Hi Kenep,

To update your PayPal email address on iSecretShop, simply log in to iSecretShop (website, app or mobile site), click Extended Profile. Once in, scroll until you see the field called "PayPal Email," enter the correct information and Save. Please note that PayPal.me links are not acceptable there - only the actual email address which you use to login to your PayPal account.

I hope this helps!

Where did you get that email? All I have is the one I can't use with 'me' in it.

Thanks!

Great tips guys! You are all appreciated!

It's the email address you used to create (register) your PayPal account - and the one to which you are receiving emails from PayPal. If you are unsure what it is, you can contact the PayPal support and they will let you know.

Cheers!

Hi Ivan,

I am new. I read that you recommend completing our reports by midnight. However, last night I completed a shop that ended around 10 p.m. By the time I got home and decompressed, it was past midnight when I submitted. I actually think I should get credit for being so committed.

Will I be penalized for submitting after midnight?

Thanks!

Annemarie

Annemarie - I can answer this for you.

You will not be penalized if you complete the write up before the required submission date for the particular shop. Each individual MSC has different requirements for how long you have after you conduct a visit to complete your report. So, your first step is to look at your shop's guidelines.

That being said, you also need to make sure that you are accurate when filling out your survey, which is the advantage for filling out a report the same day you complete the shop. I make a point of taking good enough notes for myself that I can accurately write my report the following day if I need to do so. I find I do a much better job with my notes after a good night sleep than I do when I am too tired.

Folks who do a lot of shopping will often spend twelve hours in a day actively making visits and have multiple reports to do the following.day - it is very common for especially active shoppers.

Here's how that works:

When an MSP creates a shop on iSecretShop, they define how long it takes for the shop to become overdue if the report is not filled out. If they leave that setting at 0 days, which is the default, then the shop becomes overdue at midnight of the assigned date (if no questions in the report are filled out by then).

In this case, the shop doesn't get cancelled immediately - the system still allows you several hours after that, and then it sends out an automated reminder email (usually early in the morning of the following day), to notify you that your shop is overdue and has to be filled out. It then again allows you a couple more hours, to at least begin filling out the report. If you fill out even one question in all that time, the shop status will change and the system will not unassign it on its own. However, if absolutely no answers have been filled out by then, the system considers that you didn't do the shop, and unassigns it so it could be assigned to another shopper.

If the report is partially filled out by then, editors will review it and usually send you a reminder to complete the report, rather than cancelling the shop straight away. They will then give you an hour or a few (up to a day) before reviewing again and cancelling the shop if nothing else was done on it.

However, if the shop requires multiple visits to the location, or has to be performed late at night, or if it requires you to wait a few days for some type of follow-up, etc - this obviously means that the report cannot be fully done my midnight of the assigned date, and in that case, MSPs change the "overdue" setting to 1 (or more) days, which allows the shop to stay assigned to you for a certain amount of days after the assigned date and still not be considered overdue during that time.

Many of these shops still do require shoppers to fill out some portions of the report on the assigned date (and the rest later), so it's always important to pay attention to those requirements in the guidelines, and it's generally a good idea to fill out a few questions right after you do the shop - spares you the boring "overdue" reminders later on ;)

Thank you for the valuable advice Ivan!

I just joined ISS last month and completed a few assignments. I would love to continue on this path and amp it up.

In your experience, is it beneficial to get the MSPA certification?

Michelle, I was wondering the same thing about the MSPA certification. Hopefully someone is able to give some insight.

Hi Michelle and Teresa,

You can check out this thread on the Forum, where a couple of shoppers have provided some pretty good explanations about the question you asked:

https://www.secretshopforum.com/thread/1/2/59/mspa#post316

Cheers!

Yes, I ran into that situation myself. Filling out even one question, even just yes or no, can save you a Tylenol.