Here are some ideas to help you make your time and money go further this holiday season.

Many retail mystery shops do not have a significant reimbursement, so buying a lot of gifts with secret shopper dollars is probably not realistic. However, you may be able to pick up a few items, such as batteries, cards and stocking stuffers with your reimbursements.

You can also save time by combining mystery shopping with holiday shopping. While you are at the mall doing a few shop assignments, pop in to another store or two and pick up items on your shopping list.

You may even be able to buy a few gifts while mystery shopping, if you are fortunate enough to get assignments in the right stores. Even if they are in excess of the maximum reimbursement, buying gifts while on a mystery shop can save you time. Make sure that even if you are doing your personal shopping you follow the shop guidelines to the letter. Don’t get so wrapped up in choosing gifts that you forget to follow the shop scenario. (Note: Some clients will not mind if you go over your reimbursement limit, but others want you to make only a small, token purchase. Read the guidelines carefully to make sure that you may buy items totaling more than your reimbursement maximum.)

Some restaurant shops now pay with gift cards. That means that when you do the shop, you pay out of pocket, then receive reimbursement in the form of a gift card for the restaurant. Rather than return to the restaurant, you may choose to give the gift card to someone on your shopping list who would enjoy the meal. (This can be a better deal than it may seem. Some of the gift card shops reimburse a flat amount, even if you spent less. Keep your expenses low, and you pocket the difference.)

Of course, another way mystery shopping can help is by helping you to earn some extra cash to finance your holiday celebrations. Although you may not be paid until January for many shops performed during November and December, if you take advantage of your credit cards’ grace period, you may have the cash in time to pay for your holiday spending. (The grace period typically only applies if you do not carry a balance. That is why it is useful to have a credit card you use for mystery shopping that you pay off, in full, every month.)

With a little planning, mystery shopping can help to make your holiday season brighter by saving time and bringing in extra cash to fund your purchases. Happy holidays!

One big change that happens this time of year is that mystery shopping companies are anxious to get all assignments and reports completed and submitted well before the end of the month. They know that shoppers will be busy with holiday celebrations, and will not have mystery shopping on their minds. And their staff wants to be able to take a few days off and enjoy the holidays with their families, too, without worrying about the shops that are still due.

As a result, you will see a big push to get shops done early. Watch for lots of shops clustered in the first half of the month in both November and December. That does not mean that there will be no shops in the second half of the month, but they will be rarer than usual.

Some businesses cut back on their mystery shopping programs during the holiday season. That may be because they know that shopping at this time of the year is not the “typical” experience, or just because they do not want employees taking time to serve mystery shoppers instead of customers spending their own cash.

Other companies may add some additional shops to the rotation in preparation for the season. I have done pre-holiday mystery shops in past years where the purpose of the assignments was specifically to verify that the store was ready, with gift items and decorations stocked, staff trained to answer questions about those items, signage in place, etc.

And what about getting your own holiday gift shopping done? I have sometimes been able to pick up a few gifts while mystery shopping. At times they were even paid for out of the reimbursement I received for doing the mystery shopper job.

However, there is an important caution about doing your personal shopping while on assignment: Do not do anything that will distract you from getting the information needed to complete the secret shop report. If you are absorbed in deciding whether you should get the blue socks or the black socks for Cousin Larry, you may be missing important details, or not making yourself available to be approached by the sales staff.

The holiday season is almost here. Are you ready?

Each client decides how often they want to be shopped, and during the busy holiday shopping season many would prefer that their employees take care of “real” shoppers rather than secret shoppers. They may reduce the number of shops in December, or even temporarily suspend mystery shopping until January.

Another perspective is that even if the business is busy customers still expect quality service, and it is more important than ever that the company’s standards be maintained. Many mystery shopping clients want just as many secret shops performed in December as in any other month to make sure that everyone is living up to expectations.

My experience is that some retailers will do even more shops during or just prior to a busy season such as back to school or Christmas. They want to know that all of their locations are prepared for the onslaught of customers and they handle them well. For example, I have done shops where I had to check to see that certain seasonal products were in stock, promotional signage (e.g., “Free Gift Wrap with Purchase!”) was displayed, and employees were able to answer questions knowledgeably.

No matter how many shops are being done, schedulers will want to get them done as early in the month as possible. They know that once everyone is in full holiday mode, it will be difficult or impossible to get shops scheduled and completed. Many mystery shopping providers try to get as many shops completed by mid-month as they can. You may find that deadlines are tighter in December because of the coming holidays.

December can be a tough month for schedulers. Make sure your shops are done on time. If your shop volume is a little light in December (and you want more) let schedulers know what you can do to help them out with shops that other shoppers drop or hard to schedule shops.

And have a great holiday season!