As mystery shoppers, we work pretty hard for our money. Many of us work on multiple assignments each day, and some of us work seven days a week. Whether you are a part-time mystery shopper squeezing assignments around your primary job and personal obligations or a full-time mystery shopper, you want to find a way to really make the most out of the job. So just how can you be a more profitable mystery shopper? Here are some ideas that can help you out:
Boost Your Efficiency. In the mystery shopping world, you get paid for the assignments you complete, and so there is something to be said for working smarter and not harder. When you work smarter, you can boost your efficiency and ultimately get paid more for your time and efforts. Consider different ways to boost your efficiency such as completing site visits in close proximity to each other in one outing, picking up assignments en route to your day job or on the way home, streamlining your site visits so you spend more time working and less time browsing the merchandise and interacting with staff and other shoppers, and so forth.
Stop the Mumbo Jumbo. As a mystery shopper, you know that only half of your work day is spent doing site visits. The other half is spent on reports, and so you need to find a way to boost your efficiency while you are sitting in front of your desk, too. One of the best ways you can do this is by becoming a more effective writer. When you make an effort to start thinking through a clear, concise way to phrase your answers before you start typing, you essentially will cut out the mumbo jumbo and avoid saying more than you need to. Plus, clear, concise, well-written answers mean that your report is less likely to get bounced back to you for revisions later.
Pick Better Assignments. If you have been a mystery shopper for more than a few weeks, you know that some assignments are vastly easier to do than others. Some take just a five or ten minute time commitment on-site and have a quick and easy report to complete back at your house. Others have such insanely detailed requirements for the site visit that you can spend forty-five minutes or an hour on-site trying to observe everything you need to and interact with all of the staff you are required to interact with. Then when you get back home, the reports for these types of assignments are overbearing to say the least. Clearly, the assignments you pick do indeed play a huge part in how efficient you are, so taking time to pick assignments that can be determined to be faster and easier to complete are truly in your best interest.
As you can see, you can start putting these tips to use right away, and today in fact, so you can truly boost your income as a mystery shopper. In fact, you may just find that when you put these tips to use, you can work less hours than you do now and make more money for your efforts!
I discovered how to do this one week into mystery shopping. These are absolutely the greatest tips. Some of these shops have ridiculous requirement and the reports are horrible. Those are usually the ones paying minimal rates. I have not signed up for all the companies yet. However with just the ones I have signed up for, I make about $90 a day working less than four hours. I steer clear of the shops requiring hours of your time yet paying $10 fees.
If you really decide to put your foot to the wheel, you can make good money mystery shopping. I have heard stories of some shoppers putting their children through school on their MS earnings. It can be done!
I totally agree. I stick to apartments and banks primarily. @Destiny-wow you’re doing great!
I have found writing narratives in MS word gives me a template for the next time I do the shop.
Kim — you are a genius! That is a great time saving suggestion. Thank you!
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