Hi Doug,

To my best knowledge, that is the only test on iSSPrep that has a fee, all others are entirely free. Of course, as all other tests, it is completely optional.

It can be useful both to new shoppers, and those willing to engage in mystery shopping more actively and professionally.

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 gives a larger points reward than any other test, ultimately equipping shoppers with the knowledge and shopper score increase 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 interacted with dozens of Mystery Shopping Providers, to share their knowledge and insights with shoppers that are really interested in fully understanding the entire concept, expanding their knowledge, and taking the "professional" approach to Mystery Shopping.

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 helps!

Hi,

As Wassim said - the Reputation badge is determined by your shopper score, which is the sum of all your accumulated points.

You gain points automatically for successfully completing shops (once they get approved), for doing Opinion Polls on iSecretShop, and for completing courses on iSSprep.com.

You lose points automatically for canceling (unassigning) shops, having your shops declined, our when your shops become overdue and expire if you don't do them (they then get automatically unassigned).

Schedulers can, in some cases, restore your lost points, for example if you can't do a shop due to the extreme weather conditions, on the location is closed when it should be open, etc. Also, in very rare cases of technical issues with the system itself (website or app), you can contact iSecretShop and explain the issue in detail, and after the developers look into it, if they determine that there was indeed nothing you could do to submit your report, your points will be restored - but please note that this is VERY rare, as the iSecretShop system is very reliable and has developers working round the clock to ensure that, so iSecretShop generally almost never restores lost points.

Regardless of lost points - your reputation will not suffer much at all if you continue to take and do shops in a reasonable, rational way.

The idea is that shoppers should take on as many shops as they can/want to do, do them on the date they are scheduled for, and complete their reports on time, meeting all shop requirements.

As you continue to do that, your Reputation rank will increase, and with it, the number of shops you can self-assign without having to request them.

Reaching higher ranks is a very rewarding achievement, as it serves as proof that you are an active, good shopper, and the system is set to reward that by allowing you to take on great number of shops at any moment without even having to submit requests for them.

I hope this answers your question!

Exactly what Michael and Wassim said - the PayPal email address is updated on the "Update Extended Profile tab - but keep in mind that you should only enter your actual email address that you use to login to PayPal there, it won't accept any "PayPal.me" links.

As for the time of payment and pretty much every other payment related question - you should always directly contact the MSP that posted the shop, as they are the ones who are paying you and can answer all those questions.

And regarding reimbursement - some shops have a reimbursement fee - the maximum amount up to which your expenses on that shop will be reimbursed, some have a fixed compensation fee that will be paid in full when the shop is completed and approved, and some have both. Indeed, most shops that require you to make some sort of purchase will have reimbursement to cover your expenses, and lots of them will also have a compensation fee as well.

Hi Kim and Wassim,

I completely understand what both of you mean regarding these shop reports. A vast majority of MSPs creates their own shop report forms in the iSecretShop system, and occasionally (though rarely) the iSecretShop staff is consulted in designing them. Now, the system itself does provide lots of options and functionality for customizing and optimizing them in such a way that the information is collected in the most relevant and simple way, and many forms do take full advantage of that - as Wassim said, some questions are not displayed at all, depending on what the answers to some previous question were, questions are organized into sections, there are pre-written answers you can choose from on some, etc...However, creating these forms in such a way can be a challenging and time-consuming process for the MSPs, and ultimately, the amount of questions and required information is dictated mostly by their client's requirements, the ones that are being evaluated, so it's not always easy to have forms like that.

Apartment shops in general can be very demanding, as there are lots of things that need to be evaluated.

From personal experience, I know that many MSPs are very grateful for the shopper's input and feedback, as they are always looking to improve, so please don't hesitate to send them suggestions and input - your ideas might end up as integral parts of some shops.

Thanks!

I agree entirely with Wassim - and there are two more things to keep in mind:

First, there is A LOT of demand for phone shops. Dozens of shoppers request each one within hours of the shops being published. Schedulers then review the requests and approve those that are from the most reliable shoppers and that are for the nearest dates (if for example you can request them for any day next week, the first ones to be approved will be those requested for Monday).

Second - Badges. If you do even one of them, you'll get a badge proving you've had some experience in doing them before, making it more likely the schedulers will give them to you in the future. If you keep doing them, your badge level will increase, and the schedulers will, at a glance, see you've had extensive experience - and be very glad to give them to you again. Of course, as Wassim said, new shoppers are not left out and are, whenever possible, given a chance to start off and earn some experience in every type of shop.

Hi Tammy,

There is a special category for those shops - it's called "Web and Phone Shops" (you can see it on the navigation bar on the left side of the screen when you login to iSecretShop), and when there are shops like that available, you can request and do them from anywhere.

The recording part is very simple - you just call the number provided in the shop guidelines, and enter the shop ID number when prompted. From there, it's all automated - you will be forwarded to the location you are shopping, the call will be automatically recorded, and once you hang up, it will be uploaded automatically in your shop report.

I hope this helps!

Hello,

Great advice Wassim! It is always recommended to focus on observing as much as you can during your visit, perhaps take small notes on your phone if that helps (it can be done relatively easily in an inconspicuous manner, so that it simply looks like you are texting or browsing the internet on your phone), and then fill out the report after your visit is done.

I'd like to add that it is not only smart, but actually required, that you go into your shop report prior to actually going to the location, to not only view the guidelines and instructions, but also to read the questions before doing the shop, so that you know what to pay attention to.

I hope this helps, and Adam, I wish you luck on your shops!

Hello,

That's right - and when someone uses that specific link to register at iSecretShop and starts doing shops, you will get a Recruiter badge as a recognition for your contribution.

Thank you for being so engaged and spreading the word!

Hello Laurie,

For any questions about the Badges system in general, and badges such as Reputation, Legacy, Recruiter, Weekly Leaderboard, Poll Contributor, etc, you can open a support ticket for us at iSecretShop by clicking the Ticket button on your homepage at the iSecretShop website or app. The response is usually very quick, depending on the time of day.

For questions regarding badges for specific shop categories (phone, retail, service, etc) you can contact the MSP that posted the shop you did, as it is up to them to set their shops in such a way that completing them earns you a specific badge type.

Of course, as Wassim said, the badge system is only a few months old, so if you have any feedback, ideas, suggestions etc, please feel free to open a ticket and let us know, we love hearing our users' inputs!

Hi everyone,

You are all correct - the reputation Badge is a reflection of your shopper level, it goes from 1 to 10 and depends on your overall shopper score. You increase your shopper score by successfully completing shops, by doing Opinion Polls on iSecretShop, and courses on iSSprep.com.

If your shops are canceled, or declined, or become overdue and expire, you will lose points, and your shopper score will go down slightly.

Overall, this should not be a common occurrence, so as long as you continue to be an active shopper, you will see your Reputation rank steadily increase.

Thanks!