Amy_16487722865320 @ Apr 4, 2022, 9:36:02 AM

Hi, I’m Amy and I’m new to this. If you have any advice, I’d love to hear it. Thanks

Hello and good evening.

Here is my advice if you're still interested.

Your cell phone is your friend of course when it comes to taking the required photographs. But something I think some folks don't utilize are the "built in" apps on their iPhone. The Voice Recorder is one of the big ones. Often I get into my car and simply voice record what I want to recall. If the evaluation you're doing is a tad involved or very long--like sometimes you have to spend 30 minutes in a restaurant or store per the guidelines--you can use the Notes app to record your information or send text messages to yourself. One thing you can also do is, after you have a lot of them, is send the voice message you make to yourself and prevent having to pour through a lot of voice memos on your I-phone.

Contract for a lot of different companies. You're in business for yourself. Makes sure they have the MSPA certification.

But always remember that even if XYZ Mystery Shopping company has MSPA certification, a gold rating with the BBB, and employs 100% certified angels...the places you go to shop may not have such wonderful employees. So I recommend to you create a separate bank account just for your mystery shopping (and all of your side gigs really). Not only will it give you a clear picture of your profit/loss...it insulates your primary/joint checking account from any devious people you may come across. Just to clarify...the MSPA certification will keep you from getting scammed if you stick to contracting with these mystery shopping companies. I'm stating that the places where you do the evaluations--aka the mystery shops--may not be on the up and up. I did a shop for an online retailer today...one that I never heard of, for example. I feel really good that I gave them a credit card number that is not my "primary" card and certainly not my bank debit card.

Look hard for the NOOPEES-- No Out Of Pocket Expense EvaluationS. A NOOPEE (pronounced NEW-PEES) makes your profit and loss excruciatingly easy....since there is no loss outside of time and wear and tear on your car, your data plan, etc...

Don't turn your nose up at a low-paying phone/web shop. Again, if you're not spending money, the shop fee is very close to 100% profit.

You won't get rich doing this. You will make money slowly--a lot of shops take between 30 and 60 days to pay.. But if you stick with the MSPA companies, I can almost guarantee that you won't get stiffed on a shop. This is a volume business. Do shops every month. I think a good goal starting out is to do shops 10 days a month. Do at least one. If you're comfortable at it, do 2 a day. Try to schedule them where you can do that sort of schedule. This lets you get your feet wet, builds in some "down time" to where you can answer scheduler/scorer questions when they reject a shop for clarification, and see what is out there. If you feel comfortable, expand the next month to do shops 15-20 days out of that month.

The schedulers/scorers are NOT your enemy. They are your best friends. Ask questions. I've yet to meet one who has been harsh at any question I've asked--and I've asked some dumb ones that were clearly spelled out in the guidelines.

If you schedule a shop and don't do that, the industry term is "flake" for that. Don't Flake. We've all flaked for some reason or another. Oversleeping. Forgetting about the shop. Or, as I had when I first started (and still have for time to time)...nervousness. Try to avoid flaking at all costs.

Finally, if you take nothing else away from this post...take this. Companies love to hear good stories about their employees...but that usually isn't what they are interested in. They want to know what they can do better. Your job is to report what happened...the good, the bad, and the ugly. Accurately report what happened. Seldom do you have a perfect shopping/dining/interacting experience. If your meal and service were acceptable...that is your report. Describe why it was acceptable. If it was excellent...describe why it was excellent. If it was terrible, describe why it was terrible. I think too many shoppers are just "happy to be out of the house" and give excellent reviews for acceptable experiences. Avoid that. You're not there to make friends or protect anyone. If the service was terrible, report that and back it up with objective data; how long did it take to get your food from when you ordered it? how often did the service staff come by to refill your beverage? how long did it take for them to bus the table? If the host was supposed to come by, did she/he come by? Again...report what happened.

Just as an FYI:

I do recorded calls all the time. I haven't had any luck getting some from this platform but I do recorded calls every week....

Even though the MSCs often let you record your phone calls, I use an old I-phone to record it independently. I then airdrop it to my MAC and put it into a folder on my desktop along with any receipts and photos I take during performing the shop.

By doing this, you aren't reliant upon the website. It also gives you a "back up". Lets say that the phone call or interaction doesn't have to be recorded. And when you file your shop, the client who hired the MSC says that the shopper is lying. Having that I-phone recording of the on-site interaction is a great lifeboat. It also helps you with your timings--like "how long did it take to get your food after ordering it?" You don't need to look at your watch...you've got a recording.

I noticed there is an ISS Prep tab that offers certifications. The certifications don't seem client-specific though.

Does taking these certifications help you get jobs that must be assigned to you? I have applied for the phone call shops repeatedly and have been passed over nearly every time. I didn't know if my lack of certifications has done that or if there was some other criteria I am lacking.

Thanks.

Yesterday was a low point...lol. I did a shop (not for ISS) on the wrong day. Its at this sub-par burger joint. I did it on the 19th...scheduled for the 20th. So I'm going to go eat the sub-par burger again in a few minutes.

About 2 months ago..

There was a shop for a gas station...Lets call it Square J. But there is also this other seedy gas station across the street. The seedy station gets shopped continuously for a different third company. Anyway, the Square J gets a shop...but in my mind, all I can think is that I need to go visit this seedy gas station. So I shopped...not only the wrong station but the wrong chain all together.

Sadly...no.

Michele_15032031952719 @ Oct 23, 2022, 3:31:47 PM

Did the quality improve? LOL

Woofmommy @ Oct 23, 2022, 11:10:26 PM

I did a shop at a gas station recently and saw a drug deal, a car accident, and was offered "protection". Don't mind doing this shops during the day I just need to look at my map before I go :P

Suddenly, my having to eat Sonic again isn't such a bad deal.

Doing a carwash shop one time...

You're supposed to disconnect your bluetooth on your cell phone because on this one recording app, it uses your car speaker as an amplifier. Whatever is recorded is broadcast at whatever the volume level your car is set at.

The lady from the car wash comes over and does her little, "Hi, I'm Tiff, let me get you checked in" and walks to the back of my car together my plate number. I hear her voice over the speaker and like a ninja, turn off the stereo.

I only use the built-in app from now on.

Well, it depends on whats available. I will do shops sporadically early in the month; as bonuses mount toward the middle and end of the month, I start scheduling more and more.

Back in July another MSC convinced me to shop a three apartment route in my home town after weeks of e-mails and incremental bonus raises. I had done the shops for them twice before so this would be my third go-round at these same three apartments. Now, they ask for your ID when you go. They also ask for your name and phone number. You’re supposed to give them legitimate information to see if they follow-up via text, mail, or electronic message. All three apartments are for the same customer so I am in their system.

So in July 2023... I go into the first apartment. Excellent. New leasing agent. I blow through it. I go to the second one and see the same guy I saw last time. SIDEBAR:::: This guy was actually my apartment manager at my actual residence years earlier and had my car towed because my inspection sticker had expired. No kidding. So we had a history to start with the previous time when I saw him. The third apartment..same thing except this woman--lets call her Jane--was incredibly pleasant. She actually remembered me from the previous visit and I gave her some bull crud story about “This was an exceptional property and I wanted to give it a second look”--the property with no washer and dryer connections and 80’s architecture. I’m so embarrassed. Whatever that gene is that some mystery shoppers have to where they have the audacity to turn and burn no matter the situation...I don’t have it.

Flash forward to late last month. I see a very nicely bonused apartment shop in Uvalde--about 195 miles away for a different management company. I get enough “packing peanuts” to finance the trip so the $100+ payment for the shop will be all profit. I roll in there and guess who I see. Jane! Thankfully she didn’t remember me in this setting.