Hi All

I am Aunindita and I stay in India.

I am new to the world of mystery shopping. Can you guys please suggest me some companies which operates in India as well.

You assistance would be really helpful.

Aunindita

Bare International has lots of shops in India...here's their home page link:
[www.bareinternational.com]

Barbara Wrote:
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> I am interested in mystery shopping in Northeast
> Mississippi and I don't have any money to pay to
> get into it. I want to MAKE money, not spend it
> on hot ideas about how I can earn more money.
> When a person goes out and gets a job, he doesn't
> need to pay somebody to hire him, does he? Well,
> I'm not interested if I have to pay anybody to get
> me a job!!

There are enough shopping kobs out there that pay you and you don't have to put out money, but don't expect them to jump on your computer saying here I am, you have to hunt for them. Many jobs I do are that way, but then I do this because I like to and treat it like a job, not an adventure to make money.

Idreamofdria Wrote:
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> My husband told me that mystery shops should pay
> for car expenses. The ones that I have worked for
> do not. Which ones do? I have done assignments for
> DSG, Informars, Sassie, Maritz none have even
> considered use of my vehicle. I'm just paid a
> straight fee and thats it. Please please tell me
> the ones who do pay for car expenses. I think this
> would be fair. Just because I'm disabled doesnt
> mean I should be treated as less than a whole
> person, do you? Thank YOU


Mystery Shopping has othing to do with your disability. It's a job and you get paid like everyone else. You want special consideration or be treated like a normal person? You cna't have it both ways.

I keep reading about people cashing checks....
People... If it seems to good to be true, it probably is!
Legitimate Mystery shopping companies DO NOT send out checks unless you have done work for them. If you are not registered with a company DO NOT cash a/the check!
********************************

One of the entries here was talking about a company taking 5.00$ of the 10.00$
"OH by the way find out if you dont submit the info fast enough or accurate how much will they deduct. BEstmark took 5.00 from my 10.00 shop. NOt worth it. They should understand computers break down . One last thing always put something in each box."
Can you read? Have you ever done a 9-5 job? You signed a contract with them to do a job, to the best of your ability and to submit it within a time frame, usually 12 hours after you do it. You have a problem? Call your scheduler, most of them will take the report ovet the phone so as not to make you late. (IF the reason you give is legit!) These people are your clients, treat them as such, they have deadline they have to meet, just like a shopper.

********************************

creole Wrote:
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> ...Can you read? Have you ever done a 9-5 job?...>
> ********************************

Lighten up, creole! No need to berate people.

JoanG Wrote:
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> creole Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ...Can you read? Have you ever done a 9-5
> job?...>
> > ********************************
>
> Lighten up, creole! No need to berate people.


Creole, why are you constantly insulting to everyone here?

I think Creole does make a good point though. We often do not treat it as a real job when it is a mystery shop, but she is right, we should.

Looking for legit companies in Milwaukee WI area. Have been doing mystery shopping for around 2 1/2 years since I have retired and enjoy it quite a bit. Never paid for any and usually average around $20/hr for each shop.I have done all kinds, but it seems with the tight economy companies are dropping this service. My casino, some retail,and pharmacy shops through the companies I work have put holds on their shops. I'm looking for a few to replace them. No $5 ones like Corporate Research offers until they are desperate for someone to do.

Hi everyone. Jacob, thanks for posting the big list of companies - I applied with about 100 of them and I am getting lots of jobs and I like the comapnies and have enjoyed the shops. But does anyone know anything about Consumer Research Group? I received an e-mail about grocery shops in my area and responded. I did one grocery shop for them. They don't post any way to get in touch with them except by email at ShopperHotline@crg-web.com. You submit your report online and then you either fax or scan and e-mail your receipt. I scanned and e-mailed my receipt, but when I completed the report I got an error message that the date had to be the current day or in the past. It WAS the current day. I checked and re-checked the date. But could not get past that error, so I saved and e-mailed the shopper hotline. No answer. I e-mailed for 3 days without success, periodically trying to submit the report but got the same error. Today - day 3 - still no response from the hotline and my report is GONE! I went in and it is now blank. I'm wondering now if this is a legit company. They provide no names of the account reps, no telephone number except a fax - only an e-mail hotline that does not respond. Does anyone know? Or have a contact at this company? I worked hard on that shop and spent time on the report! This is my 161st shop and my first bad experience. Sharon

HI,I need help writing report such as paragraph and giving details,Iam new to this help me.I have only done two assignments and was rated poorly,6 .Thank you in advance.

Reports vary a great deal in what they want. Your best start is to look at the samples most companies provide to see what level of detail they want.

When writing, keep your sentences simple. Write your narrative using Word, and then copy and paste it into the report. This will help you with spelling and some grammatical issues. Be aware, however, that no spellchecker will recognize words that are wrong but spelled correctly. For example, if you meant to write "Our deer ate the beets." and instead wrote, "Hour dear eight the beats." it will not trigger a spellchecker and, surprisingly, will not trigger a grammar checker either.

For punctuation, there is one space after a comma. There are some companies that want one space after the ending punctuation of a sentence. Others want two spaces. Few will complain about either one or two as long as you are systematic throughout. If you are quoting what someone said, remember that it fits the format: Text, "Words spoken." There is a comma before you begin the direct quote, the exact text is in the quotation marks, starting with a capital letter, and the punctuation for the quote appears inside the closing quotation mark. Thus: She told me, "The film starts at 9 PM."

As you write narrative, try to tell the story in a sequential fashion so it makes sense for your reader. For example, this evening I need to write up a bank shop that wants me to talk about 1) observations about the site exterior, 2) observations about the condition of the inside, 3) my interaction with the teller, 4) my interaction with the customer service representative.

This particular shop is a high paying bank shop that expects a great deal of narrative, but the process rarely varies much. Look at what observations your shop wants. Unless they SPECIFICALLY ask for opinions, don't give opinions. Don't give suggestions for making their facility/personnel better or more effective unless they SPECIFICALLY ask for suggestions. Give very little of your personal information or indentifying comments because your report is likely to be shared with the location you visited and you don't want to make it too easy for them to remember you or you will not be effective in shopping there again.

So my bank narrative:

1) Comment about ease of seeing signage
2) First impression of curb appeal of the facility
3) Several specific positives and negatives (if any) about the exterior and landscaping
4) Several specific positives and negatives (if any) about the interior.
5) Greeting of the teller (how quickly, quality of greeting, grooming)
6) Ease and accuracy of transaction
7) Specific question and response (this is how I get referred to talk to a customer service person).
8) Procedure and wait time for customer service.
9) Greeting, introductions, offer to assist
10) What I told them (in very general terms) and what they suggested
11) The product suggested and why
12) Other products recommended or suggested and why
13) The wrap up of the visit, the thank yous, the follow up suggestions etc.
14) Materials I was given

Of course this shop has a great deal in common with any job we are sent in to do, but based on a review of the sample report on this company's website, this is what they want an so this is what they get. They love me. Very rarely do I not get jobs I request and very rarely do I get any feedback from them at all.

You can make a cheat sheet like this for any shop based on their sample shops. You can reuse your cheat sheets month after month, shop after shop after shop. And yes, it takes a little while to read through the sample and write up your cheat sheet. But once you have it, you are using it to make a few pertinent statements about each item on your list, in a sequence that is logical, without worry about writer's block. I hate that thought, "What else do I need to say?"

I hear alot of complaints about CRI. It is said that if you cannot say anything good about someone, say nothing.lNothing......................

Dr Lloyd - Some people do not write their posts as complaints. Rather, they feel they are passing along information about the company, such as the pay is low or the schedulers can be inflexible about due dates and times.

I don't think the old adage can be held to the letter here...people do have things to say about their mystery shopping experiences, the mystery shopping companies and the schedulers. The forum is a give-and-take.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2009 11:04PM by katinthehat.

With regard to the post from:

jcwizzie, who wrote -
HI,I need help writing report such as paragraph and giving details,Iam new to this help me.I have only done two assignments and was rated poorly,6 .Thank you in advance.


My degrees are in English and I have worked as a writer, which has helped me greatly when writing my reports.

A suggestion for you - proofread everything you write and post or send out. I am guessing you did not proofread what you posted here, since it has errors. You need to put forth your best work when submitting reports, so I make it a practice to proof everything I do...

The suggestion about reading sample reports on some of the companies' web sites is a good one. It is a blueprint of what they are looking for.

jcwizzie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HI,I need help writing report such as paragraph
> and giving details,Iam new to this help me.I have
> only done two assignments and was rated poorly,6
> .Thank you in advance.


what do you expect...you are illiterate!!

That's pretty harsh, Irk. I like this forum because it's supportive and offers constructive and useful assistance.

Having teenagers, I receive texts from them and their friends. Their texting is lackadaisical and carefree. It's tempting to reply, likewise. CUSoon, LoveU2, etc. But, I hope that when I send them a more structured and grammatically correct reply, it helps them stay in touch with the real world. Yeah - preachy, I know. Can't help myself.

The texting style, quick and careless, has no place in mystery shopping.
If mystery shoppers want respect, their evaluations should be grammatically correct. I'm no English major, and I make mistakes, but I think these are allowed. Do you ever read MSP guidelines, emails, etc. and wonder why they weren't more careful with their diction? If we do our best, we'll have no regrets.

Thanks for the long list guys. This helps a lot

Mileage to and from shops is tax deductible...be sure to keep a travel log of your mileage both to and from a shop though just in case you need to prove it for IRS. I keep a little notebook on the dash of my car...when I get in to go do a shop I write down my start mileage...when I get home I write down the ending mileage (if going to multiple can break it down further) if more than 1 shop that trip I simply write how many shops were included in that trip.
EX) 95432.0 - 95470.1 4shops 3/26/09
sometimes I have written the company name with it so I can relate it to the reports if needed. It really does pay off at tax time...I actually had enough mileage (per what the govt allows per mile) that it counted as a loss on the wages and therefore was NO TAX on any of the money I had made throughout the year!

dee shops Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JoanG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > creole Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > ...Can you read? Have you ever done a 9-5
> > job?...>
> > > ********************************
> >
> > Lighten up, creole! No need to berate people.
>
>
> Creole, why are you constantly insulting to
> everyone here?



The question being, dee shops.. why do you think it is OKAY for you to berate OTHER PEOPLE???? yet you criticize others for doing so..

Here is an example of your ºpolitenessº to me..or net etiquette if you want to call it that!

Why are you insulting OTHER people here constantly dee shops?
You took it upon yourself to literally pick me to pieces on my thread, where I merely asked which shops did Theatre checks, and you have YET to apologize to me.. here;s is a few of dee shops posts... LOL.. i find this MOST amusing. you expect others to be respectful, when someone who is in dire need of a job, when you YOURSELF CLAIM you have NO PROBLEM finding jobs in YOUR area, while it is not the case at all in our area, Any kind of job is hard to find..


I can well relate to creole.. and I personally apologize for any criticism you are taking here cuz you are disabled. I also have friends who partially disabled, and believe you me, it tough as heck to get a decent job if you are so!

So.. here dee shops.. let;s see how respectful people find YOUR posts here.. LOL

¨ Well, you didn't answer my questions.. Is there
> another forum that's more active than this one??
>
> Unfortunately this is not really helping me find
> a job at all.

Wow, maybe it is just me, but I don't understand why the attitude. No one owes you help finding jobs, no matter how dire your situation, and you have not said whether it is or it is not.

Your experience with CRI seems extremely negative, yes. Why would you take an all-day job that required driving 2 hours one way? I wouldn't have gotten to that yes without an exceedingly high bonus, personally.

Perhaps no one here knows of other companies besides the two you have already criticized.

Try googling "mystery shopping forums." If you found this one, you can find the others. There are several, one more active and several less so.¨


Here is your next post, after I had asked you to refrain from being so impolite on my thread I had started, merely asking where I could find jobs..

¨Polly,

I work FT teaching 4 digital art classes on two different college campuses, work part time as the lab manager for one of them, and mystery shop over 30 shops a month. And I am married with a kid. We rent, probably always will be stuck renting, and we only own one car and I travel the kid his school, me to my work, and to my MS jobs MAINLY by public bus. I hardly live a life of luxury. But you didn't see me here complaining that others owe me info, because I need $, which I do.

What I do not do is come here and expect people OWE me jobs. I do the research and get them. I DID NOT ask you for the names of the companies you shop for. I asked you to get onto your keyboard and do the research yourself. As I said, no one owes you, and you came on with the "No one answered me" yammer yammer. Instead of complaining, do the legwork!

And, I have stood in the dark and counted patrons. For the firm you hate, yet.º

Never claimed to have HATED that firm either.. but they put my life in jeopardy by insisting I drive in a snowstorm at NITE up a mountain pass! Wow.. being disabled.. I;m already have enough injuries to prevent me from getting a decent pay job. I don;t need to get into a car wreck also, and end up in a wheelchair on top of it!


and here was your LAST post to me.. hopefully the final one on my thread since I am still needing to find a company to get work with...

¨Polly, Almost all the information you seek is already here, except for your questions about Focus Groups. I find all of your posts incredibly disrespectful, which was the purpose for the first note. You came on and said this forum does not have enough traffic, are there others? You insulted the people who have been here, participating, in threads over time. And aided only by the demand that others did not answer you.

I know plenty about netiquette; I have been on the usenet since 1985, and on the web since it's inception. If someone flames you, maybe it would serve to consider the reason starts with you, what you wrote, and how you wrote it. If you approach a public sharing forum like your own personal genie in the lamp at your beck and call, insulting others (perhaps unintentionally) in the process, then you have set yourself up to have someone say, "Gee, why is she demanding answers (that people might not have or that are here in other threads) *and* insulting us in the process?"

If you do not want answers to your threads, do not start a thread in a public forum. You will not always like the information you get, but it doesn't mean people you may not care for do not get to respond.º



If there no MODERATORS on this forum at all?

Or do the bullies get to get away carte blanche with being abusive to others?

Is there no IGNORE key? one can use, if one is tired of being mistreated and insulted constantly by a particular member on this forum?

Why are you going back and digging up old posts to try and make me out to be your idea of a cyberbully? Why not spend the same amount of time reading the posts that will actually tell you the information you are asking to begin with?

Methinks you are bored.

Apparelto is a full-service mystery shopping company located in Guangdong pronvice,China They specialize in Retail eplicaand wholesale some replica products. New mystery shoppers are welcome to apply (4 free) at www.apparelto.com.com

Spam Alert-3rd post by this person telling us to buy stuff, all within a few minutes of each other. IGNORE! :-)

I am continually amazed by the people who can barely write a sentence, and they want to know why they score poorly on their shops. You have to have some simple command of the English language, you cannot be a veritable idiot!! This certainly is not your forte if you cannot write a sentence to a forum asking how to get started.


Secondly, those of you who ave gotten caught in the checks scam, WAKE UP!!! Only a fool would play this game!! That is who these scammers target, ignorant, uneducated fools, those who are out to get somethng for nothing.!

Some other great mystery shopping sites include:

[www.ukims.co.uk]

[www.mysteryshopmybusiness.com]

[www.oldenough2drink.co.uk]

lrk Wrote:
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> I am continually amazed by the people who can
> barely write a sentence, and they want to know why
> they score poorly on their shops. You have to have
> some simple command of the English language, you
> cannot be a veritable idiot!! This certainly is
> not your forte if you cannot write a sentence to a
> forum asking how to get started.
>
>
> Secondly, those of you who ave gotten caught in
> the checks scam, WAKE UP!!! Only a fool would
> play this game!! That is who these scammers
> target, ignorant, uneducated fools, those who are
> out to get somethng for nothing.!


Wow, well there might be some good points here, BUT it is harshly judgmental and rude.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2009 08:01AM by dee shops.

Irk you have truly Irked me! I assumed that this forum was about mystery shopping. What I didn't realize is that it was a place for someone to get on their high horse and beret another shopper for their lack of being grammatically correct. If you want to be helpful, there are ways of getting your point across without lashing out at a new shopper seeking help. I hate to think of the new shoppers out there that may be looking for help, but are to afraid to post them after seeing the responses from people like you. Try to lighten up and remember we are all humans.

It is LRK not IRK, and it is berate not beret...buy a dictionary

Irk? Lurk? The "l" and the "i" look almost indentical. So, Lrk it is. BUT-why so rude? Have you NEVER typo'd? Must be nice to be as perfect as you seem to believe you are. Could you LRK here instead of posting? No one asked for you to come in and jump all over the newbs, or anyone else.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2009 11:22AM by dee shops.

"hear"...not "here"

Seems you need some help yourself!