I've gotten half a dozen emails for this shop. It's from a company I've done dozens of shops for. Thoughts?

"Shop Comments
You will be reimbursed up to $xxx for your required purchase plus you will receive an $x0 shopper pay for successful completion of these shops! Reimbursable Expenses: • Cover Charge: $xx.00 • Private Dances: $xxx.00 includes 3 dances • Drinks: $xx.00 includes two drinks • Tips: $xx.00 maximum These shops are DETAILED! You will be required to make various observations and provide detailed information in your report. **Please note -- These shops may NOT be completed 2 days before & 1 day after major holidays or on a holiday. Reports are due within 48 hours of departure; requested edits must be completed within 24 hours. • If the forms are late a penalty of $10 a day will be put in place."

Great shops, great pay if it appeals to you.

Do you need a receipt?

Is this shop for real?

looks like a fun evening out. LOL maybe even for lunch.

I'm a woman and I wanna do one lol

Ahh...thank you for the reminder to apply for these! I forgot to check if they had been posted yet...

I saw it and think it would be too strange for me. But the pay and reimbursement sounded good. Too bad the companion shop in the store of the same name did not have one close to where I live or I would have taken that one.

I can walk to the local toy store from work...but waiting to see if the bonus gets any bigger. So rare to see anything get a decent bonus in my area!

I get the impression that even though it's not specifically stated, they really prefer men for the lap dance shops.

If you go, I'd love to hear about it.

It's in your area, Mama. Let me know!

For those that have done there- what are the required observations that require detailed reporting?
I imagine that the clinical nature of MS reporting would make these reports kind of a fun read.

I don't really think it's anywhere near as entertaining as the adult toy shops. It's basically like a cash bar shop with less calories (If you go to the ones that don't server liquor). You put cash on the bar have a few different options:

A-They tell you to keep your hands to yourself.
B-They tell you it's OK to touch their butt
C-They offer to _____ your ____ for another $XX

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I don't really think it's anywhere near as entertaining as the adult toy shops. It's basically like a cash bar shop with less calories (If you go to the ones that don't server liquor). You put cash on the bar have a few different options:

A-They tell you to keep your hands to yourself.
B-They tell you it's OK to touch their butt
C-They offer to _____ your ____ for another $XX

Butt, butt what about the lap dance part of it?. After putting your hands on her/his? butt what do you have to do next? And when you have done this shop I am wondering how many women customers did you see in the place seemingly ordering a lap dance? Seems like we would stand out unless it is a co ed establishment.

@sandyf wrote:

Butt, butt what about the lap dance part of it?. After putting your hands on her/his? butt what do you have to do next? And when you have done this shop I am wondering how many women customers did you see in the place seemingly ordering a lap dance? Seems like we would stand out unless it is a co ed establishment.

For those that have never partaken in the joys of lap-dancing; The performers are trying to sell you dances. That's how they make $$. They may promise certain things to get a customer to agree to said dance, and there will also be a disclaimer while you talk and walk to the dance area about the rules (don't touch me at all, or these are the areas you can touch).

I couldn't tell you what the client wants to hear. As a shopper, I would just report what was said.

The places that sell liquor have a more mixed crowd but there's also different [social] standards for touching between 2 women....

@SteveSoCal wrote:

C-They offer to _____ your ____ for another $XX

Cook my breakfast?? Where do I sign up??!

which ms company is offering that?

@Hoju wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

C-They offer to _____ your ____ for another $XX

Cook my breakfast?? Where do I sign up??!

I think breakfast is more like $X,XXX and the MSC won't cover that

Dear MSF members, I have officially taken one for the team and agreed to one of the these assignments so that you may learn from my mistakes!

There were a lot of firsts for me in this process. The main one being my first official flake in 15 years as a shopper, and also tendering my resignation as a contractor for the MSC as a result, mostly so that I could feel better about publicly divulging details of the assignment that might otherwise be covered by their ICA.

My first thought @SoCalMama is; Not great pay for what is involved! It's not even average pay, or poor pay. There are so many better ways to earn $80 in life. Pretty much any other way. I would probably do better as a stripper at a Chippendale's club trying to make $80...

@sandyf; The reimbursement is actually not good either. You would be hard-pressed to stay in the club for the required amount of time for the reimbursement provided. It's broken down into different compartments and you are not provided enough tip money to be a normal customer. You are not provided enough lap dance money to be a normal customer, nor enough drink money. The only reasonable budget is the entry fee, which is less than the allowed reimbursement. They also have mandatory valet, but that's apparently not reimbursed. I had dinner at Nobu last week for the twice the reimbursement than this shop offered, with a much easier report and much better experience!

@Hoju; Not a single performer opted for option A above....nor was there an offer to cook breakfast, but there were numerous offers to come home with me. No one actually offered me option B either, though one performer actually just took my hand and firmly slapped her own rear with it.

@Everyone Else; The fantasy is much much better than the reality. I think I finally understand the attitude of people who don't like fine dining or upscale hotels enough to do the work of writing the narrative. I could not have been less interested in receiving the required lap dances from a singe entertainer at that particular nightclub.

While you are reimbursed for 3 lap dances, you are required to interact with 8 performers total, plus a bartender, drink server, manager, doorman, cashier and even the DJ...and get this: They require everyone's names, but nobody wears name tags. They also want timings and detailed interactions with everyone, yet mobile phone use is strictly prohibited inside the club. After two hours at the club where I stepped outside regularly to put notes into my phone and attempted to engage the doorman in conversation, I finally just straight out asked his name. He replied, "Why would you need to know my name?"

Around that time all of the strippers in the club started avoiding me like the plague. I don't think I could have gotten most them to give me a lap dance for double the going price once I started asking staff names. I quickly sized the experience up as one of those situations where the shopper is SUPPOSED to give themselves away so that all of the staff know to be on best behavior around them, and the corporate office can feel like their club is not a front for illegal activities (which it is).

Basically, it boils down to expensive lesson in one of the shadiest and most unappealing nightclubs I have ever found myself. My only remaining choice to complete the assignment and get the reimbursement was to engage in physical contact with a performer who's hygiene was so poor that I would have to hold my breath for the entire song, or another who's eyes were rolling back in her head as she staggered toward me, apparently unaware that I had been asking for staff names. I actually considered going with the drugged girl at one point, but since this one of of those clubs that does not serve liquor, I had my wits about me and decided it was best to just stop spending money, dissolve my relationship with the MSC and cancel the assignment. I also was unable to obtain some required names and figured the report would be rejected.

For the record, the part that made me most hesitant to go through with the report was actually the legal ramifications of reporting the illegal activity that I observed as a contractor. I probably could have tolerated to stoned stripper for one song and pestered the remaining staff for names...but a MSC that focuses so heavily on observing legal standards should really be sending licensed PI's in for this type of work.

Steve, you're my hero. Thanks for taking one for the team. I've always thought highly of this msc, but reading between the lines of the description of the shop, I couldn't believe they would accept such a client. Even more disappointing is the apparent disregard for the safety of the shopper, who may be entering a very unsafe situation. Glad you got out in one piece.

Ah, that makes sense now. I was wondering why a strip club would use mystery shoppers. From your post, it sounds like they are checking a block for their insurance. Hence the unbelievably low reimbursement.

I would like to try this anyone have the Mystery Shopping site that offers this?

@TroyHawkins wrote:

it sounds like they are checking a block for their insurance.

It actually seems like they are utilizing one contractor to spy on another contractor and ensure legal compliance...which would be all well and good as long as that was the only requirement of the shop.

One could easily enter the club, interact with 8 strippers, get lap dances from 3 of them and leave with names and data intact. It's almost impossible NOT to get a stripper's name. Every one of them walks up and introduces themselves as soon as you enter the club. The biggest issue there would just be recording all the names.

The problem comes into play when you also require a 42 page (yes, 42 pages) report with 214 standards and signifiant narrative about the facility, every single staff member at the club, and multiple other observations that are standard on most bar mystery shops, but then make the main focus of the shop almost impossible to pull off covertly.

It's either stupidity of the person who designed the assignment, or them being complicit in an attempt to sully the data the shoppers collect and make the operation of the clubs appear better to than it is.

@Air4ceone wrote:

I would like to try this anyone have the Mystery Shopping site that offers this?

Seriously? Did you even read my above post?

Just take $175 of your own money, go to the strip club of your choice, enjoy yourself and avoid having to fill out a report which will not be accepted....

Wow. Kudos to you for trying and also cutting your losses. I’ve never seen these pop up in my area.

Wait wait wait... So no breakfast? Why would anyone do these??

@Hoju wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

C-They offer to _____ your ____ for another $XX

Cook my breakfast?? Where do I sign up??!

No. not to be dirty or anything they offer to co_k your breakfast by substituting a c where the o was.

OMG Steve, I always thought you sounded like a really nice guy but you are a saint. You put yourself at the mercy of this place for us, your fellow mystery shoppers. What a civic minded person you are. Thanks...this shop report sounds like 10 of your fancy hotel reports rolled together for a stay in a fleabag level place.

To those who have expressed an interest in this particular shop, a gentle reminder that my revealing the name of the msc is an ICA violation.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Dear MSF members, I have officially taken one for the team and agreed to one of the these assignments so that you may learn from my mistakes!

There were a lot of firsts for me in this process. The main one being my first official flake in 15 years as a shopper, and also tendering my resignation as a contractor for the MSC as a result, mostly so that I could feel better about publicly divulging details of the assignment that might otherwise be covered by their ICA.

My first thought @SoCalMama is; Not great pay for what is involved! It's not even average pay, or poor pay. There are so many better ways to earn $80 in life. Pretty much any other way. I would probably do better as a stripper at a Chippendale's club trying to make $80.

I should have called you while I sat on the 405 today. That’s quite a story. Hope you showered in bleach and washed with the wire brush.

I haven’t done the particular club you just did. I was offered a different route of clubs in a different city. The reimbursement was much higher though.

Your dancing days are behind you dear. Just sayin