The Mystery Shop Maven

It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to be a mystery shopper. Almost anyone can easily slide into the job of a mystery shopper, and many will be able to make a decent part-time income from the job with minimal effort. However, what happens when you are ready to take your earning potential to new heights, to mystery shop on a full-time basis or to otherwise simply be a better and more profitable mystery shopper? The fact is that almost anyone can be a mystery shopper, and most people can be an even better mystery shopper by following three easy steps!

1. Identify Bottlenecks.
   There is a big difference between earning a few bucks on the side as a mystery shopper and mystery shopping in a way that efficiently makes use of your time and that keeps your productivity and profitability high. Most mystery shoppers have at least one or two bottlenecks in their work process that are slowing them down. Identifying your bottlenecks is a great initial step to take to become a better mystery shopper. Consider if factors like your time spent traveling to job sites, your time spent searching for assignments, your time spent writing reports or other mystery shopping job tasks are slowing down. With deep and honest reflection, you may realize that there are several key areas where you can improve on.
2. Research Solutions.
   Mystery shopping is a unique job in that you often don’t know anyone else who has this job personally. Furthermore, there is very little written about the job. So, your ability to research solutions to your bottlenecks may seem limited. You can and should try to brainstorm some creative solutions on your own. However, you should also take a few minutes to visit online mystery shopping forums. By reading through the posts left by other mystery shoppers, you may be able to learn what solutions others have implemented with great success. If you cannot find the solutions that you are looking for, feel free to start a new thread and get a new conversation going.
3. Implement Changes.
   Through your efforts, you may have identified bottlenecks with your work habits, and you may have already thought of your own creative solutions to those challenges or used online feedback from other mystery shoppers. Now that you have a few great solutions to implement, there is no better time than right now to implement those changes in your life. Starting with your next assignment, begin implementing changes in your work habits. Keep in mind that it may take a few assignments to practice those changes and see their benefits fully.

Through these efforts, you can most easily improve your ability to make money as a mystery shopper. Depending on the bottlenecks that you have identified, you may now be able to make more money, work less hours or both. These are steps that can and should be repeated regularly for the time you spend working as a mystery shopper, as they can help you to constantly work to be better at your job.