Dieting and Mystery Shopping

I decided to go on a diet a few weeks ago and it hasn't been easy. I have still taken several fast food shops, but I have to NOT eat what I buy. I usually don't eat everything I buy at the fast food shop, but it is hard when you are hungry. I have been checking calories online to make sure I know what I am getting into when I go to a shop. Thankfully, these shops fall on the weekends, because I don't do them during the week. Sometimes I bring the food home for Jacob to eat...he is a teen and he eats ALL the time! I have lost weight every week, so I guess I am doing a good job. I may need to try to find another company to work for that doesn't have so many fast food shops.



This weekend my partner and I are going to a nice Italian Restaurant for a mystery shop. We will be bringing leftovers home, that is for sure!

Scheduling Shops

My partner and I are always checking each companies web site to see if there are new shops. We text each other when we see new shops. After a while you begin to learn the rhythm of a company. We know that each month around the 20th one company comes out with all of its Fast Food shops for the next month. Notice, I said AROUND the 20th....because we just never know. We know another company releases its gas shops each quarter and we begin to start looking for them, but we never know the exact date they will come out.

We check each website at last 4-5 times daily. I can't always check them while I am at work, so she keeps an eye on them. We go days with no new releases. They always seem to come out in the later afternoon or early evening hours.  Sometimes I check a company's site and am shocked to see a LONG list of shops available!

Sometimes in my haste to get a shop, I sign up for one I didn't mean to just by clicking on the wrong shop. For one company, this is not a big issue. I can cancel it all on my own. I can also reschedule a shop with this company on my own. Other companies require that you email them to ask them to remove or reschedule a shop. This isn't usually a problem and they will do it, but is more of a hassle than just being able to do it yourself.

I can sign up for as many or as few shops as I want for a weekend. I tend to work more over the holidays when I have more time during the week. I like having the summer off, when I can really spread out the shops.

I am so glad that my partner was around to help me learn the skills I would need to become a good mystery shopper!

Dressing for Shops

We have had a real cold snap come through this area and I had several outside shops this weekend. Let's just say I got the pictures I needed and got back into my car to complete the paperwork. It is important to remember to have the correct clothing when completing a shop. Some shops require casual dress attire for inside office shops. Others require you to dress down because you are posing as someone who typically visits that kind of shop. Other shops don't give a dress code. For one of the gas shops I complete, I have to wear a safety vest! I also have to upload a picture of me in a safety vest!

I am keeping my gloves in the car at the moment, so I always have them when I am out and about and doing my shops. I also keep my vest out there. I keep an eye on the weather reports so that I can be prepared for the weather. Last week, I completed a few evening shops in the rain! Thankfully, it was just to run in and buy something. I didn't have to be standing in the rain!

Supplies You Will Need

I have written about the skills needed to be a mystery shopper, so now I am going to give you a list of supplies you may need to mystery shop.

• pens, pens and always another pen. I never seemed to have one in my car when I need one, so I bought a large box of pens and put them in my glove box.
• clipboard--truly a must have. When you are sitting in your car completing your input form you need it to write on. You also need it when walking around gas stations completing the form.
• pocket folder--it doesn't have to be a pocket folder, but something to keep all of your forms in for the day.
• something for receipts--I like to use a clear zip plastic envelope type thing. It's official name is a poly zip check envelope. Comes in handy!
• digital camera--truly a must have when doing audits. You can sometimes use your camera phone for small jobs, but you really need a camera for the larger ones.
• printer/scanner--again, a must have. I scan all of my receipts to send electronically in to verify my shops. I sometimes have to scan other forms. I got by with an ink jet printer for a while, but now use a laser jet printer for my shops.
• paper--well of course you need paper...duh! YOU NEED A LOT of paper! Take advantage of office supply stores that offer you rebates and/or rewards when buying paper.
• clips--paper clips to the large black clips that can hold a LARGE stack of paper...get clips.
• stapler--you need a good stapler and a LOT of staples. First you staple the input sheets together and then once you completed the shop you staple the receipt to your input sheets. This way if there is a problem you have the receipt and the input forms together.
• GPS--I wrote a whole blog on this, but I wanted to mention it again. A MUST HAVE!
• Stopwatch--most cell phones now have some kind of timing device or at least an app you can purchase to act as a stopwatch, but this is also a MUST HAVE.
• calendar--OK it doesn't have to be a calendar, but you better have some way of keeping up with your shops. I have shops scheduled through the middle of February right now. Before I even schedule a new shop, I look to see what is already on my calendar. I don't want to overbook myself, or be driving from one side of town to the other. I try to cluster my shops together by city when I can!
• Good computer--you need a good computer and good computer skills. Organize your documents on your hard drive into folders.
• File cabinet--again, it doesn't have to be a file cabinet. I use a drawer on my desk that holds files, but someway to organize the shops you have printed.

This should be a good start! I am sure something else will come to mind. Good luck, if you decide to become a mystery shopper. Keep a list of your expenses, you can write them off on your income taxes.

Here Come the Gas Stations

The last few days have been very busy. I printed my calendars out for January and February so I would be sure not to over book myself. Three different sets of gas stations came out in the last three days. We expect the fourth set to come out within the next few weeks. Two of these sets of stations reimburse for gas and you have to be careful NOT to plan too many on the same weekend. You have to be sure there is ROOM in your gas tank for ALL of this gas. Not a bad problem to have!

I also accepted several shops for the week of New Year's! I have very little next week, although I did pick up a $40 fast food shop that is about an hour from me. Well worth the drive! I am planning for a restful week next week.... I hope. It will be time to take down all of the Christmas decorations and spend any money I got as presents. The boys will have all kinds of new things too!

I am very ready for this break! I am looking forward to making some extra money that second week off though!

Those Darn Directions!

I have blogged about how important it is to READ the directions to a shop. If you make a mistake and can't correct it, you may not get paid. Today I had two shops that were at a fast food shop. I had to take pictures at this shop and thought I had them all. I had printed the questionnaire and quickly read the directions at home. There were six reminders for six different pictures in the questionnaire. I was able to carry it with me because this was a revealed shop. However, there were three pictures that weren't mentioned in the questionnaire, but they were stated in the directions. I noticed then when I was completing the input online. Elijah and I tore out of here at 4:45 to run to these two places and TAKE these pictures. OH MY! The sun was going down and some of the pictures were outside. We made it in time, but oh my, was I worried. I had completed the shops around 11:30 this morning, but had baked and taken care of some things at home, so I didn't even start the input until 4:30. Let's just say, I will be more careful with those directions!

Death of a Printer!

If you remember, I posted back in February of this year that my step mom gave us a laser printer. We saved a great deal of money with this laser printer. We did at least 15,000 prints on this thing. I recently bought a new drum for it, because even with a new toner cartridge the print was very light. However, after only a few days with the new drum, the printer started making some funny noises. It finally just stopped printing. I wrote the company an email and they sent a new drum, but it also wouldn't work. My partner and I came to the conclusion that the printer had finally come to its end.  We did some research and decided that we would each by a new Brother laser printer that was on sale for $79. Whenever she had wanted to print using our other laser printer, she would have to bring her laptop into the den to print. Now we will each have our own laser printer and can print all we want!

I had thought about buying a HP Office jet inkjet printer, but decided I didn't need something like that. My little HP(knock on wood) scanner/printer is working just fine. I use it mostly to scan and sometimes to print things in color.

I can also write this new printer off on my income taxes! Before purchasing the new laser jet printer, we checked to see how much the toner cartridges and replacement drum would be. We found them for a good price on line and will order them online rather than purchase them at the store!