I have to report this tonight, and the scheduler’s not replying. Do we need to have the visible metadata on the packaged purchase and receipt photos as well, or can those be regular photos? Seems silly to have that on pictures made at my home. I can’t remember how I did it last round. Thanks much!

No you don't. Just the display cases.

Great. Thanks, Mel.

I take the pictures of the product and receipt in my car in the parking lot. I didn't stamp the info on the photos on the first couple of shops I submitted, and it got accepted with a 10. But I think one reviewer gave me an 8, and said to stamp the info on all pictures. Going forward, I got in the habit of stamping all of the photos.

@Okie wrote:

I take the pictures of the product and receipt in my car in the parking lot. I didn't stamp the info on the photos on the first couple of shops I submitted, and it got accepted with a 10. But I think one reviewer gave me an 8, and said to stamp the info on all pictures. Going forward, I got in the habit of stamping all of the photos.

The editor's wrong. Time stamp on service case, fresh slice case if present, and any violations. Not required on receipt or package photo.

Thanks! That's what I thought. For someone like me, it does help keep things tidy. On another note, for those that do multiple shops, do you and your family really eat all of this ham / chicken (not spicy)? Albeit, it can be small portion sizes at each location.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2024 01:58PM by Okie.

Sorry to hijack your thread - do you need to take a picture of the slicer? It's not mentioned as required at the top of the guidelines but there are instructions in the guidelines for capturing photos of the slicer.

As for eating it all, I have two jobs and figured I can get about 6 oz of meat at $13.99/lb so it's not really very much.

I’m not sure if a photo is required. I’ve always been lucky and have had clean stores. If you can covertly take pictures of infractions, do so and load them as proof of what you found.

@Okie wrote:

Thanks! That's what I thought. For someone like me, it does help keep things tidy. On another note, for those that do multiple shops, do you and your family really eat all of this ham / chicken (not spicy)? Albeit, it can be small portion sizes at each location.

I don't really eat cold cuts but my dog has to take his pill everyday and he loves it wrapped in a slice of meat!! The car will practically crawl up my leg for the chicken. At least they enjoy it.

@Datagirl wrote:

The car will practically crawl up my leg for the chicken.

That sounds painful.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

I’m not sure if a photo is required. I’ve always been lucky and have had clean stores. If you can covertly take pictures of infractions, do so and load them as proof of what you found.

Slicer photo only required if there's a violation. Clean slicer, no photo.

@Okie I did four shops in one day on the first round... really only got about 1/4 lb at each shop, so my family of four enjoyed it as part of our Friday "fend for yourself" dinner

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2024 05:08PM by CorrieCJ.

@Datagirl wrote:

@Okie wrote:

Thanks! That's what I thought. For someone like me, it does help keep things tidy. On another note, for those that do multiple shops, do you and your family really eat all of this ham / chicken (not spicy)? Albeit, it can be small portion sizes at each location.

I don't really eat cold cuts but my dog has to take his pill everyday and he loves it wrapped in a slice of meat!! The car will practically crawl up my leg for the chicken. At least they enjoy it.

In my neck of the woods, we have problems with stray cats and opossums. I'm tempted to give them some ham, but then they would keep coming back expecting more.

@CorrieCJ wrote:

@Okie I did four shops in one day on the first round... really only got about 1/4 lb at each shop, so my family of four enjoyed it as part of our Friday "fend for yourself" dinner

Sounds like my family too.

... Off to go HAM on these shops now.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2024 05:18PM by Okie.

I am very curious as in how do you guys get pass that "Why don't you recommend X Brand merchandise" question awkwardness?

@KokoBWare wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

I’m not sure if a photo is required. I’ve always been lucky and have had clean stores. If you can covertly take pictures of infractions, do so and load them as proof of what you found.

Slicer photo only required if there's a violation. Clean slicer, no photo.

I find it kind of annoying that this isn't directly spelled out in the guidelines. It says to take note of issues. It shows instructions for taking photos. There is a list of required photos but it's not in the list of required photos.

I swear I'd be so screwed if I didn't read the forum with some of these things. The form "expands" if you say you have a concern.

I kind of feel like these are gotcha kinds of issues. I HATE when I have to hunt for the info I need to do a job successfully. I think HBbigdaddy maybe made a comment once about doing jobs that you can repeat so you don't have to waste time on learning a new job and I feel like that really applies to these jobs.

Sorry to rant; I just wish many job instructions were more straightforward. Yes, you could imply that a photograph is wanted because there are instructions on taking one but it is not directly spelled out. You could get home and be filling out the report and see that you missed that element.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@KokoBWare wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

I’m not sure if a photo is required. I’ve always been lucky and have had clean stores. If you can covertly take pictures of infractions, do so and load them as proof of what you found.

Slicer photo only required if there's a violation. Clean slicer, no photo.

I find it kind of annoying that this isn't directly spelled out in the guidelines. It says to take note of issues. It shows instructions for taking photos. There is a list of required photos but it's not in the list of required photos.

I swear I'd be so screwed if I didn't read the forum with some of these things. The form "expands" if you say you have a concern.

I kind of feel like these are gotcha kinds of issues. I HATE when I have to hunt for the info I need to do a job successfully. I think HBbigdaddy maybe made a comment once about doing jobs that you can repeat so you don't have to waste time on learning a new job and I feel like that really applies to these jobs.

Sorry to rant; I just wish many job instructions were more straightforward. Yes, you could imply that a photograph is wanted because there are instructions on taking one but it is not directly spelled out. You could get home and be filling out the report and see that you missed that element.

Sometimes it really just make me think that they are doing all this just to encourage people to lie about the infractions

@kisekinecro wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@KokoBWare wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

I’m not sure if a photo is required. I’ve always been lucky and have had clean stores. If you can covertly take pictures of infractions, do so and load them as proof of what you found.

Slicer photo only required if there's a violation. Clean slicer, no photo.

I find it kind of annoying that this isn't directly spelled out in the guidelines. It says to take note of issues. It shows instructions for taking photos. There is a list of required photos but it's not in the list of required photos.

I swear I'd be so screwed if I didn't read the forum with some of these things. The form "expands" if you say you have a concern.

I kind of feel like these are gotcha kinds of issues. I HATE when I have to hunt for the info I need to do a job successfully. I think HBbigdaddy maybe made a comment once about doing jobs that you can repeat so you don't have to waste time on learning a new job and I feel like that really applies to these jobs.

Sorry to rant; I just wish many job instructions were more straightforward. Yes, you could imply that a photograph is wanted because there are instructions on taking one but it is not directly spelled out. You could get home and be filling out the report and see that you missed that element.

Sometimes it really just make me think that they are doing all this just to encourage people to lie about the infractions

It's definitely just so much easier to say that everything was fine. I am doing my first one today. I feel like it could be a nightmare to have to get the name and then try to photograph the scale or slicer and try to make sure no one is in the photo.

I really wish I could offer up services to make the instructions more clear for these things. I love how ACL has a list of photos needed and that is literally all the photos that are needed for a shop. (Or at least so far, in my experience!)

If you end up getting too much meat, you can freeze them. I use them for my kids' school lunches.

last round my son got a bunch of chicken (neither of us eat ham), we had chicken sandwiches for days. I'm about ready for him to do some more..

In many cases, BH is the only brand the store sells so there is no other option which makes the report easy. However, I have seen some pretty nasty slicers and scales as well as uncovered beards that were long and unruly. There have been a few issues I have noticed but many of them are very clean.
the worst part for me is documenting the conversation.

I did run into some cases where the associate recommended or assumed I wanted the store brand. I think they were looking to help me out though. Felt bad that I had to note this.

Similar to what Datagirl said, I haven't seen a location so far that didn't have BH. I point to the section where BH is, and then ask why not BH or what about BH or how about BH. I just make sure to ask in a casual manner, not an accusatory or inquisitive manner. It's gone pretty smoothly.

@kisekinecro wrote:

I am very curious as in how do you guys get pass that "Why don't you recommend X Brand merchandise" question awkwardness?

After you've been mystery shopping for a while, you won't flinch at asking stupid questions and acting like it's a perfectly natural thing to ask. I'm guessing since you've only been on this board for 6 months you're new. If not I apologize.

Just ask the question as if every person the employee sees asks it. And if the employee flinches, just act stupid as in "well my friend said it was a good/better brand" or whatever.

Hone your acting skills a little. It becomes fun after a while. Taking on a different persona than who you really are. You can play dumb, informed, uppity, gracious, obnoxious or whatever is needed to fit the occasion. Once you do a couple of the same shop, I'm sure you'll figure out your persona for that shop.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

I have to report this tonight, and the scheduler’s not replying. Do we need to have the visible metadata on the packaged purchase and receipt photos as well, or can those be regular photos? Seems silly to have that on pictures made at my home. I can’t remember how I did it last round. Thanks much!

Why not take the pictures with the meta data showing and without it showing. It only takes seconds. Then upload whichever you prefer. If they want the other you'll have it.

@wrosie wrote:

@kisekinecro wrote:

I am very curious as in how do you guys get pass that "Why don't you recommend X Brand merchandise" question awkwardness?

After you've been mystery shopping for a while, you won't flinch at asking stupid questions and acting like it's a perfectly natural thing to ask. I'm guessing since you've only been on this board for 6 months you're new. If not I apologize.

Just ask the question as if every person the employee sees asks it. And if the employee flinches, just act stupid as in "well my friend said it was a good/better brand" or whatever.

Hone your acting skills a little. It becomes fun after a while. Taking on a different persona than who you really are. You can play dumb, informed, uppity, gracious, obnoxious or whatever is needed to fit the occasion. Once you do a couple of the same shop, I'm sure you'll figure out your persona for that shop.

Thank you. Yes I am indeed, very new to this business. There's a few shops that only require me to ask for info, and I am def more than ok with doing, but this one.I guess I really have to "get dumb" and give it a try. I am just very afraid of getting into an argument like when someone insist of advertising you something other than your target object like the one you are required to asked in this job...it kind of "defeat the purpose" of having the associate making recommendation in the first place

Thank you again for the suggestion.

FYI..The guidelines state that the shops cannot be rescheduled. I totally spaced one for today. When I looked at the Shop Log, I noticed the "Change Date" was highlighted. Lo and behold, I was able to change the date. Whew.

kisekinecro,

My go to on deli shops, not the Boar's Head shops is "what's the difference between the deli sliced meats (cheeses) and the pre-packaged meats". I really don't care what the answer is, but I do make note of it. But it fulfilled the requirements for the shop of interacting and asking a question.

Another thing I would advise is once you find your alter ego for any shop, keep it as close to reality as you can. That makes it easier to remember your "back story".

I remember when I first started I told the auto salesman I was looking for a car to replace my truck that my son was going to take with him to college. During the test drive, I said my daughter (I don't have a son) and the salesperson caught it.

So, just stretch the truth a little and don't worry if you get outed. Just chalk it up to a learning curve.

And if you are actually outed, the employee has two options. First, he plays along (wink, nod) and hits all the required requirements. The other is they'll let you know after the interaction that they busted you. This has no merit other than to perhaps let them think you did something wrong. In my experience, I've never had that happen. But but I have experienced the wink, nod thing. And it's usually very obvious when it happens.

However, in neither occasion does it prevent you from completing your report and getting paid for the shop.

Again, you're not going to confession for lying to the person you're shopping. You're just doing your job.

I hope this makes you feel better and more confident that you can mystery shop.

Some of those shops that require roleplay have been quite useful to me. I was planning on making some big purchases. Getting paid for those fact finding missions helped a lot. To this day, I still remember some locations and salespeople I would want to work with, and others to completely stay clear of.

With all of this excess ham, I am going to attempt to make a dish where I wrap it around shrimp.

So I messed up my shop today. I had three different stores scheduled and forgot to change the final store's name on the timestamp app. We will see if it gets rejected...

@Okie wrote:

With all of this excess ham, I am going to attempt to make a dish where I wrap it around shrimp.

I love dishes that violate two kosher dietary laws at once.

That's how a restaurant I used to frequent in LA described their bacon cheeseburger :-D

@Okie wrote:

Some of those shops that require roleplay have been quite useful to me. I was planning on making some big purchases. Getting paid for those fact finding missions helped a lot. To this day, I still remember some locations and salespeople I would want to work with, and others to completely stay clear of.

With all of this excess ham, I am going to attempt to make a dish where I wrap it around shrimp.

Freeze it and make sandwiches or quiche? Ham shrimp sounds... interesting.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2024 01:14PM by olympia tennenbaum.