I am a two day newbie. I am both excited and overwhelmed. I've read the Mystery Shopper Guide and am ready to get started. I also started basic certification at MSAP?
Anyways I am currently with Market Force and About Face. Received assignment list from about face but didn't apply because I am so scared of doing it wrong. I can't shake this anxiety. I also read that I should sign up for other MSC companies, but I don't know where to start. Is there a company reviews anywhere about these sites listed?

Nice to meet you all by the way. I guess I should have said the first.

Hi Msstella92,

Welcome to the world of mystery shopping and to this forum!

I haven't been new for some years but still feel excited when working for the first time for a company or doing a shop that is new to me. The forum is a great place to read and learn about the business. You have done some reading already but may I point out the 'sticky' threads in the new members section is a great place to start. There is a good and improving list of companies accessible in a link at the bottom of every forum page. In addition there are quite a few reviews of companies in back issues of the Mystery Shopper Magazine (a link is also at the bottom of every forum page).

Your anxiety is shared by many. However, know that every day shoppers successfully complete thousands of shops, probably tens of thousands of shops. You are well on your way to becoming part of that number. Continue to read and sign up for more companies. Becoming overwhelmed is easy to occur with all the available information. At some point you just have to do a shop. Read the instructions and survey form backwards and forwards until you know it by heart. Consider a practice run at different location or perhaps at a competitor's store if that makes sense. Also add the word 're-shop' to your vocabulary. Doing a shop over again is often the worst thing that can happen when the rare mistake occurs.

Good luck and let us know how it goes for you.

Hi, Msstella92,

Welcome! Mystery shopping can be fun, and it needn't be overly stressful. I've only been shopping since May, so I remember quite well what it was like doing my very first shop (a fast food shop for Market Force). vlade5394 is right, at some point you just need to take the plunge. Or maybe just dip your toe in. Why not accept one FF shop? Market Force is pretty good with the pre-shop training, and you can review the manual until you're feeling confident.

Is there a part of shopping that particularly scares you? Maybe we can help. Is it that you won't time things properly? That you'll miss observations? vlade5394's advice to perhaps practice the shop at another location so you become comfortable with shop requirements is great.

You have a smartphone, right? Look around you when you're in line at a FF restaurant. What's everyone doing? Messing around with their phones! So if you use a stopwatch app for timings and a notepad app or texting for notes, you'll blend right in. If you use a notepad app, you can make yourself a super simple reminder sheet so you don't miss any observations.

Bottom line, what's the absolute worst thing that could happen? That you get outed as a shopper? That you miss observations and have to re-shop? Neither of those is life or death. Those are the sorts of things we learn from and move on.

Msstella92, I sent you a PM (private message). At the top of your screen, you should see a notice saying you have a new message.

vlade5394 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Msstella92,
>
> Welcome to the world of mystery shopping and to
> this forum!
>
> I haven't been new for some years but still feel
> excited when working for the first time for a
> company or doing a shop that is new to me. The
> forum is a great place to read and learn about the
> business. You have done some reading already but
> may I point out the 'sticky' threads in the new
> members section is a great place to start. There
> is a good and improving list of companies
> accessible in a link at the bottom of every forum
> page. In addition there are quite a few reviews
> of companies in back issues of the Mystery Shopper
> Magazine (a link is also at the bottom of every
> forum page).
>
> Your anxiety is shared by many. However, know
> that every day shoppers successfully complete
> thousands of shops, probably tens of thousands of
> shops. You are well on your way to becoming part
> of that number. Continue to read and sign up for
> more companies. Becoming overwhelmed is easy to
> occur with all the available information. At some
> point you just have to do a shop. Read the
> instructions and survey form backwards and
> forwards until you know it by heart. Consider a
> practice run at different location or perhaps at a
> competitor's store if that makes sense. Also add
> the word 're-shop' to your vocabulary. Doing a
> shop over again is often the worst thing that can
> happen when the rare mistake occurs.
>
> Good luck and let us know how it goes for you.


Thank you for your kind words. You are right mistakes often occur and I do have a desire to succeed in this business. I guess once I test the waters and, like you said, I'll be fine. I'd hate to get my account cancelled.

I never got the PM

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2014 11:39AM by Msstella92.

Is there a part of shopping that particularly
> scares you? Maybe we can help. Is it that you
> won't time things properly? That you'll miss
> observations?

You named my fears. I've been reading posts on this forum and on Violition and some of what I am reading are things I'd rather avoid. Could be issues with the to shopper not treating the job as a business. I guess it's just Newbie anxiety. I haven't said that in years. I certainly wish I'd heard about this method years ago. I knew they existed but always thought they were hired by the store directly.

Msstella92 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I never got the PM


Whoops, I'm sorry, I sent it to the wrong person! *blush* See? Mistakes happen, and we try to see the humor in the situation, fix them as best we can, learn from the experience, and move on.

It's great that you're using the forums to help educate yourself. If you can learn from others' mistakes, you'll hopefully avoid them yourself. But don't let the horror stories scare you off. There are way more friendly, helpful people in this business than jerks. Remember that we tend to complain about negative experiences and keep mum about positive experiences.

Seems to me you're already treating shopping as a business. You're approaching it seriously, doing your best to learn as much as you can. That's a really good attitude to have. Yes, it can be fun, but you'll soon learn that there's a good bit of work involved, too.

As you've no doubt heard, mystery shopping isn't for everyone. But if all of us can do it, you can, too! Go for it! And let us know how it goes, k?

Also remember, practice makes perfect. Doing the same shop the second, third, or 50th time makes it easier. It really gets easier with practice.

Try doing an easy fast food shop with low cash requirements. If you mess it up, you won't be out much. Also, I highly recommend that, if you are in a "one-party consent state," (most states are, only eleven states require the consent of every party to a phone call or conversation in order to make the recording lawful. These "two-party consent" laws have been adopted in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington), simply hide a small recorder on you and tape the conversation. It makes it much easier to recall the details.

iamloved,
There are actually 14 two-party consent states. They are the 13 listed at this site
[www.rcfp.org]
plus Delaware.

For mor information on legal requirements concerning audio recording, please see the second topic in the New Mystery Shoppers area of the forums.

@walesmaven wrote:

iamloved,
There are actually 14 two-party consent states. They are the 13 listed at this site
[www.rcfp.org]
plus Delaware.

For mor information on legal requirements concerning audio recording, please see the second topic in the New Mystery Shoppers area of the forums.

Thank you for posting that link.
It's very difficult for me to remember details when I need to create plausible scenarios. i had to do this 3 times this last Monday. It was nerve wracking at the very least.