Mystery Shopping


bandaddie

New Member
Mystery Shopping

Some things we have done on the road;
1. Kayaking guides - FL, NC, Coasta Rico & Canada (our company was oft inspected by mystery shoppers. I found them to be a great help in developing marketing tactics.
2. Swimming pool repair - worked for a company out of Mn. Worked each job for about a week, maybe two, then moved to next job. Averaged $1400/wk! No kidding! It is hard work and I earned every cent. This was at hotels, parks, and other high end places so we stayed at some nice spots. Our supplies were carried in a trailor behind our class C. I have a HASMAT on my CDL, which is required for those chemicals.
Now we live in a non-moving home, and I took a "day job" a couple of years ago. We had a baby!
Figure out what skills you have now, what skiils you would enjoy learning, and your ability to improvise, adapt and overcome. Do not limit yourself to RV parks. Never think you are too old or over qualified for anything. I am in my mid 50's, engineering degree and do very well in construction.
Above all; network network network. talk to every one you meet.
 

macamper240

New Member
Mystery Shopping

I've done a lot of restaurant reviews. The list of restaurants to be reviewed comes out each month around the 20-27th of the month for the following month. If you know where you will be each month that works out OK. I have only been paid for the exact amount of the meal and tip (receipts are sent in) for my husband and me, never anything beyond that. Also, each restaurant allows only a certain amount for their "shop". For instance a P.F. Chang's might allow $30 for lunch (including tip as long it is under $30) and you are required to visit say May 3-5 between 11:30 and 1:30. Everything is specified, even some guidelines about what you can order. You have about 10 pages of "things" that you are looking for -- usually restrooms, how clean they are, if paper was on the floor when you went in the first time was the paper still there when you went in the second time? Etc., etc. This is not a fun meal. I actually bought a stop watch that I wore under a long sleeve blouse or jacket. You're expected to say how many seconds (no rounding up or down to the nearest minute) from the time you arrived till someone greeted you. How long till you were seated, how long till your waitperson came to your table. Also, while you're figuring out all these seconds, you can't let the waitperson or anyone else there know that you are a "shopper". You can go in the restroom stall and make notes, etc. How long from the time you ordered until your drink arrived, your dinner arrived, etc. Did the waitperson "talk up" any of the activities going on that weekend, etc. After trying to keep track of all these things (you didn't really want to have a real conversation with your husband, did you?) you have 24 hours to do a complete report on the computer of all the questions you were required to answer. It usually took me a couple of hours to complete the report on on line. Fun!!! Not really. I did it for quite a while (a couple of years) because I thought it was interesting to see how the whole process worked. I haven't done it for probably six months now because the last review I wrote up was for a big restaurant chain location that was so bad I'd never go back even if it were actually free. I received a lot of heat because the review wasn't good. If you're still interested in being a "shopper" the website is www.a-closer-look.com. Good luck.
 

macamper240

New Member
Mystery Shopping

Because I don't want to mislead anyone, let me quickly add that the above restaurant that had a terrible review was NOT P.F. Chang's. I used that restaurant as an example at the beginning of the reply, but I've had good reports there.
 

Al Wells

New Member
Mystery Shopping

Any Mystery shopping in Canada? With our outrageous cost of fuel and taxes, the real mystery is that we can afford to shop at all!

Al
 

tsprague1

New Member
Mystery Shopping

Mystery Shopping is just a name for doing Service Evaluations. The main criteria for doing this is that you are very good at paying attention and following directions. Liking to shop doesn't really help you in this profession. You really need to be a detail type person.

On a job, I always print out the questions that I'm going to be asked online. After the job, I get in my car/MH and pull around the corner and fill out these papers. I paperclip the business card/receipt to these papers. Doing it this way, the experience is still fresh and you tend to remember more details. Also, once you get online to file your report, you have everything already to input. If you have a laptop computer, put you answers to the questions in a document file. That way all you have to do is cut and paste your answers, you don't have to write them a second time.
 

Kilian1111

New Member
Mystery Shopping

Oh, sorry. Here's what MYSTERY SHOPPING is: Let's say the client is a fast food restaurant. They wonder how their customer service is. So, they hire a "mystery shopping" company. That mystery shopping company has hundreds of "shoppers" all over the country, who are independent contractors. Typical scenario is: Let's say one of the fast food restaurant locations is in Whatever Town, Tennessee. The mystery shopping company contacts its shoppers in Whatever Town, to see if they would like to do it. When the shopper accepts the job for a certain day & time. Let's say it is a drive-thru. They drive-thru, order what is required to be ordered, and evaluate things like whether the employee smiled or made eye contact, whether they got what they orderd, and the quality of the food. The shopper is then reimbursed for the meal by the mystery shopping company, which is reimbursed by their client - the resturant.

I was just thinking that when I become an RV traveler, I would like to get free meals that way.
:)
Lol - I want to be a mystery shopper too! Free food! Thinking ahead. Loved - "I would like to get free meals that way."
 

Francis7Bos

New Member
Honestly speaking, I used to go shopping with my girlfriend that I spend so much time with! However, I also want to tell you small story about how we met each other. Once I just tried to use this magnificent platform afroinroductions.com where I’ve found my love that I’m happy to be with. Accordingly, I sincerely hope you will also find someone without any obstacles!
 
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