Hanna O'Brien said:
Yeah I can see why that would be tedious; I'm lucky as there are only two post boxes where I live and both are on the school run
-
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[OT] Mystery Shopping
- Thread starter Jon
- Start date
Yeah I can see why that would be tedious; I'm lucky as there are only two post boxes where I live and both are on the school run
http://www.servelegal.co.uk/
This is for 18-19 year olds only, doing test purchases on age restricted products such as alcohol and gambling.
My daughter signed up last week but hasn't heard anything yet, I'll update when we do.
This is for 18-19 year olds only, doing test purchases on age restricted products such as alcohol and gambling.
My daughter signed up last week but hasn't heard anything yet, I'll update when we do.
Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping
I used to do mystery shopping years ago when there wasn't as much "self-allocation" and used to get some nice jobs - flights, hotels etc. I am now working part-time so have recently started fitting in some assignments round my regular job but companies have changed and I now that I am in my late fifties (OK I'm 59)I don't think there is as much available to me. I am wondering if the jobs will dry up altogether when I reach the big six zero. Would be interested (if there are any other oldies out there) in what your experiences are. Some companies don't seem to have age concerns at all. I thought I would fit in a teatime fast food job after work and then realised my mistake when I entered a restaurant full of young parents and children all casually dressed ( I was in my smart office clothes) and I don't think I fooled anyone with my pretend phone call "Hi, it's nan here, where are you all? Will just start without you as I am starving...." Will stick to breakfast ones in future! I also had an interesting day where I did two clothes assignments for different companies - one where I was the oldest customer by at least thirty years and the other the youngest by about twenty years (no kidding - you know the 'old lady fashion chain' I mean) Surprisingly I found out (I'd never shopped at either before) they both had a good range of "staples"- t-shirts, cardigans etc so got some nice purchases.
I used to do mystery shopping years ago when there wasn't as much "self-allocation" and used to get some nice jobs - flights, hotels etc. I am now working part-time so have recently started fitting in some assignments round my regular job but companies have changed and I now that I am in my late fifties (OK I'm 59)I don't think there is as much available to me. I am wondering if the jobs will dry up altogether when I reach the big six zero. Would be interested (if there are any other oldies out there) in what your experiences are. Some companies don't seem to have age concerns at all. I thought I would fit in a teatime fast food job after work and then realised my mistake when I entered a restaurant full of young parents and children all casually dressed ( I was in my smart office clothes) and I don't think I fooled anyone with my pretend phone call "Hi, it's nan here, where are you all? Will just start without you as I am starving...." Will stick to breakfast ones in future! I also had an interesting day where I did two clothes assignments for different companies - one where I was the oldest customer by at least thirty years and the other the youngest by about twenty years (no kidding - you know the 'old lady fashion chain' I mean) Surprisingly I found out (I'd never shopped at either before) they both had a good range of "staples"- t-shirts, cardigans etc so got some nice purchases.
Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping
See I did not think that demographic (apart from location) had a lot to do with Mystery Shopping but maybe you are right in that it may change what we get offered.
jena said:
See I did not think that demographic (apart from location) had a lot to do with Mystery Shopping but maybe you are right in that it may change what we get offered.
The Funky Blue Dog
Money Making Megastar!
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 595
- Points
- 138
Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping
Morning Jon - yep I'm still enjoying the mystery shopping. Especially now that I'm a bit more confident and have some experience under my belt.
Market Force - I've completed 26 assignments for them now. I'm really glad I started out with them - so thanks to everybody who recommended them to MS newbies like me. As I've said before - the pay is laughable, but I've been reimbursed for some nice purchases, meals out and cinema/museum trips. In my experience their briefs are clear to follow, customer support is friendly and responsive, and account settlement is reliable, accurate and occurs twice monthly. They are a good company for learning the ropes. I did another betting shop yesterday and made a fiver profit on the gaming machine! But I never have any luck with my horseracing bets - I'm so rubbish at that kind of thing!
eDigital - I have a couple of mobile surveys and a website purchase/refund lined up. These will be my first assignments for them so I'll see how they go.
ESA - I have my first assignment for them this very afternoon, which is an external audit of a retail park. I get to wander around in the sunshine making sure the car park is tidy and the trees are pruned and stuff. If anything needs work I have to photograph it. I'm quite looking forward to it. I'm not sure what to make of the company yet though. I passed the screening test first time, and logged on to find 1500 available assignments! Most of them seem to involve contacting mobile phone companies, but there are physical visits too, like today's. I've looked at a couple of the briefs more closely and my first impression is that they are not as easy to follow as the MF ones, and they seem to contradict themselves a lot so I'm a bit wary at the moment. I'll report back when I've investigated more.
The amount of legwork and report-writing time involved in MSing means it is not a lucrative earner at the moment, but it's interesting and fun and provides an additional income that ties in nicely with where I'm at just now
I'm just about to update my diary...
Jon@TheMoneyShed said:
Morning Jon - yep I'm still enjoying the mystery shopping. Especially now that I'm a bit more confident and have some experience under my belt.
Market Force - I've completed 26 assignments for them now. I'm really glad I started out with them - so thanks to everybody who recommended them to MS newbies like me. As I've said before - the pay is laughable, but I've been reimbursed for some nice purchases, meals out and cinema/museum trips. In my experience their briefs are clear to follow, customer support is friendly and responsive, and account settlement is reliable, accurate and occurs twice monthly. They are a good company for learning the ropes. I did another betting shop yesterday and made a fiver profit on the gaming machine! But I never have any luck with my horseracing bets - I'm so rubbish at that kind of thing!
eDigital - I have a couple of mobile surveys and a website purchase/refund lined up. These will be my first assignments for them so I'll see how they go.
ESA - I have my first assignment for them this very afternoon, which is an external audit of a retail park. I get to wander around in the sunshine making sure the car park is tidy and the trees are pruned and stuff. If anything needs work I have to photograph it. I'm quite looking forward to it. I'm not sure what to make of the company yet though. I passed the screening test first time, and logged on to find 1500 available assignments! Most of them seem to involve contacting mobile phone companies, but there are physical visits too, like today's. I've looked at a couple of the briefs more closely and my first impression is that they are not as easy to follow as the MF ones, and they seem to contradict themselves a lot so I'm a bit wary at the moment. I'll report back when I've investigated more.
The amount of legwork and report-writing time involved in MSing means it is not a lucrative earner at the moment, but it's interesting and fun and provides an additional income that ties in nicely with where I'm at just now
I'm just about to update my diary...
Same here.
I was with them for over a month and I gave up. While on the school run I needed to pick up my daughter remember about the post office (which is a mile from home and is not on my way). So for people who are passing post office and mailboxes thats ok - but for others it's too much hassle
I was with them for over a month and I gave up. While on the school run I needed to pick up my daughter remember about the post office (which is a mile from home and is not on my way). So for people who are passing post office and mailboxes thats ok - but for others it's too much hassle
Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping
I've just been accepted by eMysteryShopper. I'll post my thoughts in here in a few weeks or so.
I've just been accepted by eMysteryShopper. I'll post my thoughts in here in a few weeks or so.
The Funky Blue Dog
Money Making Megastar!
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 595
- Points
- 138
Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping
I was going to do one of those choo choos but changed my mind as the scenario is quite complex, and at the location that was available to me I would have to make two hefty purchases. I don't know the company well enough yet to trust them to reimburse me, say if I were to get something slightly wrong on the scenario. The assignment information seems to contradict itself in places, which makes me even more wary.
Having said that - I have done another job for ESA which I thoroughly enjoyed and that has gone through fine and has been approved for payment, but it was a lot more straightforward than the choo choo jobs.
I've applied for a couple of other jobs for ESA, but I'm not liking the website very much to be honest. I've been spoilt by MF which has a much more straightforward setup and you know where you are with them. If only you could combine the fees of ESA with the simpler allocation and reporting system of MF - but I suppose all the companies will have their quirks.
I've also had my first tasks approved for payment by eDigital/eMS (too many eeees!) and also have another one on the go. These are all home-based - mobile site and website evaluations. Another mystery shopping website that could do with being mystery shopped itself! There are a lot of invites available for iPhone users at the moment.
I was going to do one of those choo choos but changed my mind as the scenario is quite complex, and at the location that was available to me I would have to make two hefty purchases. I don't know the company well enough yet to trust them to reimburse me, say if I were to get something slightly wrong on the scenario. The assignment information seems to contradict itself in places, which makes me even more wary.
Having said that - I have done another job for ESA which I thoroughly enjoyed and that has gone through fine and has been approved for payment, but it was a lot more straightforward than the choo choo jobs.
I've applied for a couple of other jobs for ESA, but I'm not liking the website very much to be honest. I've been spoilt by MF which has a much more straightforward setup and you know where you are with them. If only you could combine the fees of ESA with the simpler allocation and reporting system of MF - but I suppose all the companies will have their quirks.
I've also had my first tasks approved for payment by eDigital/eMS (too many eeees!) and also have another one on the go. These are all home-based - mobile site and website evaluations. Another mystery shopping website that could do with being mystery shopped itself! There are a lot of invites available for iPhone users at the moment.
Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping
Inspired by coomassie blu's post of the 20th I have joined ESA this morning. I was so excited when I got home from the school run to see an email listing a task in my local (very small) town. Logged on to bag task. Someone has beaten me to it. I conclude that I will have competition for, what I am guessing, will be very few jobs that come up in my local area. In order to make things better I have bought two new dresses for me in the Debenhams sale.
Inspired by coomassie blu's post of the 20th I have joined ESA this morning. I was so excited when I got home from the school run to see an email listing a task in my local (very small) town. Logged on to bag task. Someone has beaten me to it. I conclude that I will have competition for, what I am guessing, will be very few jobs that come up in my local area. In order to make things better I have bought two new dresses for me in the Debenhams sale.
The Funky Blue Dog
Money Making Megastar!
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Messages
- 595
- Points
- 138
Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping
Good luck 8)
eDigitalResearch (sign up via eMysteryShopper) could suit you too. As Jon says, Market Force is worth a shot - the fees can look a bit pathetic, but once you've done a few jobs for them they may offer you "premiums" for the odd job. And no need to buy yourself dresses - get the right mystery shopping assignments and you can have the cost reimbursed. I've done very nicely out of them this year
Give me a shout if you need any help. I'm no expert, but I know what it's like starting out
Good luck 8)
eDigitalResearch (sign up via eMysteryShopper) could suit you too. As Jon says, Market Force is worth a shot - the fees can look a bit pathetic, but once you've done a few jobs for them they may offer you "premiums" for the odd job. And no need to buy yourself dresses - get the right mystery shopping assignments and you can have the cost reimbursed. I've done very nicely out of them this year
Give me a shout if you need any help. I'm no expert, but I know what it's like starting out
Thought I would start a new thread dedicated to these guys!
They get a bad rep on the green site but I actually really rate them as a company. A search on the green site will reveal people getting ‘the sack’ for no reason and complaining about low fees, while this may have been true years ago it has not been my experience for the last 3 years. They’re lovely on the phone, always helpful, and you can get high premiums on last minute assignments.
They are a mystery shopping company who ALWAYS have work. However, you have to be clever, as their base fee for a golden arches burgers assignment is just £4 (plus a reimbursed meal). I never do assignments for £4. On average I get double or treble this value, plus a free meal, simply by waiting until the last minute to offer my services for an assignment, and asking them for higher fees.
This company pay a month in arrears. So assignments I complete in July I’ll get paid for at the end of August. This means you can need up to £30 or more of your own money up front to pay for meals, depending on how many assignments you do, which won’t be reimbursed until the following month. If you’re not okay with that, this isn’t for you.
Here’s my handy guide to making Gapbuster work for you.
1) You have to be comfortable taking accurate lap timings to the second on your mobile phone, or similar device, without being *too* obvious. For the burger shops, you start the timer when you join the queue – this is easy. Simply play on your phone in the queue, it looks natural. The second time will be at the counter, when they’ve told you the total price of the meal. The third time is also at the counter after you have received all your items including drink. I keep my phone below the counter and pretend I’m texting. I know other people set the voice recorder app going and then give the speaker three sharp taps at each timing point. Find a way that’s comfortable and works for you. Personally I use the stopwatch app on my phone and just try to be casual.
2) Don’t worry if you’re recognised. By the time I’ve ordered, my regular restaurants have usually either recognised me, or twigged that my order of one of 5 or 6 extra value meals, to eat in, on my own, during a MS time slot (8-10am, 12-2pm or 5-7pm) at a time they know they are due a MS… basically, they almost always figure it out. If they don’t figure now, asking for a receipt always does it! Then you’ll notice:
* The manager suddenly appears over the MoS’s shoulder checking they do everything correctly and ask the right questions.
* Suddenly MoS will appear on the shop floor giving out balloons to the children
* There’ll be two or three MoS repeatedly cleaning the same area around you
* A MoS will beat you to the toilet to check that it’s clean
* You will be asked if your meal is okay – while those around you are ignored.
* An MoS will hold the door open for you, full of smiles.
* One site a couple of times even approached me with a bit of scrap paper and a pen asking me for some ‘feedback on my visit’!!! Umm, no!
This is what I like to call their ‘floor show’ ! Yes, they’ve recognised you and they know that you know they have… but just play along. I’ve had some lovely conversations with managers that I recognise. They’ll always ask you if it was okay – don’t ever say anything except a polite non-committal response. Your report goes online, not direct to the managers!
3) Know your local fast food places. (PM me) I have one opposite my house, three by my work, and many more nearby. I personally don’t have a lot of time so I stick to the ones near me. If you have to travel far, it will be less worth your while.
4) Be flexible. The best value assignments are the urgent, last minute kinds. Once you’ve shown you’re reliable and consistent, they will ring you with urgent assignments that might need doing that day or the next day, or reshops. I’ve done assignments for a £20 or £30 profit before. This isn’t the norm! But it happens often enough. On a ‘normal’ month, I’ll do my regular ones for between £8-12 profit. For 15 minutes in the shop and 15 minutes on the report (I know the questions off by heart and I have it down to a fine art). This means if you can do a few a month, it’s an easy £50.
5) You don’t have to eat all the food! I don’t mind the odd one, but if you’re doing this regularly, you really don’t want to be eating the entire meal. I tend to sample a few fries, then stuff a napkin in the top of the container, and sample a bite or two of the main, then close up the packaging. I sit there sipping my drink on my phone for the rest of the time, then bin it. If you do takeaway assignments, find a homeless person and donate your meal to them once you’ve sampled it. GAP only need to check the food is hot and neatly presented, this doesn’t require you to consume it all! They’ve said this to me directly, so you will still get paid.
6) Don’t be upset if they challenge your report – but ensure it’s accurate.
All they really care about is the timing. Make sure it’s accurate, to the second. Make sure you keep a notes app in your phone and just jot down the timing for each assignment, in case of a query. It will generally come a few days, or up to a week later, when the report has gone to the restaurant and they realise the timing was out of their target. So what they do is challenge you. You get an email, often in the middle of the night, asking you to confirm the timings and some other details. You must reply within 12 hours or they do a reshop. Simply restate your timings and you don’t hear any more. Also be prepared for them to identify you – they have CCTV, and they know how to spot you.
7) ALWAYS GET A RECEIPT!
Get into the habit. After they’ve given you your meal and you’ve stopped timing so can focus, ask for the receipt. The card or the VAT receipt is fine, either. Anything with the date and time on it to prove you were there.
8) Don’t order anything but what’s on the required list. You don’t want to buy a meal and go to the effort of the report to realise you bought the wrong one and you won’t get paid a thing.
9) Don’t be afraid to ask for more money!
I’ve been working for them for years and I never allocate the assignments myself on the website. Two or three assignments this month were showing for a £6 fee (plus reimbursement). I emailed them and said I could do the assignments on x,y,z dates at specific times for £8 fee each (reimbursement). They said yes. If they can’t go any higher as they aren’t urgent enough, they’ll tell you. If you agree to do it for the lower fee, they can give you supermarket or petrol assignments (very quick) to make it more worth your while. There’s absolutely no harm in asking. Don’t ask, don’t get! This is particularly true on the phone. When they have you on the phone, ask them what they have, and make them an offer. They’ll check with their supervisor and 9/10 they can do it for the higher value.
10) Don’t be afraid to say no.
If they want me to travel 1 hour across town for a measley fee, I tell them it’s too far. Tell them it’s not worth your while. They’ll still offer you work. You aren’t obliged to do a certain number of assignments for them. I last did some in February/March and I’ve dipped back in this week and they’ve been fine with me. That’s after ignoring their calls and emails for 3 months!
Oh and if/when they ask, you love eating fast food!
They get a bad rep on the green site but I actually really rate them as a company. A search on the green site will reveal people getting ‘the sack’ for no reason and complaining about low fees, while this may have been true years ago it has not been my experience for the last 3 years. They’re lovely on the phone, always helpful, and you can get high premiums on last minute assignments.
They are a mystery shopping company who ALWAYS have work. However, you have to be clever, as their base fee for a golden arches burgers assignment is just £4 (plus a reimbursed meal). I never do assignments for £4. On average I get double or treble this value, plus a free meal, simply by waiting until the last minute to offer my services for an assignment, and asking them for higher fees.
This company pay a month in arrears. So assignments I complete in July I’ll get paid for at the end of August. This means you can need up to £30 or more of your own money up front to pay for meals, depending on how many assignments you do, which won’t be reimbursed until the following month. If you’re not okay with that, this isn’t for you.
Here’s my handy guide to making Gapbuster work for you.
1) You have to be comfortable taking accurate lap timings to the second on your mobile phone, or similar device, without being *too* obvious. For the burger shops, you start the timer when you join the queue – this is easy. Simply play on your phone in the queue, it looks natural. The second time will be at the counter, when they’ve told you the total price of the meal. The third time is also at the counter after you have received all your items including drink. I keep my phone below the counter and pretend I’m texting. I know other people set the voice recorder app going and then give the speaker three sharp taps at each timing point. Find a way that’s comfortable and works for you. Personally I use the stopwatch app on my phone and just try to be casual.
2) Don’t worry if you’re recognised. By the time I’ve ordered, my regular restaurants have usually either recognised me, or twigged that my order of one of 5 or 6 extra value meals, to eat in, on my own, during a MS time slot (8-10am, 12-2pm or 5-7pm) at a time they know they are due a MS… basically, they almost always figure it out. If they don’t figure now, asking for a receipt always does it! Then you’ll notice:
* The manager suddenly appears over the MoS’s shoulder checking they do everything correctly and ask the right questions.
* Suddenly MoS will appear on the shop floor giving out balloons to the children
* There’ll be two or three MoS repeatedly cleaning the same area around you
* A MoS will beat you to the toilet to check that it’s clean
* You will be asked if your meal is okay – while those around you are ignored.
* An MoS will hold the door open for you, full of smiles.
* One site a couple of times even approached me with a bit of scrap paper and a pen asking me for some ‘feedback on my visit’!!! Umm, no!
This is what I like to call their ‘floor show’ ! Yes, they’ve recognised you and they know that you know they have… but just play along. I’ve had some lovely conversations with managers that I recognise. They’ll always ask you if it was okay – don’t ever say anything except a polite non-committal response. Your report goes online, not direct to the managers!
3) Know your local fast food places. (PM me) I have one opposite my house, three by my work, and many more nearby. I personally don’t have a lot of time so I stick to the ones near me. If you have to travel far, it will be less worth your while.
4) Be flexible. The best value assignments are the urgent, last minute kinds. Once you’ve shown you’re reliable and consistent, they will ring you with urgent assignments that might need doing that day or the next day, or reshops. I’ve done assignments for a £20 or £30 profit before. This isn’t the norm! But it happens often enough. On a ‘normal’ month, I’ll do my regular ones for between £8-12 profit. For 15 minutes in the shop and 15 minutes on the report (I know the questions off by heart and I have it down to a fine art). This means if you can do a few a month, it’s an easy £50.
5) You don’t have to eat all the food! I don’t mind the odd one, but if you’re doing this regularly, you really don’t want to be eating the entire meal. I tend to sample a few fries, then stuff a napkin in the top of the container, and sample a bite or two of the main, then close up the packaging. I sit there sipping my drink on my phone for the rest of the time, then bin it. If you do takeaway assignments, find a homeless person and donate your meal to them once you’ve sampled it. GAP only need to check the food is hot and neatly presented, this doesn’t require you to consume it all! They’ve said this to me directly, so you will still get paid.
6) Don’t be upset if they challenge your report – but ensure it’s accurate.
All they really care about is the timing. Make sure it’s accurate, to the second. Make sure you keep a notes app in your phone and just jot down the timing for each assignment, in case of a query. It will generally come a few days, or up to a week later, when the report has gone to the restaurant and they realise the timing was out of their target. So what they do is challenge you. You get an email, often in the middle of the night, asking you to confirm the timings and some other details. You must reply within 12 hours or they do a reshop. Simply restate your timings and you don’t hear any more. Also be prepared for them to identify you – they have CCTV, and they know how to spot you.
7) ALWAYS GET A RECEIPT!
Get into the habit. After they’ve given you your meal and you’ve stopped timing so can focus, ask for the receipt. The card or the VAT receipt is fine, either. Anything with the date and time on it to prove you were there.
8) Don’t order anything but what’s on the required list. You don’t want to buy a meal and go to the effort of the report to realise you bought the wrong one and you won’t get paid a thing.
9) Don’t be afraid to ask for more money!
I’ve been working for them for years and I never allocate the assignments myself on the website. Two or three assignments this month were showing for a £6 fee (plus reimbursement). I emailed them and said I could do the assignments on x,y,z dates at specific times for £8 fee each (reimbursement). They said yes. If they can’t go any higher as they aren’t urgent enough, they’ll tell you. If you agree to do it for the lower fee, they can give you supermarket or petrol assignments (very quick) to make it more worth your while. There’s absolutely no harm in asking. Don’t ask, don’t get! This is particularly true on the phone. When they have you on the phone, ask them what they have, and make them an offer. They’ll check with their supervisor and 9/10 they can do it for the higher value.
10) Don’t be afraid to say no.
If they want me to travel 1 hour across town for a measley fee, I tell them it’s too far. Tell them it’s not worth your while. They’ll still offer you work. You aren’t obliged to do a certain number of assignments for them. I last did some in February/March and I’ve dipped back in this week and they’ve been fine with me. That’s after ignoring their calls and emails for 3 months!
Oh and if/when they ask, you love eating fast food!
Having worked for one of the companies they audit I know them very well and 9/10 times we spotted our mystery shopper Especially the one who came through drive thru in her yellow mini each month ordering 6 nugget meal with a diet coke and BBQ dip
I have signed up to them but cannot do the above company for obvious reasons and they were the main reason I wanted to sign up as I have 20 stores within a 10 mile radius :
Especially the one who came through drive thru in her yellow mini each month ordering 6 nugget meal with a diet coke and BBQ dip I have signed up to them but cannot do the above company for obvious reasons and they were the main reason I wanted to sign up as I have 20 stores within a 10 mile radius :
Hahahahaha that's hilarious! It's a bit of a running joke in my regulars, I was doing them every month for a while - hence the lovely chat outside, some of the managers are really nice.
Chammy, I find that the disgusting chicken company often aren't online, so you have to email Gap and specifically ask for them - they don't have as big premiums (only usually £1 or £2 extra) but their base fee is a little better if you order cheap things on the menu.
Chammy, I find that the disgusting chicken company often aren't online, so you have to email Gap and specifically ask for them - they don't have as big premiums (only usually £1 or £2 extra) but their base fee is a little better if you order cheap things on the menu.
I have to say auntiegeek I like them too. They are easy reports compared with other companies and there is lots of work. Thanks for the info - my regular job is part-time and involves me working at different local venues. I have looked on their website for jobs that fit in but I hadn't thought of phoning them and negotiating to suit me!