My experience with Observati the Secret Shopper program

 

Have you heard of Observati? It's a secret shopping program where the user writes reviews about experience at a restaurant. 

I have been using a secret shopper program since March of this year (2024). I signed on after seeing it on PennyHoarder. 

A google search popped up mixed reviews. 

There is a lure to make up to 7,000 dollars a year (the state this is not income as if anyone can live in 7000 a year). 

The program asks for a membership fee. This memberfee has several tiers. The basic is under 200 a year subscription which allows for basic package. This includes standard restaurants and premium restaurants. Standard are non-chain local restaurants. Premium are chain restaurants like Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden. 

This Tier allows for the user to review a standard (local) restaurant monthly with higher pay out. These options might be close within 10 miles or as far as 2 hours away depending on how populated your area is (tip- Check with Restaurant.com to see what restaurants are listed which will give you an idea for standard restaurants you can review and which ones take gift cards from Observati). This level allows for premium reviews only every three months. 

The next membership level means paying about $250 USD which means the user can review premium restaurants twice a month instead of every three months. 

When the user has become a member they are able to "find a job" which means to pick which restaurant they would like to review. 

Once they select which restaurant, Observati's team will review and this can take up to a week.

They will send notification of acceptance.

Go to the restaurant. Take a picture of the front of the business and one inside and also a picture of the meal when it arrives. The order of steps is somewhat confusing especially on the first review. The user will need the restaurant name plus address and server name. 

Write a detailed review of the experience noting atmosphere, employee behavior, and how the meal is. 

Submit the view and wait about a week to see if Observati has accepted it. 

If the review is accepted then the user will review "cash" which can be deposited into a PayPal account as well as a gift card. Now, the gift card sounds amazing. Who doesn't want a 20 dollar gift card every time a review is accepted?

THE GIFT CARDS

Here is the catch.... the gift cards originally were a different system than as of June 2024. Observati's gift card page will display multiple gift cards for each review. 10 or 20 dollars per with a button to redeem at Restaurant.com where the user will head to create an account or sign in. This was confusing for me trying to navigate this website. Since June the website has switched to using points instead of dollar amount. This was a headache!! Now instead of $25 dollars it will show maybe 25,000 which can be withdrawn in different amounts to use. 

I tried this out during a local review. This was a dive bar outside of town. They had never used restaurant.com gift cards or probably any gift cards ever. This was an ordeal for the bartender to figure out how to accept the codes. Thankfully it all worked but I didn't use enough points at the time but it did take off a chunk of the bill. 

It would definitely be a better experience if Observati just sent gift cards to where the user chooses like other apps. Restaurant.com is limited at best and this new point system is an odd way to go. 

Points of consideration

-Gift Cards are for limited restaurants

-Gift Card site Restaurant.com is not user friendly

-Observati uses PayPal for "Cash" payments

-Membership to Observati may cost as much as the user earns depending on tier price and how often the user submits reviews. Would be great if subscription was free or very little. 

-Considering that cash payments are 10-20 dollars and GC are 50 dollars (where locations of acceptance may be limited) so check Restaurant.com for listed restaurants in you area to decide if program is worth it. 

I am planning to try it for a year and cancel as for my area it is limited on having only 1 local restaurant I can use the gift cards. I would prefer a gift card to a chain restaurant like Texas Roadhouse or even Amazon instead of trying to use these points. 

What I wish I knew before working with Rover

 As someone who has worked with Rover.com since 2018 using all the services here are some things I wish I had known. 

1. People flake. People are unreliable. People will change plans and not inform you. Best to be assertive and find out. 

2. A lot of dogs have anxiety so please ask if they are okay alone or need a kennel. Owners who say their dogs are needy or love attention tend to fall into that category of not being okay left alone. 

3. Keep extra food and calming treats and indestructable toys depending on which size dogs your house can accomodate. Also extra bowls, collar, leash, a bed are a good idea if they get bored or upset and destroy their own. Not a bad idea to invest in a large kennel especially with long term boarding.

4. Be aware of items in reach of dogs especially left alone or unsupervised.

5. Owners who don't book right away may never book or contact that their plans changed. 

6. House sitting jobs may come with extra pets to care of that owners don't include in original booking. This might include horses, rats, or fish.

7.  Owners that cancel during or post job has resulted in loss of payment so keep a log of jobs and bank account deposits. I tried contacting Rover. I received an email for the ticket but was never able to communicate with any Rover employee about my issue.

8. There are plenty of bookers who don't reply after initial request or who are talking to other sitters at the same time and I will get a response saying they went with someone else. Nothing is a guarantee 

9. Do not count on this for full time income. Depending on size of dogs or puppies and sitting or boarder will effect offers. Also, as with previous notes not every request will work out or be of your interest. If it's a holiday you may recieve multiple requests and you may just want one at a time. I have done both sitting and boarding at the same time to accommodate people so I am back and forth 4x a day starting at 6am  and ending at 10pm. Rover also takes a cut, the larger the amount the bigger the cut. I super hate this, I understand it, but I hate this. a 700 job may only net 500. Would almost be better for users if there was a yearly membership fee instead of taking a cut. 

subject to updating as I remember items.

Weight Loss and Probiotics

For several years I have been taking various amounts of probiotics for the benefits.
Recently I started having them at every meal possible. Mostly from food sources like kombucha, sour cream, pickles, kefir...

Last week I decided to invest in some supplements that could be  stored out of the refrigerator so I could have them away from home.

I found Jarrow Brand, Phillips brand, and a Kroger store brand. All with different strains varying amounts. I googled probiotic strains and found some images depicting why each strain matters and it's benefits. Then I googled weight loss and probiotics.

I found one article about a specific strain that can promote weight loss, which is not included in either of the products I bought.

lactobacillus gasseri 

"A Japanese study last year found that a probiotic called lactobacillus gasseri can help you lose weight, especially right around your abdomen."
https://kellmancenter.com/2014/09/the-miracle-weight-loss-probiotic/


Also,
"Most fermented foods naturally contain Lactobacillus gasseri bacteria. Kombucha, Kefir, yoghurt and pickled vegetables like kimchi, sauerkraut are good sources of a wide variety of Lactobacillus strains."

https://alivebynature.com/lactobacillus-gasseri-the-weight-loss-probiotic/

Something to consider!! I definitely prefer to cut down supplements if I can get something through food.
I read this  (either Womans World or First for Women):

1. Whole foods
2. probiotics
3. prebiotic fibers


This Renew Life 100 Billion has 12 strains and I would hope is worth the $45!
 I might consider this one in the future!

Resistant Starch and good bacteria... and pcos

When it comes to PCOS and gut health, re-balancing your gut microbiome is an essential step in reversing your PCOS. This is especially the case if you have insulin resistance and want to lose weight. Repairing your microbiome can be complex for some.
PCOS and Gut Health: Is Your Gut Bacteria The Secret To Your PCOS Weight Loss? https://thepcosnutritionist.com/resources/pcos-and-gut-health/

WOW. So I have been reading about resistant starch for years but never really understood it. It seems like if rice is cooked and left to cool then it becomes beneficial to eat...

I did a search to find about PCOS and resistant starch.

Also found a great Bulletproof article about resistant starch
https://blog.bulletproof.com/resistant-starch/

"Burns fat and curbs hunger: Resistant starch could help you control your weight. One study found that women who ate pancakes made with a resistant starch plus protein burned more fat after the meal than women who ate pancakes without resistant starch"


Trying to figure out the best resistant starch that does not have lectins

"Ripe fruit tells the body to store fat for winter."
https://gundrymd.com/high-sugar-fruits/

Dr Gundry is an advocate for removing lectins. 

About 5 years ago I got into the High Carb low fat vegan diet. 
I was following Freelee and her blood test results from eating that way. 
However after following it for 7 months I did not have any weight loss and it aggravated my symptoms from all the carbs. Well I had to try it!!! Now I know!!!

Mostly now I follow a low carb-but good carb- vegetable and protein plan LCHF with some  starchier carbs occasionally. 
Thanks to the Radical Metabolism plan. 

Also I recently bought a similar product to the Uni Key Radical Metabolism supplement with African Mango and Raspberry Ketones. It's for leptin. 
And I started taking CLA. 

So Many Supplements. I need a part time job for them. 

If you have had success with resistant starch please comment. Right now I am glad I dived into researching this but still not sure how to proceed. 

ESB 

LEPTIN and willpower

Ann Louise Gittleman sent an email!!!

"Imagine…

• Walking past a table full of holiday treats and not even being tempted by them."

Um Wow that is a big issue for me!!!

Three Keys to Lower Leptin and Trigger Weight Loss During the Holidays

Hemp 

Intermittent Fasting

 Radical Metabolizer

I have tried fasting and it never goes well long term. Right now I am working on eating every 3 hours which has been better. 

I really want to try that RM leptin supplement but it's pricey!!! 

I've invested in a lot of supplements over the years that did NOTHING. 

Also I started a business and money is tight so I've been buying the lower priced NOW brand supplements which are half of what UNIKEY sells their supplements. 

AND!!!!

CLA is so effective, in fact, that a recent study in The Journal of Nutrition found that subjects who supplemented with this healthy fat shed an impressive 20 percent of their body fat in eight weeks.

https://annlouise.com/2015/01/08/cla-for-fast-track-slimming/

I decided on two products. A CLA and a raspberry ketone/African Mango supplement with high ratings and subscribe and save. Will arrive in a few weeks. 

Also right now I am looking in GLA. It's excellent for hair growth from what I read and helps boost brown fast which helps burn the bad body fat. 

I have a bag of hemp hearts I've been neglected a few weeks now.