Just curious how people are doing these? some of the shops in my area are a 1. hair salon 2. tap house/brewery 3. hotel(what the hey am I going to buy in the first place, more less 2 of them??)

Yea, I was looking at them. I think I'll just cherry pick some of the locations that I know won't be that difficult. For example, pizza shops where I can order a sub and then go back and say my wife wanted one, too.

I wonder why they've made them more difficult. I even asked them lol I've always mentioned places like nail and hair salons there is nothing to buy or do under a certain amount, they don't even sell a bottle of nail varnish lol An alteration/sew shop,some restaurants.

Its only $8 reimbursements per each item thats the problem and several of the shops near me dont have an item less than $10

They popped up here, too. They are the very same locations that were done last round AND the time before that. What's funny I don't think any of the locations charge a fee for using a debit card or give cash discounts. Yet, almost every c-store I shop as a part of gas audits DOES charge a fee for using a debit card. Those locations never appear as part of the debit card shop.

The itemized receipt is what stumps me. Most of these locations are mom-and-pop places. You might get a receipt that says "grocery," but it is not going to say the specific product you bought. These jobs are such a headache, and every time they redo the guidelines they make it more ridiculous.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2023 08:49PM by ServiceAward.

They finally addressed some of this in the Guidelines.

If the location doesn't have anything for $8 or less, you indicate that in the survey and submit along with the exterior, front door and counter pics. You only receive 50% pay for this, however. So $5 for your time.

They also specifically call out Nail Salons, saying to ONLY make a debit card purchase of $8. No cash purchase. I guess I would assume that applies to Hair Salons as well - although hair salons might actually be easier as they probably have a travel size item that is $8 or less.

Both of these caveats are in the right hand margin of the guidelines.

Having said all this, unless you really want the items you can purchase, the survey is now way too long to justify the pay. You need a lot of info from the receipts, and narrative describing in detail both purchases.

Pay isn't bad if you can use the items you purchased... but two transactions is a headache. Next version will probably have us doing a cartwheel or backflip in the parking lot.

I may be able to make the hair salons worth it, if I did enough of them and could flip what I bought in my online store. However, the way it is set up now, with TWO purchases required, one might have to spend up to $16 for a job that (currently) pays $10, and it is still a high risk of being rejected if they do not consider your receipt to be itemized. Hard pass me for me, no matter what type of business it is. If they are still around and reach $20, I'll give them a closer look.

There's another thread where these are discussed.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

The guidelines clearly address this. You are permitted to spend more, up to $20, to make a necessary purchase. You must prove that there is nothing available at the lower amount by a picture of the menu or menu board for goods and services. If neither are available just explain the circumstances. If nothing is available for less than $20 you would answer no to the question, “Were you able to complete the assignment? No. No product or service was available for less than $20.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2023 09:19AM by emm2131.

They're all tobacco/vape (I don't smoke) or nail salons (I'm male) in my area. So it's a no-go for me right away.

@emm2131 I am not sure that the guidelines clearly address situations where locations, other than nail salons, don't have items selling for less than $8. I am not clear if I am to interpret that I can spend up to $20 for each transaction which is up to $40 total. I am pretty sure the guidelines mean up to 20 for the debit purchase and up to 20 for cash, but it doesn't explicitly state this. I can assume that since you have to make the purchase of the same item, then it is up to 20 for the cash purchase. How do you prove that a place doesn't sell anything for less than $8 if they only let you submit one photo of a menu and a menu might be several pages. Someone stated that the editor said they should've ordered a soda at the table. How do you get them to charge you a second time for a soda when refills are free? I think you are taking a big risk with these.

Let's say that a location tells you it is $15 minimum to use a debit or credit when you stroll up to the counter with your item, but there is no sign anywhere stating this. How do you prove the minimum is $15 to use your debit or $10 since that is more common than $15. It says you have to prove the over $8 minimum for your shop to be accepted. Seems like an easy way for them to reject your shop.

If a location has a minimum purchase of $10, can you buy 4 bottles of the same water to hit the minimum or would you have to buy one item of something you might not use? It says spend the least you can over the minimum, so what if that entails buying 4 waters. Can you do that? Seems like an easy way to reject your shop if you bought more than one item. What if they run out of a dish or item on the shelf in the 3-5 minute wait? How do you make a purchase of the exact same item? This isn't covered in the guidelines.

The high risk of rejection still exists. The guidelines say blurry images are not accepted, but why are all of the example pictures in the guidelines blurry? Stating that blurry images are not accepted makes sense and is reasonable, but it goes on to say that shops will not be returned for revised photos! That seems like an easy out to reject your shop. Up to two rounds ago, they gave you an opportunity to resubmit a clear photo. In their other non insta shops they will reach out for clarification and better photos, why does that not apply here?

Imagine that you did a shop and they do reimburse up to 40 total, but you submitted a blurry photo by mistake and you have a clear one, so they reject it. Not only do you not get paid 10 for the shop, you are left holding the bag on $40 that you probably can't return especially if it is food. Smoke shops have signs that say no refunds and no returns. You will now have to do 4 good or approved jobs just to make up for the non reimbursed purchase so you can get back to square one. Let's say the shop was rejected for a blurry photo, the shop goes back on the board, can you claim it, drive by to check in, and use the prior receipts, but submit the clear photo that was in your camera roll or do they expect you to make a fresh batch of purchases to match that day that you claimed it?

We got our wish of letting the receipt tell the story, but why do they have the narrative question of what happened when it was already answered in the questions leading up to that one. We already indicated the price of the item, the sales tax, total paid, if there was signage at the entrance or at the counter, and the itemized receipt shows the price, tax, fee if any etc. The narrative question shouldn't be there and it is on the report TWICE when they want you to purchase the exact same item. They could have a box that says optional: tell us if there was an issue with the shop that we should know about.

Some have posted that their shop was rejected because the counter pic did not show the card processing machine. We all know, except editors for some reason, that there are instances like restaurants where an employee takes the card and the processor is behind the counter where you can't see it and much less get a pic unless you were 8 feet tall or in an employees' only area further back from the counter or another room. How are you supposed to take a pic of the machine in those cases?

This job is more work than last time and the pay is still the same. Imagine that.

In most salons what can you buy for $20?

I'm in a rural area. There are a TON of these shops here, which makes me think they're mostly at oddball places where doing what they want you to do would prove to be difficult and unnatural. I hate for people to be run over by the bus, but the only way the MSC will change any of this is for enough shoppers to be burned to the point where they stop taking these shops. There are at least 25 pins in my area right now. I'm not the least bit tempted by any of them.

@shux wrote:

In most salons what can you buy for $20?

The salon I go to does sell things like nail files, lotions, and the cheese grater thing they use on your feet. Most salons probably don't have products, though.

@drdoggie00 When I did the debit/credit jobs, not one salon had something under $30. I couldn't even get my non-existent eyebrows plucked.

@shux wrote:

@drdoggie00 When I did the debit/credit jobs, not one salon had something under $30. I couldn't even get my non-existent eyebrows plucked.

That does not surprise me one bit, shux. I feel like I'm out $30 just from leaving home.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

@shux wrote:

@drdoggie00 When I did the debit/credit jobs, not one salon had something under $30. I couldn't even get my non-existent eyebrows plucked.

That does not surprise me one bit, shux. I feel like I'm out $30 just from leaving home.

@shux wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

@shux wrote:

@drdoggie00 When I did the debit/credit jobs, not one salon had something under $30. I couldn't even get my non-existent eyebrows plucked.

That does not surprise me one bit, shux. I feel like I'm out $30 just from leaving home.

Then to be told $5 payment if the location doesn't have all requested?
Especially when some of them are the same or quite similar to previous ones?

I did a golf club, they don't even sell water to 'outsiders' for lack of a better term or even a golf ball lol

These look absolutely awful. I'm glad that shoppers are passing on them.

70% of the locations in my area are sit down restaurants. While it was nice of them to address nail salons in the guidelines specifically, there is zero about sit down restaurants. I would think a logical person would just submit it that there was nothing under $8 to buy, because this is the case that you can't walk in, ask the hostess for a $8 something and then waltz out. And then waltz back in and do it again. But I could see an Editor arguing that you could walk in, sit down, order a soda, pay for the soda with a debit card, then suddenly ask for another soda, drink it, pay for it in cash. And then leave. But what about a tip? What about the part where you would be occupying a table and server while all this nonsense goes on? What about the part where no reasonable person would do this? So none of these should or will be done.

It just boggles my mind that they can't think this stuff through...they have one job to get done for their clients!

A few things to note:
- Guidelines specify to buy ONE single item. Not 4 items @ 2/ea for $8.
-One is not supposed to make the cash purchase at nail salons. Only the debit transaction.
-If you are advised the minimum is $15 it is acceptable to make a purchase of one single item of $15 or as close over that minimum. I think there is a cap of $20. The picture at the counter is all that is required. This pic is to represent if there is, or not, signage. We are supposed to be able to say in the appropriate dialog box that we were advised by the clerk of a minimum purchase for the debit transaction. FYI...I have sometimes told the clerk that I will make a second purchase for cash and they often transcend the minimum.

That said, the instructions also say to provide the pic of the shelf price or menu price. It says if nothing is priced you may still make the purchase but indicate how you were advised of the price. I ordered Chinese Soup and was advised the quart size was $5.50. The menu posted was taped to the glass (Covid) partition and did not include the Quart Price. On line prices were different. I said I was advised of the price verbally. I got it kicked back, saying I needed to demonstrate the price from a menu. I had to go back a ask for a menu which turned out to be a QR code. All the menus on line were via delivery or internet services and were at varying higher prices.

I saw a church listed. I was going to go and use the minimum payment concept described in the guidelines to purchase a Mass Card but I could not get there during the parish office hours before it disappeared off Presto.
There are also a number of bars/lounges. I passed because it would take too long to finish my two tap beers, making it not cost efficient.

Free refills....LOLOL. I had not considered that. Too funny.

There was a church for real?

@emm2131 You seem to have a strong understanding of the guidelines.

What is your understanding if you get to the counter with an item with a shelf price of $2.49 and you pull out your debit card to pay, but the cashier advises you that the minimum purchase is $5 when using a card. In this scenario there is no signage regarding this policy in the store. What are you supposed to do? Like you said, the guidelines say you are only supposed to buy ONE item. The guidelines do not address this scenario though it seems that it would come up where signs do not exist. I suppose the editor would argue that the guidelines state buy ONE item. I gather you are saying you would put that item back and look for an item with a shelf price that is priced between $4.65 and $7.43 assuming a 8% sales tax rate to reach the $5 minimum and stay under the $8 reimbursement.

Staying with this scenario, what if there are no items priced for $4.65-$7.43, do you then grab an item with no shelf price in the above price range? It seems that if you do, you risk the editor declining the shop since you didn't buy an item with a price tag. Do you go with an alternate strategy and buy an item that is priced at $10.25 - probably not.

Since we are following the rules, why would a clerk believe that you will make a second purchase if you leave the store? I recall the guidelines saying that after you make your debit purchase, leave and wait at least a couple of minutes before returning.

Although it isn't in the guidelines, my understanding is that you are supposed to let the clerk advise you if there is a minimum or surcharge and not ask about it unless they mention it unless there are signs. Going this route makes sure that you are not massaging results or influencing the natural flow of the transaction. It seems that if you say hey I am going to make a second purchase or complain about a surcharge, then you might tamper with what the cashier would normally do.

Someone else (@Serendipitousmoments ?) in another thread said that their shops were approved because they followed the guidelines. I would say most of the others here have done that as well. It seems that there are a couple of editors intent on striking down these jobs for circumstances out of the shoppers' control. I think that person has been super lucky not to have gotten either one of these editors.

@emm2131 wrote:

A few things to note:
- Guidelines specify to buy ONE single item. Not 4 items @ 2/ea for $8.
-One is not supposed to make the cash purchase at nail salons. Only the debit transaction.
-If you are advised the minimum is $15 it is acceptable to make a purchase of one single item of $15 or as close over that minimum. I think there is a cap of $20. The picture at the counter is all that is required. This pic is to represent if there is, or not, signage. We are supposed to be able to say in the appropriate dialog box that we were advised by the clerk of a minimum purchase for the debit transaction. FYI...I have sometimes told the clerk that I will make a second purchase for cash and they often transcend the minimum.

That said, the instructions also say to provide the pic of the shelf price or menu price. It says if nothing is priced you may still make the purchase but indicate how you were advised of the price. I ordered Chinese Soup and was advised the quart size was $5.50. The menu posted was taped to the glass (Covid) partition and did not include the Quart Price. On line prices were different. I said I was advised of the price verbally. I got it kicked back, saying I needed to demonstrate the price from a menu. I had to go back a ask for a menu which turned out to be a QR code. All the menus on line were via delivery or internet services and were at varying higher prices.