HI, I am just getting into mystery shopping, mainly to support lifestyle stuff like going out to eat etc. Hubby and I do that stuff a lot anyway but I have to find room in my budget to possibly buy a home in the future.

A couple of newbie questions:
We post a lot on social media when we go out. We always "check in" and often post photos of our dinner or whatever we are doing on Instagram or Facebook. Obviously I would never say on social media that I am a mystery shopper. I'm not even telling my friends, really. But is it verboten to do "check ins" and such even if you are just doing them as you always would?

I belong to a lot of restaurant and shopping rewards programs. One example is a restaurant group in my area that has several different branded restaurants. No matter where I eat, I get points and then I can redeem the points for free meals. If I were to secret shop a place with rewards, it bad form to use the rewards card to get points when I know I will be reimbursed for the meal later?

Thanks so much I've been lurking for a week or so and have already learned a ton from this forum.

Welcome to the forum!

Many companies forbid posting on Yelp and other review sites, but I've never seen anything about check-ins on Facebook and the like. I normally don't do it on a shop just because people would start to wonder why I was eating at XYZ restaurant so often, but that's a personal preference on my part.

I don't see a problem with using rewards earned from shopping unless it's specifically forbidden in the guidelines, though I supposed some might see it as "double-dipping."

@Alter_Ego wrote:

I normally don't do it on a shop just because people would start to wonder why I was eating at XYZ restaurant so often, but that's a personal preference on my part.

That's a good point.... or we might end up going to more expensive places more frequently than normal and my mom and sisters will worry I am overspending lol

@CeciliaM wrote:

We post a lot on social media when we go out. We always "check in" and often post photos of our dinner or whatever we are doing on Instagram or Facebook. Obviously I would never say on social media that I am a mystery shopper. I'm not even telling my friends, really. But is it verboten to do "check ins" and such even if you are just doing them as you always would?

I belong to a lot of restaurant and shopping rewards programs. One example is a restaurant group in my area that has several different branded restaurants. No matter where I eat, I get points and then I can redeem the points for free meals. If I were to secret shop a place with rewards, it bad form to use the rewards card to get points when I know I will be reimbursed for the meal later?

Different MSCs will have different way of saying it, but what you learn, see, record, photograph or otherwise observe when on a shop is "work product" that belongs to them. They do not want you to do any surveys or polls on receipts or on tables or in your check folio. They do not want you to post on Yelp or any other kind of opinion site and I would strongly assume that this would apply to any social media at all.

I have never seen anything mentioned about rewards programs. I do have a few punch cards towards free meals that have been given to me over time unsolicited. I also have a bunch of business cards where a particular item was not good, we were to bring deficiencies to our server's attention and did so. The manager sometimes has gotten involved and given us a card for a 'free entree' or 'free appetizer' at some later date. It is not my intention to ever cash in any of these freebies because they were paid/reimbursed/comped already.

Most restaurant shops I have seen are pretty specific that you are not to use coupons or things like Groupon or Restaurant.com discounts etc. You are, however, allowed to use gift cards with most. We are coming up to the holiday season when many restaurants I shop will offer $5 for every $20 worth of gift cards I buy or similar deals. My most frequent restaurant shops are in the $45-$50 reimbursement range so generally I will pick up $25 or $30 gift cards so that I can use one and then a credit card to pay the remainder and the tip. There are also resellers on line who sell discounted gift cards and I understand that Costco sells discounted gift cards. And of course in the months when my credit card is giving me 5% back on restaurant purchases I will either be a buyer at the restaurant of gift cards for future use or be using the credit card to pay rather than parting with my gift cards.

@Flash wrote:

Most restaurant shops I have seen are pretty specific that you are not to use coupons or things like Groupon or Restaurant.com discounts etc.

Yeah. My thought would not be to use the rewards points on a shop but to earn points on shops that I might use when I am not on a shop.

@Flash wrote:

You are, however, allowed to use gift cards with most. We are coming up to the holiday season when many restaurants I shop will offer $5 for every $20 worth of gift cards I buy or similar deals. My most frequent restaurant shops are in the $45-$50 reimbursement range so generally I will pick up $25 or $30 gift cards so that I can use one and then a credit card to pay the remainder and the tip. There are also resellers on line who sell discounted gift cards and I understand that Costco sells discounted gift cards. And of course in the months when my credit card is giving me 5% back on restaurant purchases I will either be a buyer at the restaurant of gift cards for future use or be using the credit card to pay rather than parting with my gift cards.

So you are buying the gift cards during your shop? Or buying the cards independent of the shop and using the gift cards during your shop?

No, I stop by the restaurant when I am not on a shop of them to buy cards. So, for example, the closing date on my credit card is the 17th. Between the 18th and the 20th of December I will start dropping by restaurants where we normally shop while I'm out doing other shops. One mostly local chain (so little chance to find discounted cards on resellers or at Costco) has about 10 locations. We do shops generally twice a month for this client. I will stop in one location and purchase $200 in $25 cards and then another $200 in $25 cards in another location. That will give me 16 cards and then 20 $5 vouchers that can be used to pay shops in January and February before they expire. I will wait, of course, until the January shops post in mid December so I can be sure that the client will continue on next year.

Edited to add: I suspect there is no harm in collecting rewards points when performing a shop to use when you are not on a shop. In reports I always mention any freebies I have been given as 'come back' incentives and I have never gotten any comment. It just hasn't felt quite right to use them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2015 02:29AM by Flash.

@Flash wrote:

One mostly local chain (so little chance to find discounted cards on resellers or at Costco) has about 10 locations. We do shops generally twice a month for this client.

Oh interesting, it hadn't occurred to me that one would end up doing shops for the same client over and over.

We have been visiting the same small chain for more than 8 years. Luckily we adore the food. There is a 3 month rotation on visits so some times we can do 3 or 4 locations in a month, but usually we just stick to 2-3.

@Flash wrote:

We have been visiting the same small chain for more than 8 years. Luckily we adore the food. There is a 3 month rotation on visits so some times we can do 3 or 4 locations in a month, but usually we just stick to 2-3.

Interesting... Yeah I did notice that with one local chain here. They have shops listed for tons of locations. I shall have to check out this holiday sale on gift cards idea. Thanks for the tip.

@Flash wrote:

Edited to add: I suspect there is no harm in collecting rewards points when performing a shop to use when you are not on a shop. In reports I always mention any freebies I have been given as 'come back' incentives and I have never gotten any comment. It just hasn't felt quite right to use them.

I have performed shops where the guidelines specifically say NOT to use a rewards card at all. You can not use it to pay for part of your meal or whatever service it is and you can not use it to earn points for future visits. Some shops/reports want to see if the employee offered and explain their rewards program to you. If their is nothing written in the guideline or the report, email your scheduler, get the answer in writing and keep that written communication in a folder on your computer.

Interesting. I haven't seen that in the ones I've done but not using them is not a problem either.

I've seen shops where you're supposed to pretend to be unfamiliar with the restaurant so that they can explain the concept to you. If you then busted out your "I come here all the time" rewards card after telling them you didn't know about the restaurant and hadn't been there before, it would be a little fishy.
Otherwise, I don't think I've seen rewards cards mentioned in most shop guidelines.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2015 09:44PM by CaliGirl925.

@CaliGirl925 wrote:

If you then busted out your "I come here all the time" rewards card after telling them you didn't know about the restaurant and hadn't been there before, it would be a little fishy.

That's a good point. In the case I was thinking of, it's a restaurant group that has a bunch of locations with different concepts from high end to low end and everything in between. The one we go to the most is a kind of bar and grill but they also have high end waterfront restaurants and a burger shack in another neighborhood.

Speaking of which, another newbie question: I know it's verboten to ask which MSPs serve which restaurants and so forth, but I am wondering if there are any tips on finding out that information? Or is it just luck of the draw? Apply to as many MSPs you can find until you find ones that service the places you like to go? Thanks!

Correct. Both forum rules and our ICAs (in almost all cases) prevent us from linking the client and the MSP. But there are ways that sometimes work. If you google "Joe's Diner mystery shop" and are willing to sort through a bunch you may find a linking done on someone's blog or by accident or even a posting from a job board. Quite often, though, if Joe's is a chain they may be shopped by company A in Hackensack, company B in Boston and company c in Dallas. This is because the owner of a few franchises may have his/her franchises shopped rather than the franchiser doing the shops. I know of two companies that shop Buffalo Wild Wings in my area. They are different shops with different goals. I have to assume one is for the franchiser and the other is for the franchisee. Yet when folks mention the Buffalo Wild Wing shops on the forum their shops seem to be different than either type done here so I am just left scratching my head because evidently there is still another party out there interested.

Another way of finding who shops whom is when you register with MSP A, look at what shops they offer in other areas when you visit their job board. Start making your list because that restaurant may open in your area as they expand. Do a search on job boards 'All Dates' for a significant part of the name, such as 'cheesecake' if you are looking for Cheesecake Factory. Schedulers sometimes drop client names out there.

Thanks, very helpful! I wouldn't have thought to check other cities.

Also I am being openminded and trying new places... So far I have already discovered a whole new restaurant group I didn't even know existed in my city through Coyle. It's another one of those groups where each restaurant has a different concept. I've already booked one for next weekend and am talking to a scheduler for one a week after that.