????Hello everyone!????
I am obviously new to this whole mystery shopper thing. I was so excited to start and downloaded a ton of apps and now have officially become so overwhelmed. These jobs could not pay me, and I would have no clue. I'm normally a very organized person, but my excitement took over. So I have a ton of emails, a ton of apps, and very few jobs. I've done a few convenience stores and, 2 big box small jobs...Because I don't know what to do. I wasted my time on my first shop. I took a convenience store and it was $5. ????‍♀️. 2 hours later, I was still filling out the questionnaire... Then I seen a question about the cleanliness of the dumpster area and I panicked that I didn't get a photo...I looked at it, and I knew it was clean, but no photo. So I drove the 2 blocks away that I had parked to do the questions, because I forgot to take a pic of the dumpster area. ???? Then realized I didn't even need one...omg!! So long story super duper long, how do y'all keep track of jobs, what to do at each job, and staying under cover. I am so OCD.. which I think serves me well for these jobs. It also hinders me, because I take too long freaking out that I'm forgetting something. I am so excited to find a group I can read all the comments and everyone else's experiences. I have been a server/bartender my whole career, so I know what the shoppers look for. So I know that side, for sure. So anyway, do you use your phones, take paper notes, just go with the flow? Any advice is so appreciated. I can't wait to get to know everyone! Thank you for reading and for your help. Happy Thanksgiving to all!! And.... another OCD moment...???????????????? Do i sign my name? Or does it show? ???????? I'm going with putting my name, and looking like I'm 90! ????

Thank you
Curineia

First, slow down and take a breath. Secondly, make sure to use paragraphs in your shop reports.

If you have questions about a shop after reading the guidelines, you can ask the scheduler for clarification.

If you still have a question, try the search function here to see if it's already been addressed. If not, post the question here. Just don't name the client (store, restaurant, etc.) and the MSC (Mystery Shopping Company) in the same thread.

Try to be a little better with the title of any threads you start so people who can might help will look at the thread.
For instance you might title the thread "Question about gas shops for MSC ABC". Or "How much time does it take to do the XYX restaurant shops."

It usually takes me one or two shops of a specific type before I'm firing on all cylinders. I think I've messed up my share of first shops at a number of different locations. They get easier with repetition. You know what to look for, what to expect, and normally have the feedback from the editor on your previous submitted shops.

Start with lower paying, simpler shops until you feel comfortable with doing them. Then expand to larger more complicated shops. Most people on here usually find a niche of a certain type of shop they enjoy and concentrate on, or conversely do a variety of shops that happen to be convenient for them to pick up nearby. I don't think there is any right way to do mystery shopping.

Above all, and I think most will agree, don't accept shops at a fee you don't think is fair. Eventually the pay will be bonused to make it worth doing.

Screen names are fine.

Good luck.

Curineia,

Do exactly as Rosie has advised. If, in the future, you decide to expand into higher paying assignments with MSCs for whom syntax, punctuation and clarity in reports are absolute for acceptance, return to seek assistance with those areas.

I keep an old-fashion spiral notebook to write down jobs that I have been accepted to complete. Name of company, date of the shop to keep it straight. Then I just check off the shop when completed and paid. I tend to stick with one or two companies during a month, completing shops for them and waiting until the rotation comes around again. That way I am pretty much doing the same type of shops throughout the month and after one or two they become very easy. Working for multiple companies does become confusing and many people use spreadsheets - I am just not that organized so I do what works for me. Don't get too frustrated as everyone makes mistakes (even seasoned shoppers), there is a learning curve but it is not that difficult. Just have patience and do not overwhelm yourself with taking a lot of shops at first. Ease into it - haha.

Also, please know that if you screw up a shop, to the point that it is unsalvageable (dang, I hate it when my vocabulary is more extensive than spell check's!), contact the scheduler and merely reschedule it. Many companies allow rescheduling, without penalty to the shopper. I don't even tell them I initially screwed up; I just ask to be rescheduled.

If it's solely because of your own error, make it right!

Welcome to the sometimes frenzied world of mystery shopping!

Curineia, so glad you found this Forum!! There is a section of this Forum JUST FOR NEW SHOPPERS!!! I suggest you read it slowly....it has a tremendous amount of helpful information. Shoot, I've been doing this for almost 20 years now, and once a year I like to go back and re-read some of that info!! Here's the link to get you there:
[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Your post made me feel like I was right there with you..so good on you for writing well.
I suggest you take only one or two new shops and try each first before taking any additional new ones. Sometimes, we take a bunch thinking they'll be great and they turn out to be time suckers or losing shops that we regret assigning. So, take only one..do it..then take more if you like it.

Also, keep a monthly log of some sort with a list of jobs you have been assigned, due dates, pay, etc. and be sure to include mileage.

Good luck

learn to love Excel

Omgosh!! Y'all!! Thank you! Everyone has been so helpful. I know I read how important full sentences are. I'm really trying to focus on that situation. Lol..
Thank you especially for the "paragraph" info. I don't think I've thought of that since high school. There are so many good tips here, thank you all. I have a notebook to use. I think that will be how I work for now. Excel sounds scary. I'm sure with some patience, I could learn how to use it. I'm sure I'm messing this up. If I'm suppose to be responding to each one, I'm sure i will notice after I hit send.

Yes! Thank you. I'm excited to try the notebook. I will probably move to spreadsheets, but I'm excited to just make it simple and see how that will work. Thank you so much.

Lol, thank you. I love that you know i needed to know "read slowly" it is easy to get ahead of yourself. It is nice to know that you have been doing this for awhile, and your still learning. Thank you.

I appreciate your feedback. Punctuation and grammar has slowly gotten lost for me. This texting world is easy to get lost in. Thank you.

That was so nice. Thank you. I thought I went on too long. I kept track of my Mileage the first day, then I forgot for the others. I should make a note. Thank you for that reminder.

Wow! This! I needed this a few days ago. Thank you. This is good to know. I messed one up, I tried to send it in and just say "I messed up, don't pay me" instead, I got a "bad girl" letter and I tried to salvage more. But I made it look like I was being wishy washy. Because I had forgotten about certain areas that were negative. So I got an 8. Which hits me in the gut. So now I just did another today, and I'm pretty sure it was amazing "for a newbie" lol. So now, knowing that if I do totally choke, like I did, there are options. Thank you so much. That's so helpful.

Do you do training? Lol.. I'm sure i can do it, I've never tried.

@Curineia wrote:

So I got an 8. Which hits me in the gut.

If you got an "8" and it was with a company that uses the Sassie platform, you did just fine, girl!!! And like we all say, whether it's an 9, 8, 5 or 6, as long as we get paid, we're good!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2021 04:02PM by guysmom.

An 8 is a super score for a beginner. Means you are on the right track for that type of shop/report.

Thank you. I hope so. I got a 10 that same day, and I was "feeling myself" (feeling good about myself, just in case someone doesn't understand what I'm saying lol) and that's when I messed that one up.

Thank you! That helps, I was freaking out, I was banned for life. Lol

I've been doing this for almost 20 years, and with a Sassie company called Confero, if I ever get an 8, I'm happy. If I get a 9, I'm ecstatic! If I EVER get a 10, I know I'm having a dream, haha!! They're tough on their scoring....other shoppers can attest to that. But....I get paid! So that's the great part!!

It would be best not to use "lol" in reports. Just regular, old fashioned spelled-out words. Just sayin'.

I feel you. If I don’t get a 10 I stress myself out over it for no reason.

I keep a spreadsheet - but your notebook would work. You’ll want the MSC name, company name, date you’re shopping, why the pay is + reimbursement and then why date you got paid and how much.
I use the Notes on my phone to save the guidelines in and notate things I can’t forget to do (photograph food, speak to manager, etc). There is also a great app called ShopIt.

I don't.

Thank goodness! I'm not alone. I was beginning to think I was. Thank you.

@OP: LOLOL! You Have Entered Into The Next Frontier.... Where Guidelines May Or May Not Mean What You Think They Should Mean... And in The Spirit of Free Enterprise, MSC's Pay According to Their Preferences.... And You Are Obliged to Develop EIdetic Memory or Find Hints And Tips for Completing Your Gigs... And No One Else Can Do Your Work for You... And...


... your opening post reminds me of the late, beloved Joan Hess' young book characters who Always Spoke In Capital Letters...

Fun!

I'm old, my hands don't work right because of an accident. So handwriting isn't gonna happen. I don't have notepads or spread sheets on paper. I have 6 folders in my filing cabinet, one per month. Most MSC's require you to keep your receipts and proof of shops for 6 months. I put the current month's folder in front at the beginning of the month, empty the contents of the folder from 6 months prior, then put all of my receipts in the folder when I get home in the evening (or whenever). I use google calendar on my desktop, sync'd with my phone, to keep track of the jobs, the days I'm doing them, and what MSC I'm doing the jobs for. When you're scheduling on the calendar remember to leave spaces for driving time, and breaks for meals if they aren't jobs you're doing on your route.

For the shops that you need to track time and get names and such, there is a cool app called ShopIt. To someone glancing over your shoulder it looks like a text message window. You can just tap the screen to mark a time, and you can note the answer to questions, or names of associates, and descriptions if the shops call for such things. And when your shop is done you can save it or you can delete it. I found that it's easier for me to delete the notes once I've finished and submitted the shop as long as I keep my receipts and proofs.

On my desktop computer I set up a Work Picture file, with sub folders for each month, and inside the month folder, a file for each day that I go out and shop. I transfer all of the pictures from my shops to the date files, and on days that I do a LOT of shops, I make sub folders in the day folder for each Job ID#. If I only do one or two shops in any given day I just put the pictures from that day into the date folder because I'm lazy. And, at the end of 6 months, I delete the month, and make a new folder for the current month.

I'm kinda weird about wasting paper, so if there is a way to print ONE page, instead of 2 or 4 or more, I will. As an example: I do store audits for one company, I print out the questionnaire ONE time, printing on both sides of the page, and I print out as many signature pages as I need for the audits I've scheduled. I answer the questions online on my tablet while I'm in the store, so I only need the questionnaire as a reference.

Usually during the first week of the new month I don't do a lot of work, so I take care of my bookkeeping, and file disposal and such then. Most of the MSC's have some kind of Pay Statement that you can access, except Sassie companies, those you have to find your completed shops and check them individually, each shop will have what you were paid, and most MSC's show the date you were paid for the job. Sassie platform MSC's are always more work, and more non-paid work for keeping track of your work. I'm not going to say, "but it's worth it."

About the Shopit app, I've found 2. One has a logo with a purple background with the word "list" . The other logo has a white basket. Which one is the one you use? Thanks.

To the op; thanks I really enjoyed your post. I have anxiety and slight OCD. I didnt see this mentioned but golden rule of thumb. Dont ever accept an assignment where you cant see the guidelines first; especially as a newbie and dont do revealed audits as a newbie. I personally sit down the night before. Write out the scenario and write out all the questions and expected guidelines. Ie photos, business cards etc. (A shop can be turned down if you fell to get a required item, ie a business card, but not all shops require the same guidelines.)review all of it right before I drive to shop and review before I go in to do the shop in my car if I can tell there are no cameras in the parking lot. I complete the shop and 99 percent of the time turn the shop report in a short distance away from the shop.
Just a heads up as a newbie, while most of the mystery companies are legit, they and shoppers are huge targets for scammers. Make sure to check that section out on this forum,before doing any more shops. As a newbie the 3 companies I would reccomend to start is Market Force and Ipsos and Reality check These 3 arent very narrative heavy. If you dont mind a bit of a narrative I like

Intellishop
Seelevel
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2021 12:25AM by dawnhu.

Charlie: Mine has a blue bag on a green background. It is by Tarushi.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2021 03:02PM by Msilk.