[OT] Mystery Shopping

[Yorkshiremeerkat]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Nice one, ive always found mystery shopping pretty good

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Great to hear you are getting on so well with it.

Are the lunches of the variety that is neither knife or fork? - Those used to keep me going for months picking those up lol

Defo pick up a bookies one, once you get them and see the profit that can be made they will become your favourite job I recon

Two of my lunches are the variety of which you speak but two are a bit more upmarket. Yummy one today out in the sticks.

I'm glad I've bought the specified purchases on plastic - I've done three assignments so far and on two out of three of them the till receipt showed an incorrect date and/or time. At least for the reports I've been able to upload my card receipt alongside the dodgy till ones to prove I carried out the assignment at the specified time.

I haven't done a bookie one yet - mainly because MF restricts you to 8 active assignments at any one time and I'm booked up with more interesting/better paying stuff. I'll save the bookies for next week's Derby I think.

I had the email about the car thingy. No good to me as I neither drive nor own a car but that's a comparatively decent rate of pay for a change!

Great to hear you are getting on so well with them. Are you finding your confidence is increasing as you do them?

It's well worth signing up to the edigital company I have mentioned a few posts above. Easy money, all online mystery shopping, quite good pay. Well worth a punt.

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Great to hear you are getting on so well with them. Are you finding your confidence is increasing as you do them?

It's well worth signing up to the edigital company I have mentioned a few posts above. Easy money, all online mystery shopping, quite good pay. Well worth a punt.

Yep - only 2-3 weeks in but I'm loving it so far thanks. The only trouble is I find it difficult to switch off the "customer service radar" when I'm not on an assignment! I have to tell myself it really doesn't matter if the cashier at my local supermarket doesn't say goodbye, as I don't have to put it in a report! I have found myself becoming unhealthily critical!

So far courtesy of MF I've had several pub/restaurant meals (customer service variable, but food without exception excellent), a trip to the cinema, a day out at a D-Day commemorative event, and store visits with decent purchases reimbursed including clothing (shocking customer service there - that was a difficult report to write) and...err...toys for grown-ups ;D!! I've managed to earn premiums on the pay for a couple of assignments for mopping up last minute releases/leftovers which is nice.

Today I lined up my first bookie jobs in time for the Derby , but I might have to slow down on the MS jobs for a little while until I get reimbursed as it's a fair bit to keep paying out. One thing in MF's favour is that they pay out twice monthly which I believe is better than most of the other MS companies.

Thanks for reminding me about the edigital thing - I'll give it a try.

 

[Blackpepper1]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Great to hear you are getting on so well with them. Are you finding your confidence is increasing as you do them?

It's well worth signing up to the edigital company I have mentioned a few posts above. Easy money, all online mystery shopping, quite good pay. Well worth a punt.

Yep - only 2-3 weeks in but I'm loving it so far thanks. The only trouble is I find it difficult to switch off the "customer service radar" when I'm not on an assignment! I have to tell myself it really doesn't matter if the cashier at my local supermarket doesn't say goodbye, as I don't have to put it in a report! I have found myself becoming unhealthily critical!

So far courtesy of MF I've had several pub/restaurant meals (customer service variable, but food without exception excellent), a trip to the cinema, a day out at a D-Day commemorative event, and store visits with decent purchases reimbursed including clothing (shocking customer service there - that was a difficult report to write) and...err...toys for grown-ups ;D!! I've managed to earn premiums on the pay for a couple of assignments for mopping up last minute releases/leftovers which is nice.

Today I lined up my first bookie jobs in time for the Derby , but I might have to slow down on the MS jobs for a little while until I get reimbursed as it's a fair bit to keep paying out. One thing in MF's favour is that they pay out twice monthly which I believe is better than most of the other MS companies.

Thanks for reminding me about the edigital thing - I'll give it a try.

Sounds like you are having a good time as well as getting paid.
The edigital thing looks interesting so may give it a go myself and see how it goes.

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

It's well worth it, you will get a lot of regular work that pays well. It is work however so it is by no means an easy ride with edigitalresearch

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

I've signed up to eMysteryShopper today and completed the assessment survey. Apparently it can be a few days before they let you know if you've been accepted, so I'll keep you posted and then maybe start a new thread.

It's another site that asks you to agree to a non-disclosure statement, but perhaps I can share my thoughts about it in general terms if I get through? I can already see it's no walk in the park.

Is eDigitalResearch very similar Jon? I got confused and thought they were both the same site when you recommended them before!

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

They are the same company don't worry

And yes you can be as vague as we are about market force stuff lol

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Looking at it again eMysteryShopping seems to be where us lot go to sign up - and the eDigitalResearch site is for the companies who want to use mystery shoppers?

Yes sandwich shops and cutlery pubs eh

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Good news - I've been accepted to eMysteryShopping ;D

Bad news - no invites available at the mo

I'll see how it goes and start a thread if I think it'll be helpful to others

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

don't worry you will get send a message when there are invites

have you been sent a NDA to sign and send back to them in the post?

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

have you been sent a NDA to sign and send back to them in the post?

I had to tick an "I Agree" box at the end of my online application - no mention of being sent an additional form. I don't see there being an issue with sharing a couple of observations about what the work involves and what I think of it, without discussing any potentially sensitive details? Do you?

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

No not at all, I just vaguely remember something about having to post an NDA off but that was quite a few years ago so maybe they just do it all online now.

Anyway look out for holiday stuff, muscle/gym stuff, online signup things.

You get paid monthly by cheque... CHEQUE!!!!.. After you have raised an invoice

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

You get paid monthly by cheque... CHEQUE!!!!.. After you have raised an invoice

Lol - yeah how quaint is that!! The online application form is trapped in the dark ages too! It couldn't cope with the fact I'd bought my phone in 2014 - the latest date available was 2013 - and I was asked if it is a WAP phone. No mention of smartphones or new-fangled broadband connections. And I was asked if I have an AOL account??!! Do they still even exist?

 

[caledonia1972]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

A few years ago I did a LOT of mystery shopping through Marketforce (although it was called something else then, can't remember what), GfK and Grassroots.

Over time I noticed the fees declining and as I live in the suburbs and don't work in a city centre, the jobs were just not worth my while any more. The restaurant assignments paying £2 and reimbursing £12 are a joke, unless you are happy to go along and eat on your own.

I still do a bit of mystery eating for two different companies who pay no fees at all, but reimburse almost everything. I go regularly to a national chain where the reimbursement is £40 - plenty for two people to have a two course meal with a couple of glasses of wine too. We have also had overnight stays with dinner at 4 and 5 star hotels - the questionnaire afterwards is very lengthy, and the company expects you to go into detail on every point, but last time we did that visit the bill was over £320 for dinner, bed and breakfast, all refunded in full. Even when we take the kids on a mystery shop (if we're allowed) they pay more generously. We did one of those "all you can eat" buffet places a while back, bill was £47 for 5 of us and we were reimbursed £30.

Marketforce are just taking the mickey - unless you work or live somewhere with lots of shops within a close proximity. GfK used to have shops for a large bank and those paid quite well, but again were fairly involved.

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Hiya!

I agree that MF fees are lower than others but I find that company as a whole is a VERY good way in to learn if Mystery Shopping is for you or not.

Starting off fresh with a company like Retail Active or Mystery-Shopping can be a bit of a headache if you don't understand how the MSing 'Game' works

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

I agree that MF fees are lower than others but I find that company as a whole is a VERY good way in to learn if Mystery Shopping is for you or not.

I go along with this wholeheartedly. Mystery shopping is something I've always wanted to try, but it's only recently that my circumstances have afforded me the freedom to give it a go. It's been less than a month since my first assignment for MF, but 13 jobs later I'm developing an automatic sixth sense for what is required. Making observations (and remembering them when you can't take notes at the time or use your phone!) comes more easily now, and the reports seem less daunting than when I started out.

The Market Force pay isn't brilliant, but it's been a brilliant introduction - and I've eaten like a queen and bought some nice goodies on them! And I've been given extra pay for a couple of urgent jobs which has made them a lot more worthwhile. The customer support at MF is pretty good too, and the fortnightly payments are a godsend.

Having done my "induction" with them I feel confident enough to sign up to other companies that might be a little more generous, but I'll keep checking the available assignments at MF for anything that takes my fancy.

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

You may have got an email with 'invites' from edigitalresearch today - I did

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

You may have got an email with 'invites' from edigitalresearch today - I did

Yep. Been out all day though so haven't investigated yet. Getting my priorities right and seeing what kind of a day the Shedders have had first!

 

[The Funky Blue Dog]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

You may have got an email with 'invites' from edigitalresearch today - I did

Quick question Jon if you don't mind? If you get an email asking you to fill in a profile, but it states that you must be available to make location visits in cities at the other end of the country (which I'm not!) - does it reflect badly on you if you ignore the message? Sorry if this is a daft question

 

[Jon]

Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

No it's fine to not do the profile surveys if you don't want to

they will still continue to send them to you