Many mystery shoppers today have heard about others in this line of work who are earning a full-time wage as a mystery shopper. While sometimes the ability to earn more money mystery shopping is dependent on the availability of assignments in your local area, if you are like many mystery shoppers today, you may wonder how full-time mystery shoppers find enough time in the day to complete the number of assignments necessary to make enough money to live on.
Whether you want to earn a full-time wage working in this job or you simply want to pad your wallet with a little extra cash than you are currently earning now, you will find that by following a few strategic tips, you can find time to squeeze in a few extra assignments into your schedule.
Plan for Multiple Assignments. The fact is that mystery shoppers spend a lot of time in the car driving from point A to point B, and this is type that we simply don’t get paid for. If you are going to spend that time commuting to your job sites, you definitely want to get the most use out of that time. So whenever possible, avoid driving away from home to pick up just one assignment. Try to find other assignments to pick up in that part of the city that can be completed while you are out and about. This will not just save you some gas money but will save you commuting time, too.
Schedule Time for Reports. If you find yourself driving out of your house more than once a day for mystery shopping assignments, you do have room to spend that time more efficiently. Yet this likely also means that you are working on reports multiple times each day, too. Many mystery shoppers find it far more beneficial to set aside time at the end of their work day, when possible, to complete all of the reports for the day at once. When you sit down to write reports, if you are like most mystery shoppers, you are in a report-writing zone and are focused on the computer screen. You may find that you write reports more efficiently when you knock all of the reports down when you are in this zone rather than trying to switch gears back and forth throughout the day.
Minimize Time Searching for Assignments. The fact is that you can spend a few minutes looking at job boards for just a handful of providers, or you can spend an hour or longer each day looking through job boards of many different providers. The result may provide you with the same number of assignments, but the time you spend searching for jobs is greatly different. The key to minimizing this time-consuming aspect of mystery shopping is to find a few great providers to work with who always offer plenty of assignments in your neck of the woods. You will find that you can quickly and easily find as many assignments as you have time for rather than waste time browsing job boards when you could be out earning money by completing assignments.
These are just a few of the ways that you can use your time as a mystery shopper more efficiently and really make the most money possible in this line of work!
Thanks so very much for all the info you have given me over the years. Being disabled leaves me out of the job market because of my meds and doing this does not allow me to make more than 10 bucks for 3 hours work. It does not make me money very often, but it does give me satisfaction of making a little money. As my husband says, you don’t make what your worth at all, but it does make me happy that I am doing something for my sanity. My question is how do I find more high paying shops??? I have been in this biz for over 3 years now. I get 9 or 10s for my work. So I guess I am a good shopper. Thank you very much for all you do for us underpaid shoppers. Oops, I have one more question, is being a scheduler real hard to find a job in this field?
Best regards,
Diane Heslin
Again, thanks for all your help. You have helped me many times.
I have found myself a city or two away from home on a mission when I get a call from a scheduler requesting I pick up a quick shop in the area. Well, I don’t have my computer and printer with me. So what to do? What to do? Pull into one the many motels/hotels that offer a business office for their guests. Using puppy dog eyes approach the desk and explain that you’re in a bind and “Would it possible for me to borrow your business computer for a few minutes?”. I’ve not been turned down yet. Be considerate and log in quickly, print as few pages as you need to complete the assignment, log off and thank the desk clerk (even offer to pay a few cents for the paper. And there you are, back on the job without a trip back home. FYI: I dropped off a box of candy at the front desk of a Holiday Inn Express and I’m greeted with smiles every time I need to print a job on the go…