I have a shop tonight. It's dinner for two with a maximum reimbursement of less than $50. You are required to order 2-4 items per person (let's just say it's kind of like a small plates scenario) and you are permitted one beverage alcoholic or not per person. You are not allowed to duplicate any items. You also must tip 15-20%. This shop is barely feasible at the reimbursement.

I did this shop at a different location in the bevinning of the year and went $.48 over. Today, I'm checking out the menu and realize that all the items have gone up $1. So, I'll definitely have to order one fewer dish for this shop.

Faced with similar situations, have you just gone over the limit? This shop literally highlights not to go over the limit and threatens to reduce the reimbursement or reject the shop. I did a shop for the same company yesterday and the expenses were $20 over the maximum reimbursement just to purchase all of the required items. I guess I'm also confused about why they threaten you to stay under the limit when anything you order over you're paying for anyway. I supposed I can see why they don't want hugely excessive orders but if my pay is primarily my meal, I'd like to be able to choose what I'm eating and make the decision to order what I'd like even if it means I'm going a little out of pocket.

Luckily, I've not had an issues with this MSC in the past but I find it stressful to be getting the cauculator out during the ordering and telling my guest they can't order anything they want from the menu.

As an add on question - this shop said one beverage is permitted per person maximum. If the instructions do not explicitly spell out that a beverage is required, would you think it's okay to order water?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2023 09:14PM by olympia tennenbaum.

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

@Book wrote:

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

Thanks, helpful.

Thanks for your support.

@Book wrote:

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

I've spent waaaay more then $20 over reimbursement on tons of shops. My choice! I look at it as a discount if I were already going to purchase the items.

As to why you are told not to go over, to even give a guess I'd need to know the MSC or the client....

I do high-end shops but have never gone over the limits by more than a few pennies. The shops I do usually have enough options without the need to go over budget.

I view such shops as an opportunity to get a ‘free’ meal for a report rather than doing work for a discounted meal.

I agree. I don't get it either. It seems like the more feedback the MSC gets on more client menu items, the more value they add as an MSC. Maybe you are dealing with a low-level person at the MSC who lacks the big picture.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@Book wrote:

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

I've spent waaaay more then $20 over reimbursement on tons of shops. My choice! I look at it as a discount if I were already going to purchase the items.

As to why you are told not to go over, to even give a guess I'd need to know the MSC or the client....

Oh, definitelly, I have gone over as well on many shops but not on shops that have explicitly stated not to. Except my $.48! For my shop yesterday, it was not possible within the stated limits. Even ordering the cheapest item in each category would have been over the stated maximum.

For my shop today, it seems clear that the prices have gone up and the reimbursement does not reflect that. I find it kind of laughable that there's a warning that you are permitted a maximum of one alcoholic beverage per person when in reality, it's possible that it won't even cover a coke.

@LG if the guidelines use the term one drink is "permitted" and 2-4 items per person are "required" - would you interpret that it is okay to not order a beverage and order water, or would you think you need to order a beverage? I'm literally counting the pennies as I preplan with the pickup order menu.

Oh, some people say they won't touch this company with a long pole. I'm pretty sure you're happy to shop them occasionally and I have also done several shops for them at this point. I wish I had reviewed the menu before the weekend to notice that the prices had gone up so I could have written to them.

@jgardn02 wrote:

I agree. I don't get it either. It seems like the more feedback the MSC gets on more client menu items, the more value they add as an MSC. Maybe you are dealing with a low-level person at the MSC who lacks the big picture.

Perhaps the guidelines have not changed in a while. Prices have gone up on nearly everything but it seems they need to review the guidelines and see that threatening max reimbursement amount does not cover anything but a few cheap items. The requirments are 2-4 items per person and I'm literally struggling with the menu to find 2 items per person that will fit into this budget. I don't mind paying a couple of bucks out of pocket to order what I'd like.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@Book wrote:

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

I've spent waaaay more then $20 over reimbursement on tons of shops. My choice! I look at it as a discount if I were already going to purchase the items.

As to why you are told not to go over, to even give a guess I'd need to know the MSC or the client....

Oh, definitelly, I have gone over as well on many shops but not on shops that have explicitly stated not to. Except my $.48! For my shop yesterday, it was not possible within the stated limits. Even ordering the cheapest item in each category would have been over the stated maximum.

For my shop today, it seems clear that the prices have gone up and the reimbursement does not reflect that. I find it kind of laughable that there's a warning that you are permitted a maximum of one alcoholic beverage per person when in reality, it's possible that it won't even cover a coke.

@LG if the guidelines use the term one drink is "permitted" and 2-4 items per person are "required" - would you interpret that it is okay to not order a beverage and order water, or would you think you need to order a beverage? I'm literally counting the pennies as I preplan with the pickup order menu.

Oh, some people say they won't touch this company with a long pole. I'm pretty sure you're happy to shop them occasionally and I have also done several shops for them at this point. I wish I had reviewed the menu before the weekend to notice that the prices had gone up so I could have written to them.

Contact the scheduler and request permission to go over. Just make sure you include that you're not planning on ordering the highest priced items. I'm pretty sure you will get permission.

And yes, I think that with the rapid increase in restaurants prices many guidelines/ reimbursements are out of date.....

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@Book wrote:

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

I've spent waaaay more then $20 over reimbursement on tons of shops. My choice! I look at it as a discount if I were already going to purchase the items.

As to why you are told not to go over, to even give a guess I'd need to know the MSC or the client....

Oh, definitelly, I have gone over as well on many shops but not on shops that have explicitly stated not to. Except my $.48! For my shop yesterday, it was not possible within the stated limits. Even ordering the cheapest item in each category would have been over the stated maximum.

For my shop today, it seems clear that the prices have gone up and the reimbursement does not reflect that. I find it kind of laughable that there's a warning that you are permitted a maximum of one alcoholic beverage per person when in reality, it's possible that it won't even cover a coke.

@LG if the guidelines use the term one drink is "permitted" and 2-4 items per person are "required" - would you interpret that it is okay to not order a beverage and order water, or would you think you need to order a beverage? I'm literally counting the pennies as I preplan with the pickup order menu.

Oh, some people say they won't touch this company with a long pole. I'm pretty sure you're happy to shop them occasionally and I have also done several shops for them at this point. I wish I had reviewed the menu before the weekend to notice that the prices had gone up so I could have written to them.

Contact the scheduler and request permission to go over. Just make sure you include that you're not planning on ordering the highest priced items. I'm pretty sure you will get permission.

And yes, I think that with the rapid increase in restaurants prices many guidelines/ reimbursements are out of date.....

Okay, I took your advice and asked. If I charged for the time this stupid job is living rent-free in my head I'd be getting paid three figures. For as little as this pays and reimburses I should not even care. I guess I do care about my ratings though.

It's amazing how much many of us agonize over some fairly trivial things in the grand scheme of things.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@Book wrote:

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

I've spent waaaay more then $20 over reimbursement on tons of shops. My choice! I look at it as a discount if I were already going to purchase the items.

As to why you are told not to go over, to even give a guess I'd need to know the MSC or the client....

Oh, definitelly, I have gone over as well on many shops but not on shops that have explicitly stated not to. Except my $.48! For my shop yesterday, it was not possible within the stated limits. Even ordering the cheapest item in each category would have been over the stated maximum.

For my shop today, it seems clear that the prices have gone up and the reimbursement does not reflect that. I find it kind of laughable that there's a warning that you are permitted a maximum of one alcoholic beverage per person when in reality, it's possible that it won't even cover a coke.

@LG if the guidelines use the term one drink is "permitted" and 2-4 items per person are "required" - would you interpret that it is okay to not order a beverage and order water, or would you think you need to order a beverage? I'm literally counting the pennies as I preplan with the pickup order menu.

Oh, some people say they won't touch this company with a long pole. I'm pretty sure you're happy to shop them occasionally and I have also done several shops for them at this point. I wish I had reviewed the menu before the weekend to notice that the prices had gone up so I could have written to them.

Contact the scheduler and request permission to go over. Just make sure you include that you're not planning on ordering the highest priced items. I'm pretty sure you will get permission.

And yes, I think that with the rapid increase in restaurants prices many guidelines/ reimbursements are out of date.....

Okay, I took your advice and asked. If I charged for the time this stupid job is living rent-free in my head I'd be getting paid three figures. For as little as this pays and reimburses I should not even care. I guess I do care about my ratings though.

It's amazing how much many of us agonize over some fairly trivial things in the grand scheme of things.

I've gotten to the point where I don't care nearly as much about scores. The last 3 or 4 shops they never sent me my score.... didn't give it two seconds thought, saw the 'approved for pay' and went on with life. You will get to that point too. Just takes time.

Does this happen to be a "Taco" or "Wine" shop?

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

@Book wrote:

Your expenses were over $20 more than the reimbursement! It seems you have had your pants pulled down by the mystery shopping bosses!

I've spent waaaay more then $20 over reimbursement on tons of shops. My choice! I look at it as a discount if I were already going to purchase the items.

As to why you are told not to go over, to even give a guess I'd need to know the MSC or the client....

Oh, definitelly, I have gone over as well on many shops but not on shops that have explicitly stated not to. Except my $.48! For my shop yesterday, it was not possible within the stated limits. Even ordering the cheapest item in each category would have been over the stated maximum.

For my shop today, it seems clear that the prices have gone up and the reimbursement does not reflect that. I find it kind of laughable that there's a warning that you are permitted a maximum of one alcoholic beverage per person when in reality, it's possible that it won't even cover a coke.

@LG if the guidelines use the term one drink is "permitted" and 2-4 items per person are "required" - would you interpret that it is okay to not order a beverage and order water, or would you think you need to order a beverage? I'm literally counting the pennies as I preplan with the pickup order menu.

Oh, some people say they won't touch this company with a long pole. I'm pretty sure you're happy to shop them occasionally and I have also done several shops for them at this point. I wish I had reviewed the menu before the weekend to notice that the prices had gone up so I could have written to them.

Contact the scheduler and request permission to go over. Just make sure you include that you're not planning on ordering the highest priced items. I'm pretty sure you will get permission.

And yes, I think that with the rapid increase in restaurants prices many guidelines/ reimbursements are out of date.....

Okay, I took your advice and asked. If I charged for the time this stupid job is living rent-free in my head I'd be getting paid three figures. For as little as this pays and reimburses I should not even care. I guess I do care about my ratings though.

It's amazing how much many of us agonize over some fairly trivial things in the grand scheme of things.

I've gotten to the point where I don't care nearly as much about scores. The last 3 or 4 shops they never sent me my score.... didn't give it two seconds thought, saw the 'approved for pay' and went on with life. You will get to that point too. Just takes time.

I'm like this for most. I'm just newer to this MSC and like to have access to fine dining shops. I stress way too much about things that don't end up being a big deal.

@weatherman2111 wrote:

Does this happen to be a "Taco" or "Wine" shop?

No, it does not fit either of those scenarios. But possibly the same company though...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2023 05:42PM by olympia tennenbaum.

@weatherman2111 wrote:

Does this happen to be a "Taco" or "Wine" shop?

I feel like that client pays more for dinner (not so much at lunch or late night where the prices are the same). And I have found desplite the wording in the guidelines that they pay up to reimbusement even if you buy more than they require or it does over budget.

Great suggestion to contact the scheduler. But I wouldn't have asked if it were OK to go over reimbursement. I'd have just stated that there is no scenario in which you can stay at or under reimbursement due to the recent hike in prices at that location--even if both you and your guest order the cheapest things on the menu. Asking for permission gives the scheduler the chance to say "no." Which would be foolish on her/his part, but you never know what someone will do with a question.

I probably don't shop with this MSC, as I've never been "ordered" to not go over reimbursement! Most of the guidelines for the dining shops I do just say that if you go over, it's on your dime. Which is fine.

Maybe the MSC has had people go over and expect full reimbursement?

I think making a choice to go over is fine. This MSC has FAQs that say they won't short shoppers but for this particular shop the required purchases are not able to be covered by the reimbursement.

I let the MSC know and asked for the cost to be covered. We'll see what happens with that. It does not leave a great taste in your mouth to not be able to get within $10 of their max budget/reimbursement.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

I let the MSC know and asked for the cost to be covered. We'll see what happens with that. It does not leave a great taste in your mouth to not be able to get within $10 of their max budget/reimbursement.

So I guess I didn't understand the original post. It sounded as if the MSC was mandating that the shopper not go over reimbursement and that if she or he did, even at her/his own expense, the shop would be rejected or the stated reimbursement would be lowered (which struck me as odd).

It sounds, then, as if you're asking for the reimbursement to be raised because you can't stay within it, regardless of what you order? Is that correct? I hate to say it, but good luck with that. There've been many restaurant shops for which it's impossible to stay under or at reimbursement, but depending on where they are, they're still worth doing. I think the custom for shoppers is to stay as close to it as you can and "eat" the rest. Pun intended. That is, if it's somewhere you really want to go.

If it's someplace I want to go and ordinarily wouldn't be able to afford, I look at it as a meal for which the majority of it is being paid. Assuming the report isn't overly time-consuming.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2023 09:29PM by BirdyC.

One guess: They're kissing up the client.

"For each shop, you will only have to pay $X and reimburse $Y. Our shoppers can and will evaluate 2 to 4 items each for $Y, I'm sure $Y will be enough if a shopper orders wisely. After all, your prices are very reasonable! You'll see. Most of our shoppers won't have to go over $Y."

Another guess: The Powers That Be determined that $Y is the median check amount.

I had a crazy low reimbursement for a sports bar. I initially made the effort to stay under, but realized I was not happy with my meals. After that, I used the reimbursement as a coupon. Then, I stopped doing them all together. They just weren't worth my time.

@BirdyC wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

I let the MSC know and asked for the cost to be covered. We'll see what happens with that. It does not leave a great taste in your mouth to not be able to get within $10 of their max budget/reimbursement.

So I guess I didn't understand the original post. It sounded as if the MSC was mandating that the shopper not go over reimbursement and that if she or he did, even at her/his own expense, the shop would be rejected or the stated reimbursement would be lowered (which struck me as odd).

It sounds, then, as if you're asking for the reimbursement to be raised because you can't stay within it, regardless of what you order? Is that correct? I hate to say it, but good luck with that. There've been many restaurant shops for which it's impossible to stay under or at reimbursement, but depending on where they are, they're still worth doing. I think the custom for shoppers is to stay as close to it as you can and "eat" the rest. Pun intended. That is, if it's somewhere you really want to go.

If it's someplace I want to go and ordinarily wouldn't be able to afford, I look at it as a meal for which the majority of it is being paid. Assuming the report isn't overly time-consuming.

I had two different scenarios. One that threatened not to go over and based on the online prices, I would have had to go over to order no duplicate items while ordering the minimum of 2-4 items per person. When I arrived, the prices in store were cheaper than the items online so I was able to make it work by ordering the cleapest items. This shop did say that going over could cause the shop to be rejected or the reimbursement lowered.

The other shop said to stay within the reimbursement but did not have threatening language about rejecting the shop. This other shop had prices that made it impossble to stay within the limit by ordering the cleapest items while also ordering all of the required items. It said to stay within the reimbursement but did not threaten to reject the shop. I let the MSC know that it was not possible to follow the guidelines and stay within the budget.

So, two different scenarios with two different outcomes. Not sure how the MSC will hand it, if at all.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2023 01:33AM by olympia tennenbaum.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I had a crazy low reimbursement for a sports bar. I initially made the effort to stay under, but realized I was not happy with my meals. After that, I used the reimbursement as a coupon. Then, I stopped doing them all together. They just weren't worth my time.

Did the MSC chastise you for going over? Sometimes I get excited about doing a shop and apply and then see restrictions on what I can and can't order. If I want to try something and it costs more, I don't mind paying the difference so I don't have to order a burger at a nice restaurant. I get a little annoyed at essentially working for a meal and then being told to order one step up from the kids' menu chicken fingers.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@weatherman2111 wrote:

Does this happen to be a "Taco" or "Wine" shop?

No, it does not fit either of those scenarios. But possibly the same company though...

I only know of 4 clients that company has, at least near me. They're actually told me it's fine to go over and spend my own money.

The issue of ordering water may depend on the mystery shopping company. I know with ACL it is ok unless it says water can't be the beverage.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

So, two different scenarios with two different outcomes. Not sure how the MSC will hand it, if at all.

Ah, got it. It sure looks like the MSCs need to periodically check their clients' menu prices and adjust the reimbursement accordingly. It took ages for TXRH shops to have reimbursement upped, but it finally happened. Although they've discontinued the curbsides, and my husband refuses to eat in the restaurant anymore. So I'll have to see if my son will go with me for a dine-in.

@BirdyC wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

So, two different scenarios with two different outcomes. Not sure how the MSC will hand it, if at all.

Ah, got it. It sure looks like the MSCs need to periodically check their clients' menu prices and adjust the reimbursement accordingly. It took ages for TXRH shops to have reimbursement upped, but it finally happened. Although they've discontinued the curbsides, and my husband refuses to eat in the restaurant anymore. So I'll have to see if my son will go with me for a dine-in.

You can now do the dine-in solo without having to sit at the bar.

@BirdyC wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

Ah, got it. It sure looks like the MSCs need to periodically check their clients' menu prices and adjust the reimbursement accordingly. It took ages for TXRH shops to have reimbursement upped, but it finally happened. Although they've discontinued the curbsides, and my husband refuses to eat in the restaurant anymore. So I'll have to see if my son will go with me for a dine-in.

\

I was so sad when they got rid of the curbsides shops.

I go with you Olympia

I have been over the reimbursement several times and the MSC has not said any thing about it.

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

I have been over the reimbursement several times and the MSC has not said any thing about it.

But did the instructions specifically say NOT to go over the reimbursement?