Ivan @ Jul 10, 2017 6:22:53 PM

Amy_14993598765457 @ Jul 6, 2017 4:56:20 PM

New to the forums but not mystery shopping...do you find good information in these forums?

Hi there Amy!

I find them very usefull, and this forum is still young so the usefullness will yet grow dramatically :) The community seems awesome so far!

I just completed my first audit with secret shopper. I am signed with more companies. Have been doing this since January this year. Loving it so far. The audits are a little easier than mystery shops but I am ok with both. Have enjoyed both audits and secret shops. Still consider myself to be fairly new. I am a home health aide and am doing this for supplemental income.  My name is Marlene and this is my first time on this forum

Colita @ Aug 2, 2017 2:08:05 AM

You must be careful taking anything paper into a shop. You should never take anything in print from the MSP into the shop location. Now if you had written things down or created a computer generated list that is different. But anything identifying the MSP or the client would be an ethical violation of most ICAs.

In the matter of price audits, if a store manager observes you taking down prices that is against most stores policy and they would be within their rights to have you removed from the premises, Writing leaves YOU vulnerable to being identified as a shopper and price audits completed for the competition of a store is a gray area because we are ICs. But if say Wal Mart sent an ACTUAL employee into Wal-Mart to collect pricing information that is illegal.

All I am trying to say is be careful. Protect yourself, the MSP and the client. In order to complete my shops accurately and safely I use a digital audio recorder connected to my blutooth. Most people assume I am on a phone call. I can record notes to myself and refer back to them later. There are no written notes that any employee can see and they can only know what they overheard and I am careful not to speak when people are near.

I also use a LiveScribe pen when I can't speak. I write my notes on paper and the 'pen' transfers what I wrote onto my device. I can then flip the written words into text and insert it into a report or message or whatever I need. I can instantly add shops to my google calendar. At the same time my phone can record audio and I can pull all of it up later when I am completing my reports.

I thought I was going to have a hard time when I started mystery shopping in January of this year.  Sometimes it seems impossible to remember everything that has to go into the report later.  Most of the reports I have had to fill out so far haven't been  too difficult but some are very difficult.  The ones with narratives are  the worst.  The shops are usually easy, its the report that is the hard part.  I have enjoyed mystery shopping and auditing this year since January.  The thing I try and remember is just  be yourself, and get your scenario in mind before you enter the store.  You have to be believable if you are doing mystery shopping.  Happy shopping everyone.