What to Buy?

For the majority of the mystery shops I do at gas stations and office supply stores, I have to make a small purchase to provide to the mystery shopping company that I was actually there. This reimbursement is usually right around $1.00 and can go up to $2.00. I don't like to spend much more than what I am reimbursed for, because then I "lose" money. The average fee/pay I receive for a gas station is $10 and for an office supply shop $7.  My partner also mystery shops, so she is always buy things too.

 

So, what do we buy......we buy lots of soft drinks! I can usually find can drinks at gas stations for 75-95 cents. Other times I buy some candy or chocolate milk for the boys. I can usually find some cheap pens or pencils at an office supply shop, but then I end up with too many of those. I usually look in the $1.00 area and stock up on some teacher gifts.

 

We stock pile the soft drinks in the garage so the boys don't just guzzle them. For the last month, we have saved them for Elijah's birthday party this weekend and then we will save them for Jacob's graduation party. My mom also mystery shops and bought a LOT of candy to give us to give to our kids (my boys and nieces and nephews) for Easter. Once we are done with the parties, we will keep the drinks in the garage to drink through then summer. I guess we will stock pile them for Jacob when he goes off to college next year!

Top 10 Things I Do Because I am a Mystery Shopper

I have been mystery shopping for four years now, and I can't help but do things when I am out just shopping and NOT mystery shopping. These things have become habits, because I have done SO many shops.....so here is my list starting with number 10 and working to the one thing I do the most.

 

 

 

10. Pulling up to the pump and checking to see if the squeegee and paper towels are available.

 9. Feeling the need to TIME everything--how long to pump gas, how long to get my food, etc...

 8. Checking menus and menu boards to see if they are clean or damaged

 7. Taking a picture of my food. I will think "I need to take a picture before I can eat this" and then

      realize that this is not a REAL shop and I don't need a picture!

 6. Making a mental note of employees and if they make eye contact, smile, and if they are in uniform

 5. Noticing that gas station fuel signs are missing numbers or have damage to the numbers

 4. Keeping notes of an employees appearance--male/female, hair color, approximate age and height,

     length of hair, ethnicity, and if applicable facial hair

 3. Noticing if the employee is wearing glasses(this is almost always asked, the ones in number four

     vary from shop to shop, but not this one.

 2. Noticing if there is a manager on duty in a restaurant and making note of what he or she is doing

 

AND THE NUMBER ONE habit that I do ALL the time is.......

 

 1. Check to see if an employee has his or her name badge on!!!!! I will make note of it and then say  

      to myself...."this isn't a SHOP, you don't have to notice the name badge OR the name!"

Update!

It has been a few months since I posted. Graduate school kept me busy up until around Thanksgiving, because I am an over achiever and had all of my assignments done! I then started doing more shops since the next semester would be starting in January.

I am currently doing fast food and gas shops. I did a LOT of shops during December, because we were off for two weeks for the Christmas Break. I will be slowing down again since my classes start back up on Wednesday.

We had an ice storm back on Dec. 6th and all of my shops had to be reschedules. I think most North Texas was iced in for four days. You could really tell by looking at shops online, because dates started getting extended way past the usual dates. One company even sent out an email stating that we should NOT cancel shops but rather reschedule and if we had problems to contact them directly. It was the first time I had to reschedule so many shops at once!

Getting an Extenstion

I had three shops that I was supposed to do today that are an hour away. There was supposed to be ice this morning, and thankfully that did not happen, however it was bitterly cold. There was a possibility of ice on bridges and overpasses too, so I decided I was not going to chance it. Thankfully, the company called me and extended my shops to Wednesday. I can't do them tomorrow, because Jacob is having his Senior pictures taken in the morning.

Just wanted to let y'all know, that most companies will let you extend out your shop due to the weather. I was able to get my shop done last night!

Be Safe!

Here in the Dallas area, we are expecting ice tonight. I have three shops out in East Texas tomorrow that are $20 each plus some free gas. I have already emailed the company to inform them that I may not be able to do them tomorrow. It isn't worth the money to risk my life! The companies I deal with have always been good about giving extensions during bad weather. I have a shop tonight that is only about 10 minutes away. My partner and I will get a free dinner tonight, UNLESS the weather gets bad. I emailed that company yesterday and asked them what happens if I can't do the shop due to the weather. They emailed me back and said to contact them and they will be happy to reschedule the shops for me.

Another company even sent out an email informing shoppers NOT to cancel shops, but to contact the shopper needs to reschedule due to the weather! It's nice to know that there is commons sense with these companies when it comes to the weather.

Out of Practice

As I posted earlier, I have slowed down on the shops a great deal. However, I am now a month ahead in both classes and working on projects that aren't due for another few weeks, so I have been taking a few more shops. It doesn't hurt that many of the gas stations shops are back! I had six shops yesterday, and I feel SO out of practice. It took 2 1/2 hours to complete the shops(drive time included) and then another 2 hours to complete all of the input. I haven't done that many shops since August, and I was mentally tired at the end of it all! It's not that the shops are hard to do, but all of the driving and then input takes a lot of time!

I plan on continuing to do shops. Child support may stop for a few weeks due to ex being between jobs, so I feel like I have to keep it up on the weekends so I have the money to pay the bills!

Slowing Down!

I just went back to work this past week as a teacher! I am also starting graduate school online on Monday! With all of this going on, I have decided to SLOW down on mystery shopping. I have signed up for some gas stations for September and October, but I generally about 60 of these and this time I am only doing 28. These just pay too well and I get free gas!

I am going to ONLY sign up for shops that pay really well OR are in town. Once graduate school gets going, I will have a better idea of how much I can handle. I am hoping to put this money away for Christmas!

It hasn't been easy to give up mystery shopping. The "hunt" for shops can almost become an addiction. However, I think I will have plenty to do with my partner,  kids, grad school, my full time job and LIFE!