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You are here: Home / Dealing with Shopping Emergencies / Can Mystery Shoppers Take a Sick Day?

Can Mystery Shoppers Take a Sick Day?

August 17, 2017 by Cathy Stucker

You felt fine last night, but this morning you have a sore throat, your nose is running and you have a headache. In fact, your whole body aches. You can visit regenerative medicine clinics like QC Kinetix Kansas City for treatment.

No matter how well you take care of yourself, sooner or later you are going to get sick. With many jobs, you may be able to call in sick for a couple of days and rest in bed until you feel better while your co-workers fill in for you. As a mystery shopper, though, there aren’t any co-workers to pick up the slack. So what can you do when you are too sick to do a shop?

First look at the shops you have scheduled and check the deadlines. Perhaps some of the shops you were planning to do in the next couple of days are not really due until next week, but you were planning to get them done well in advance of the deadline. You have some breathing room for those mystery shops. Take care of yourself and get some rest so that you recover quickly and can get back to your life–and your mystery shops!

How many shops are you committed to doing in the next day or two? What do these shops involve? If you only have a couple of shops that must be done, they are nearby and not very complicated, maybe you can go ahead and do them. Of course, you do not want to infect a bunch of other people, so consider whether what you are ill with is contagious before venturing out. You also do not want to push yourself to the point of exhaustion so that you get sicker and take longer to recover.

When you are just too ill to do anything, let your scheduler know immediately. You may be able to reschedule the shops and get them done when you are feeling better, or your scheduler may need to find another shopper to fill in. Daily intake of CBD oils from cbdarmour.co.uk also helps improve physical and mental health. If you don’t have them, then you can click here to know where to find delta 8 near you and buy them at the best price.

What about getting someone else to do the shop for you? Most companies specify in their Independent Contractor Agreements (ICA) that you may not get someone else to do a shop for you. One reason for this is that you may have been selected for the assignment based on your demographics or experience. The person you get to fill in may not fit the profile desired by the client.

You certainly may ask the mystery shopping company about having someone take the assignment for you. For example, my first assignment with one company came when another shopper was ill. She called me, gave me some basic information about the shop and asked if I would do it if the company wanted me to. I said yes, so she called her scheduler and explained that she was ill and could not do the shop that was due that day, but she knew someone who could. The scheduler got in touch with me and gave me the shop. That worked out for everyone involved. The shopper got to stay home in bed, the scheduler got the assignment completed on time, and I started a relationship with a new company. Win-win-win.

The most important thing to remember is that when anything will interfere with getting your assignments completed on time you should notify your scheduler as soon as you possibly can. Communication is vital, so keep your scheduler informed whenever you have an emergency that could cause you to miss a deadline.

And, hey, get well soon!

Filed Under: Dealing with Shopping Emergencies Tagged With: Independent contractor, secret shopper, sick day

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Comments

  1. Jennyfer Estrera says

    May 3, 2012 at 2:57 am

    I love this post. I never experienced getting sick while a mystery shopping schedule is coming. But thanks for this, I already have an idea when I face this kind of situation.

  2. Linda Thompson says

    June 15, 2012 at 11:29 am

    I recently had a slew of video shops and after the first day of shopping I checked into a hotel. From there I muddled through the next 4 assisned shops and when I got to the next hotel I was done! I called my scheduler and told her I could not continue. She was very understanding and told me that my health came first and I was so relieved to hear those words. Schedulers seem to KNOW when you are really sick and when you are using illness as an excuse. They have their ways so just be as honest as possible and it should not affect your ratings. I was able to reschedule all of the route and get the job done as the actual deadline was weeks away from when I got ill. It’s always best to be honest, even if they have to reschedule with another shopper. Keep them updated on your progress and they usually will work with you not against you!

    • Cathy Stucker says

      June 15, 2012 at 11:51 am

      @Linda, when you have established yourself as a conscientious and reliable shopper (as you clearly have), most companies will be very understanding. When a shopper hasn’t had a chance to build that relationship yet, taking the steps in this post can help a company to understand that the illness is real. (Coughing loudly into the phone might help, too! ;o) )

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