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The return of Cafe Zupas!

May 16, 2025 01:25PM
These were a regular in the pre-COVID days.

Now they are back, with a different MSC administering via the happy otter app.

Flat fee with no reimbursement, but they crank up the amount regularly, and there are tons of locations in my area. Last night was for $45 and my tab came to $27 with tip.

Interesting report... much more opinion-oriented, with no having to track facts while doing the shop. The biggest challenge with the previous format was snagging all the names, sometimes as many as 5 in the space of a couple of minutes of interactions.

Reporting is a bit time-consuming (way too much for onsite entry in the app), and slightly redundant, but worth it for the bumped pay. Required pics supporting my opinions called for some creativity and stealth, but that's mystery shopping!

Accepted super-fast, so now I have a template for how to proceed. Only a 24-hour window, so we'll so how many I can wind up doing, and for how much $$$.

Have synthesizers, will travel...


Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2025 03:49AM by CoolMusic.
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May 16, 2025 02:28PM
Or maybe not.

I just claimed dinner for this evening, and the window closes in less than 24-hours, meaning end of the program. When I refreshed my map, dozens of remaining locations were gone.

Fun while it lasted!

Have synthesizers, will travel...
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May 16, 2025 07:38PM
I have seen several scenarios posted over the past few weeks. One looking for you to go with a teenager. I have never been. I might consider, but if I did not do it, it would not bother me either.
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May 16, 2025 08:03PM
I'm going to give it a try tonight. The generous bonus caught my attention for sure, but the menu caught my attention as well. It looks like an upscale Panera at first glance. There are quite a few questions on the report, but it looks like they are genuinely interested in my thoughts as opposed to just wanting the usual information you would provide from a typical shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2025 08:04PM by jp43209.
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May 17, 2025 12:46PM
Some interesting anomalies: After the blue pins disappeared as referenced above the locations are now available as orange pins (I don't often look at those).

And maybe I missed it because my eyes wound up glazing over at the voluminous guidelines, but my 2 completed locations (1 accepted, 1 awaiting approval) are showing as paying the posted $45 + reimbursement whereas I was thinking they were a good shop as a $45 flat fee.

For that kind of $$$ I will continue to put up with the long and sometimes goofy report. That being said, the lack of fact tracking and a lengthy checklist of criteria make for a refreshing change of pace.

Have synthesizers, will travel...
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May 17, 2025 12:54PM
Looks like the orange pins have a combo scenario that requires a combo of dine-in and drive-thru, without enough reimbursement to cover two meals.

Confirmed these are at + reimbursement, so yay for that... just gotta cull through multiple offers at the same location to find a single dine-in job.

Aaaand not gonna happen. Orange pins have an age restriction, so it would seem.

Have synthesizers, will travel...


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2025 12:58PM by CoolMusic.
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May 17, 2025 07:00PM
What "pins" are you talking about? You looking at presto for these shops or something? I don't bother with presto. I just grab from the MSC sassie board.

Only time I use presto is if i'm going to travel somewhere and want to see all the sassie shops in a particular area to know if they have things I might want.
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