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Presto and the one room business

October 17, 2023 11:14AM
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.
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More About Presto Mobile
October 18, 2023 01:15AM
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.
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October 18, 2023 03:14AM
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?
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October 19, 2023 01:26AM
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.
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October 22, 2023 10:13PM
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.
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October 23, 2023 03:18PM
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.
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October 23, 2023 07:53PM
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.
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October 28, 2023 12:13AM
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.

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
"Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln
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October 28, 2023 03:47AM
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.
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October 30, 2023 06:17PM
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.
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November 02, 2023 10:34AM
@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.
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November 02, 2023 12:50PM
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. .

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt
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November 02, 2023 01:02PM
@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.
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November 04, 2023 02:49PM
Mystery2Me: They don't "tell you to bail"..they do say (paraphrasing)..."So sorry, Charlie!, bugger off!"
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