The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

Mystery shoppers get paid by the job, not by the hour, so we do not have to wait for the boss to increase our hourly rate. We can make more money per hour by working smarter and more effectively. Here are some simple ways to do so.

Choose assignments wisely. Although each of us has gotten stuck with assignments that turned out to be a lot more time and trouble than they were worth, be wary of any assignment that seems as though it could get complicated (unless, of course, the compensation makes it worthwhile). If there are companies that consistently misrepresent assignments, dump them

Look for familiar assignments. When you do shops for the same client multiple times, you spend less time learning the requirements and preparing per shop. (Of course, always make sure you know the current requirements–they sometimes change.)

Fill in with shops near other shops. A big part of the time spent on mystery shops is going to and from the shop location. Once you have a mystery shopper job set up, look for others nearby. Even if the pay for those assignments is a little less, you will not spend a lot of time driving to them and that gives you a better hourly rate.

Watch your spending. Every dollar you do not spend is another dollar added right to your bottom line. Keep your expenses low. Do not buy something for your mystery shopping business just because it is deductible. If you don’t need it, you have wasted money. Do not go overboard on spending because you are being reimbursed, Keep within the reimbursement limit unless you have a good reason for exceeding it.

Group like activities. Print out and review the guidelines for today’s shops all at once. Instead of scanning one receipt and writing the report, scan all of your receipts at once, then complete all of the reports. Check job boards and handle emails a few times a day rather than every five minutes.

Become a better, more confident writer. You can spend a lot of time trying to get your reports written if you do not feel comfortable writing. Take a business writing class to become confident with grammar, spelling and punctuation, and to learn to write faster.

Check your reports carefully before you submit them. If your report is incomplete or unclear, you will have to respond to questions from the editor. Do it right the first time.

Each of these things will help you to make more money for each hour you devote to mystery shopping. Small changes can add up to big money!