A mystery shop provider uses schedulers to assign shop assignments to their shoppers as well as to verify the reports a shopper files are fully and accurately completed. So the ease of a scheduler’s job is dependent on how well their mystery shoppers perform. Since one of the functions of a scheduler is to assign shops to you – the mystery shopper, you definitely want them to like you and enjoy working with you. There are some key things you can do as a mystery shopper to ensure your scheduler likes you and wants to continue working with you.
Scratch Their Back, And They Will Scratch Yours. As a shopper, your goal is likely to make more money with fewer and easier shops. A scheduler needs someone to complete the grunt assignments nobody else will complete. If a scheduler calls you asking if you can help them out with a specific assignment in your area, you should definitely consider doing it. Think of mystery shopping in terms of one assignment being a stepping stone for another bigger and better assignment, rather than each assignment being separate from each other. When you help your scheduler out, they will remember your name and will likely give you preferential treatment when the better assignments come along.
Even after you take into account the ability to get better assignment by doing a grunt shop and you still feel like the pay on that shop isn’t worth the work involved, don’t be shy about telling your scheduler how you feel. Perhaps they can give you bonus or travel pay for completing the assignment, and you both will win!
Stick To Your Commitments. When you accept an assignment, your scheduler is counting on you to complete the shop and file the report by the deadline. Your scheduler in turn needs to turn the paperwork around on her end and submit it back to the company who ordered the shop. She has her own internal deadlines to meet. Not to mention her supervisor who is looking over her shoulder. So when you accept the assignment, your scheduler is relying on you to do the shop within the given time constraints. Her job depends on it.
If you cannot complete a shop within the timeframe given, don’t accept the shop assignment. If something comes up after you have accepted the shop, notify your scheduler immediately so she can find another shopper to complete the assignment on schedule.
Follow The Rules. After you’ve completed a few shop assignments, you may feel like you can relax a little bit. Maybe you decide to skim through the shop requirements rather than read the requirements completely, or ad lib on the report a bit and fudge some of the data. After all, most shops are pretty much the same, right? No! Each assignment has its own unique requirements. With some shops you may need to note exact times down to the second for several different events in the shop, while others you may just need to know how many minutes the shop lasted. For some you may need to check displays while for others you may have to check the cleanliness of the bathrooms and fitting rooms.
When you file your shop report, there are usually some safeguards built into the report to ensure you completed the shop correctly and are not just making guesses. For instance, some locations will verify your time results or that you completed the shop solo and so forth by reviewing video tape footage during your shop.
When you file a report that was not completed correctly, you put the scheduler in a difficult position. If she catches the inaccuracies herself before she files the report with the company who ordered it, she will ask you to correct it. This typically causes delays in turning the report back to the company. If the report goes all to the way to the company and they catch the error themselves, it makes the shop provider look bad and they are faced with a client relations issue as they attempt to retain that client and get future shop assignments from them.
As a mystery shopper, you can ensure a scheduler likes you by simply doing a good job on your shop assignments and helping them out from time to time with assignments nobody else wants. When you choose to treat mystery shopping as a professional job and you are devoted to doing your best job on each assignment, it will show in your work. Your scheduler will see your devotion and integrity, and soon you will benefit from this with higher paying and better shop assignments!
I’ve found your statements to be very true. When I first started mystery shopping I took every job I was offered. Didn’t matter if it was just a $5 job I took it to get the experience and the know how of writing the reports or surveys. I’ve taken restaurant jobs and there was no pay just reimbursement. But we got free meals. Nice free meals work pretty much all the time for me.
And the more experience I got writing my reports/surveys the better I have become at writing them. I get a lot of feedback from my schedulers about what a spectacular survey I submitted. And as a result I am getting more and more jobs. Better jobs like eating at high end restaurants with a nice bonus tucked inside. Bank jobs paying more than the typical Bank job. Nice thing about a bank job is you don’t have to buy anything. Just do the job and get paid.
I’ve gotten gift cards to go shopping and buy anything I like then come home and have a half page survey to complete.
I like apartment complex shops. There’s a lot of detail but well worth the pay.
And the great pay off? I’m having loads of fun!! And getting paid to have fun, eat well and make some extra money all in one package.
I’d do those grunt shops too, to get into better paying jobs, but where I live it’s too far to go for most work. I am having fun and get free groceries for the grocery shops I do.Always nice free food.
I have taken every job that I could to get started with each of the companies that I have signed up with. I have had great reviews. I do all my jobs on time and get my reports in on time. I keep seeing make $1500-4500 a month. I am on social security and started this to make the extra money I need to live the life style I was accustomed to. I love shopping, I love mystery shopping, but I can not seem to even come close to that kind of money. I work fairly steady for about 6-10 companies, but they sure don’t pay like that. Where do I need to go to make that kind of money? I am certified, but need to make some more money to get gold certified. Need more work and better paying jobs especially with the gas prices the way they are. I can’t afford $5.00 jobs anymore.
I know what you said is also very true about the schedulers, I have dealt with some very nice ones and then some are not so nice no matter what you do for them. Those that act like they do not appreciate the job you have done for them, I avoid them, I do not even want to be bothered with the selfish ones at all. I love to Mystery Shop but right now in this area I am not getting much work at all I live in a very small town, and I do have to travel a little in order to do shops but it is not that far from me but the price of gas today I will not go very far because I just cannot afford it.
Pam there is no way your going to make $1500-$4500 a month Mystery Shopping. Anyway if there is I haven’t found it yet.
Apartment shops seem to be the best paying shops for me. Anywhere between $40-$50 per shop but look at the number of shops at that rate you would have to do in a month to make $1500. I get quite a few apartment shops but the only way I could come close to making $1500 would be to travel to a bigger town, spend a couple of nights and do nothing but apartment shops. Then the cost would over ride the payment.
I’m hitting around $500 per month and staying pretty busy.
I like the little short survey $5 coffee shops. Gives a nice break between shops.
And I agree I like the grocery shops. Anything that gets free groceries and free eats works for me.
I like the jobs where I just have to get one name, as I have a terrible memory for names, and then check for compliance. The bank jobs are good for this and they pay fairly well.
I live near Los Angeles and try to get several jobs scheduled in advance for the same area and if another one comes up that I can fit in, even if it pays only a little, well it takes care of some of the gasoline costs.
I did have problems getting my reports done on time when I scheduled jobs and then did not have the equipment to do the jobs…rescheduling left and right. Finally finished all of them, but let some small jobs drop with other companies that I think have earned me a flake.
I did not plan for things to go this way and don’t know what to do about making it up with the schedulers for those dropped jobs, three of them in total.
My sassie ratings are usually 9 or 10 but if you are a “flake” it really doesn’t make any difference.
I won’t do any jobs where something has to be timed to the second and there are five or six of these timing questions in one survey. I cannot do them justice.
I finally have a home office that will allow me to keep better track of things and not waste time looking for this or that piece of paper.
I learned how to do more than just scan and upload. I have learned how to do more than snap a shot, download and upload.
There is just such a learning curve when doing secret shopping and so many possibilities to make errors and mistakes, some of them in judgment.
The writing is easy.
I would like to become a mystery shopper again. PLEASE!! Thanks Mrs. Tammy Boyt
I would like to become a mystrey shopper and don’t have a clue how. Could the ministering angel please come forth and help quick. please e-mail me at mystryshopper1@yahoo.com
God Bless You,
We Dipino
I would like to be a mystery shopper. I live in Los Angeles County by Ventura County.On the line in Malibu,Ca. I have a new car and need to make the payments.I am ready to start now.
Thank you Debbie