It used to be with another company pre-Covid. I got an email today for two locations.

Seems like you answered your own question.

Not necessarily. The new company may be trying to land the BJ's account with test shops.

@kenasch wrote:

Seems like you answered your own question.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2021 07:08PM by BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz.

I got an email today about a job with the pre covid company. Unfortunately only one location was listed and it is not near me. Maybe next month? or in a few days?

Interesting! I wonder whether BJ's switched to a different company pre-Covid and I was/am just clueless.

@BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz wrote:

Interesting! I wonder whether BJ's switched to a different company pre-Covid and I was/am just clueless.

I didn't get the recent email(s) but a search of my mail showed the company that I did these shops with before, as recently as 2018. I also saw that I did these thru a scheduling company in 2011 but it was for a Sassie Company that no longer does mystery shops. I do see locations in California for the current shops so thanks for the heads up. I will be checking for them regularly now.

IIRC, I shopped BJ's restaurants for the company that now does merchandising and for a large company that often offers lower prices on the phone than on its website. I think I also shopped BJ's for a third company but I don't remember which one. It's not worth it to me to go through all my record because they are on different computers and hard drives.

Pre-Covid they were with a company that does not use Sassie and currently only shows self-storage facility shops, at least in my area.

Hi all! I am the scheduler for the BJ's shops (if that helps narrow it down at all ????). We have started them this month, but they are only shopping about 25% of the locations to start. Of course, we are all helpful it will continue to grow back to 100% soon!

@krattner wrote:

Hi all! I am the scheduler for the BJ's shops (if that helps narrow it down at all ????). We have started them this month, but they are only shopping about 25% of the locations to start. Of course, we are all helpful it will continue to grow back to 100% soon!

Just dine-in dining room shops, or are the bar shops, to-go shops, etc. coming back as well?

To be honest I’m not sure. Hopefully they all come back!

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2022 03:48AM by zaccari33.

Not stupid at all.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2022 03:47AM by zaccari33.

@zaccari33 wrote:

explain?
1st there are constant discussions about coyle, like the name is even in the title of the thread. there is a casino shop thread where they mention 4 different companies. so the rules are only followed half the time. and also why would it even matter? what company was bj's on and which company do you think they are switching too. what is this secrecy for?

The thread on casinos can name the mystery shopping companies because it does not say the names of the particular casinos (client) in the thread.

For instance you couldn't say HSBrands shops Stardust Casino (doesn't exist anymore) in the same thread. Because Stardust would be the client of HSBrands. However, you could mention HSBrands and casino, in the generic, because it doesn't name the client.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2022 03:47AM by zaccari33.

Just got a notification that BJ's has been canceled for November in many cities. Suppose to resume in December!

If you read the agreements that you signed with the MSCs, you will find that you agreed to keep everything confidential. The owner of this website enforces the rule that we can not list the MSC and the client in the same thread. Both of those are reasons why. The site rule actually saves each of us from violating our agreements with the MSCs.

@zaccari33 wrote:

WHY? what is the point of this rule?

Most mystery shopping independent contractor agreements I know of have provisions that require shoppers to keep certain information confidential. Client lists/identities are usually included in the types of information shoppers agree to keep private.

You don't have to like it but you have to honor that agreement if you wish to shop for most MSCs.

As to why the rule exists, it is an attempt by MSCs to make it tougher for other MSCs to go after their clients.

Imagine this:

You are the owner of ABC Mystery Shopping Company. A shopper discloses on this forum that XYZ Mystery Shopping Company has the Speedy Black and White Bear restaurant chain as a client. Shoppers post about purchase requirements, the types of shops that are offered, how much each type of shop pays and reimburses, and whether shoppers are taking the shops.

So, you now know Speedy Black and White Bear is spending money on mystery shops even during a pandemic. You also know, from being in the industry, that XYZ Mystery Shopping Company is known for really easy reports. That gives you some idea of what kinds of reports Speedy Black and White Bear would accept. Since you now also know other information about these shops, it makes it easier for you to draft a proposal and approach Speedy Black and White Bear to try to gain it as a client, at XYZ Mystery Shopping Company's expense.

@zaccari33 wrote:

WHY? what is the point of this rule?

yes... owner of ABC is going to on a forum to find out randomly posted info but not just sign up on XYZ themselves(or pay an employee to doit). If you dont believe all these companies are already doing this then you really didnt think this one through.

I do not have such a cynical worldview.

I am sure there are ethically challenged owners who would risk exposure and legal liability, just as I am sure there are ethically challenged shoppers who would wish other shoppers would break their ICAs and disclose which MSCs have what clients.

We see shoppers question, argue about, and break that rule here frequently. Some shoppers here also send other posters direct messages, hoping the latter would break the rule privately.

While it is unlikely for an owner to go on a forum just to find out randomly who shops whom, it is a fact that owners, managers, schedulers, etc. read these forums. We know that because some of them post here.

@zaccari33 wrote:

yes... owner of ABC is going to on a forum to find out randomly posted info but not just sign up on XYZ themselves(or pay an employee to doit). If you dont believe all these companies are already doing this then you really didnt think this one through.

As frustrating as this can be when I crave a certain type of shop or want to specifically go for a certain client, I also like the fact that this creates a barrier to entry for an industry that has NONE if you want to find work. So many people say that they would love to mystery shop and do all of these things but to be honest almost none are willing to put in the work to even sign up for the companies. There is a lot of advice about how to find all of the shops and at its basic level it is to sign up for all of the companies. Sorry if that is too much work for some but I would rather not have competition to take shops anyway.

@zaccari33 wrote:

yes... owner of ABC is going to on a forum to find out randomly posted info but not just sign up on XYZ themselves(or pay an employee to doit). If you dont believe all these companies are already doing this then you really didnt think this one through.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2022 03:45AM by zaccari33.

Oh, so THAT's what frustrates you? You weren't already frustrated when you first posted in this thread?

Who came into this thread calling the rule stupid?

Who falsely claimed people broke the rule here half the time and then mischaracterized and cited a casino thread as an example of people breaking the rule when client names were actually not mentioned?

Who asked outright which MSC had the BJ's account and which MSC I thought BJ's might have switched to?

After wrosie pointed out the casino thread didn't actually break the rule, who asked "WHY?" (in all caps) and what was the point of the rule?

myst4au and I both tried to explain to you some of the reasons behind the rule. Your response was to opine that someone who did not think that all company owners had already signed up (or paid to have their employees sign up) with their competitors to find out who the competitors' clients were must not be thinking things through.

You were showing frustration from the start and long before I brought up cynicism or ethics. I brought up those topics mainly BECAUSE you cynically claimed all MSC owners engaged in unethical behavior.

By the way, "taking a closer look" is a misquote if you got that from a steakhouse thread. If you didn't misquote on purpose, then I truly hope you are more careful/truthful in your reports.

Different posters obviously feel differently about whether to give hints and how easy to make the clues. To each their own. I sometimes give hints and sometimes don't.

Is wordplay involved sometimes? Sure. For those of us who wish to help posters who ask for hints, wordplay and other ways of giving hints let us help without technically breaking the rule. So, if the client is already named in a thread, people can use wordplay, or write something in French when it's a French MSC, or identify the reporting platform(s) the MSC uses, or write about contacting a help desk. If an MSC is already named in a thread, people can describe the color schemes of the client or mention other things associated with that client.

What you apparently want is for other shoppers to just break the rule and outright link clients to their MSCs. You don't like the rule. You don't see the point of following the rule even though some form of it is in most ICAs shoppers must agree to as a condition of shopping for MSCs. You want to benefit from reading these forums but not follow one of the key rules of these forums.

In addition to not being a violation of the rule, hints usually work only for readers who either have already signed up with certain MSCs (and therefore can associate the hints with specific MSCs) or have at least made the effort to read this and other forums or are willing to do some research to figure out the hints.

If hints are not good enough for you and you expect shoppers to break their ICAs just to hand you the information you want on a silver platter, good luck with that.

You are right and everyone who disagrees with you is wrong? Alrighty then.

By the way, I have had a few company owners and upper management ask me privately to identify which MSCs posted shops for specific clients. I always declined and reminded them that I could/would not since I signed ICAs that prohibited me to disclose the information. It is already rare for an MSC's owner or representative to ask. It is extremely rare for someone to ask again after I mentioned ICAs. I don't shop for companies who asked again.

@zaccari33 wrote:

@jrj76 wrote:

As frustrating as this can be when I crave a certain type of shop or want to specifically go for a certain client, I also like the fact that this creates a barrier to entry for an industry that has NONE if you want to find work. So many people say that they would love to mystery shop and do all of these things but to be honest almost none are willing to put in the work to even sign up for the companies. There is a lot of advice about how to find all of the shops and at its basic level it is to sign up for all of the companies. Sorry if that is too much work for some but I would rather not have competition to take shops anyway.

whats frustrating is when i get a passive aggressive poster who wants to talk about "ethically challenged" people or being not so cynical when they also have no problem replying to people about "taking a closer look" for an MSC or other ridiculous word play. you cant confirm msc to customer but then doit it anyhow while not saying the name.

seriously, does anyone believe that coyle, hsbrand/KSS, RBG, ACL, CHC, etc doesnt know who arbys works with?

I got an email today from the MSC that did them pre-COVID, so they are doing some of them at least. Might be a geographical thing.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2022 03:46AM by zaccari33.

@krattner wrote:

To be honest I’m not sure. Hopefully they all come back!

I hope so, too!

I just managed to be the first person to see the one in my area on the board and scored it. It is from the same msc that had them pre covid. I have no idea if other msc's had them as well in other parts of the country. The sad part is the reimbursement is exactly the same but prices have gone up considerably.

The ones I see are all after 9 PM so I have no interest in doing them. Edited to correct that I was looking at a different restaurant chain - Buffalo Wild Wings.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2021 05:40PM by kenasch.

I can't get into the MSC's shopper area! My old PW won't work, and when I request a password-reset link to the email address on file with them, I don't get one. I was in good standing with them and did quite a few shops (BJ's and another type), so am pretty sure I haven't been de-activated. I'll have to see if I can call them and get access again! If something's wonky with my account, maybe that's why I haven't seen the BJ's shops; maybe the one near me is being shopped, and I'm not getting the emails....