Mystery shopping is a legitimate way to make money; however, if you received a large check and were told to wire money somewhere, don't do anything until you read about mystery shopping scams.

Make Your Mystery Shop Reports Unique

Posted on June 29th, 2010 in Writing Mystery Shopper Reports by Cathy Stucker

Do you like to get form letters? You know, those letters where they try to sound personal, but you can tell the same letter went to thousands of other people?

Most people hate form letters; however, many mystery shoppers like to submit “form reports.” By that I mean reports that all read alike, and appear that they could be submitted for just about any shop assignment by changing a few details.

Each mystery shop experience is unique, and your reports should reflect that uniqueness. When a client receives a batch of mystery shop reports that are nearly identical, they may start to wonder if there is truly any value in mystery shopping. And companies that receive cookie-cutter reports from a shopper may wonder if the shopper really did the assignment, or if they are simply recycling old reports.

Here are some tips to make your reports accurately reflect what happened during your shop visit while adding variety and interest to your reports—and also making it less likely that your reports will be questioned by the mystery shopping company or the client. …continue reading Make Your Mystery Shop Reports Unique

Tips to Improve Your Memory

Posted on June 22nd, 2010 in Memory Improvement,Secret Shopper How-To by Cathy Stucker

On a mystery shopper job, there are dozens of details and vital bits of information that need to be collected in order to complete an accurate report. On some shops, it may be possible to make notes or use a digital recorder to capture the shop. However, no matter what, a good memory is an important asset to a mystery shopper.

Although tools such as digital recorders are useful, they are not infallible. Batteries die, switches get turned off, or other sounds interfere with what you want to hear on the recording. Recorders should be thought of as backup, not your primary means of getting and recalling the data needed for your reports. And because there are times when it is difficult or impossible to make notes without being observed it is critical to develop a good memory.

Here are some tips on developing memory skills that will not fail you:
…continue reading Tips to Improve Your Memory

Who Writes the Mystery Shop Questionnaires?

Have you ever looked at something on a mystery shop report form and wondered, “Who comes up with this stuff?” Most of us have, at one time or another, seen report questions, scenarios and other shop requirements that seemed unrealistic or just plain weird.

Although they may seem strange to us, those things are in the report for a reason: The client wants them there. The mystery shopping company may make recommendations or provide suggested guidelines and report forms, but the client decides what information they want from shops.

Businesses have service standards, and many of the questions on mystery shop reports relate to those standards. When you see a question about how long it took to get your food, or how much time passed before you were greeted, that is because that client has standards about how long those things should take. The same goes for things such as saying thank you, using your name or other shop details. …continue reading Who Writes the Mystery Shop Questionnaires?

Stretch Your Budget with Mystery Shopping

Posted on June 8th, 2010 in Money and Mystery Shopping by Cathy Stucker

Do you sometimes find that you run out of money before you run out of month? These days it seems as though everyone is looking for ways to make more money and make the money they have go further.

Mystery shopping can help you make up a budget shortfall in a few ways. Here are some of the ways you can use secret shopping to help your finances. …continue reading Stretch Your Budget with Mystery Shopping