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How Do You Plan Your Shopping Day?

June 11, 2012 03:40AM
As I sit here with my little purse size notebook making one page for each shop I'm going to do tomorrow, I'm wondering what everyone else does.

I find that I need notes I can check in the restroom or fitting room. I just can't remember it all. I write the things I need to remember and make notes on it during the shop (if I can) then I rip it out of the book and file it in the sheet protector with the receipts and anything I've printed for the job when I'm done.

What does everyone else do? Is there an easier/better way?

"It's not THE way, it's just A way"
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June 11, 2012 05:25AM
It really varies. Most of the shops I do anymore I know like the back of my hand. When it is new-to-me I am likely to print one page with the address, times and company information. This may even be the first page of a SASSIE report. On the back I will make any specific notes and review them before going in. If for some reason the shop is too complex for that, I am likely to make notes on scraps of paper that go into my pockets. I can idly pull out a piece of paper, check it, and if I have done that observation already, wad it to drop in my purse. When my pockets are empty, I've got it all.
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June 11, 2012 12:22PM
I use index cards, they are easy to arrange and fit in my purse. I tried to do things electronically and while I do a lot of tasks that way, I can't seem to make it work for shopping.

Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994. I am an undercover connoisseur of customer service, a master of disguise in the aisles, and a sworn enemy of subpar experiences. I blend in, observe, and report—because excellence should never be a mystery.
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June 11, 2012 12:37PM
I have a steno notebook that has a page for each complex shop. Simple shops get a few notes on the first page of the survey. For complex shops I need target name, my alais, my fake phone and email info, info on what model (car, house, etc) I am shopping, info on competitors that I am considering, etc. Lots more for when I am shopping for assisted living for my "loved one," since that person also needs name, age, and personal details. That notebook stays, out of sight, in my car while I am in the shop. By reciting all of the relavent info a few times on my way to the shop, I can almost always remember it all. ("Punting" has its own place in complex shops, lol.) It's great when I get to fill out that "guest card" early in the visit, while my memory is most fresh!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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June 11, 2012 01:05PM
My new iPad is the love of my life!

Since 99.9% of my MS work is transmitted online, I've switched over to 99.9% electronic notes.

I have everything backed up by Carbonite, just in case it's stolen or I spill coffee on the my little shopping buddy (which is how I killed its little sibling, the iPod).

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2012 01:10PM by MissyH71.
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June 11, 2012 03:14PM
Mine is almost exclusively electronic as well. The exception being announced audits. Relevant information for mystery shops is copied and pasted into my Outlook Calendar and synced with the phone. My next big purchase is going to be an iPadsmiling smiley

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
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June 11, 2012 03:23PM
Lisa,

I love my iPad, because I can sync it with my iPhone and get wi-fi anywhere I go in the world.

I shop a lot of wi-fi free zones out in the hinterlands, so this is a great feature for me.

I also have been doing a lot of announced audits for gas stations. I can be on-site, tapping the boxes on my iPad, and have them knocked out in 35-45 minutes, photos uploaded and all.
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June 11, 2012 04:03PM
I'm all about saving time. This week is a route for ICCDS which will involve a couple of hours of reports the following day. The same route with an iPad and after the jobs are transitioned to Sassie would mean reports completed immediately and all that time saved!

Now if I can just figure out why Photo Stream has stopped workingsad smiley

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
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June 17, 2012 02:11AM
I save the shop form as a PDF then download it to my iPad, which is backed up to my laptop and iPhone. I use the Voice Memo app on my iPhone to record the shops I do in one-party states. Before I leave a shop, I review the brief checklist I created on my iPhone to make sure I covered everything.

When I'm far enough from the shop, I complete the report on my iPad. If I've forgotten anything, I listen to that part of the audio recording. Knowing I have an audio recording in case I forget something has relaxed me to the point that I rarely forget anything anymore (on shops, at least winking smiley.

________________________________________________________________________________________________
Go ahead, ask me to violate an ICA. I won't do it, and the MSCs that read the board will know not to hire you, since you can't be trusted.
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June 17, 2012 05:51AM
I don't know why I do this to myself... Again... I've scheduled a full day of shops (one of which was an apartment) and didn't take into consideration how long all the paperwork takes when I get home.

I need to plan for this. I've done this to myself twice now.

Uggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

"It's not THE way, it's just A way"
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June 17, 2012 05:58AM
OneBusy -

Well, at this point all you can do is maximize your time.

1) Start your day as early as possible; figure out which shops can be done at 7 am (e.g., gas stations) and which have time frames you need to adhere to

2) Try to fit in a 15 minute head start on the reports before you go back home. Just having the first couple of pages of a form done is a tremendous psychological boost smiling smiley

3) Use Google Maps to chart your most efficient course

4) Treat yourself to a skinny vanilla latte or an Italian Soda at a coffee shop with wireless during your shop day. Use the time to put in 15 minutes of work on a report or two; you'll feel more positive about opening up the laptop at 8 pm.
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June 18, 2012 04:02AM
I do airport circuits that have 10 or 11 shops in one day. I print off the questionaires and put them in a binder. I will do 1 or 2 shops and then sit down at a gate and write in my answers. It's easy find a place away from the place you just shopped. It makes the inputting much easier when I get home.
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July 11, 2012 10:11PM
I do most of my note taking in stores on my iPhone. Employees generally think I am just texting my husband or kids! I also type up my route the day before, including the key points of each visit. I usually only have to do a visit once and I know all the details for future visits...I have a memory like that. I do recheck instructions each time, though, because sometimes the guidelines do change. I also try to start out early in the morning, because if I wait until afternoon my mind is just more distracted.
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