As a mystery shopper, you know you have to follow your shop requirements to the “T” to get paid for your time and efforts. It is incredibly frustrating for a shopper to complete a shop and be working on the questionnaire only to see a question about something you had no idea you needed to pay attention to. So you think back through your visit to the store and try to recall the correct answer, knowing if you can’t recall the correct answer you may not get paid for your time and efforts. There are, however, ways you can avoid this on future shops.
Did You Get That? Most shoppers fail to fully soak in all of the requirements by reading the shop requirements once. There may be people talking in the background, or your attention may be diverted by a ring phone in the middle of your read-through. You may have other things on your mind, or have a tight schedule that day and need to rush through reading the requirements. With so many things that could be distracting you, take an extra moment to read through the shop requirements again. Pay attention to any requirements for out of the ordinary things you may need to make note of on your shop.
The Requirements Didn’t Mention That! Regardless of how many times you read the shop requirements, there may be questions on the report or questionnaire that were simply not mentioned in the requirements. While some of these things may be standard things you may normally pick up on during a shop, there may be other things that are out of the ordinary and that you would not normally have taken notice of.
So take a moment to actually read through the questionnaire or report before you visit the shop location. When you spend time up-front learning what details will be important to make note of, you will save yourself time and headache later trying to recall these small details.
Am I Too Early? One of the biggest areas shoppers have an issue with is completing the shop on the correct day or time. While this may seem like a fairly simple thing, this is perhaps one of the most common errors a shopper makes. Unfortunately, getting this detail wrong may result in non-payment for your time and efforts, as well as not getting reimbursed for your purchase.
Keep in mind that shop requirements often provide very specific windows of time for when a shop needs to be completed by. You may get a shop assigned to you a week or longer before you actually do the shop, so be sure to make note on your calendar of not only the date but also the time when you need to complete the shop.
When you don’t follow shop requirements correctly or if you fail to gather the appropriate details and information from your on-site visit to the shop, you risk the possibility of getting your shop rejected. What this means to you is not getting paid for your time and efforts, as well as not getting reimbursed for your purchase. So save yourself some time and money by making sure you understand the shop requirements before you set foot in the shop.
Hello. Many times, I have researched my guidelines and instructions to find that they are inconsistent with many companies. I have also found myself filling out a report where I did not know that I had to ask a certain question or
notice a particular sign, because it was not in the lenghty guidelines. I agree that this is very frustrating.
Yes, I agree. Even the same shops with the same company changes the timeframe, or age of shoppers. I’ve been fortunate so far, and haven’t had a shop rejected. But it’s a fun, and extra money!
I’ve never had a shop rejected either. And it is a lot of fun, mixed in with work. I’ve found many times the receipt time is not the same as real time. So when time is a factor I try to make sure I’m running an hour after my start time for a shop.
I’ve had a few heart stopping moments when I’ve walked out of a business and looked at the receipt to see it’s an hour behind the actual clock time.
I have had one shop rejected because I did not get the associates name. There was no name tag, wouldn’t tell me his name when asked, and would not give me a business card. I don’t mind the long guidelines. I do mind those that have tests and ask a question that was not fully covered in the presentation. I agree it takes a lot of time but it sure is better than not reading and messing up the assignment.
I went to a shop for expensive watches that are usually staffed by pros. I went to one that was staffed by a 19 year old student who knew borsch about watches. Here I am trying to talk about a 30k watch with a fool who was so bad they never gave her a business card. I did not get paid because she did not have a card and therefore I could not get one. How would you all love that one.
Some of the questions in the assignments do seem to come out of left field. I have had one shop rejected. It was a little frustrating to me. I was to go to the location to wait 10 mins, ask for assistance if I hadn’t been helped and then wait another 15 minutes. It was at a kiosk in a grocery store with a fairly narrow area to approach to the counter. There were 6 people standing in line ahead of me as I approached. In the required 25 minutes, the employee never got beyond working with the first customer. He did look back at the line on multiple occasions and apologize for the length of time that it was taking and said he would be with us has soon as he could. I reported what happened. I was rejected because I didn’t ask for assistance. I indicated that given the set up I would have either had to push past 6 people or yell from the back of the line. I really felt like getting the attention in that situation would have given away the fact that I was a mystery shopper or an extremely rude person.
If you really like the company you are working as a mystery shopper for and feel that you were treated unfairly, for instance, guidelines omitted things asked on your report or circumstances beyond your control happened, ask to speak to a scheduler and explain the predicament. If you get no results, ask to speak to a supervisor. If you are honest and upfront, they may make an exception. If not, decide at that time if the company is worth your time. These companies only do what we as shoppers allow them to get away with. Speak up, it can’t hurt and may help you or the next shopper who was treated unfairly.
They very seldom treat you unfairly. It is just that you are a nonentity to the editors. I just had an editor give me a low score because he said that I did not make a required purchase. I wrote tothem and said, I have a receipt for my non purchase and want the 4/20 score erased because you are wrong. I am not holding my breath for them to correct their mistake which lowers myscore. but then again, I am but an nonentity and not worth their time.
I had a “fully reimbursed up to $12” meal not fully reimbursed. The shop guidelines directed me to purchase an entree, drink, and side at the chain, but they only repaid my entree later (the total was under $12)! I contacted the scheduler and pointed out it was my understanding the entire meal was reimbursed, but I got no answer. Not very professional.