Mystery Shopper's Manual

Too. Much. Email.

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Do you feel as though your email inbox is under siege with dozen or even hundreds of daily emails from mystery shopping companies? Ready to declare email bankruptcy and start over again with a new email address? Wait! You don’t have to take drastic measures. Here are a few tips you can use to get your mystery shopping email under control.

When you first started mystery shopping, you may have felt a little excited every time an email from a mystery shopping company showed up in your inbox. But after shopping for a while, and signing up with dozens of companies, the number of emails can be overwhelming. If you are a new shopper who is not yet at that point, this article is for you, too. Pay special attention to the section at the end about setting up email systems. These tips will keep you from becoming an email victim!

Let’s start with what you should NOT do: Continue Reading

Get Off to a Good Start in Mystery Shopping

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get-started-as-a-mystery-shopper
One of the things I hear from new shoppers is that they signed up for one company, looked at the job board and saw two available assignments for fast food shops reimbursing $10. Is that all there is to mystery shopping? No!

Just as with any other business, mystery shoppers do not start out at the top. The best assignments go to experienced, proven shoppers. The assignments available to inexperienced shoppers are usually the ones that are left after veteran shoppers have gotten their assignments. And here is the thing that even many experienced shoppers don’t know: The very best assignments almost never appear on a job board. They are offered directly to the very best shoppers. Fortunately, it doesn’t take years to work your way up to better opportunities.

Want to launch your mystery shopping career the right way? There are a few simple steps that will put you ahead of the crowd.Continue Reading

Make 2016 Your Most Profitable Year Ever!

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Mystery shopping gives you more control over your income than a typical j-o-b. You get to decide how you spend your time, the types of assignments you will accept, and how much money you will invest in your business. By making wise choices, you can make—and keep—more income. Here are some things that will make you more profitable in 2016 and beyond.Continue Reading

Why Are Some Locations Mystery Shopped While Others Aren’t?

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mystery-shop-locationsA question from a mystery shopper:

When I view the available mystery shops on job boards, I see a bunch of stores and restaurants that I would love to shop. But the locations that are close to my house are never listed! Why do they only shop some of their locations and not all of them?

There are several possible answers to this question, so let’s take a look at them.
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Will Mystery Shopping Companies Penalize Me for Not Accepting Shops?

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saying-noTypical mystery shoppers are signed up with dozens of mystery shopping companies, and our inboxes may be flooded with hundreds or thousands of emails about open mystery shops every month. If a company sends you a bunch of offers and you never accept one, will they blacklist you and stop offering shops?

First of all you need to know that you are not the only shopper getting those emails. Each notification is going out to many other shoppers in your area. It is not necessary to respond to the emails and say that you are not interested. You only need to take action if you want the assignment.

Even if you respond and say that you are interested in doing the shop you are not guaranteed the assignment. The email went out to hundreds of other shoppers in your area, and one of them may get the shop.
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The Month of Free Food

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My husband and I like to eat out in restaurants, and we usually do so at least once or twice a week. A while back I accepted several restaurant mystery shops we could do for our usual date night dinners, and my husband joked about it being “the month of free food.” (Of course, it is not really free because I have to work for it. But I guess it is free to him!)

I only did one or two restaurant shops a week, but his comment got me thinking: What if I really tried to get “free” food every day for a month? How would I do it? Let’s play with this hypothetical for a bit, because I think you may get some ideas about how to get more of the shops you want, whether they are shops of restaurants, stores, banks, apartments or whatever you like to do.

First, to get the best selection of shops you would want to be registered with as many legitimate mystery shopping companies as possible. The more shops you have access to, the greater your chances of filling in all of the gaps and getting the number of shops you want. Start with my free list of mystery shopping companies.
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Should You Ever Do Low-Paying Shops?

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As independent contractors, it is up to us to decide which assignments are worthwhile and which we should pass up. When you were a new shopper you may have been happy to get any mystery shopper jobs, but with experience you may be choosier about how you spend your time. When you see a job offer come through offering little pay, clicking delete and sending it to the trash may be your best course of action.

Clearly, though, someone is doing those low-paying shops. Is it always a new shopper, desperate for whatever jobs they can get? Or do experienced shoppers sometimes do them, too? Should you?

There are some reasons to do low-paying shops. For example, if you are doing a route of shops and you run across a couple of assignments you can squeeze in between your other jobs, you might decide to go for them. A shop that is not worth doing when you have to make a special trip may be acceptable when you will be “in the neighborhood” and can just pop in and do the shop.
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Mystery Shopper Mistakes – Top 10 Visit Mistakes

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Although anyone can make a mistake during a mystery shop visit, there are some mistakes that are completely avoidable. Here are ten mistakes that can derail your shopping career, but can be easily avoided with proper preparation and attention to detail.

Failure to read the guidelines and form before the visit. In order to know what you need to do, you need to review the client’s guidelines and the report form you will complete after the shop visit. Without this preparation you won’t know what questions to ask, observations to make, required purchases, etc.

Going to the wrong location. Believe it or not, this happens all the time. There are many clients that have multiple locations in the same area. When shoppers do not verify the address they may end up at the wrong one. Even worse, some shoppers go to a location of another business, not the client.
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Jancyn Mystery Shopping Company

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Vicki Dempsey, Business Development Director of the Property Management Client Division of Jancyn, answered some questions for us about mystery shopping for them. Jancyn provides mystery shopping and market research services to a wide range of industries including spas, financial services, restaurants, golf courses, retail and gyms. The company is a member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Here is what Vicki had to say:
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How to Check Out a Mystery Shopping Company

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With hundreds of mystery shopping companies out there, how do you decide which ones you will work with? Many mystery shoppers find that they end up working most with a few favorite companies and doing occasional assignments for others. They may also decide that there are a few they will never work with again. How can you find the companies you will love and avoid the ones that may not work as well for you?

First of all, remember that a company that one shopper loves may be despised by another. Mystery shopping companies, like mystery shoppers, have “personalities.” The culture of a particular company may mesh well with your style while another doesn’t. Those things you will learn as you go. What we will address here is how to increase your chances of finding the best companies for you with as little trial and error as possible.

Here are some ways to screen mystery shopping companies and find the best ones for you:
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