I did my first shop yesterday with isecretshop and the instructions clearly said after reading the instructions to make a phone call so I did then this morning I look and I have received an alert saying that my shop was incomplete that I needed to do a post phone call I tried calling again it's saying it does not recognize my shopper ID and that this could mean that the shop is no longer assigned to me! Now am I going to get paid for this or not? And has anyone else had this problem? Also if I was suppose to make a post call then how come there was not one question to answer about it? I answered all the questions that it asked and if I did not then how come the submit button showed up? I traveled quite a ways to do this shop and gas is not cheap and I am not rich so if I do not get paid its going to hurt!

oIf I may ask, how long have you been mystery shopping? It's really easy to get frustrated when you first start with a new company. I have been shopping for years and even I have frustrating moments at times.

Your questions are valid and should be asked of yoyr.scheduler. Anytime you have questions, you should try to ask them prior to the shop. However, I too have been a victim of the 'incomplete shop button.' I have even received the comment while I was actually performing the shop....I have no idea how that happened.

In the case of these comments ask the editor specifically what they are looking for. Do this politely. They are under no obligation to guide you but I have found that if I ask they will usually provide someblevel of assistance.

Good luck and happy shopping!

Hi Susan

Please do not get discouraged. Stuff like that always happen.

In my humble opinion, you ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS must perform the assignment shop according to the guidelines. Review, and then review and after a day or two review the guidelines once again. Make sure you understand them perfectly. Now you said that was your first assignment shop. Great! Keep at it. Get organized, take few assignments at first, make sure you have enough time to do a good job, and also enough time to write a solid good report.

These issues always come up, and if you think it is worth your time, review the guidelines, and bring it up with the editor, or scheduler. Tell them that no mention of something was in the guidelines you had, and if there was an honest mistake then it's an honest mistake, and should be corrected.

If it turns out that you missed something, then own up to it, and learn from it. We will all get better with experience. Plus I think that MS companies want us to do a good job, and that it takes more than a pulse to do this kind of work. Surly the MS company wants a report to send to their client, but I have been in your shoes when some company denied my payment, and I feel so terrible about it, and have decided not to work with this company any longer.

I hope you can make your case, one way or another. MS companies are forgiving when it comes to up and comers. You will not know the quality of a person's report until you give them a chance.

Best of luck, and hope to see you at one of these conferences.

I understand how the first few shops can be a little overwhelming at times. I have found what works best is to read the shop details thoroughly to ensure you understand the shop before requesting it. Then the night before and again just before the shop, review all of the shop details, guidelines and report so it is all fresh in your mind. 

When making recorded phone calls, you need to enter the ID number of the shop when prompted, not your Shopper ID.

As for the phone call itself, if it’s for one of those Adult stores, those calls need to be made after the visit. This is written in the guidelines on the shop (PDF file attached in the shop).

If the shop was returned to you for that phone call, you simply need to complete that part of the shop. Payment is made by the MSP. The only instance when you wouldn’t be paid by the MSP is if they declined the shop.

Happy shopping!

Thank you! I did review the guidelines right before I did the shop about 10 minutes before I entered the shops parking lot I don't know how I missed it but I did

Barbara_15023364432167 @ Aug 10, 2017 4:00:41 AM

oIf I may ask, how long have you been mystery shopping? It's really easy to get frustrated when you first start with a new company. I have been shopping for years and even I have frustrating moments at times.

Your questions are valid and should be asked of yoyr.scheduler. Anytime you have questions, you should try to ask them prior to the shop. However, I too have been a victim of the 'incomplete shop button.' I have even received the comment while I was actually performing the shop....I have no idea how that happened.

In the case of these comments ask the editor specifically what they are looking for. Do this politely. They are under no obligation to guide you but I have found that if I ask they will usually provide someblevel of assistance.

Good luck and happy shopping!

BBarbara I just started shopping again years ago I used to do it all the time till the gas prices went up and it was not paying me to go County to County doing shops! And all that mirrors that I was shopping I have never ever had a problem till now!

Hi Melissa! Sorry you had that issue with your shop. I just started 2 months ago and I did a shop that I wasn't paid for. It's frustrating especially when you put out money for food you really wouldn't choose over something else. I'm in Wisconsin too. Where are you located?

I am surprised by how old this thread is. The original post was more than three years ago. Since that time I have used my app to mystery shop across the USA on vacation. The key is reading those guidelines and being detail oriented. Some people have accused me of being a little OCD but I have found it helps me to be a successful shopper.

Safe shopping to all!

I believe this might be one of the oldest threads on the forum - I'm thrilled to hear that the app is serving you well :)

Best of luck on your shopping adventures!