New shopper here!

Hi all! My name is Melissa, I'm brand new to this, just did my very first shop yesterday. It was at five guys. I feel super paranoid because I was the only person eating in the restaurant and some guy sitting with an employee kept looking at me, I guess I will know soon enough! I have eaten there as a regular customer so it seemed like a no brainer to do a shop there! I really hope my shop is approved! If anyone has any tips, I'm all ears!

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Hello Melissa, and welcome to the forum. The tip I would give you is to have confidence in your role-playing ability. When a shopper acts like a shopper, an associate's radar perks up. Say what you mean, mean what you say, make eye contact, with an air of nonchalance.

I was behind a customer at a Five Guys counter who ordered a medium rare patty melt and cheese fries with jalapenos. Another time, the customer in front of me ordered a bacon burger on a hot dog bun. Those aren't even on the menu. On a grocery shop, a customer in front of me at the Deli ordered 5/8 pound of sliced turkey, shingled with the same amount of Havarti. Another customer asked that the pastrami she ordered, not be folded before placing it in the package. No eyebrows were raised, at least not visibly :-]

Have fun with mystery shopping!!

Thanks Mert! Those are great tips! I ordered what I usually do and tried to behave as I do any other time, maybe its first shop jitters haha! I'm looking forward to doing more!

Welcome to the board Melissa and congrats on finishing your first shop! You may be able to log back onto your MSC system and see if you're shop is approved or not already. If it is the same company I am thinking of, these can get approved pretty quickly.

You'll get more comfortable with experience to be sure. If you never felt conspicuous before you were a shopper, why would you now? Best of luck going forward!

proudly shopping in the D.

QC tends to be fast, Paul, but not all that fast on Saturday night. My 5G went in almost 3 hrs ago and is still in QC. Because the reports have text boxes a human has to read them.

I sent my report in last night, as of now it's still in QC but I will keep watching

@Flash wrote:

QC tends to be fast, Paul, but not all that fast on Saturday night. My 5G went in almost 3 hrs ago and is still in QC. Because the reports have text boxes a human has to read them.

I had one take over 48 hours earlier this week. I've never seen it take that long, and it was making me nervous. It was for a fast casual shop (not the one the OP visited), but had very little narrative, so I'm not sure why it took so long.

Anyway, I'm sure @Melliejayne did fine and that it will be approved soon. Let us know how it goes!

Shopper in California's Bay Area

Thanks I will let you know!

Just checked and my shop was approved!! I'm so happy!

Bravo! And you are off to a roaring start!

Great! You're on you way to bigger and better. Next, they will call or email you with bonused offers, depending on the competition in your area.

Thanks! I've already scheduled my next shop! I'm sure I will be much less worried next time!

Hi Mellie,

A kindred soul! I'm also new and my first shop was 5 Guys too! I just did my 2nd for them and the report was a LOT faster the 2nd time around. 2 Micky D's are on for this week. (Doing this after work, or during lunch hours.). It's a nice way to get your meals paid for and earn some gas money. 'Have to admit that I'm in awe of some of the folks on this forum -- it's obviously a full time job for them and they are gracious enough to share some pretty cool experiences / shops! (Thanks folks!).

Let me know how Mickey d's goes I'm nervous to try that! It seems so much more intense than 5 guys, although the shop fee does make it enticing! Good luck! I'm in awe of these folks too! I found it by filling out a survey after eating at five guys and I though, why not give it a try!

@Melliejayne wrote:

Let me know how Mickey d's goes I'm nervous to try that! It seems so much more intense than 5 guys, although the shop fee does make it enticing! Good luck! I'm in awe of these folks too! I found it by filling out a survey after eating at five guys and I though, why not give it a try!

Hey Mellejayne, I would think you'll find the arches shops easier than the 5 guys. Just a few timings and observations, and you're good to go. They do offer bonuses on these shops often, so after you get you're feet wet, don't be so quick to jump in and grab these right away. A little patience can pay off for you big time. I guess I should qualify that statement as I don't know the area you are shopping or how fast these shops get picked up, but you will figure it out with observation.

Feel free to expand you're horizons beyond the MSC you working for now. There are hundreds of shopping companies out there, and while all may not have opportunities in your area, many will. One piece of advice I would give is several shopping companies require a writing sample, so create one and copy and paste it into your applications.

You're off to a good start!

proudly shopping in the D.

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