So, a while ago, I wrote about a certain leasing agent I had recently shopped. Let’s just say that calling his performance mediocre would be an understatement. And for the record, any leasing agent that gets me should consider themselves pretty lucky because I always try to mention the stuff they actually did well — whereas I imagine that some mystery shoppers just take the opportunity to pick apart every little thing. Continue reading “What to Do When You Run Into Someone You Mystery Shopped”
Month: January 2014
3 Important Tips for Conducting Telephone Mystery Shops
When I was a leasing agent, one of the things that I hated the most was the strict “script” we were asked to follow when answering the phone. Sometimes, I felt like one of those annoying telesales people who just refuses to let the person on the other line off the phone. Continue reading “3 Important Tips for Conducting Telephone Mystery Shops”
Calling All Pet Lovers
Are you an animal lover and need to earn some extra money? There are mystery shopping jobs that cater to evaluation of animals and maintenance, their pet products, and review of the staff personnel that are just waiting for you.
Most of these types of mystery shops tend to be demonstrating type shops where you normally are sent to a pet store and set up a demonstrating table to offer the latest pet products to consumers. The shopper will usually give away new edible products to potential customers and each shop product will cater to several pet animals, such as a dog, cat, fish, or bird, will have the latest product for a customer to comment on whether the product is something that they would purchase in the future.
If you enjoy being around animals, then pet store mystery jobs are fun shops to do and usually requires commitment of three to five hours per week. The company usually requires that you set up your demonstrating table either inside or outside the pet store. You then reach out to customers who come to the store and ask their preferences on any particular pet products. You usually then mark down the customer responses on a rating sheet that is submitted to their representative for payment.
Other mystery shops may require that you just visit a pet store and do an independent review of a customer or of an in store product. This may require you to evaluate customer service or perform an auditing of certain items in the store. These mystery shops usually pay quickly and if you enjoy being around animals, you are sure to have a fast and fun filled day, while earning extra cash doing what you enjoy.
5 Tips to Be a Successful Independent Contractor
If you’ve been dreaming of the day that you get to work from home, set your own hours and say “Goodbye” to the man, mystery shopping might just be what you need to get that chance. Continue reading “5 Tips to Be a Successful Independent Contractor”
How Many Shops Can I Manage at Once?
As a brand new shopper you often wonder how many shops you can start off with. When you are first starting, take it slow. Accept one shop, complete it and see how you feel about the time constraints. With apartment shops, as you gain more experience you can sign up for more shops at one time.
You might sign up for a shop and it takes you a week to get your target on the phone. During that time, you could have completed another shop. The thing is, you never know how long it may take you to reach a target.
If you are mystery shopping in addition to a full-time job, you need to be careful in pacing yourself with shop sign ups. When you commit to complete a shop, the company is counting on you to come through and complete it in a timely manner. If you sign up for four shops, sometimes contacting the target agents do not work out to fit with your regular full-time job. This can cause you to falter on completing the shops you signed up for in a timely manner. With a full-time job it is often a good idea to take apartment shops one or two at a time.
Remember to be careful if you are working for multiple mystery shopping companies too. Start slowly to learn the time constraints with various types of shops and make sure you have the time to complete everything you have committed to completing. One apartment shop and a lunch shop in a day seems quite doable. But having a breakfast shop, lunch shop, and dinner shop all with specified time constraints and an apartment shop with a specific target agent may lead to being overwhelmed and cause you to rush through assignments, missing important details.
If you are mystery shopping full-time, you have more flexibility. However, be very careful not to overbook yourself. If you continually drop shops, it has an impact on your ability to receive shops later. You will not be seen as dependable, and it can cost you income.