The Shop Logs

Look at the one month local versus national gasoline prices:

My vechicle gets 20 mpg (yes, oink, oink!) and the average locale is 20 miles away I am not spending over $5 to get to the shop. I used to be able to take a chance on signing up for individual shops & picking the rest up as I cruise around on line…..those days are long gone.
Maybe instead of looking into a hybrid currently available, it might be cheaper to convert my present vehicle into one that can run on cigarettes, soon a carton will be cheaper than a gallon!

While my net profit (I use the IRS’ .40 mileage) is up over 5x my 2004 profits, the big numbers in this story are the miles themselves:
42% less miles this summer!

In review I did complete 3x as many entertainment type shops, where I take a friend/family member and it doubles as ‘fun.’ I think this is the way I will get through to next summer. I did more audits this summer with a mixed bag of results. I took less movie counts (and actually read this summer), only one FedEx shop (and nothing of distance since Rosemary Coffin “mislead” me about a bonus), am no longer getting new diamond rings all over town and haven’t been paid to buy those great candles in ever so long. And since the cheapy shoe shop got even cheaper, defying the laws of nature, my zapatos source has run dry.

Still No Commonsense…
These guys are giving me a complex….
I hate the follow-up call & I got one on a recent cell phone shop. The CSR was bithcy, to the people before me, a about the company to me and then by the sounds of the dispute to the manager that gave her the mystery shop results.
I was memorable because I forgot that this company you have to live within 5 miles of the store location and well, I forgot and gave a real address that I (still) thought would be in the coverage area. So I did blow that.
When the lady from snotty, nasty company got me on the phone she questioned A LOT more though. “The CSR alledges she smiled and waved, that you had your back to her & did not see this.” No that is not true, for the first minute I stood looking at phones where she was in my line of vision (arguing with the guys before me). “The CSR alledges she mentioned blah, blah, blah, however there is no mention of this in your report.” Whatever I wrote in my report is what she mentioned, it isn’t like a week later my memory will improve - hey I already did a mind dump once I hit “Submit.”
But the best part of my interaction with the Stupid Nimrod Company was over the contract and business card submission. This company asks that faxes have the business card/receipt over the contract language thereby only resulting in one page faxed to them (note: the IC has to copy it like that though = -$). In the last year I have simply scanned my business card/receipts on top of the contract and submitted the scan twice online, once for Contract and once for Receipt/business card. Well, for the first time I had it rejected on this same shop.
Co-inky-dink?
By way of comparision the other Contract with business card I submitted that day has been approved…..

Four emails (to unHelpfulDesk) , 3 uploads, two messages and one phone call later I am going to make some mad cash - - - - $12!

As I browsed the FAQs for an answer to these questions and more I found out that my real problem was that I was expecting to make money in exchnge for my observations: “Although a great many shops do have a Shop Fee, the objectives of Mystery Shopping are best served by those who approach doing shops with a spirit of community service and consumer advocacy” well….I never thought of it like that…..here I though this was supposed to be a for-profit venture for ICs.

So far the poll on the August/September newsletter has collected 58 votes.

If you did not attend the 2nd Annual Educational Conference in Anahiem, CA this year please vote and tell us why you were not there.

http://top500.feedster.com/
This includes many of the oldest blogs, like the one that reported on Monica & Bill before the networks.
Interesting…
Note that I have started to add RSS buttons such as NewsGator and MyMsn. If you know of a reader button I should add please post/email.

I am going to the casual american cuisine restaurant since I will be spending the day with my 21-27 year old sis in law at the gardens near one of these places, but the bummer is the sceanrio doesn’t call for the full two meals anymore. However, I wasn’t on a diet before, so it all may come out in the wash! I’ll still have to go to the gym to be sure….especially if we don’t go with the Atkins cheesecake for dessert.
We had this planned presky hig gasoline costs, so I feel like the “free miles” are calling me again!

Turned out to be fewer of us than initially planned, but three of us met up at a local park for a nice little picnic.
I had already met these shoppers so it felt a little more relaxed than last time when I was meeting shoppers for the first time.
I t has certainly renewed my belief that I like my little hobby of Mystery Shopping. And has motivated me to make more effort to go after some good shops - they are out there.

I demand that WWW.PAID-TO-SHOP.US immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the WWW.SHOPLOGS.COM .

I searched for other Mystery Shopping Blogs & I let out a big WTF tonight!
Check out my June 20th post on an Audit Job and then chekout the HIGHJACKED version!!!
http://www.get-paid-to-shop.us/alerts/ is where I then find MANY of my posts - can I get a WTF?

They are scraping my blog and putting it on their site….I am just worried that they might be a scam site… I may have to post on Volition to find out…I just hate being scraped!

While I was out finishing a shop yesterday the dogs did this:

I imagine if they could write, they would write something similar to:
“SToP sHoPPinG or We’LL get MOre than GRimaCe neXT tIMe!”
The crime scene was strategically placed within view of my home office window…..

I requested several books be sent to me for my October Mystery Shopping Book Review. SO far the only author to reply Is Dr. Newhouse:

“Good day Penny,

I would be delighted to forward you a promotional copy of my book. I will contact the Promotions Department of McGraw-Hill and request that they forward you a copy.

Take care and may peace and love be with you.

Dr. Ilisha Newhouse
Author Mystery Shopping Made Simple - A McGraw-Hill Publication”

Remember the shop I did where I lost the pics from my digital camera?
Well, I now own a second media card for that camera (the voice of preparation broke through) and I was feeling pretty, “lesson learned” about the whole thing….
And Then:
I get an email informing me that my report was never submitted. ?!?WHaT?!? Sure enough, the company that makes you download their MS Program , the one with the sample/test shop that you “sync,” did not get my report. I like that they let this go for two weeks, but I am the idiot that apparently had the photo directory screwed up, so I don’t get to say much (But you know I’ll tell you what I think).
Good For Me: I save my narratives to word and just clear them outta the company file when I need the space, or after I do a second similar shop.
Shame on Them: 2 weeks?
Good For Me: I still had the pics (albeit from a pic phone) in my email
Shame on Them: that awful software - did some drunk sevant give them ideas for that thing?
Good For Me: I got on the phone to their “tech support” phone number & got a call back early the next morning.
Shame on Them: The scheduler scolded me and told me she is my tech support. Hey, this lady doesn’t remember the last email I sent her & will only do email - - - I think I’ll talk to a detacted, logical person over the phone thanks though.

Real Lesson Learned? No more shopping for them….Have you figured out which company?

Called up some tech support & they helped me fix the Aug/Sept Newsletter poll, thanks Robert!

I have put off more than my share of MSing opportunities this summer.
I look at my August profits & wondering if I will end up paying the Mystery Shopping Companies?!?

I am now at that point in the summer where I cannot take some shops because they are at times of the da when I will be back in school; not that my motivation to shop was very high this summer. Gas Prices, need I say more? I upgraded to a gas guzzler at 20mpg. I just have lost some interest.

I have a return portion of a shop that I am letting hang over my head like nobody’s business, certainly not mine!

I am going to a picnic of mystery shoppers this Saturday -hope it perks me up!!!!

I Feel the Need…the Need for Feed (Yes, a sad play on the famous Top Gun catch phrase).
I have just recently completed my latest technical meets Mystery Shopping article for the newsletter.
The readers of this blog must subscribe also to:

Mystery Shopper Coach’s Update
Idea Lady (Cathy Stucker - ya know MSPA Gold instructor!)

I am currently using BlogLines and My Yahoo to sub to these, but after researching all the other readers available I may be switching soon - holla if you love your reader or have some great Mystery Shopping feeds!

Also note my new FeedBurner button under my RSS Subscription options. New, it is at a pathetic zero - please help.

Ugh…
This last Shop Logs newletter had me stumped! I had to really do some research to be able to explain RSS.
I had the jist of the idea, but to condense it and explain it was tough until I did some extra reading. You’ll see what I resorted to with the first line in the article, no it wasn’t Webster’s!

I have only been on this last diet one week, just had my yearly physical (of course I had to fast) and then I hit the pretzel shop.
Why:
-Did I accept a pretzel shop if on a diet? I naively thought I could control myself and not order the one with frosting.
-Did I go to any food shop after a doctor’s appointment where I needed to fast? I was near the mall anyway & I love to cash in on such “free miles.”
-Didn’t I think this would happen? Well, maybe I did, just a litlle.

So, I just counted it as a weekend-type day.

I am $20 below last July’s earnings.

July 2004 x3.8 more miles than July 2005
July 2004 x3.3 more shops than July 2005

I am happy only being $20 below. I experienced a significant reductions in mileage and time reporting.
This gas price crunch really has me evaluating time & miles like I should have been doing all along!