How do you group together mystery shops?
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Think of it as running multiple errands in one day: run to the bank, go pay the cable bill, stop in for lunch, do a little shopping at the mall. And, if the dates don't match up perfectly, ask the scheduler if the shop can be done - earlier is usually easer than later... You'll be fine.
Sometimes I will throw a long list into www.batchgeo.com to get a visual feel. It's better to copy the data into a spreadsheet first and clean up any obvious errors. You also want to add a header and validate the settings before mapping.
Most often, I just throw things together using what I already know about the area. Working an unfamiliar area always always takes longer. So branching out is something I do as an investment. Sometimes it is easier to skip something that's closer for another along a more direct route (train, bus, or even driving a major road).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2019 06:35PM by 1cent.
Most often, I just throw things together using what I already know about the area. Working an unfamiliar area always always takes longer. So branching out is something I do as an investment. Sometimes it is easier to skip something that's closer for another along a more direct route (train, bus, or even driving a major road).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2019 06:35PM by 1cent.
LOL, 1cent! Good suggestions for you youngsters, but not old tech dinosaurs like me!!!
What I do: I find an "anchor shop" -- i.e., one (usually highly bonused) shop that will make the trip worthwhile.
Then I check the job boards, like PrestoInstaMaps, to find other shops on the way there, right around there, or on the way back. For example, maybe my "anchor" shop is a big box store 130 miles from home. Wait a sec -- there's a fast food shop in the same town. And a valet shop -- yippee, my parking's paid for! And the post office is a block from the valet parking shop; do I have a package prepped? Yes, I do!
And there's a gas station on the correct side of the interstate on the way there....and another one on the way back! Yippee!
Or say I want to go to the casino and spend the night (not a shop). There's a couple FF shops on the way there I know I can get $25 each for.....and 5 more gas stations! Casino outing paid for.
And it gets a lot easier as you do this....you learn which companies have shops you like, and where those shops are. This is knowledge only time and experience will give you.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2019 07:06PM by ceasesmith.
What I do: I find an "anchor shop" -- i.e., one (usually highly bonused) shop that will make the trip worthwhile.
Then I check the job boards, like PrestoInstaMaps, to find other shops on the way there, right around there, or on the way back. For example, maybe my "anchor" shop is a big box store 130 miles from home. Wait a sec -- there's a fast food shop in the same town. And a valet shop -- yippee, my parking's paid for! And the post office is a block from the valet parking shop; do I have a package prepped? Yes, I do!
And there's a gas station on the correct side of the interstate on the way there....and another one on the way back! Yippee!
Or say I want to go to the casino and spend the night (not a shop). There's a couple FF shops on the way there I know I can get $25 each for.....and 5 more gas stations! Casino outing paid for.
And it gets a lot easier as you do this....you learn which companies have shops you like, and where those shops are. This is knowledge only time and experience will give you.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2019 07:06PM by ceasesmith.
fyi, if you can use this message board, you can use a spreadsheet and batchgeo. I am not saying that you need to use it, but I wouldn't want anyone to be put off by the idea that it is overly complicated.
LOL. You assume too much. I don't even know what they are.
And I have to use the few remaining grey cells I have for important stuff -- like remembering my phone number!
And I have to use the few remaining grey cells I have for important stuff -- like remembering my phone number!
My extreme familiarity with my territory makes it pretty easy for me to route shops. I also have shops that I can routinely route, as I have been grouping them together for awhile now. For example, if I see a bonused cell phone shop in a town 13 miles away, I already know that I can probably add a grocery shop, several choices of fast food shops, a couple of gas stations and maybe even a merchandising job or two if I check my apps. I often clear anywhere from $75-100+ in a day this way. I go somewhere and spend the day there shopping. My advice is to sign up with lots of companies, do lots of shops and the rest will come naturally. It's our nature to make things as efficient as possible.
I don't do a lot of groups because in my area, you can maybe set up 2 or 3 shops in the same shopping mall, etc but not a lot of opportunities. However, I generally go to a city about an hour from me and try to get as many shops as possible in that city. I know who pays the most and I self assign what I can with them. If there are any that I have to apply for, I make a note and if I don't hear back in a timely manner, I cancel the application. Once you know where the base of your shops available are, the easier it is to group shops together. I make most of my money that one day in a nearby city because I cram as much as I can in that day and I can walk to every place that I pick.
Start with an area that you're familiar with and just start building. Once you know who has shops on a regular basis, book the highest paid shop and then see if you can add some more. You don't have to have 20 do make it worth while, you just have to prepare yourself for the group, not only doing them, but the paperwork involved after.
Start with an area that you're familiar with and just start building. Once you know who has shops on a regular basis, book the highest paid shop and then see if you can add some more. You don't have to have 20 do make it worth while, you just have to prepare yourself for the group, not only doing them, but the paperwork involved after.
Shopping the South Jersey Shore
Big city dweller here. Right now I live in Los Angeles where traffic and parking when it is even available is awful and public transport is sorely lacking but I grew up in NY where no one drove unless absolutely necessary but the public transport was wonderful. So, you need to assess the how to get there and where to go with the least issues in your own city. LA is not on a grid so there are no straight lines to get from here to there. I take that into consideration. There is also no downtown except the very downtown downtown and there parking would cost more than I would likely earn. And walking from one location to another in LA since it is so spread out means unless you are finding all your shops in a big mall it is nearly impossible to schedule a bunch of easy to travel to and from shops.
So my strategy is to use my knowledge of the different parts of the city and avoid any parts where I know there is mostly permit parking or only costly parking garage parking unless I can score a parking job there. I have google earthed many an address to actually look at a pic of the streets and see if cars are parked and zoom in and move the camera to see if I can see what the signs say. Then I will pick one location where I think I can find the most close by shops and then see what I can find on the way there or back that does not require a long time and $$ to find a parking spot or detours of more than a mile. Your city may not have the issues of my city so this might not be helpful for you. I also have never done a day with more than 4 shops and a visit somewhere I needed to go personally but I do think all the driving and parking would make me crazy with more stops. I do not like shopping retail in malls so for me that is out. Public transport in this city would take me all day to get from A to B unless I was lucky enough to find shops on the same bus or train line but hopping off and on public transport would end up being costly too. I also have to avoid driving in rush hour...most of the day... if I want to get anywhere quickly. Another discouragement from doing more than 3 or 4 shops in a day.
I know this sounds discouraging. Signing up for many msc will be the best bet to do this as others have said.
So my strategy is to use my knowledge of the different parts of the city and avoid any parts where I know there is mostly permit parking or only costly parking garage parking unless I can score a parking job there. I have google earthed many an address to actually look at a pic of the streets and see if cars are parked and zoom in and move the camera to see if I can see what the signs say. Then I will pick one location where I think I can find the most close by shops and then see what I can find on the way there or back that does not require a long time and $$ to find a parking spot or detours of more than a mile. Your city may not have the issues of my city so this might not be helpful for you. I also have never done a day with more than 4 shops and a visit somewhere I needed to go personally but I do think all the driving and parking would make me crazy with more stops. I do not like shopping retail in malls so for me that is out. Public transport in this city would take me all day to get from A to B unless I was lucky enough to find shops on the same bus or train line but hopping off and on public transport would end up being costly too. I also have to avoid driving in rush hour...most of the day... if I want to get anywhere quickly. Another discouragement from doing more than 3 or 4 shops in a day.
I know this sounds discouraging. Signing up for many msc will be the best bet to do this as others have said.
OP It would help to know what area your located in and how far your willing to travel if you can stay over a night or more or if you need to be out and back home the same day. If you can spend the whole day shopping or if you only have part of the day. I can give you some strategies based on this but the typical grab an anchor large paying shop and add filler shops is the best advice.
Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.
I just use a mapping program. I have found Mapquest to be better than GoogleMaps can hold more stops
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