The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

Banks are frequently mystery shopped, and there are many different types of shops. Secret shoppers may be asked to apply for a loan, ask about opening an account, inquire about investments, or just interact with a teller.

For some bank shops, being a current customer of the bank is required or preferred. For others, it doesn’t matter. If you are a customer of the bank, it is easy to do a transaction such as a deposit or withdrawal. If you are not a customer, you may be able to buy or cash traveler’s checks or complete another transaction that does not require an account. Where you bank doesn’t matter for shops where you inquire about applying for a loan or opening an account, but there are shoppers who have opened multiple accounts so they can easily perform teller transaction shops at many of their local banks.

Here are some additional tips about mystery shopping banks. …continue reading Mystery Shopper Tips for Bank Shops

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Although many of the secret shop assignments you receive will come through a scheduler, some companies allow you to directlyclaim the shops you want without going through a scheduler. This is known as “self-assigning” or “self-scheduling.”

When you register with a mystery shopping company, they will explain how mystery shops are awarded. Companies that use self-assigning may offer only some of their shops this way, or may use self-assigning for almost all of their assignments.

Here is how self-assigning works, and what you need to know about getting assignments this way.

…continue reading “Self-Assign” Mystery Shopper Scheduling

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Even the best writers get tripped up by certain words. When does “its” include an apostrophe? When should you use “farther” and when is “further” correct? Is it “less” people or “fewer” people? Did you “lose” your keys or “loose” them?

Sometimes even when my brain knows that correct word, my fingers are confused. I have often keyed “there” when I meant “their,” for example. We get in the flow of writing or keying, and enter the wrong word without realizing it. That is why proofreading is so important.

Even if you think you know the correct usage, here are some of the words you need to watch out for in your writing, along with some tips to help you remember which words to use in various contexts. …continue reading Commonly Confused Words

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The first thing someone may do to learn more about you is do an online search for your name. What do mystery shopping companies and others find when they search for you online? The answer could affect your ability to get hired as an editor or scheduler, or even for some mystery shopping assignments. Here is how to find out what your online reputation is, and make sure it shines. …continue reading Managing Your Online Reputation

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In addition to the yes or no questions on mystery shopper reports you will almost always be asked to provide comments. How can you make your comments more valuable to the client and the mystery shopping company? Here are some tips. …continue reading Secret Shopper Reports – Writing Good Comments

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As a secret shopper, you are an independent contractor. That makes you a small business. Investing in your business can make you more profitable in the long run.

The U.S. Treasury has started depositing and mailing stimulus payments to taxpayers. When you receive yours, why not use some of the money to make your mystery shopping business more profitable? That can mean investing in yourself, or in equipment to save time and qualify you for more shops.

Here are some examples of ways you could invest a small portion of your stimulus payment to earn more as a mystery shopper. …continue reading Investing in Your Secret Shopping Business

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One of the grammar issues many people struggle with is the question of whether to use “I” or “me” in a sentence. And should you mix it up now and then by using “myself” instead of “I” or “me”?

Consult a grammar book and it will tell you that you should use “I” when the word you are using is the subject of the sentence and you should use “me” when the word is the object of the sentence. Well, that clears that up. If you learned to diagram sentences in school, that may answer the question for you. However, that answer does not help if you do not know the difference between a subject or object, or just do not want to translate that way. There is an easier way to know when to use “I” and when to use “me.” …continue reading Using I or Me in a Sentence

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