Secret Shopping

I look orange. I am not kidding. A day later and now my skin is looking more and more "orange" from that sunless tanning session I had yesterday for my secret shopping job. I am starting to wonder if that one was worth it?! I think about my time, payment, gas mileage, report time and  out-of-pocket money expenses before accepting a job. I don't think I will be doing this one again. I guess looking orange for a few more days goes with the territory.

I've had so many people asking me questions about my "job," that I thought I would blog about it to share my experience. It definitely has been a great conversation starter and keeper. People just find what I do fascinating for some reason. Some days I even find it fascinating. I must say my life has been very interesting since February when I became a "mystery shopper" or "shadow shopper," whatever you prefer.  I pretty much 'bumped' into this job by accident. A friend of mine is also a secret shopper, and we got to chatting about it one day at the gym. She happened to mention it in passing. It sparked my interest, so I asked her for the website information. I registered with the company, and I began to be assigned mystery shops. It was that simple.

My first mystery shops were for cell phone stores. They didn't pay much, but I was after the experience more so than the money at that point. I was assigned to go into a certain cell phone retailer and "pretend" I was interested in purchasing a smartphone. I was given complete, detailed instructions I needed to follow. Then I needed to complete an online report about my experience, upload a business card and evaluate the sales process. That first one went pretty smoothly and was easy enough, so I signed up for more shops.

I moved onto college admissions, apartment leasing, gym memberships, audits, phone mortgage inquiries, restaurant reviews; furniture, mattress, and jewelry "shopping." The list goes on and on. The best part has been test driving a brand new Porsche, Infinity and Kia. Or when I "tried on" a $2,500 diamond necklace. Darn! I really wanted to take that one home with me.

It has been kinda' fun to take on the role of  'the lady interested in buying that brand new Porsche' when I drive up in my 14-year old, about-to-drop dead rusted Mercury Sable. The scenario I provide can be quite outrageous and humorous, but believable. I am just following a script and role playing for the most part; I think I've found my niche.

I am not sure how long this job will last for me, but I must say it's been fun, very interesting and worth my time, for now. I am considering an editing position with one of the companies I work for just to keep things interesting. I am very thankful. I like to pass along the information for those of you who are interested. I've met many new people and have a brand new awareness of customer service; that's for sure. I find it hard to get out of secret shopping mode when I go anywhere now!

For those of you who asked me for the mystery shopping information, here it is: sign up and register for the "free" first month at www.shadowshopper.com. They will email you companies that are looking for secret shoppers. From there, you will need to register with each company, which can be time consuming but worth it. They, in return, will send you emails when they have job assignments in your area. Good luck and have fun! Any questions? You know where to find me :)

Answered Prayer

Today I was assigned the job of "carpool mom" in charge of transporting five very rambunctious, high energy, prepubescent and smelly (for real!) boys to a skate park they like to frequent often. When I dropped them off I said something like, "I'm going to be praying for you guys to be safe." Luke is so used to me saying stuff like this that he was already headed to the park. One of the other boys stopped what he was doing, looked at me and said, "Does that ever work? Have you ever seen that happen?"

Honestly, I was a little taken off guard by this deep, soulful question, coming from this young boy all but twelve-years of age. I answered immediately without thinking, "Absolutely, it works. I've seen it happen many times." I had wanted to say more, but off he went to play. I would've liked more time to explain myself further. Or maybe I didn't need to.

So, on the ride home I got to thinking about this thing called prayer and this boy's simple, yet honest question. What he was really asking me... Can I trust God? I started thinking about what I would say to him if he asks again. I started to reflect on my own life and when my prayers have been answered.

And when they haven't.

When the questions come, I will tell him that God answers my prayers every single day when my family comes home safe and sound. And that's just the beginning. I will tell him of two examples in recent months when God answered my prayers for a cancer-free diagnosis for my loved ones. I will also tell him of the times when my prayers have been answered with a "maybe" or a "no" or a "wait." I will tell him how my faith has been my rock all of my life, through it all.

This boy is a person I would call a "wise soul." There is just something 'special' about these kinds of people. My daughter is one of them; they just are wise beyond their years and very intuitive. I suspect more questions are going to come.

Well, I've known him for years, and I know he's dealing with some pretty tough family issues. The same issues I've dealt with. Deal with. My heart just breaks for him; we help whenever we can. Then I remember with gratitude all of the adults that were coincidentally "placed" in my life at just the "right time" throughout my 41-years. More answered prayer. How easy it is to miss it.

I feel better knowing he'll be taken care of, too.

I've heard it said that all it takes is one person in an abused child's life to make a difference in how that child turns out. I know this to be true. My hope is that with my quick, to-the-point answer that he 'got' my resounding, "Yes!"

The Legacy of Maya Angelou

This past week I met a friend for lunch, and we got to talking about child abuse. Yeah, we usually get into some pretty deep topics. We have that kind of friendship. We were discussing whether or not a 3-year old child would remember a physical beating as an adult. We both agreed the child might not "remember" per se, but would feel the damage of it in someway. Then my friend profoundly said, (without knowing she was quoting part of one of my favorite quotes), "If nothing else, that child will definitely remember how it made him/her feel." Wow. The truth of that statement left me speechless.

I grew up hearing Maya Angelou's quotes used quite often on the Oprah Winfrey show. I watched all 25 years, and am a wiser person for it. I loved Maya's quotes like, "When you know better, you do better"; "I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it"; “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude"; "When you learn, teach. When you get, give." The list goes on and on. She was a very wise woman. Oprah and she were extremely close friends, and this must be an incredible loss for her like it is for the whole world.

Amongst other things, Maya is being remembered for being a mother; professor; poet; editor; actor; speaker; and award-winning memoirist. She is well-known for her speech, 'On the Pulse of Morning,' on the occasion of the Presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton.

Her poetry has touched the souls of people all over the world. Her quotes just 'stick' in our heads, at least they do for me.

When people talk about Maya's death, there is a sadness there, but also this 'knowing' that she lived a good life. She's being known for making a difference in the world through her gift of language. She has left a 'mark' behind in some way. In my opinion, she has left behind an extraordinary legacy. Isn't that what we all want and hope to achieve? I know I do. 

Maya was a phenomenal woman and deeply humble. She was a graceful woman of faith who rose above poverty, abuse and violence to teach us how we, too, can transform our lives. She simply radiated joy and dignity. 

I will honor her and read her acclaimed poetry collection I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography about her childhood in Arkansas. I regret not reading it many years ago; it is a shame that I didn't. I hear it's worth reading, and I suspect I will find some treasures there. I am thankful that she shared with the world her amazing gift of language through her poetry and songs. I hope you take some time to read her writings. It will be a special treat, I promise you.

I do "know for sure" (a lesson from Maya) is she is being remembered for what she wrote in her very own words. I sense this is something she would've wanted.

"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou

So, thank you Maya for the lessons learned. May you rest in peace.