[OT] Mystery Shopping

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

coomassie_blu said:
Cool - thank you Jon 8)

Before I go ahead and sign up, do they operate a referral scheme? If a Shedder has a link, please do send me a PM ;)

you all signed up and on the mystery shopping bandwagon now?
 

The Funky Blue Dog

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Jon@TheMoneyShed said:
you all signed up and on the mystery shopping bandwagon now?

Yes I have registered with Market Force, and luckily passed their surprisingly tricksy little screening assessment :eek: - you need to know where to put your apostrophes! Or more importantly where not to put them!

Next I have a profile to complete, and can define the radius I am willing to cover. You are given an initial assignment, and further opportunities are only offered to you if your first report is satisfactory. They seem to be very hot on grammar, punctuation and spelling. Is this how you remember it Jon? Are there other Shedders who are working for them currently?

I will come back to update - although as Jon has pointed out I will need to be cagey about the precise nature of any assignments. Wish me luck!!
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Yes spelling and grammar is everything but that is to be expected as the reports go to their clients

Trust me.. It will be worth the effort when the mystery shopping tasks open up
 

The Funky Blue Dog

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

I have my first assignment for Market Force on Thursday :)

I will let you know how it goes, but it might not be until the weekend as I have a busy few days ahead.

Does anybody have any good tips on how to estimate somebody's height?! It's not something I've needed to do before. Is there a knack?
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

My knack (and it may sound stupid)

is i know my own height, was the person bigger or smaller than me? . It just has to be 'rough' not exact

what is the task? Bookies? Food? Sandwich shop?

Good thing with that company is they pay out twice a month which I always found useful

If the Airline2 task comes up which includes flights and a week away ALL PAID FOR BY THEM, then snap that one up!
 

The Funky Blue Dog

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Jon@TheMoneyShed said:
If the Airline2 task comes up which includes flights and a week away ALL PAID FOR BY THEM, then snap that one up!

Lol - I wish!

Not going to say what type of job at the mo unless I jinx it!

The trouble with your method is I'm only little, so just about everybody is bigger than me!
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Well whatever type of job it is

DONT FORGET TO ASK FOR A RECIEPT

mystery shopping 101
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

well...

how did your first assignment go then?
 

The Funky Blue Dog

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Jon@TheMoneyShed said:
well...

how did your first assignment go then?

Well Jon - I had fun! I really enjoyed it ;D

For my first mystery shop I chose a visit to the cinema. Bearing in mind I worked it out that it's been AT LEAST EIGHT YEARS since I went to the flicks!!

I hope my experience might be helpful to anybody else thinking of giving traditional mystery shopping a go - the good bits and the bad bits.

For your first assignment with Market Force (MF) you're only allowed to choose one from the list of those that are available to you in your designated area. Once you've made your choice, the others are no longer visible. I downloaded all the information I could from all the listed jobs ie the Assignment Notes and the Questionnaire Preview for each, just to give me a really good grasp of what each type of job involves before they disappeared.

Once I selected my job I had to choose the date of the visit, and then answer a set of questions to check I was fully informed about what I had to do (you gather this information from the Assignment Notes). They were sneaky little questions designed to catch out the unwary! For instance, there was one of those horrible "double negative" questions: the notes said to check the toilets, so the question was "I understand that I do not need to check the toilets - yes or no". So you have to get your head round the fact that you need to answer "No - I do not understand that I do not need to check the toilets". Lol - I'm assuming I got it right as I passed their screening test (unless you're allowed to get some questions wrong - they didn't say).

During my visit I had to buy a ticket to see a film, and purchase something from the kiosk before the film and an alcoholic drink at the bar afterwards. The "pay" was a measly £3.25 and the "reimbursement" was £10. I ended up about a quid out of pocket, but I really don't mind. Forget earning a minimum wage doing this! There is no wage. I was there for three hours in total.

And so to the report. Oh yes - you lose the will to live!! The Preview Questionnaire does not prepare you for the depth you have to go into when you actually submit your online report. Sigh. I had to ask for an extension as I vastly underestimated how long this takes, so missed the deadline. Luckily they took pity on me and did not deduct any "points" for bad behaviour! You are given a running score that can attract deductions if you're naughty, meaning you might miss out on particular jobs. I also had to upload images of my receipts.

As a new shopper you're allowed three attempts to get your report right. Once your report is accepted you will usually be released into the wild to get on with whatever is available. I heard nothing about whether or not my report was good enough - I had to assume it was as I logged on the next day to find my payment was confirmed and there were more jobs waiting for me :)

There are 11 jobs available for me to choose from now, and I'm allowed to have up to 8 booked at any one time. The bookie jobs are there, along with supermarket tasks, pubs, meals.

All in all I had a cracking evening out, and even got chatted up by a Very Nice Man in the bar afterwards :D

I will give mystery shopping a good bash as, although the "pay" itself is pitiful, you get "stuff". For me this is ideal as my extreme frugality (is that a word?) prevents me from doing too many fun things like this. This is the beauty of The Money Shed - I've discovered methods of earning or generally having a life that I never knew existed.

Oh and by the way, a fellow Shedder missed a trick as Market Force does indeed operate a referral system - somebody on here could have earned themselves £1.50 - tsk!

Happy to answer any questions.

I have a question for experienced mystery shoppers please. There are a couple of audit jobs available at a supermarket - checking dates of stock. The pay is better, but it looks like the job itself takes ages. Does anybody recommend these types of job? Or not?
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Never done the audit tasks, i am aware of them though.

The only thing I used to mess up at the start when I first began MSing was forgetting to get reciets sometimes. If I forget I would go back to the till and say I was a contractor and needed a receipt. Sorted out the problem but I soon got into the routine of remembering it.

The reports, yes they are hard at the start, but like any job, you get used to it and learn what they are looking for and how to cover it all as quickly as you can do.

Profit, yes they are slim or non-existant (if you do a spicy chicken you will def be down a few), however like I have mentioned. Bookies is profit + you can place the bet in your favor.

I will put my neck out on the line and say MarketForce I find the pay the less of all MSing companies.

Ones I would recommend

Retail Active
http://www.retailactive.com/

Mystery-Shoppers
http://www.mystery-shoppers.co.uk/ (I got some good car-washes off them)

e-mysteryShopper/edigital research
https://www.emysteryshopper.com/ (I can't recommend these enough, they are some VERY high paying jobs and best of all, they are ALL online. Order this product, sign up to this trial etc, paid monthly and you can earn a VERY good amount with them provided you are will to put in the effort.
 

Tuliplady

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Try grassroots
https://www.grassrootsmysteryshopping.com/msw_pnlExtApply.aspx

You can put into 5 (I think) postcodes of where you work so put in your nearest bottom slapping supermarkets as these come up regularly and pay well.
 

RootsandWings1

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

I signed up with Market Force awhile ago but yet to do an assignment as life has gotten in the way and the incentive for doing it has not been enough to rearrange plans but now my son is in school I want to give Mystery Shopping a go so have signed up with the other companies listed here :)
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Market force I would say are the best ones to join if you want to get a 'feel' of if Mystery Shopping is for you (hopefully it is)

If you son is now at school you should have plenty of time in the daytime to go and 'shop'.

Might be worth you searching on here for threads on apps like Roamler and Field Agent.

This is Mystery Shopping as well but a more 'LIVE' version of it, the pay is also very good
 

RootsandWings1

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Thanks for the advice. I did one Mystery Shopping assignment with Retail Maxim a couple of months ago and did enjoy it but with getting my son started in school part-time after a house move things have been chaotic.

I hope after half term that I can do a 'shop' or two with Market Force.

I did have a quick look at Roamler and Field Aget, but at the moment don't have a smartphone......phone died on me and waiting to upgrade but once I do will take a better look at those options.
 

The Funky Blue Dog

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

I had a fabulous day out at a visitor attraction near me on Saturday courtesy of MF. I wouldn't normally be able to afford the high admission fee - but this is reimbursed and lunch paid for, in return for a report on one of the catering outlets :)

This coming week I have four pub meals lined up - I won't need to go food shopping!

I agree that MF may not be the best paying, but I'm enjoying learning the art of MS with them, and might add another company or two as my confidence increases.

I might try a bookie job this week to see how that goes. Thanks all for the advice so far.
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

coomassie_blu said:
I had a fabulous day out at a visitor attraction near me on Saturday courtesy of MF. I wouldn't normally be able to afford the high admission fee - but this is reimbursed and lunch paid for, in return for a report on one of the catering outlets :)

This coming week I have four pub meals lined up - I won't need to go food shopping!

I agree that MF may not be the best paying, but I'm enjoying learning the art of MS with them, and might add another company or two as my confidence increases.

I might try a bookie job this week to see how that goes. Thanks all for the advice so far.

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
 

Centrebound

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Hi all,

We are a multichannel mystery shopping company who are currently recruiting for a home based assignment to take delivery of online bought groceries in the Bristol, Swindon and Gloucester areas.

We have regular assignments paying up to £100 but typical fees are £12-£15 per short survey.

To apply please use the online application form at www.centrebound.com/mystery-shopper-applications

Regards

The Centrebound Team
 

Tuliplady

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

On the green site there is a whole thread devoted to mystery shopping. There's a list of companies plus hints and tips. When I first started mystery shopping, after a few assignments I just signed up with everyone on that list.
ESA is another good one if you can get a run of jobs.
https://www.esa-webms.co.uk/document.asp?alias=login
 

Jon

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

I see MF have got in with those that like to car at any price.

Got an email from them paying a fair whack to take my car in and get it valued
 

The Funky Blue Dog

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Re: Getting back into Mystery Shopping

Jon@TheMoneyShed said:
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!
 

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