little chickadee Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I'm off on my first Mystery Shopping expedition today. I'm afraid I can't divulge details of where I'm going, or I'd have to kill you (all very top secret!! It is much more complicated than I thought it would be though - so many questions I've got to fill out (15 pages!) when I get back home. Hmmm We'll see how it goes. Anyone else do this? (I followed a link from Money Saving expert) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hi. I have done one before,for Lush & was hired by them to do it. I really enjoyed it & would love to do some more! I applied via that website too, but didn't hear back - which link did you click on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Cheeky question coming....do you get paid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I got paid in gift vouchers - very handy too I think I got £25. I know one company I applied to asked if I accepted Paypal for payment...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riane Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 sounds like my ideal job... paid to go shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 I'm getting paid £10. I'll hunt out the link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 sounds like my ideal job... paid to go shopping And mine...thanks chickadee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I started before Christmas and am now registered with 3 companies. The best ones are food, but so far only pub chain food. I HAD to test a treatment at a gym but that is a very long involved assignment with multiple visits. They are very specific about what you buy, or ask the assistant about and there can be 50 questions for one section out of three. I feel constrained by their questions, there may or may not be a comments section, but they don't just want your opinion-they have their own agenda. One company has been a bit aukward and has no flexibility over when you go/complete and phoned me twice to see if I was doing a report and at work when it wasn't convenient-and she didn't listen (a week and 2 days before it was due-it wasn't late or anything!). Others are fine if you phone and do it early or change the date. Some pay better than others, but it is not really lucrative so far. By the time you have printed off sheets, understood it, gone, written a full report I doubt you get the minimum wage for the time given up. I'm starting to look at places I would normally go to anyway and ones with more money. You probably have to start with a small amount of experience and build up. You will also get taxed and/or be self-assessed, I'm hoping the tax office will help me sort this out I'm sure it will be fine! I sometimes print the questions and fill out immediately after, or in the toilets if there are things to remember. Times, and names are the things I struggle to remember. They can threaten not to pay you if you get it wrong e.g. buy the wrong product or don't follow instructions. They sometimes knock off marks for spelling/grammar/typos if they have to correct it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Times, and names are the things I struggle to remember. They can threaten not to pay you if you get it wrong e.g. buy the wrong product or don't follow instructions. They sometimes knock off marks for spelling/grammar/typos if they have to correct it. This would be the job from hell for me, I hate shopping Is the point of what you are doing to see if staff are treating customers well? Is there a possibility that someone could get the sack if your report on the shop is not favourable? Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I'd have thought things would have to be pretty serious for someone to get the sack from one report, Tessa: maybe if you reported seeing them doing something totally and obviously illegal and their was other evidence too. But I guess you could end up giving evidence in a disciplinary hearing, especially if you gave a negative report on someone they had suspicions about anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 But I guess you could end up giving evidence in a disciplinary hearing, especially if you gave a negative report on someone they had suspicions about anyway! Yikes Too much responsibility for me Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Man Banned Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I don't think they would call any mystery shopper to give evidence in a disciplinary hearing. In such cases they would just go through the disciplinary procedure as normal but only on evidence from managers. The mystery shopper would purely highlight a problem that the manager should have seen anyway! We used to be mystery shopped at PC World. If the staff weren't offering the products like insurance and the like then it would often just affect a proportion of the bonus we received. A xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 This is who I've registered with https://www.grassrootsmysteryshopping.com/msw_pnlExtAbout.aspx It all went very well and luckily it was all good stuff to report. I do agree that it probably wouldn't work out at more than the minimum wage though by the time you've done everything. Interesting though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I've just applied oooo, im scared now cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I've done a lot of this in the past but I just can't be bothered any more. There was a time when I ate a lot of free mcdonalds, knew everythign there was to know about buying a mobile phone, had more stamps than the post office cos I was shopping so many post offices and having to make a purchase, oh and I went to Woolies a lot too! Funniest one was in a local post office when much to my embarassment 2 of my pupils were in the queue behind me and very bemused when I started asking quesitons about how to get my benefits paid at another branch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisnrob Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I've done quite a few for Grassroots. As others have said, some assignments are better/easier than others. I know friends and family have registered with them and been offered completely different assignments to me (despite only living several miles away!) I have never been offered food ones but my sister got a free meal at Chicago Rock Cafe Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 The questions tend to be-is there litter/untidiness, are certain items visible, do the staff ask specific questions, do they have name badges or is the meal/shop window as in a picture provided. It's not really sackable stuff. It seems to be big companies with very set ideas about how each shop in a chain should be. There have always been positive points and you can give feedback constructively. People I have talked to know when they have been mystery shopped (not by me), some people can tell, or know their company does it. I refused to cheat on a test for one company to test out their proceedure as I'm very honest ironic given you have to fake things in mystery shopping I'm sure it helps my confidence though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I've signed up too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 and me... got my first assignment on Friday. I feel like a female version of James Bond. Not that he was a mystery shopper Then again perhaps he was!! We will never know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 We have a monthly mystery shop where I work. We get marks out of 100. Some marks are a doddle to get- clean & tidy, name badges, smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I have signed up,thinking there would be assignments in Reading,but there aren't any at all Thats the only major town I go too - still,maybe something will come up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I've just finished my sign up - but was a bit alarmed at all the questions they ask you. I suppose they need to offer you assignments that are appropriate, but I don't really like giving out so much personal info online. Wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been for the fact that you forum friends have already done so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I would be very careful as always on the Internet with information and what you are happy to reveal. I searched to see if other people had been paid by the companies before starting. Some sites are fastest finger first and you sign up straight away if you spot it. (I feel gutted I didn't sign up for a meal as OH was umming and ahhing about doing something else on the same day-which we weren't very likely to go to). 5 minutes later it had gone. Before Christmas I got 1 assignment per month from 1 company, but have had nothing since then. It can be sporadic and they tend to work on assignments for that calendar month. 1 company has never offered me anything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I've done quite a bit of MS. I'm really picky now what I do. The last one I did was MSing Santa! I got paid £25 and the cost of the visit. Most other jobs pay really badly in comparison so they have to fit in with what I want. I have a bank job lined up for next week and a food one for half term when Eloise is off nursery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I have a bank job lined up for next week I bet that will be more profitable than mystery shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
