Often when mystery shoppers initially sign up to work with their first mystery shopping provider, they have grand dreams about working on exciting assignments at luxury resorts, fine dining restaurants, and more. Once you visited the job boards a few times, however, you realized that those assignments were truly few and far between. More than that, you may have seen posts on mystery shopping forums where other mystery shoppers have mentioned assignments that paid them $50, $100 or more. So just who is getting these assignments. More importantly, why aren’t you getting them?
Hand-Picked Mystery Shoppers
You may see a couple of high-paying or otherwise highly coveted assignments at prestigious or exciting venues on the job boards, but more likely you haven’t seen them at all. So why is this? Many providers do not offer these top assignments to the general pool of mystery shoppers. Instead, they hand-pick mystery shoppers who have established themselves with the provider. These are mystery shoppers who have proven they are dependable and will do quality work. In some cases, they are also mystery shopper who a scheduler has developed a great working relationship with as well.
The Right Providers
There is another factor to consider with regards to top mystery shopping assignments. That factor is that not all providers have these assignments to offer. Since most of these assignments are not on the job boards, it can be tough to determine if the providers you are working with today are providers who may one day be able to offer you a great, high-paying assignment.
What You Can Do
So what can you do to increase your chances of being awarded one of these top-dollar and ultra-exciting assignments that other mystery shoppers are working on? You can certainly keep your eyes and ears open while on the mystery shopping forum websites, and pay special attention to the mention of any provider names. Most mystery shoppers will not reveal specific assignment details in conjunction with a specific provider. However, they may drop hints and clues for you to consider. This can help you to better determine which providers you should spend time establishing a great relationship with. From that point, you want to ensure that you do your best work with each and every assignment. You also want to consider helping schedulers out by picking up extra assignments when they ask you to. Anything that you can do to establish yourself as an excellent mystery shopper and to stand out from other mystery shoppers should be done.
You should also keep in mind that getting top assignments is not something that will happen overnight. Often, those mystery shoppers who do get the opportunity to stay in nice hotels and enjoy a mystery shopping assignment at a fine dining establishment are those who are full-time mystery shoppers and who have years of experience in the business. Of course, this does not mean that part-time mystery shoppers will not have the opportunity to compete for these assignments. You simply need to make your best effort at mystery shopping each and every day, and with time you may be the mystery shopper your providers call on for special assignments.