I have completed have two floors.

I am waiting for the next exciting opportunity!

Fee is up to $7.50 in my area. They must be getting desperate! LOL.

This is not even minimum wage if you count time to read the guidelines, perform the shop, and do the report.

Trying to learn from all of these rockstars.

I made $10 but it still was not worth my time.

I am waiting for the next exciting opportunity!

How is it even possible to get $15 or $20 for this shop?? I've been shopping this MSC for 15 years and I have rarely received even a small bonus. Must be too many shoppers in my area!

Shopping domestic and international locations since 2003.

B & N needs to switch to the receipt and customer feedback system. Their best in-store customers probably do more than this shop requires just because this is what they do! Some of us love this environment and context? Why fiddle around with five, ten, or a few dollars more for a mystery shopper fee and get people who don't like the context? Instead, why not use the actual B & N peeps for feedback about what we-- the people who actually give a damn-- want and will pay for in future? End of rant. Putting soap box away and going to work now. Must earn money for books. And cuppas.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

For the same reason any business would use mystery shoppers, objective feedback using consistent metrics.

Unwilling, considering the shop a pita or underpaid, and other responses are as biased as giving a damn.

Are you reading this, B & N?

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2018 10:54PM by Shop-et-al.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

How much work is the Barnes and Noble shop, cafe drink required.

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine