Want to grab a cold one for free? I'm not talking about a Cullen or any other handsome Twilight vamps (I know it's trendy right now, and I kinda hate that I love something so trendy-but I love love love Twilight!). I mean a beer. I don't happen to drink beer...not really my thing because I'm more of a margarita girl. I only like drinks that are sweet and fruity so that's what I was hoping for when I did this mystery shop.
The shop required that I spend a certain amount of time in the store examining the hot food area, the beverage coolers, the bath room, and most importantly I was supposed to count the number of signs that mention the legal age to purchase tobacco products and alcohol. I can't remember exactly how long I was to remain in the store. I think it was at least 10 minutes. I also had to purchase an alcoholic beverage, and a non-alcoholic item of my choice with a reimbursement of 1.99. I was supposed to see if the employee asked for my i.d. when I purchased the alcoholic beverage and pretend that I didn't have one to see if the employee would still allow me to purchase the alcohol.
It was a pretty standard shop with no strange questions to ask, or nothing that would make me stand out as a mystery shopper. I don't do the shops that I don't feel I can't pull off without looking like a mystery shopper- that's just one of my personal things. I completed the actual mystery shopping and the report in 45 minutes. I have shopped with this company before and they are one of my favorites! The pay was $20 plus a reimbursement of $1.99 for the beer and any non-alcoholic item. Here is a link to the company that I did this shop for.
I guess I can find something to cook with the beer as neither my husband or I are that big on drinking beer. Actually another time I did an alcohol shop for this company the beer stayed in the refrigerator for probably a year! Does anyone have any ideas for good recipes with beer?
Showing posts with label mystery shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery shopping. Show all posts
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Yummy little lunch shop
Hey y'all (said in a Paula Deen Drawl)! I just recently did a yummy little lunch mystery shop. The restaurant was one of those barbeque places that smokes a lot of things. I actually like the place a lot but the only way I can get my husband to eat there is if it is free. My husband and I were able to both eat lunch, get a drink, and leave a 15 percent tip for the waitress. I was going to enlist him to help me with the mystery shop, but then I realized that I wanted to do it on my own so I could blog about how it turned out. I figured that most of my readers will not have a mystery shopper partner. I'm sure that anyone can find someone to treat to a free lunch, but most will have to do all the work alone.
I started off by going to the website of the restaurant that I was shopping to figure out what I wanted to eat. I had my husband pick out what he wanted as well. I do that so when it's time to go into the restaurant I'm not trying to keep track of timing as well as think about what I want to eat. Plus, I wanted us to get a free lunch by coming in under budget.
Well, being a teacher complicates things sometimes. I worry about being spotted by students and getting distracted at an inappropriate time. I've actually run into someone that I knew doing a fast-food shop when I was at the timing portion and so I had to try and politely tell them a quick hello without getting into a conversation. I had my eye on my watch pretty discreetly too though so in the end it turned out to be okay.
Where was I? Oh yes, we had already picked out what we wanted so our mind was free to focus on some of the other things that required attention: cleanliness, comfort, friendliness, timing. The usual suspects for a mystery shop. This shop had an interesting recommendation for keeping track of all of the requirements. One of the requirements was that I visit the restroom and check the cleanliness there. The suggestion was that I go into the bathroom and write down notes. I thought that was a good idea for most people. For me, however, I hate the thought of staying in a bathroom longer than I have to. They are unpleasant...just a personal issue of mine I guess. That is an interesting idea for shoppers starting out.
I went and evaluated the bathroom quickly and returned to the table. The food came and was great as usual. We both cleaned our plates and left. It was a pleasant lunch. It was one that I'd never done before because it had never been an option to. I don't know if the company had just started posting that kind of shop or if they had another shopper who just didn't come through for them. Anyway the way I usually judge things are whether I'd do them again. I would definitely do it again. The fee was enough to cover the food and tip. I would have liked a fee instead of just a reimbursement, but for a first time shopping the place it was acceptable. I guess on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best shop ever and one being the worst, this one falls somewhere around a 31/2 .
You can't really go wrong with free lunch in my book. Here is the link for you to check this company out for yourself. One thing I will tell you from my experience, they don't seem to have a lot of shops. They do, however, have surveys and other offers from time to time. They pay for their shops super quickly too. I got my shops money in less than a week. They did take a long time to pay for the survey though but I figure that was because they had to get paid before they paid me. Here is the link once again. Try it out!
I started off by going to the website of the restaurant that I was shopping to figure out what I wanted to eat. I had my husband pick out what he wanted as well. I do that so when it's time to go into the restaurant I'm not trying to keep track of timing as well as think about what I want to eat. Plus, I wanted us to get a free lunch by coming in under budget.
Well, being a teacher complicates things sometimes. I worry about being spotted by students and getting distracted at an inappropriate time. I've actually run into someone that I knew doing a fast-food shop when I was at the timing portion and so I had to try and politely tell them a quick hello without getting into a conversation. I had my eye on my watch pretty discreetly too though so in the end it turned out to be okay.
Where was I? Oh yes, we had already picked out what we wanted so our mind was free to focus on some of the other things that required attention: cleanliness, comfort, friendliness, timing. The usual suspects for a mystery shop. This shop had an interesting recommendation for keeping track of all of the requirements. One of the requirements was that I visit the restroom and check the cleanliness there. The suggestion was that I go into the bathroom and write down notes. I thought that was a good idea for most people. For me, however, I hate the thought of staying in a bathroom longer than I have to. They are unpleasant...just a personal issue of mine I guess. That is an interesting idea for shoppers starting out.
I went and evaluated the bathroom quickly and returned to the table. The food came and was great as usual. We both cleaned our plates and left. It was a pleasant lunch. It was one that I'd never done before because it had never been an option to. I don't know if the company had just started posting that kind of shop or if they had another shopper who just didn't come through for them. Anyway the way I usually judge things are whether I'd do them again. I would definitely do it again. The fee was enough to cover the food and tip. I would have liked a fee instead of just a reimbursement, but for a first time shopping the place it was acceptable. I guess on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best shop ever and one being the worst, this one falls somewhere around a 31/2 .
You can't really go wrong with free lunch in my book. Here is the link for you to check this company out for yourself. One thing I will tell you from my experience, they don't seem to have a lot of shops. They do, however, have surveys and other offers from time to time. They pay for their shops super quickly too. I got my shops money in less than a week. They did take a long time to pay for the survey though but I figure that was because they had to get paid before they paid me. Here is the link once again. Try it out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
sweepstakes