These V Presto Shops are usually kinda easy, but when a one room business is assigned (nail salon, etc.), it is impossible to enter, do the inquiry, and take a photo WITHOUT the employee or owner knowing you are taking the photo.....after all, it is a one room business! I got three of them rejected because I reported the fact that I could not take the photo without the shopkeeper knowing about it! Funny, and I only feel ripped off a little.

The instructions are clear, though. They care not about issues and difficulties onsite. No pics, no pay. Period. Better to just bail and move on to something doable.

Don't you have a good friend who just HAS to see something inside the one room and you want to tell the owner why you are taking a photo?

Oh I have done tons of them and they can be AWKWARD. You just have to be brazen. I struggled at first, but then I just told myself I WAS going to take the picture and get my money.

I have my camera up before I get to the door and try to snap a photo as soon as I walk in. I have dragged my son with me plenty--if you tag team one can do the talking while the other does the snapping. A few times I have had to return another day once I knew the lay of the store and where the surcharge sign was.

I have made up so many stories and have been in the most uncomfortable businesses, but I have made a decent amount of money for minimal effort! Consider it a challenge! It's not really a secret shop--it doesn't matter if they see you taking the pics or not--snap and DASH. These businesses see waaaay stranger things.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2023 01:29AM by bradkcrew.

I put my phone on video before I go in and turn the brightness all the way down so no one else will notice the screen. Then I just hold the phone in my hand like I’m waiting for “my friend, boss, or family member” to text me back. I sort of move the phone around while I am asking questions with full eye contact with the person I am talking too. (Make sure to move the phone slowly and practice this first.) I then take screen shots off the video.

making up the "my friend' story is disingenuous, especially in my small town, where everybody seems to know everybody.....besides....such a simple thing...why do I have to lie about it?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2023 02:42PM by salisburync.

LOL, it wasn't my suggestion, but it's ALL disingenuous...you don't care about the minimum or surcharge, and you are sneaking around snapping pics!! Make up whatever is comfortable for you, or say nothing at all. Get the job done or don't....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2023 07:54PM by bradkcrew.

If it is a situation where it is going to be impossible to be inconspicuous, I act like a diva and sometimes a tourist (meaning I hide nothing) and, if questioned, say I Iove to post on Instagram. Granted, it would be easier to pull that off in some businesses than others, and mystery shoppers are not generally supposed to post on social media at all. I generally get my pictures though.

My son does the Google local guide thing. He shows them pics of other businesses that he's posted on Google Maps, he has some pictures that have over 1M views.

He uses this so that he can take pics for mystery shops right out in the open and some folks even offer him discounts and free stuff.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2023 05:19AM by Morledzep.

I have done a tone of these as well. When the requirements were not as stringent, I did not have issues. The awkwardness indeed set in earlier this year when the guidelines changed. I decided to think outside the box so that there is no awkwardness for anyone. Before heading out to do these jobs, I print out a form I made with the exact questions that need to be answered. I may toss in a few questions that we're not asked to ask, and you'll understand why in a moment. Once at the location, I smile, and confidently portray myself as a middle-aged college student gathering data for a research project for my business class. I ask the person if they would take a brief moment to fill out my "survey," and no one has turned me down yet. While they are marking answers on the survey, I snap the pictures. Sometimes I'll even say something like, "I'm just going to grab a quick picture so I have a visual record that I've already visited this location." I snap the pictures I need, they finish the survey, and I'm out the door and in the car submitting the report. The extra "fake" questions I add to my survey ensure the person is distracted a few extra seconds so I can snap the pictures of menu boards and whatever else I may need. If in fact the location meets the requirement for a purchase AND I'm about to buy something within the reimbursement guidelines, then I'll proceed with a purchase and I'll make a comment that I'm going to grab something to drink (assuming it is a place that sells drinks) or, in the case of a restaurant, I will place an order for something to snack on. It can be tricky if a purchase is needed and there is no pricing information visible for the product. I try to avoid places where I think that might be an issue because I'm unsure whether a general overview showing there are no prices visible would suffice. That said, thankfully, most of the places do not require a purchase. I did one at a local fast food place a few months back and a purchase was required. I ordered hush puppies. They shop got ruined because they insisted on giving me the hush puppies and would not let me pay for them because I was kind enough to include them in my student research.

Good idea! Aren't paper and ink expensive for those fake surveys? Me, I'm an in-and-out gal. As little interaction as possible. Anywhere.

I have a subscription to the HP Instant Ink program. I had 6 months free when I bought a new printer. I did not think I would like it based on some of the reviews I read, however, it has turned out to be quite valuable. When my free subscription ran out, I subscribed to the 500-pages per month plan. I think it is around $18.99 per month. Under the 500-pages per month plan, I can roll over up to 1500 pages at any one time.

Full disclosure, I also use it to print stuff for my online store, which is why I have the 500-page plan. I think they offer a 300-page plan for around $12 per month and you can roll over up to 900 pages. There is even a 100-page plan for about $6 per month.

For any of the plans, If you reach your monthly page limit and have used all your rollover pages, you can buy extra pages at a rate of 10 pages for $1.00. I had to do that once when I reached the 700-page monthly limit when I had the free trial. Back then, I was printing EVERYTHING, including personal stuff like pictures. Typically, I print 350 to 400 pages a month, that's for mystery shopping, audits and my online business. Some months, especially at the end of a quarter, I may be closer to 500 pages. I could probably get by on the 300-page plan since I now have enough pages due to rollover, so I may downgrade my plan at the start of 2024. So, I'm easily able to print my fake surveys, shopper guidelines, and even the massive green/white fuel station audit guidelines. Although I upload the digital files of shopper guidelines to Google Drive so I can access them easily on my phone, I still prefer having a physical copies of stuff in the car as they are easier on my eyes to read.

Another benefit is I don't ever have to go out and buy ink, or worry about running out of ink. HP is very good about shipping cartridges automatically well before I need to change them out.

HP recently started a similar program for copy paper. I have not tried their program. Instead, I buy a box of paper at Sam's Club when they have it discounted. I've also gotten good deals buying Amazon Basic paper. For that, I specifically buy it from their returned stock because it is often heavily discounted and there is nothing wrong with it, other than someone returned it.

@sestrahelena wrote:

The instructions are clear, though. They care not about issues and difficulties onsite. No pics, no pay. Period. Better to just bail and move on to something doable.

Imagine going to a forum to voice a concern about performing a difficult and somewhat unrealistic task and this person comes along to voice almost the same generic unhelpful response a scheduler would make.

That's what I do for senior living/assisted living shops. I pulled some "what to ask" questions off the internet, sprinkle them in with the required questions, and portray myself as the organized daughter that wants to know everything about the place mom may move into.

@ServiceAward wrote:

Before heading out to do these jobs, I print out a form I made with the exact questions that need to be answered. I may toss in a few questions that we're not asked to ask. .

@AWhitman wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

The instructions are clear, though. They care not about issues and difficulties onsite. No pics, no pay. Period. Better to just bail and move on to something doable.

Imagine going to a forum to voice a concern about performing a difficult and somewhat unrealistic task and this person comes along to voice almost the same generic unhelpful response a scheduler would make.[/quote

I have yet to hear a scheduler tell me to bail and not do their shops because they are too difficult.

Mystery2Me: They don't "tell you to bail"..they do say (paraphrasing)..."So sorry, Charlie!, bugger off!"