Secret Shopping

For the past couple of weeks there have been reports on "secret shopping" on the news. I thought this might be fun. Go to a restaurant, eat, do a little spying and then get paid for it. So, I went to the website that was highlighted on the news report.

This morning was our first assignment. It was fun. We had to check out the local IHOP. I think I can count on half a hand the number of times I've eaten in one.

The questionnaire was 4 pages long and you can't take it inside with you. How many minutes and SECONDS did it take till you were seated, received your order, etc. They probably thought we were idiots constantly looking at our watch.

All of the questions were relevant. Was the food hot, did you get what you ordered, was the server pleasant, talkative, etc.

Then had to go into the bathrooms and check it out for cleanliness and if well stocked with all the essentials.

I would definitely recommend it for someone who enjoys playing Jason Bourne or in my case, Maxwell Smart.

The news report said that if you were interested in being a secret shopper to approach one of the legitimate companies and never reply to any SPAM emails offering secret shopping jobs. You should never have to pay a fee. I went to http://www.marketforce.com/ and filled out the application. Some jobs you get paid a small fee plus reimbursement for your meal (a maximum amount is allowed). Breakfast at IHOP was reimbursable up to $16.

Came home, went to the website, answered the questionaire, scanned my receipt and that was that. Can't wait for the next assignment. Have to get my shoe phone overhauled first so I'm fully prepared.

Sunday Morning

Ok, so it's Sunday morning. What to do?? It's pretty darn cloudy here so I guess it's off to the yard to do some gardening. It's been raining off and on all week so the humidity here in South Carolina is approximately 437%.

If I don't weed & fertilize now while the sun's not scorching I'll be sorry.

I'd really rather stay in the house playing on the computer and of course COOKING. I'm still trying to figure out what to cook tonight...I've been on a pork kick for the past few weeks (trying to do my part in saving the reputation of pigs). I've done pork loin on the grill, stir fry with pork, smoked pork chops, ribs, pork fried rice, pork lo mein, blah blah blah...There has been chicken thrown in between those pork-fests. Otherwise I'm scared I'll start rooting up the yard with my nose.

Maybe while I'm out pulling weeks I'm come up with some idea for dinner. I have shrimp in the freezer so maybe some sort of stir fry. But, if Mom comes over for dinner like she usually does on Sunday that's out. She won't eat anything that "looks funny". So if it's not a hunk of meat on a plate with some sort of potato with it she won't eat it. But she loves Cincinnati Chili which has the strangest combination of spices in the world. It is SO delicious...

Ok, off to the yard...

My first post

Ok, here goes....
I'll never know what the topic is going to be. It all depends on what's going on in this crazy life of mine. Some days I might be ranting about my crazy mother, sometimes talking about the family. Or if I've got gardening on the mind I might be going on about that...
But the best will be if I'm on one of my cooking binges...Cooking has been a HUGE part of my life for 30+ years.
I grew up in the Midwest where it was pretty much meat and potatoes every day. I always loved different foods and fortunately I had a grandmother who would always take me to nice restaurants in Cincinnati so I learned at an early age how incredible oyster stew is and the wonders of Chinese food. We'll go into my culinary life later...
More later...going over to my brother's and spend the evening drinking wine...