Hi,

As a new shopper (worked in retail, field service and food industry) my main question is will only one company shop a large chain or do these overlap?

How do I determine who has agreements with which stores each shop, so I can plan my companies around stores and dining in my area to limit excess travel. Since I live in a major metro area there should be no problem finding shops, but it would be smart to choose one or more companies wisely if at all possible to maximize offers and limit overhead. From what I can see is that most list a few of their larger accounts but not a complete list of who they shop. What's the solution?

For Instance a typical day:

Breakfast shop, merchandising morning, sizing audits afternoon, dinner shop and hopefully in the same general location. Then again another day in different general location. Wisely picking up assignments (if possible) and not ping ponging across the city.

I'm thinking about this as a business for free days which rotate and vary a bit.

Best thing to do is sign up with as many MSC as you can and see what they have available in your area.

An MSC having a contract with a particular client does not paint the whole picture.

Let's say an MSC has a contract with Al's Home Improvement Warehouse and shop the customer service. If Al's is considering changing providers, they may have another company overlap as they test the new MSCs ability to deliver the shops.

Meanwhile, Zed's Home Improvements will contract with another company to complete competitor shops, a credit card company will conduct shops to see if associates suggest the card and multiple vendors will send in shoppers to find out if the employees are recommending their particular products. And don't forget, some companies allow their regions to choose the mystery shopping provider so the MSC shopping my Al's may not be the same one shopping yours. If Al's is franchised they might be shopped by corporate and the franchisee might order separate shops through yet another MSC.

Convoluted? You betcha. It is also the reason there are very few options other than to register with as many companies as you can. There are several threads which provide helpful advice on planning and executing routes. Routes do not have to be 300-500 mile marathons. Every time we leave our houses to work, it should be with the intent of maximizing profit while minimizing travel time and expenses.

Hmm...

Looks like I need to use a separate email account JUST FOR MSC's aside from my regular emails.

Seems like it's going to get very crowded quickly.

Thanks for the insight(s) miketfse and LisaSTL.

It can get very busy! But you can also control who sends you emails and who does not.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> An MSC having a contract with a particular client
> does not paint the whole picture.
>
> Let's say an MSC has a contract with Al's Home
> Improvement Warehouse and shop the customer
> service. If Al's is considering changing
> providers, they may have another company overlap
> as they test the new MSCs ability to deliver the
> shops.
>
> Meanwhile, Zed's Home Improvements will contract
> with another company to complete competitor shops,
> a credit card company will conduct shops to see if
> associates suggest the card and multiple vendors
> will send in shoppers to find out if the employees
> are recommending their particular products. And
> don't forget, some companies allow their regions
> to choose the mystery shopping provider so the MSC
> shopping my Al's may not be the same one shopping
> yours. If Al's is franchised they might be shopped
> by corporate and the franchisee might order
> separate shops through yet another MSC.
>
> Convoluted? You betcha. It is also the reason
> there are very few options other than to register
> with as many companies as you can. There are
> several threads which provide helpful advice on
> planning and executing routes. Routes do not have
> to be 300-500 mile marathons. Every time we leave
> our houses to work, it should be with the intent
> of maximizing profit while minimizing travel time
> and expenses.


Great explanation and is the reason I spend SOOOOO MUCH time in Home Improvement stores and rarely attempt a home improvement project. It cracks me up how often I am in and out of the DIY stores!

Liz

So true. This time of year is a double-edged sword. It is great to use even that little reimbursement toward my gardening and outdoor project needs, but it is harder to get out of the store in a reasonable amount of time. I can wander around the outdoor garden area for hours, LOL!

Did one tonight...walk in and first thing I notice is the credit card signage...nope that isn't the shop tonight, look at the CS...nope that isn't the shop tonight, someone says hi to me and I check their name...nope that was last year's shop, walk by the appliances and wonder about who JD Power would recommend...nope that isn't the shop tonight.... GEEZ find the out of stock area and the paint and just be done with it!

Liz