Really need some help!

Hi,
I've been shopping for almost six months now and I'm really pretty good at it. At least I think I am, I get good ratings. I'm supposed to chaperone my sister on this huge trip to California and it is really expensive. I'm haveing some trouble getting enough money for my part. The convention we are going to is right next to the Aneheim Hilton and that's where we are staying. I was wondering if anybody knew who did shops for that hotel so I could try to cut these costs a bit. Also does anyone know a comapny that does some sort of travel shops, train, airline, car rental, or bus? Anything really. I am not looking to have it completely covered, just trying to lower my costs a bit. Any help would be appriciated. And if you can't post on here I can give you my e-mail address for a private message. Also, don't worry, I won't be stealing all the shops in California since I live in Oklahoma. I just need one shop for this trip alone.

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GonzoSam Wrote:
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I was wondering if anybody knew who did shops for that hotel so I could try to cut these costs a bit. Also does anyone know a comapny that does some
sort of travel shops, train, airline, car rental,or bus? Anything really. I am not looking to have it completely covered, just trying to lower my
costs a bit. Any help would be appriciated. And if you can't post on here I can give you my e-mail address for a private message. Also, don't worry, I won't be stealing all the shops in California since I live in Oklahoma. I just need one shop for this trip alone.

Welcome to the forum, GonzoSam. Because we are required to sign Independent Contractor Agreements, which include a confidentiality agreement, we do not reveal the clients of the companies we shop for. The posting guidelines of our forum also prohibit revealing the clients of companies. It would be a violation of our ICAs to reveal that information by PM or e-mail also.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2012 11:45AM by AustinMom.

What she said

There are a few things you can do. Hotel shops are not always easy to come by as a lot of companies have shoppers take on less complex jobs before giving them something like that. Search here and on Volition (www.volition.com, you DO NOT have to register to search and read) using words such as airport shops, hotel shops, etc. You should come up with a great list of companies to apply to and find out who some of the dogs are that take a long time to cough up the money

Some people find when they are traveling it doesn't bother them to wait 90 plus days for reimbursement since they were going to be out the money anyway.

I don't take on hotel or airport shops so my knowledge of the primary players is limited.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Thanks for the responses. I wish we could reveal because it's tough finding certain things. I am on Jobslinger and Volition and I've signed up for a lot of companies. I know a few that do hotel shops and one that does airline but it's a foreign airline so that won't work. I wouldn't mind being out the money too it's just I need that specific hotel and it's not on any of my shop lists. I actually e-mailed a bunch of schedulers asking if they can help or at least refer me to other schedulers that might be able to help.

So, can we not reveal the name of a specific company that shops a specific place or just not reveal anything at all? Like could someone maybe post a list of companies that might do hotels and I could sign up for them and see if they have that particular place? Would that be breaking the rules or just bending them?

You can say XYZ mystery shopping companies shop hotels or ABC hotel chain is shopped, we just are not supposed to link them on a thread or through PM. Here's the fun part, many companies list the names of their clients on their own websites. They can, their contract is with their clients and they can get permission to use them for promotional purposes. Your research will help as will asking those schedulers to refer you. Very good of you

Meanwhile, check out some of the MSCs. Not the page where we go to register or login. Find their actual home page and you may find listings. Some people have also contacted actual companies and flat out asked who has their mystery shopping program. My attitude is if you want it bad enough (and you do) you will find it!

Another possibility now that you've put this out on the forum. If any shoppers know of the MSC they can contact a scheduler with your referral info. So keep plugging away.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2012 11:53PM by LisaSTL.

Thank you for the support. I really appriciate it. One other thing. Can anyone out here confirm or deny if they have ever seen actual plane trip shops? I'm not asking the company at all, I just want to know if those exist because I don't want to be chasing a ghost on that one. Also, I mean United States Airline shops because I did find one company but it's for international flights which is awesome but I'm looking for Oklahoma to California. Just if anyone has seen them please just say they exist and I'll keep trying to find them on my own.

Read the link below. It was started by SteveSoCal and if anyone could answer your question he certainly could. The thread is about his "around the world" journey via mystery shopping

He is a shopper extraordinaire.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

I have not seen flights per se advertised at all. With some shops with some companies they will fly you to the location to be shopped. Generally this type of shop you need a track record of excellent upscale hotels or resorts before this happens. My first one of this type of shop I drove 200 miles or so to do with a mileage reimbursement. Once they were comfortable I was producing client acceptable work then other options became available.

I know a company you can get a dinner at LAX airport, flights, no.....SQM had air trips to Toronto, Canada only, never saw anything else. Buckelew has
hotel in that area, but you would need to rent a car, not that close to airport. American Express Starwood Rewards has points for hotel travel with Sheraton which I have used for a free night or two when visiting Chicago. Takes planning, but is very duable.

Live consciously....

Thank you so much everyone. I am looking at all the tings you have suggested. I did not know there were companies that would fly you somewhere for a shop. That's crazy!!! Maybe someday I'll get there.

Flash Wrote:
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> I have not seen flights per se advertised at all.
> With some shops with some companies they will fly
> you to the location to be shopped. Generally this
> type of shop you need a track record of excellent
> upscale hotels or resorts before this happens. My
> first one of this type of shop I drove 200 miles
> or so to do with a mileage reimbursement. Once
> they were comfortable I was producing client
> acceptable work then other options became
> available.

Hey, what kind of shop are you talking about? I've never seen anything like this before ever! Do these really exist or are you just messing with me? Like I'm not asking the company just more details about the actual assignment.

I think I more or less answered this question in your other post, Gonzo, but you are generally not going to find the travel shops on a self-assign board. They get earned with experience and quality work.

The best way to get what you are asking for is to do enough hospitality shops to accrue the hotel rewards, CC reward points and air miles to make the trip complimentary. Scheduling a travel shop at a specific time and place can be a difficult proposition at best, since you have to just play the waiting game and see what comes up.

Know that hotel shops are generally not allowed during conventions when the hotel prices are inflated as well.

Oh...and Lisa; Thanks for the props :^)

Thanks, I did see your other post. I figured that was the case but I was still hoping. As far as the hotel thing goes that kind of stinks but you know the hotel was actaully cheaper because they got a package deal, I am just worried about paying for it. Sometimes I want to just say to my sister, "You know you can't always get what you want." I mean I could get engaged and put some money away for my wedding with the money I'm spending on this trip!

Yeah seems the best deal for hotels is to sign up for hotels.com and ten nights will get u a free one if I were you though I would just pay because u will be working your tail off because hotels have some pretty long naratives

shopping north west PA and south west ny

Another good thing is to cultivate those relationships with schedulers. I help them with emergency shops, etc., whenever possible, and I find that when I've made myself useful to someone they will sometimes offer me the special, non-listed deals. Or I can tell them at the beginning of the summer where I'll be traveling and if they're going to have anything in that area they'll try to hook me up. But you have to earn those privileges, as well as exceptions to rules, deadlines, etc.

Sadly, we talked about it today and we just can't go. We don't have the money. I'm really sad because I was looking forward to it and I know she really was but you can't always get what you want. And, in my family's case you never do. Thanks for all the advice guys. I really appriciated it all.

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