For the years that I've been mystery shopping across the country, I've never shopped the District of Columbia. I accepted a small retail route a couple of weeks ago, and had an interesting perspective from shopping the nation's capital. Here are 12 reasons on what you may experience when mystery shopping Washington, DC:

1. If you can, take the metro rail. I used my car, and could've feasibly taken the rail. Next time, I will.

2. Pentagon City Mall is not Washington, DC. Its close enough, yet depending on your scheduler, they may route other Northern Virginia area/Chevy Chase, MD locations and call it Washington, DC. For a newbie, this may be confusing, if not intimidating.

3. Take the metro rail.

4. Never park your vehicle in Georgetown Park. I was there for less than an hour on a Saturday, and paid $18.00. Absolutely ridiculous, yet convenient. If shopping Georgetown, be prepared to walk several blocks.

5. Read the parking signs at all times. Nothing like seeing someone receive a $300 parking ticket on the weekend, or someone making a left hand turn when the sign says not to make a left hand turn. Don't be surprised to see a DC area cop.

6. Take the metro rail.

7. Cyclists and scooters are everywhere, and seem to own the road. Sadly, they often do.

8. Get used to parallel parking. If you don't know how to do this already, you aren't going to have a good day.

9. Retail locations are either super politely, or supremely rude and hoidy toidy. Don't take it personal- its just the way it is.

10. Be prepared for a protest/parade/large gathering of people at any given time. This is an expectation at all times, even more so during the summer. Pack a lunch.

11. Drivers with diplomat tags do not like you. Don't be annoyed, even if they are.

12. Take the metro rail.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2019 01:09AM by Eric in Tampa.

Ten. Foot. Pole.

I admire all of you who traverse cities like that. Give me small towns in BFE anytime.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2019 02:26AM by TechSavvy.

Plenty of this is true for NYC except that it's not impossible to find street parking and the rates are reasonable (outside Midtown). Oh, and that you can pretty much never make a right on red.

For future city visits, you might want to find companies that have lots of valet shops. You can often leave the car all day while you venture out.

I got my drivers license in Florida and never had to parallel park before moving to this city. The first time I did, it was a 15 passenger van with no assistance. There are some very good tutorials online that simplify the process.

Do you think it would be a good idea to take the metro rail?

Excellent list! I had one MS route in DC a few years ago. Like many here, I have traveled a lot, and that was by far the place I hated driving in the most. The only time I had been there before that was on a family vacation as a preteen, and I just remember walking SO MUCH that day. Now I think it was probably because my parents were aware of the awful driving, parking, etc. situations and wanted to avoid them! We parked somewhere in the outskirts. Anyway, yes, if I ever go back, I will definitely TAKE THE METRO RAIL haha



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2019 07:42AM by RedRose22.

You described DC perfectly! When I worked there, all of my shops were walking distance from work. The metro is much more convenient, cheaper and accessible than trying to park, unless you do a parking shop.

Did you see any sights while you were here?

Because parking is so expensive in central DC, pairing parking shops with other shops is the way to go ! The only MSC whose clients allow the shopper to be reimbursed for more than just an hour of parking has a ton of shops each month. But only 0-5 or so of then ever see the job boards. They greatly prefer to use a cadre of specially trained shoppers for as many shops as those folks can manage every month. The parking shops that require the shopper to leave within 60 minutes provide somewhat more limited chances to walk to other shops and get back in time. Those do not even give the shopper the option to pay the difference between the first hour and the second one.

Local DC area shoppers who become public transit wizards can really clean up on shops in the center city and beyond. The Metro transit system has a great web site, accessible by phone, with real time "next bus" arrival times. My housemate who does not drive finds it very reliable. And, the bus system allows users of the trip-card to get off, make a shop visit and board a later bus, even on a different line if it all happens within 2 hours, as I recall.

DC and the metro area also have traffic enforcement cameras for red lights, speed, and stop signs.

Metropolitan cities like that are almost always served better by public transport. I can't drive for medical reasons and I've relied on public transportation for most of my life. No worries about parking, traffic (unless it's a bus of course) and you can read, do your reports, etc while someone else drives. I have done shops in DC, Philly, NYC and didn't have a car for any of them, just relied on public transport and it was great.

This list, except for the bits about public transport, is true for LA also...ah but not the walking from shop to shop...very difficult as the city is so huge and spread out and public transport leaves a lot to be desired. Downtown shops might be easier for public transport but downtown is only a small fraction of LA. As for the watching for shops not in the metro area I see shops here listed all the time using the street name as the city name. So if the shop is on xyz ave it will say it is a shop in xyz city. Anyone not familiar might book that shop as they plan to be near that city and then will find out it is not at all there.

Something Eric did not mention:

The District is divided into 4 grids: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast. The street letters run one way and the street numbers (as in 4th St.) intersect them. There can be a 4th and M St. in all four grids. Some MSCs don't know to put the full address: 4th and M, SE.

And always take the metro.

I have to admit, I am loving all the references to Metro... My maternal grandfather had a major role in its design and development.... If anybody cares, here's the Wikipedia article about him.. [en.wikipedia.org]

That is very cool @MFJohnston! He had quite a service history!