Many mystery shoppers learn very quickly in this unique business that if you want to make the most money possible, you need to cut corners where you can and get assignments done as quickly as possible. The problem, however, comes when those corners you cut end up costing you extra time down the road. One of the biggest areas where mystery shoppers cut corners to save time is in their mystery shopping reports, and you may actually be doing this without even realizing it!
Saving Time. Almost every mystery shopper has had at least an assignment or two (and likely far more than that!) where you cruise through the site visit and then hit a roadblock when it’s time to sit down and complete the report. Perhaps you’ve had a long day and are simply stunned by the daunting task that lays before with an incredibly lengthy report to complete. Perhaps you sailed through the site visit a little too quickly and didn’t quite complete every task you were supposed to while you were on-site. Or perhaps you’ve realized somewhere during the assignment that they pay just isn’t worth all of the time the assignment is taking to complete. There are so many reasons why you may consciously decide to rush through a report or not complete it quite as thoroughly as you should. Yet there are also other times when you may be trying to skim through the report unconsciously and don’t realize until later that you were making assumptions and skimming through your report.
Wasting Time. While your initial actions at making assumptions and not fully completing a report may either be conscious or unconscious on your part, the fact is that they both can yield the same results. You may save some time in completing your report today, but the fact is that making assumptions and not being as thorough as you should be when you are writing your report can really cost you some time down the road. When your provider reads your report, he or she is sure to have quite a few questions for you. The last thing you want is to have to take time out of a different busy day to try to recall details about an assignment that you have already forgotten. You will end up wasting more time trying to remember these details clearly than it would have taken you to simply write them out in the first place.
The Resolution. If you find that companies have been contacting you regularly with questions about your reports, you’ve likely gotten into some bad habits with your site visits and report writing. First, be sure to always allow yourself plenty of time to complete the site visits and reports without feeling rushed for time. Also, be sure that you are only signing up for assignments that offer pay that you feel is reasonable and fair. Finally, take time to proofread each and every report before you send it off to your mystery shopping providers. Following these basic strategies will help to ensure that your reports get approved the first time around, which can really save you some valuable time!
Although we all like to sign up with as many companies as possible, in order to have access to the most number of jobs, it is sometimes to your benefit to stick with a smaller number of companies that you shop for on a regular basis.
You will get to know which companies expect what things in your report.
Some proofreaders/editors are nit-picky about every little detail, while other prefer that you leave those out and just get to the “meat” of your visit.
Some companies want the employees name in your commenst while some do not.
Some will be always asking for more, no matter how much information you give them, while other seem content with a “just the facts” approach.
Getting to know your editor can make report writing much easier.
I agree with you. I just keep trying to find that perfact company. Good pay, yes and no answers and little text