The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

Are you on Twitter? If so, you might want to follow these mystery shopping companies on Twitter. Most of them tweet things about available shops, tips for secret shoppers, industry news and more.

Not on Twitter? Don’t get it? Learn about Twitter and how it works here—be sure to watch the video embedded in that post. It is a great introduction to Twitter.

Now, let the tweeting begin! (BTW—you can follow me on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/CathyStucker.)
…continue reading Mystery Shopping Companies on Twitter

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Mystery shoppers spend a lot of time on the computer. When it is cluttered and disorganized, every task can take longer than it should. In this guest post, time management expert Karen Leland offers tips on getting your computer in order.

Has your computer become the junk drawer of your electronic life? Do you have files stacked ten to a one-room apartment, e-mails were gathering mold in dark corners and bookmarks living in chaotic squalor? So much so that finding things on your desktop and hard drive had begun taking significant amounts of time?

If so, follow this simple three-step process to do a basic declutter of your computer and begin the process of simplifying your electronic life. …continue reading Three Steps to Declutter Your Computer

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Many mystery shopping assignments require that you submit a receipt. The receipt verifies that you were at the location and when you were there, as well as how much you spent.

The mystery shopping company will state in the shop guidelines how they prefer to have receipts submitted to them. These days, most prefer to receive them electronically. They may ask that you upload an image of the receipt when you complete your report, or that you send the image as an email attachment.

Of course, you should always follow any guidelines you are given by the mystery shopping company. If they say to use certain settings when you scan a receipt, or to keep the file size below a specified limit, do so. Also follow their guidelines regarding how they prefer to receive receipts and other documentation. Here are some general guidelines and tips for submitting receipts. …continue reading Submitting Secret Shop Receipts

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Do you spend a lot of money on ink or toner for your printer? If you print out guidelines and forms for shops, completed shops, and other records, you will eat through a toner cartridge in no time at all. There are ways to cut back on the amount of toner you use, such as saving completed reports as PDFs instead of printing them, but here is a new way to cut your toner use by up to 20%, even if you print just as many pages as you always have. …continue reading Save Toner – and Money – With This Free Font

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Perhaps if you were a very good mystery shopper this year, Santa brought you a new computer. But wait! Before you dispose of that old computer, make sure you protect your private data.

Computers sold on eBay or donated to charity often include confidential information, such as credit card numbers, passwords, financial data and more. Simply erasing the files, or even formatting the hard drive, may not be enough to remove all traces of data. There are programs that can be used to recover files that have been erased.

Here is how you can avoid having your data fall into the wrong hands. …continue reading Erase Your Hard Drive When Disposing of a Computer

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Whenever you send email to a mystery shopping company, you should include identifying information that makes it clear who and where you are, as well as why you are writing. If you are contacting a scheduler with a question about a mystery shop assignment, you should also include the assignment number (if any), client name, location and due date.

You might be surprised how many emails mystery shopping companies receive from shoppers whom they can not identify. Or the scheduler may have to spend valuable time looking up the shopper to figure out who they are and what assignment they are emailing about.

An easy way to include your information is with a “signature” or “signature file.” …continue reading Using Email Signature Files

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Have you ever gotten one of those notices on your receipt to call a toll-free number and answer a few questions about your experience at a store or restaurant? Often the business “bribes” customers to participate by providing a coupon good for a discount on their next visit, or by entering them in a drawing for cash and other prizes.

Integrated Voice Response (IVR) is used by a lot of businesses, often as an add-on to their mystery shopping and other market research programs. Mystery shoppers have often wondered if IVR will put us out of business, but I do not believe it will. There is, however, something else on the horizon that causes me more concern. …continue reading Will Mystery Shopping Become Obsolete?

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You probably know that there are lots of online scams, where scammers go after your data. Once they get your login IDs and passwords, account numbers, or credit card numbers, they can use them for identity theft or  to run up fraudulent charges or empty your bank account.

It can be hard to tell a scam site from the real site sometimes, as many of these crimes are very sophisticated. One of the reasons that these scams are so prevalent is that so many people fall for them.

Feeling a little paranoid? Afraid to switch your computer on? Don’t be. Although nothing is 100% safe, taking a few simple precautions will keep your data secure and make it very unlikely that you will be the victim of a cybercrime. …continue reading Safe Surfing – How to Protect Yourself Online

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You may know that you can use Google Maps to plan your trips. But there are some cool things you can do that make it even more useful.

When going someplace unfamiliar, put in the address to get the exact location. One of the options you may see on the map or in a pop up box is “Street View.” When you click on Street View you will see photographs of the buildings on each side of the street. You can drag the cursor to move to another place, or click on the arrows to look left or right.

Using Street View can help you determine what the exterior of the business you are going to looks like, as well as finding nearby landmarks that will make it easier to navigate. …continue reading Secret Shopping with Google Maps

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