Hi Dawn,
Passing the Mystery Shopping Fundamentals course would not directly increase the number of shops you can do, nor your chances of getting your requests approved, as it is not our attention to monetize on our shopper's ability to get shops. We believe that whether you choose to pay for such a course or not, you should have equal chances of getting and completing shops.
What it offers instead are 2 things:
First, and most importantly, it's there to give shoppers an introduction to (and an overview of) the fundamental concepts applicable to collecting business intelligence from the field, as it provides insights into the the Mystery Shopping concept, complements the knowledge gained in the iSS 101 test, and ultimately equips shoppers with the knowledge that can be helpful in understanding more about the industry itself.
It was designed as a way for the people at iSecretShop that have been in the industry for over a decade and worked with dozens of Mystery Shopping Providers, to share their knowledge and insights with shoppers who are really interested in fully understanding the entire concept, expanding their knowledge, and taking the "professional" approach to Mystery Shopping.
Secondly, completing it awards a one-time shopper points bonus, slightly larger that any other course on iSSprep, to serve as a bit of a "boost" to your shopper Reputation rank, and as a little reward for taking the time to complete the curse.
It is in no way a requirement for anything, nor promoted anywhere in particular, nor are the shoppers who take it favored over others - it's rather an optional "boost" to a shopper's knowledge, understanding of the industry itself, and their score, and can be handy for all shoppers that are eager to "dive into" the entire experience more and know more.
I hope this answers you question.
Cheers!
Hi Dawn,
The number of shops you can have and do at any one time is virtually unlimited, even at level 1 Reputation badge. You can always request as many shops as you'd like, and schedulers can approve as many of those requests as they wish.
The number of shops you can self-assign (without having to request them) depends on the Reputation badge level - as that level increases (by doing shops and Opinion Polls and completing courses on iSSprep), so will your self-assign limit.
Passing the Mystery Shopping Fundamentals course would not directly increase the number of shops you can do, nor your chances of getting your requests approved, as it is not our attention to monetize on our shopper's ability to get shops. We believe that whether you choose to pay for such a course or not, you should have equal chances of getting and completing shops.
What it offers instead are 2 things:
First, and most importantly, it's there to give shoppers an introduction to (and an overview of) the fundamental concepts applicable to collecting business intelligence from the field, as it provides insights into the the Mystery Shopping concept, complements the knowledge gained in the iSS 101 test, and ultimately equips shoppers with the knowledge that can be helpful in understanding more about the industry itself.
It was designed as a way for the people at iSecretShop that have been in the industry for over a decade and worked with dozens of Mystery Shopping Providers, to share their knowledge and insights with shoppers who are really interested in fully understanding the entire concept, expanding their knowledge, and taking the "professional" approach to Mystery Shopping.
Secondly, completing it awards a one-time shopper points bonus, slightly larger that any other course on iSSprep, to serve as a bit of a "boost" to your shopper Reputation rank, and as a little reward for taking the time to complete the curse.
It is in no way a requirement for anything, nor promoted anywhere in particular, nor are the shoppers who take it favored over others - it's rather an optional "boost" to a shopper's knowledge, understanding of the industry itself, and their score, and can be handy for all shoppers that are eager to "dive into" the entire experience more and know more.
I hope this answers you question.
Cheers!
Nice going! You're started out great :)
Here's a little tip that may help you out - keep an eye on shops that are posted in bulk, like cellphone shops, price audit shops, parking shops, gas stations... if you have them in you area of course. The "competition" for those can be tough sometimes (some regular shoppers are doing them by the dozens every week or two), but it's not as tough as on the Telephone/Web shops, and they are usually slightly better paid. You can take on several of those in a single day, and the reports are mostly brief and easy to fill out, so if you get into a routine of doing those weekly, you'll be hitting high ranks pretty quickly :)
Cheers!
Hi,
I'm not an employee of any MSP, but I do have experience in doing shops, as well as editing and scheduling. I currently work for the parent company of iSecretShop.
As for the mystery shopping conferences, I'm very sad to say that I still haven't gone to one, although it's a huge wish of mine to go soon - I love conferences in general, and the ones about mystery shopping that were described to me sound like a perfect mix of gaining knowledge, certifications, unique networking opportunities, motivation, connecting with people that share the same interests, hearing and sharing a ton of stuff, and having fun while you're at it :)
Anyway, Wendy, Douglas, and other shoppers shared their experiences and insights in these threads below, so you can check those out for more detailed info:
https://www.secretshopforum.com/thread/2/5/92/imsc-conference-in-las-vegas-116-and-117?page=2
https://www.secretshopforum.com/thread/2/5/244/ms-conference-attend-or-dont-attend
Cheers!
P.S. I hope I'll met you all at a conference some day!
Greeting, and welcome aboard! Let us know if we can help get you up and going :)
Hi Rose,
Here is how it works:
-Once you log into iSecretShop, go to the "Available Shops" page, and browse the shops that are posted.
-When you see the one you are interested in, you click "View Details" and it will open a pop-up window with all the information on the shop.
-Then, you can either self-assign that shop, or click "Request shop" to submit a request for a specific date. The schedulers are frequently reviewing these requests, so it should be approved soon.
-Once you have a shop assigned to you, you can always view it on the "Assigned Shops" page - there you can see all shops you have assigned, and can click "Complete Shop" on any of them to see the full shop information, the shop instructions, the questions, or/and fill out the shop report.
-If you have any questions about a particular shop, you can always contact the MSP that posted it, and their schedulers/editors will be happy to help.
-When you are done filling out the shop report - you click "Finalize Shop" to submit it - it will be reviewed to editors and either approved, or returned to you for additional information (if so, it will appear back in your "Assigned Shops" page).
-After the shop is approved, you can communicate with the MSP regarding your payment for that shop.
I also advise going to iSSprep.com and doing courses like "iSS 101" and "iSS 102" - these will not only provide you with additional knowledge, but will also grant you shopper points, boosting your rank rather quickly. You can also click the Forum button on iSecretShop to go to the forum and look up various subjects and connect with the shopper community.
I hope this helps!
Exactly as Lida said - the number of shops you can self-assign depends on your overall experience. Your overall shopper points are collected by the system and displayed in the form of your Reputation badge level, and it's progress towards the next one. Simply put, you increase it's level by gaining shopper points, which is done by successfully completing shops (every shop done gives you a fixed amount of points), by completing courses on iSSprep, and by doing Opinion Polls on iSecretShop. With every new level of this badge, your self-assign limit will increase, and it may be a small increase at first, but starts increasing exponentially at higher levels (after level 5), allowing you to self-assign over a dozen shops at a time. Higher levels do require a lot of time and shops done, so stay persistent!
Cheers!