Ivan
5 years 0 Ivan 951
Education is key...

Thanks for the inputs everyone!

Ivan
5 years +2 Ivan 951
Why would a company watch a video of one of your shops?

Thanks for the reply MFJohnston!


I know of one example, where the client who ordered the shops holds their locations and employees to such high standards, that they review video surveillance from the time of each shop, to ensure absolute accuracy of everything reported - they often even return shops after they have been approved by the editors, to ask for additional clarification and information.


Different clients can have different expectations and reasons for posting their shops, so all shoppers can do is be true and objective in their reporting - whether a video of their experience will later be watched or not.


Cheers!

Ivan
5 years +2 Ivan 951
Badges

Looks like your Reputation badge is at level 4 now - it was probably lacking a few points to move to the next level.


Cheers!

Ivan
5 years +1 Ivan 951
Record?

The most I've seen someone do in a day was like 42 shops, if I recall correctly. This lady does price audit shops almost every week, so on a Saturday or Sunday morning, she gets in her car, visits a location, does 7 shops at that location all at once (finding the price of about 20-25 items per shop), gets back in her car, goes to another location, does 7 shops there, and so on. Spends about 40 minutes per location - she's very familiar with the layouts and locations of items, and has worked out her own system of marking prices and descriptions down quickly (uses Excel I believe), so her efficiency is remarkable.

She gets home in the afternoon, and by evening she has submitted all the reports. At $12 per shop, plus $5 reimbursement per shop, she makes quite a bit on them. Her high level Price Audit badge allows her to bypass the self-assign limit with those shops, and she knows what time each week they get published, so she pretty much makes it a weekly thing. I'm honestly impressed :)


But damn, even that doesn't add up to $900 in a day! :)

Ivan
5 years +2 Ivan 951
Decreasing score related to doing fewer shops?

Hey Deb,


You might want to try reaching out to the MSP and explaining the situation - they have the ability to restore your points from cancellations if they deem it appropriate, so it might be worth a try.


Best of luck!

Ivan
5 years 0 Ivan 951
Newbie

Welcome folks!

Ivan
5 years +2 Ivan 951
What happened to the Badge program?

Thank you for the reply Jason - that's exactly right! :)

Ivan
5 years 0 Ivan 951
Hello!

Hi Jazzmin, and welcome to iSecretShop!


Here is how the system works, roughly:


-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.


*If you are prompted to sign the iSecretShop Terms of Use or the Mystery Shopping Provider's contract first, you can do so on the "Provider Contracts and Policies" page.


-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.


Additionally, you can find some tips and tricks on the following Forum page: https://www.secretshopforum.com/thread/1/2/94/pro-tips-for-those-who-want-to-be-the-best-shoppers#post528


I hope this helps!


Ivan
5 years 0 Ivan 951
Job availability question

That's great advice Tara and Jason!


And Cheryl, there can be various reasons why the shops that you were emailed about are not on the Available Shops page.

Some shops are in very high demand, as MFJohnston said, and it happens that they are already picked up by other shoppers by the time you login and check the Available Shops page.

Some shops have specific requirements such as age or gender, and if you do not meet those requirements, you will not be able to see the shops on the Available Shops page or do them.

Some shops are posted in large numbers, and when a certain limit of scheduled shops is reached, the rest become "hidden" from the Available Shops page, as no more can be assigned.


In any case, for the most accurate information about any shop's availability and/or reasons why you might not be seeing some shops, I advise contacting the MSP that posted them, so their schedulers could provide you with most accurate answers.


Cheers!


Ivan
5 years +1 Ivan 951
How to decide if a shop is worth the time

That's some good thinking!


The benefit of those low-paying shops is that they are usually quick and easy to do, and multiple ones can be done in a day - some of the highest earning shoppers simply do tons of those "small" shops every week, so the earnings add up quite a bit :)