do you do mystery shops if it's over 100 F
We all have very different weather issues with which we have to contend. In my area, I am more likely to not shop in a flash flood or some kind of ice and snow event. If I didn't work when the temperatures were above a 100, I'd starve. We all have to be weather prudent depending on our area though. I had a scheduler really upset with me some years back when I canceled a fast food drive through shop because it was in the middle of a flash flood. They were telling people in our area not to get on the road except in an emergency. The danger was that immediate. She just plain did not comprehend. When it comes to the weather, our areas are all very different. Our capabilities, both our own and in the area to deal with various weather events are different. There is not a one size fits all answer to that one. You got to do what you got to do to take care of yourself.
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
"Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln
"Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln
When the weather sucks, look for phone shops. You can do a quite a few in a day, and they can add up. That will be my focus this winter because I drive as little as possible when the roads are snowy/icy.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2022 12:47AM by shopnyc.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2022 12:47AM by shopnyc.
I work full-time so I mystery shop as my schedule allows, regardless of the weather.
100ﾟhere would be very oppressive. It was bad enough in CA, but here it would be so very much worse. We really don't get that high often, and then only for a few days at a time. Not like it was in Riverside County, CA where we would go for weeks without a break. Here I need AC for anything over 80ﾟF. In CA I never used AC or heat in my home.
Here in Alabama, I rarely go out of the house when it's over 90ﾟoutside. I will go out in the evening, even when it's still warm, but I don't go outside when the sun is up. For as long as I can remember I have had a problem in the heat and in the sunshine. If I can keep my neck cool and keep the sun off my face I can manage as long as I'm careful. I have lots of big floppy shade hats and I keep water and tea towels in the car. And several packs of alcohol wipes.
Here in Alabama, I rarely go out of the house when it's over 90ﾟoutside. I will go out in the evening, even when it's still warm, but I don't go outside when the sun is up. For as long as I can remember I have had a problem in the heat and in the sunshine. If I can keep my neck cool and keep the sun off my face I can manage as long as I'm careful. I have lots of big floppy shade hats and I keep water and tea towels in the car. And several packs of alcohol wipes.
I've mystery shopped in cold and snowy weather. I've mystery shopped in temperatures over 115°. I've learned that to make money you have to shop when the projects are paying out. If it's up against the deadline, doesn't matter if it's zero degrees or 120°. You better do it then, or you're going to miss the boat. I think I've suffered heat stroke before. When it's over 100 I try to drink a bottle of water or bottle of Gatorade between each shop and eat a lot of fruit.
I am in Southern California (Inland Empire) and I did a gas station audit this morning. Tomorrow I have 7 very easy shops to do. I try to do it shops earlier in the day so I don't get the terribly terrible weather. I usually try to input a shop.in my car right after doing it. I don't do that in the heat. I make sure to drink lots of water while shopping.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2022 02:29AM by pegleg2000.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2022 02:29AM by pegleg2000.
Extreme heat? Yes, no changes to my habits.
Extreme cold? No shopping.
Extreme cold? No shopping.
In the cold I can work, I don't like it, but I have gloves with the the finger tip cut off for the biometric on my devices. I use the stylus a lot more in the winter too. And wearing the traffic vest doesn't make me feel like I can't breathe in the winter.
I have crashed a car on frozen bridges before. So I'm very cautious about driving when it's freezing out. And i have rescheduled shops when the NWS says it's going to snow, because these roads ARE NOT plowed or salted, and they aren't designed to accommodate snow or freezing weather. The contractor that used to maintain all of the roads in this county, got a big payout and ran off with the money. We currently have somebody that is going around patching things incorrectly and making a mess of our roads. I don't know if the County is ever going to find someone to do it right. They might after one of the rich folks has to repair their car because of it.. but that won't be anytime soon.
I have crashed a car on frozen bridges before. So I'm very cautious about driving when it's freezing out. And i have rescheduled shops when the NWS says it's going to snow, because these roads ARE NOT plowed or salted, and they aren't designed to accommodate snow or freezing weather. The contractor that used to maintain all of the roads in this county, got a big payout and ran off with the money. We currently have somebody that is going around patching things incorrectly and making a mess of our roads. I don't know if the County is ever going to find someone to do it right. They might after one of the rich folks has to repair their car because of it.. but that won't be anytime soon.
A scheduler deactivated me once because I declined to go to a restaurant in a freezing blizzard. In HIS New England state a little snow ( and he comprehended it was a freezing blizzard) never stopped anyone. I only share this because his Co is no longer is in business.
@pegleg2000 wrote:
I am in Southern California (Inland Empire) and I did a gas station audit this morning. Tomorrow I have 7 very easy shops to do. I try to do it shops earlier in the day so I don't get the terribly terrible weather. I usually try to input a shop.in my car right after doing it. I don't do that in the heat. I make sure to drink lots of water while shopping.
I'm near the Inland Empire. I'm slowing down because it will be over 105 all this week.
I did it in 110 degree heat last month. It was like walking in an oven, but it was dry and not too bad. This week it was only 90 degrees but rainy, and that felt worse. I do it and will again because I need the work and the work won't wait for the weather.
while if you lived in phoenix as I did for 2 stints now from April thru August you would not shop as it is over 100 every day. I am back in Buffalo, NY now where I have been shopping for years. Much harder to shop in Winter with the blistering cold and unpredictable weather. Planning 2 to 3 days in advance can be hard anymore impossible.
Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.
If I have scheduled gas shops/audits or other outdoor things that I can't reschedule, I will get those done. In the morning before the high heat sets in.
If its something like a fast food drive-thru or a restaurant, I'll still do those as I can be in air conditioning.
On the hot days when I don't have a busy calendar, I search for phone shops or multiple shops in a big indoor mall. Shopping multiple stores in big malls can require a lot of walking, but I've had some outstanding days $ wise and stayed cool the entire time.
I know the editors don't always like because picture quality is not always the best, but one of my favorite weather conditions to shop in is the deep fog. I've taken some amazing shop photos in the fog.
If its something like a fast food drive-thru or a restaurant, I'll still do those as I can be in air conditioning.
On the hot days when I don't have a busy calendar, I search for phone shops or multiple shops in a big indoor mall. Shopping multiple stores in big malls can require a lot of walking, but I've had some outstanding days $ wise and stayed cool the entire time.
I know the editors don't always like because picture quality is not always the best, but one of my favorite weather conditions to shop in is the deep fog. I've taken some amazing shop photos in the fog.
Yes I do. I will try to start early in the morning and I bring a ton of water. I tend to do a lot of gas station shops where I have to take pics of the restroom so I can easily do a potty break. Some days I've consumed over 60 oz of water on a small route.
@GinnyLynn wrote:
We all have very different weather issues with which we have to contend. In my area, I am more likely to not shop in a flash flood or some kind of ice and snow event. If I didn't work when the temperatures were above a 100, I'd starve. We all have to be weather prudent depending on our area though. I had a scheduler really upset with me some years back when I canceled a fast food drive through shop because it was in the middle of a flash flood. They were telling people in our area not to get on the road except in an emergency. The danger was that immediate. She just plain did not comprehend. When it comes to the weather, our areas are all very different. Our capabilities, both our own and in the area to deal with various weather events are different. There is not a one size fits all answer to that one. You got to do what you got to do to take care of yourself.
I'm with you! If I didn't shop due to heat, I would starve!
Re: the flash flooding. I'm embarrassed to admit that when I moved here (south Texas), I didn't understand about flooding. One morning it was raining hard and I got to my university library to find out we were closed for the day. I thought "Just because of some rain?!" Later that day, I learned that two people had drowned when their car became submerged under an overpass only a few miles up the road. Weather kills here. And everywhere, of course, which I know now.
As long as it's safe to drive I'm gonna do my shop. I've never not shopped due to heat but have definitely had to cancel/reschedule due to bad mountain weather.
In NYC there is no driving to shops like in most of the country. We walk from one place to another, stand outside waiting for buses, or wait on steaming subway platforms. The high humidity makes heat dangerous here, since the body cant use evaporation to cool. So if the high for the day will be 93 degrees or greater, I do not shop. I reschedule.
@johnb974 wrote:
Where I live, this week it will be over 100 F. Don't really feel like doing a lot of shops. Do limit what shops you do?
Limit ? Of course NOT !!
A Dad shopping the Ark-LA-Tex and beyond.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2022 04:10AM by ShoppingDad.
It has been over 100 degrees most of the summer. We are in the midst of an 8-day in a row 110 degrees and higher period. It is in low to mid 80s at sunrise, and it reaches 100 degrees by 11 AM. I fill water bottles 3/4 full, freeze them, and top them off with spring water when I leave home. I have a small cooler in the car, and I put my smartphone in the cooler between shops so that it will still take photos (car a/c currently not working). I shop full-time. I start early and get as many shops as possible done early in the morning, especially if they are gas station audits. Humidity is more of a factor than temperature, and the monsoons have thankfully ended.
For the right price I’d complete any shop anywhere any time.
Me too! I have done bonused shops in Death Valley several times. It was 127 degrees during one of those visits, but the pay was fine.@Tanischri87 wrote:
For the right price I’d complete any shop anywhere any time.
@KA047 wrote:
Extreme heat? Yes, no changes to my habits.
Extreme cold? No shopping.
Different strokes.
Extreme heat? Ick, awful. Go find a supermarket with a walk-in cooler, pick up the NYT, and read it cover-to-cover while sitting on a keg or a case of bananas.
Extreme cold? Rejoice. Schedule much, travel with spare socks and a shovel, and enjoy the beauty that is life in the cold.
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