For my fellow newbies, I wanted to write a little post about my first week of mystery shopping. It was the best of times... it was the worst of times, haha

I started by going to a mall last Sunday and shopping a shoe store without purchasing anything, and going to a cell phone store to ask about the best smartphones.

Throughout the week I did a few after work, including another cell phone shop and two grocery shops. I did one of the grocery shops on the wrong day and thusly it was rejected. Totally my fault. It definitely said 11/14 and I did it Friday, which was most decidedly not 11/14.

I also did an online and a phone shop of an office supply company about checks. I did the online one first and so I knew all the answers when I did the phone one. When I did the phone one, I called one location and was told they don't sell checks and to call my bank. Called a second location and got completely wackadoodle answers - the price quoted me over the phone was triple what it said online. The editor rejected the shop and told me to redo it because those answers were so wrong. I wrote her back and told her that's what the guy told me on the phone even though I asked for the specified type of checks a couple of times, and she accepted it.

My goal is to do more restaurant/hospitality shops and I did my first restaurant one tonight. It went pretty well with one little bump. I had downloaded the Mystery Shopwatch so I could time things but I clicked it more times than things I was supposed to time. I did have the presence of mind to look at it after entrees arrived so that I knew what time that was and I could backtrack/move forward from there and work it out. Next time I will make more of an effort to remember exactly when to click it and not get click happy.

CeciliaM, you are off and running, with only a bump or two in the road. Your first week was pretty ambitious for a newbie!

Just wondering about the grocery shop you did on the 13th, and not on the assigned date of the 14th. Did the report allow it to be input and submitted on an incorrect date? What a bummer.

Thanks for sharing

You are off to a really great start! Congratulations on trying a variety of shop types and making steady progress even when you hit a few bumps in the road. Looks like you Weill do well.

Sometimes when you do a shop on the wrong day or wrong location, you can make the scheduler, and yourself, happy by volunteering to redo the shop on time or at the other site. Because that saves the scheduler the time and trouble of finding a replacement shopper on short notice, volunteering to redo will impress the scheduler that you are serious about your work. And, that will help you to become the shopper that they turn to first in agn emergency situation. That can spell BONUS as well as getting you access to higher paid shops that most new shoppers do not see on the job boards.

Have fun!

Congrats on what sounds like a successful and busy first week of mystery shopping! You made a mistake, which you will learn from. I'm still making them after four years in the business, and probably still will. It's fun, exciting, sometimes funny, and definitely an eye opener! Keep on doing what you're doing, sign up with lots of MSC's and read your instructions VERY carefully. That's the best advice I can give you. GOOD LUCK!

Sounds like you are off to a great start! Congratulations!

They did offer me a reshop, but I couldn't do it because I had another shop scheduled. Maybe I will reach out to the scheduler, apologize and offer to fill in somewhere else to make up for it.

@Mert wrote:

CeciliaM, you are off and running, with only a bump or two in the road. Your first week was pretty ambitious for a newbie!

Just wondering about the grocery shop you did on the 13th, and not on the assigned date of the 14th. Did the report allow it to be input and submitted on an incorrect date? What a bummer.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks! Yes, it did! To be fair, I did notice when I got home that it said the 14th and I chose to fill it out anyways. I don't know how I got into my head that I was supposed to do it Friday. ; P

@CeciliaM, that sounded like my first few shops. I've only been doing this for about 2.5 months now and I still have triumphs and foibles. Congrats on jumping right in and exploring the waters. It's not so bad once you actually start doing it!

On Saturday I did my first retail shop for an MSC I've never worked with before. I thought it went wonderfully. I made notes in my phone of the things I needed to do, look for and ask, and then double checked it in the dressing room. When I got home to fill out the report I realized I had not asked one of the "essential" questions. I had to run back to the store (thank goodness it was only 2 miles from my home), find the employee I had dealt with and ask the question - all while trying to make it seem natural!

I wanted to add to this- Yesterday I set out to do a restaurant shop 30 miles away with photos required and forgot my phone. haha.

Luckily I realized it like a mile from my place. Hubby had his phone too, so we could have done it anyway but I was like..wow. No brainer.

Good job, Cecelia!