Planning Route Shops

Sometimes shoppers who are planning a road trip like to plan a string of “route shops”. This involves picking up shops along the route you plan to travel to complete while you are in those areas. To make route shops work, you’ll need to plan ahead and try to coordinate shop appointments to make sure the day runs smoothly. Below are a few steps you can take to help ensure your route is efficient and successful.

First of all, check to make sure all the shops you requested are actually assigned to you as the primary shopper. Sometimes shops show on your list, but you are listed as the backup shopper. Be careful when you apply as you may have applied to be a backup shopper. Since route shops are time sensitive, you’ll want to avoid being listed as the backup on shops outside your normal shopping area.

Next, plan your route to see which shops are nearer to each other and try to coordinate appointments that will make sense for the planned route. You would not want to travel back and forth from one area to another if you have shops to do in different areas of town. Put the addresses in your GPS and try the most efficient route to save time and gas.

Of course, you may have to juggle times with the agent’s schedule, but try to make it fit your schedule as much as possible. Some locations have limited office hours, so if you miss your appointment, you may lose your shop. Some companies will not give you the extra week to complete a shop.

After you have done all your planning, you are ready for your day of shopping. Pack a snack, water and a note pad and you can be off on a rewarding day of mystery shopping. Take lots of notes and keep track of your time. That way, you will have fun and you will make money in the meantime.

Ace the Phone Portion of the Shop

The phone portion of the mystery shop is a vital first step. You typically cannot complete the onsite visit until you have made the phone call. The call allows the leasing agent to get to know you and your needs better and set up your visit. It also allows them the opportunity to give a sales preview of what their community has to offer, so it is an important tool in the overall performance evaluation.

Target Agent

If you have a target agent, make sure to pay close attention to the name of the person as you make your calls. Often, the leasing agent is so used to saying their opening greeting, they may say their name faster than you were prepared to hear.

If the person answering is not your target agent, find a reason to get off the phone quickly without raising suspicion.

No Target Agent (meaning Anyone)

If you do not have a target agent, you can begin the shop with whoever answers the phone. This is one of the easiest types of shops to complete.

The leasing agent should invite you for a tour during your phone conversation. Accept this invitation and be prepared to shop this same person onsite. If the call is nearing the end and you have not received an invitation, let them know you’d like to stop by that day to have a look and pick up information.

Anyone Except (Name)

This means that any leasing agent who answers the phone other than the person specified NOT to shop will become your target agent. If the person you are to avoid answers, make an excuse to get off the phone.

Overall, do not complete an onsite visit before you complete the phone call unless otherwise directed in the special instructions for the shop. It is important that the leasing agent exhibits a warm personality, inquire about your needs in a new apartment home and offer you the opportunity to tour their community. Making the telephone call is their first opportunity to do this!

It’s All in the Details

Since most shoppers want more work, we can unintentionally adopt a “quantity versus quality” mentality. A shopper can become overwhelmed by assigning themselves numerous jobs to make the most money each month and this can result in submitting incomplete or lower quality evaluations. Be careful not to take on more shops than you can reasonably devote your time to.

Remember, every time you submit a mystery shopping report, expect a review for accurate content and grammar from several customer service representatives before the evaluation is forwarded to the requested company. Be careful not to underestimate this fact. The quality control reviews by customer service representatives can affect the number of shops a shopper may have access to in the future.

If you are a regular shopper with a company, customer service representatives might record comments about your performance in your shopper file. If you want more and higher priced shops, remember to submit only accurate, grammatically correct reports. You should also be mindful to include pertinent details in your reporting. Adding a couple more sentences with details in your shopping narrative can distinguish you as a highly qualified and detail-oriented shopper versus an average or “quantity-driven” shopper.

Your final evaluation report reflects not only yourself, but also the reputation of the mystery shopping company. If you can take the extra time to make sure you are submitting a polished, accurate report, you can build your reputation with your mystery shopping company and be awarded better, higher paying shops. If you can remember the details, it can be a win for all!

It’s Demographics, People!

When you begin mystery shopping for a company, the website will generally ask you to update your profile with vital information including your name, location, contact information, and other demographic statistical information. Sometimes, shoppers will receive a notice to update their personal profile. A shopper should strive to update personal informational every six months to increase the likelihood of obtaining more shops. Most companies are always in the process of expanding and increasing their shopper base and any changes can represent new and exciting shop opportunities.

With a few computer clicks, you can add or change demographic information such as including an additional zip code, city location, industry desirability, age or gender groups. Any change of these options could greatly increase your job listings each month. When you change your personal profile options, a whole new geographic or demographic territory might be opened to you.

If you have not noticed the nearest industrial areas to your home, now is the time to look at a local map, peruse the surrounding areas, and include those areas in your profile. Mystery shopping companies tend to offer jobs closer to the metropolitan districts, so if you live in a rural or urban area and are not receiving a plethora of jobs, you might want to change or add more demographic options to your profile.

With just a couple of changes to your profile, you might find more jobs and different types of shopping which could greatly increase your capabilities to earn extra money.