Secret Shopper

I notified ICCDS that I didn't want to do any more secret shopper assignments. I felt that it was too much hassle for too little money. Before doing a secret shop at a Weis supermarket, I'd have to check out the ad for that particular store and figure out what I was going to buy. I'd also have to think of at least one question for each of the six departments. Depending on what store I inspected, it could take from 10 to 30 minutes to reach the store. Then, I had to spend a minimum of 35 minutes in the store itself. Once I'd finished my shop, I had to do a survey telling the good and bad things I'd found. Once the survey was complete, I had to file my assignment voucher. I ended spending some where between 2 and 1/2 and 3 hours for $10 plus up to $5 for whatever I bought a the store. It just wasn't worth it. Still, ICCDS was nice about it. If I decide I want to start doing shops again, all I have to do is email them my field representative number and I can start doing it again. Kudos to them for being so nice about it. If you like doing secret shopping, you should give ICCDS a try.

Mystery Shopper

I did another mystery shopper shop this evening. It was at another supermarket. Prior to the shop, I checked out the store's weekly ad to figure out what items on special I was going to buy. I also tried to figure out what questions I could ask various departments. Once I had my shopping list and possible questions ready, I drove out to the store. The visit itself went fine though I can't say I would've given the store I checked out the highest marks. Salespeople were no where to be seen in a number of departments and items on sale were missing in some areas. It didn't seem like a number of employees were making any great effort. Overall, I wasn't super impressed with the store. I won't name the store as I don't want to take the chance they might get tipped off that I was doing a mystery shopper visit on them.

Concerning ICCDS, I still haven't gotten paid for any of my mystery shops yet. However, they do have 10 more days to pay me for the first one. We'll see what happens on this score. If worst comes to worst, I'm out around $17 so far which is nothing to me. Stay tuned to see how things work out with ICCDS.

Mystery Shopper Update

I finally decided to see if ICC Decision Services (ICCDS) is a legitimate company. They're the company I've been doing mystery shopper visits for. I contacted the supermarket chain I've visited twice to see if they use them. To my relief, they confirmed they did. It's nice to know I don't have to worry about getting taken in by a scam. Because of that, I definitely plan to do more mystery shops for them. They do offer some nice assignments though they also have some stinkers. I've turned down a number of assignments with them because they haven't offered enough compensation. I'm also limiting my travel range to 30 minutes each way. That way, I don't spend all the money I made doing the shop on gas. We'll see how it goes.