Treat yourself to relaxing break from the normal mystery shopping assignments at retail stores with a restaurant assignment. With a restaurant assignment, you can earn money while you get your morning started off with a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop, have lunch out with friends, or treat your family to a delicious dinner. Not all restaurant assignments are created equal, however. Here’s what to look for on a restaurant assignment:
Dining Alone? Most restaurant mystery shopping assignments are pretty strict on whether you have to dine alone or not. Some assignments require you to shop with a certain number of people, and some even specify whether kids can come along or not. You may think a mystery shopping assignment at the local fast food joint is a great way to spend the lunch hour with your kids, but think again. Some of these fast food assignments require you to visit the restaurant alone, and specifically say kids are not allowed.
Can I Take Your Order? Restaurants who ask for mystery shopping services often ask mystery shoppers to check the cleanliness of the restaurant, the service of the staff, and the food that is being ordered. Oftentimes, mystery shoppers will be required to order a rather large meal, with an appetizer, an entree, a dessert, and a beverage. If you are required to complete the assignment with another person, a second entree and second dessert may also be required to be purchased. When most people go out to eat, typically this much food is not ordered or eaten. While the assignment may require you to sample all of the food in order to comment on the quality and taste of the food, keep in mind that you do not have to eat all of the food ordered. Ask for a take-home box and enjoy the leftovers later at home.
Would You Like Something From The Bar? Most bar assignments and even some restaurant assignments will require the purchase of an alcoholic beverage from the bar. Be sure to read the assignment requirements thoroughly to scan for this requirement if you are under the legal drinking age or are otherwise prefer not to drink alcoholic beverages.
Would You Like The Ticket Now? Restaurant assignments can be tricky if you aren’t careful. Many of these assignments require the purchase of far more food and beverages than you will be compensated for through the combination of both the shop pay and the expense reimbursement. It’s easy to lose money on these assignments. That being said, if you are looking for a great way to dine out without a large impact to your pocketbook, these assignments are great. While you may end up out-of-pocket some cash when you look at the big picture, you will still get a fairly nice reimbursement for a relaxing meal or drinks out.
While you likely won’t end up making money (or making much money) on restaurant assignments when all is said and done, these assignments are a fun way to spend some time. Plus, they make dining out a more affordable venture for you!
i can enjoy eating at restaurants and buying things to have a good time thank you margaret pritchett
All I can say is about time! I will not do the $5.00 deal and drive to a place that costs me more in gas bills to get there. To eat for free is an assignment I would love to get in my area, which I have been getting for Baltimore, San Antanio, Dallas, Philadelphia and on and on. I live in N.C. and what am I supposed to do- fly there to do my assignment?
People look to see what state we live in and save yourself some time an aggrivaton.
I cut my grocery budget to almost nothing. I go order ribs, chicken, or Mexican food and bring leftovers home. Buy some lettuce mixes, cheese, fruit, etc and add the leftover meat and I hace salads for two or three more meals. I’ve knoced a good $150 off my grocery bill eating fairly healthy at casual dining spots. Mexican food even works if you leave your hands outta the chips. I order fajitas and eat the veggies and part of the steak. The rest goes home for more meals. $35 reimbursement goes a long way for a single diner. I use a digital voice recorder that gets all the timings, employees names, conversations with managers (or not!). Grandchildren get to go with me frequently to family buffet restaurants that feed kids for $1.99 on Tuesdays. A mystery shoppers overall pay isn’t all that great, but the perks can be made to work for you if you live in the right area!
I’ve made a killing on the fast food shops, and in profit, not reimbursement. As with any shop, if you wait until the end of the month, you get good bonuses. This is true with the casual dining shops as well; they start offering bonuses as their deadline approaches. I’ve taken a loss of a few dollars at a casual dining shop on occasion, but paying $4 out of pocket for a $40 meal and a night out with my family is fine with me.
I like to pick up a dining shop when I have to go to another city to do a number of shops. I know it will be an all day proposition so why not break it up with a nice lunch.
So how do you find these restaurant shops such as Taco Bell, Hardees, Burger King, anything in Hospitality such as lodging, cruises, travel, etc.
My first assignment was a dine in with a budget of $10 for the meal. I had a very delicious meal for $6.91. That consisted of the large bowl with chicken, beef, veggies, a drink and an appitizer. I was so anxious that I ate fast so I could continue with my assignment. My second assignment is with the same company, and is a dine in, so I know what to expect and mabe I can relax a little more. I did drive over 20 miles to get there one way. I just wanted the experience. It was worth it to me to learn how to write a report. Wish me luck on my next assignmet. It is a little closer to home.
You Do realize you are not being paid for your report time, as well as travel and gas; it’s not worth it to me. My time should be compensated; not just the dinner. I don’t think the client would work for free; why should they expect a shopper to? I’m not that desperate.
I live down here in Florida, 2 hours from any major city, and I do alright with dining shops. There are a few companies that I have signed with that do pretty good and I almost always get to take my kids with me. The biggest issue is that they only let you do an assignment usually every 90 days, so there can be some time between the shops. The companies that I find really good (at least for this area) are A Closer Look, BestMark, Customer Impact, and my favorite for Panera Bakery is with a company called MarketForce. I have silver MSPA and have been doing this for about 2 years. I do agree though, if they are not paying well enough in the reimbursement, then I do not do the shop. However, if I am able to be up to $60 reimbursed, the 4 people of my family (kids usually get to eat free so their meals don’t count) can go out and eat for free so then I do not mind the 35 minute report online afterward. Hope this helps.
Casual restaurants are about all I do right now. It affords me to take myself and my husband out to dinner at a nice restaurant and have a wonderful meal. It is hard to spend the $35-50 allowed!