Mystery Shopper's Manual

Mystery Shopper Route

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The tip on the above video will save you time and money on your next round of mystery shops. One of the things that takes a lot of time on a mystery shop is driving back and forth to and from the location. And if you are doing several mystery shops, you certainly don’t want to leave the house, go to the shop, come back home, go to the next shop, come back home, etc.

So what a lot of mystery shoppers do is set up a route to go from home or office to mystery shop, mystery shop, mystery shop and then back to home. Another way you can do that is instead of setting up a route of mystery shops, just work your mystery shops in with your other errands. If you are going to the bank, the post office, the mall, or wherever else during the course of the day, why not do some mystery shops along the way? Make a little money while you’re running around town.

The problem with doing any kind of route, though, is figuring out the most efficient way to travel from place to place. Because, generally speaking, you have to sit down with a map or with your GPS and try to figure out the best way to get there.
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The Mystery Shopper’s Manual is an Ebook

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The Mystery Shopper's ManualYou asked for it, you got it! The Mystery Shopper’s Manual is now available for both Kindle and Nook!

So now you can take the Manual with you on your ereader, tablet, laptop or smartphone. Did you know that you do not have to own an ereader to read ebooks? Both Kindle and Nook have free apps available for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone and Android devices. You can get the Kindle apps here and the Nook apps here.

Ebooks allow you to highlight important points, track the last page read across multiple readers and more.

The ebook version of the Manual has all of the same content found in the print version, and it is only $9.99 for either Kindle or Nook.

Get The Mystery Shopper’s Manual for Kindle.

Get The Mystery Shopper’s Manual for Nook.

What Kind of Watch Does a Mystery Shopper Need?

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Question from a mystery shopper:

I did my first shop the other day, and the hardest part was getting the timings. This was a fast food shop, and they wanted times down to the second! My watch has a second hand, but it was kind of hard to see without staring at the watch. Do other shoppers use stopwatches, or digital watches or what? I think there must be some secret way to do this that I do not know about.

There are many ways to get accurate timings. Some secret shoppers use digital voice recorders. They record the shop, then use cues in the recording to verify the times. Some shoppers use small stopwatches they can conceal in a pocket. If you want to use a wristwatch, there are many that will make it easy to get the timings you need for your report. Your best choice will probably be a digital sports watch.
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Using Tip Sheets on Mystery Shops

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woman-with-basketThere are many things to remember when doing a mystery shopping assignment. Most shops have dozens of questions that must be answered, as well as obtaining the names of employees, remembering what questions or scenarios are to be presented and more.

Even though there is much to remember, you should never take the report form with you to do the mystery shop. Instead, make a “tip sheet” you can refer to during the shop to remember all the things you are to do. For example, it might be helpful to have reminders of which departments you are supposed to visit, the things you need to time and the employees for whom you need to get names.

Your tip sheets may be paper or electronic. The type of tip sheet you use will depend on the nature of the shop. It is critical that you not draw attention to yourself, so don’t do anything that would make you stand out or make employees notice you.Continue Reading

Submitting Secret Shop Receipts

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receiptMany 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

Erase Your Hard Drive When Disposing of a Computer

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hard_diskPerhaps 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

Secret Shopping with Google Maps

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times_square1.jpgYou 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

Ways to Use Your Cell Phone While Mystery Shopping

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shopping_with_phone.jpgMaking and receiving personal or business calls during a mystery shop is a big no-no. Being on the phone can disrupt the flow of the mystery shop and cause you to miss important observations. However, there are ways your cell phone can help you on mystery shopper jobs.

The specific ways you may use a cell phone on a shop will depend on the shop requirements and guidelines. Never do anything that will look out of place or make it obvious that you are the shopper. Because it seems that everyone has cell phones and they use them everywhere, you can probably use your phone on many of the shops you do. Of course, if the guidelines say not to use your phone at all during the shop, you should follow the shop guidelines.

If you are not going to use your phone in one of the ways described here, it is best to turn it off completely or not take it with you.

Here are several ideas for how to use your phone on mystery shops.Continue Reading

Mystery Shopper Emergency Kit

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Anyone who drives should have a roadside emergency kit in the car. Things such as jumper cables, a flashlight, reflectors, duct tape and other supplies can be not only handy but lifesavers if your car breaks down.

As a mystery shopper, you should also have a shopper emergency kit. These are the supplies you may need when you are out on the road doing shops.

The specifics of what will go into your emergency kit are up to you and will depend on the types of shops you do and how you work. Here are some ideas to get you started:Continue Reading