Most people take a vacation to get away from the stresses and cares of day-to-day life, and so working on a vacation just doesn’t sound like fun at all. Yet most people also don’t have an exciting job like mystery shopping. Mystery shopping on your vacation is a great way to keep earning those paychecks while you are traveling. Plus, you can find assignments just about anywhere and everywhere you may be traveling!
As you can imagine, though, there are some logistical issues that you will need to take into consideration if you plan to be mystery shopping on vacation. Here are some tips to help guide you through the ins and outs of mystery shopping on vacation:
Planning Your Trip. Many people like to plan out their vacation weeks and even months ahead of time, but unfortunately you largely can only find mystery shopping assignments available a few days or possibly a week or so ahead. So generally you will need to plan out your vacation, and then make an effort to find assignments here and there around the fun vacation plans you have made. If you are heading to a fairly urban area, it won’t be too difficult to find assignments close to where you will be. If you will be in a more rural area, it may be a good idea to pick up some assignments en route, such as at gas stations and restaurants along your travel route or at the airport.
Assignments to Look For. Many mystery shoppers use their vacation as a time to really let loose and get adventurous with their mystery shopping assignments. This is the perfect time to branch out and enjoy new experiences. Consider assignments unlike others you have tried before like amusement and theme parks, hotels, unique restaurants, airport vendors, and more. There are a world of opportunities available to you as a mystery shopper, and you only have to spend some time looking for them to get the ball rolling.
Keep Logistics in Mind. When you are mystery shopping at home, you inevitably will rush home to get your report filed, but you cannot necessarily do this when you are mystery shopping on vacation. So you will need to make sure that you have the time available and the equipment on hand to get those reports filed within the specified time frame. This can be more of a challenge if you are traveling on the day you are doing your assignment as you cannot control things like layovers, traffic jams, and more. You may want to discuss your travel plans with your providers ahead of time and ask for a few extra hours extension to the time deadlines if you will be cutting it close to the deadline. You will want to bring along a laptop and make sure you will have internet access wherever you will be, too.
Working on a vacation is a great way to make a vacation more affordable and ensure that you don’t have a drop in income because you took a few days, a week, or longer off. Yet keep in mind that this is also your vacation, and so you may not want to commit yourself to doing too many assignments on the road. Often a handful of assignments is more than enough because you will likely have many fun activities planned and exciting new sights to see, too!
be vac in columbus, mt vernon,ohio areas over 6/3 to 6 10
do yu hv any thing in that area? will be in a resort area!
This a great way to earn a little extra income while on vaction. I`ve done it before, and I`ll do it again.
I was scheduled to attend a 3 day business project in a major city 200+ miles from home. I send messages to all my schedulers to let them know my schedule and asked if they had any jobs available. Some sent generic messages to check the job board, some didn’t respond at all. Others couldn’t get me on the phone fast enough. “I’ve got a burnt out shopper in XXX City and I’ll pay you a $10 bonus to cover two of his shops this month”. Three days before I was to leave I called all my schedulers and asked again about available shops. I picked up 1 enroute restaurant shop, 1 gas station and three hospital shops. I was able to print the surveys out before leaving home. I did my shops and used the BUSINESS CENTER at my hotel to input my reports and fax the other documents (at no charge). When was the last time you got to eat in a 60’s Diner and get paid for it?