Author: lford

You just submitted your computer online report to your mystery shopping company and begin applauding yourself for another job completion while dreaming of how to spend all that money you just made. You then start looking for other assignments to make more money, but hold on, did you forget that a major component on mystery shopping requires submission a follow-up report?  A follow-up report is normally necessary for a shopper for a complete job before you receive your final payment.   Most companies want to know if their client followed-up with their customers with a telephone call, email message, or if they sent a note in the mail within a certain time frame.

So remember not to toss out any of your records until you receive your follow-up correspondence from your target employee since that is the final part of a mystery shop.  Ensure you immediately note the date you received your telephone call, note in the mail, or email since accurate reporting is important for clients to monitor their employees turn-around time when responding to customers.  Most mystery shopping websites have an automatic reporting system that has a set time frame for shoppers to report a follow-up visit.

Failure to report a follow-up report within an appropriate time frame can sometimes cause mystery shopping companies to block you from the system which prevents you from viewing and assigning more assignments.  If a site blocks you from viewing their jobs due to a late follow-up reporting of an assignment, it can sometimes take days to resolve the problem and you can lose valuable jobs while you wait for the system administer to fix the problem.  A few minutes is all it takes to document the date you received a follow-up and that will ensure you always have access to job assignments.

To have a successful shop, you must be prepared for the shop by knowing all of the details necessary to complete the mystery shop.

I have listed the most important steps to preparing for a successful shop below.

Step 1: Check the EPMS website for all required information (log in required)

When you log into the EPMS website, read through all of the tabs under your assigned shops. Each shop will have its own information and details for you to review.  Remember, although some of the information may seem the same, still read through it as you do not know what information may be updated or different.

 Step 2: Check the Special Notes

Make sure you take note of the person’s name if you are assigned a ‘target’ shop. This is a shop where you are assigned a specific person to shop.  Check to make sure there are no specific times to call or not call.  Always keep the EPMS staff updated, if you are not able to reach your target within a couple of days.  If you are assigned a shop where you can shop ‘anyone’ then simply read the instructions, make the phone call and perform the onsite mystery shop.

 Step 3: Get familiar with the Property

Take about five minutes to look at the apartment community’s website. Look at the floor plans, price ranges, and location.  This is to ensure you sound natural and comfortable during your call with the agent.  Now, you are ready to complete your next shop. Due to the above steps, you will be on the high list to be approved for more mystery shops.

There are several things you need to consider when coordinating a day of mystery shopping.  First, take a look at your calendar to determine how much time you have this week or month  Make sure you have enough time to complete the shops. Figure out the time frame

Determine how many shops you want to complete during that selected time frame

Choose the mystery shopping sites that will have the type of shops you want to complete.  If you are not a current shopper for that particular company, apply to be a shopper. Once accepted, you will receive your log in information.  If you already have your log in information, log in to see what mystery shops are available.

Choose Your Desired Shops

Look through the shops and determine which ones sound fun, easy, or fit into your available time frame.

Request the Shops You Want

This is pretty self-explanatory.  Just make sure to select more than enough shops so that you can get the number of shops you want. For example, if you want to complete four (4) shops, aim to request for six (6) shops.

Wait for Confirmation

Do not complete the shop until you get confirmation from the mystery shop company that you have been selected to complete that particular shop. Chances are there is more than one person requesting this very same shop.  There are many reason why a company may or may not choose you, just know it is not personal.  You will want to request more than enough shops so that you can increase your odds of getting the number of shops you want to complete.

Do not forget to read and review the shop requirements. This ensures that you can complete the shop, as directed. This means that you will be chosen for more shops later 😉  Now, you are ready to plan a route of shops, have fun!

When you are first assigned a shop to be completed, you will get a confirmation email. Check the email you used to sign up with for shops to see the email informing you of your upcoming mystery shop. Once you have verified the assignment you can begin the process of mystery shopping.

If you have been given an assigned target then you may have some difficulty reaching the person. In this case, contact the Ellis Mystery Shop team and inform them that you need help. Most times they are able to help you reach your target individual. It is important you let the company know if you have difficulty reaching the target agent.

Next, you should log in the to the site: http://ellismysteryshopperjobs.com/ and check off the various steps to let Ellis Mystery Shopping know you have

1. Read the guidelines.

2. Made the telephone call.

3. Made the onsite visit. Use the map guide and make sure you know the best route. Call the property and find out hours as part of the shop.

When you check off the different parts on the website you are letting the company know that you are proactive. It also shows that you have made progress on the shop, which is important. Further it shows you are in the process of completing assignment. It also shows you are read the rules on how to conduct the shop and thus there would mostly likely be no mistakes.

There are a few things you must do when you are at your mystery shopping assignment. First of all, you will have to make sure of some details for the report. Furthermore, you will need a description of the agent you shopped. In addition, you will need to remember what the agent was wearing. Moreover, their hairstyle and eye color will be part of the written report.

Secondly you are required to remember the precise time you were at the property. Use things such as a cell phone or even a small note pad to take notes. The observations that will help you to remember all the details. This is important when you are ready to fill in your report. When you first made contact on the telephone will also be a time you have to remember.

Thirdly, make sure you get brochures and or business cards from the property agent.   This is considered your backup documentation.  All the paper documents help to prove you were there at the required location. Furthermore it is important that all the backup documentation show the current name of the property and of course the name of the agent. If possible take photos of the interior of the apartment as well as the outside of the building so you can attach the photos if there ever were any questions.

Remember all backup documentation, descriptions and times only help you. So you are able to verify you were at the correct place at the right time.

When you begin to call on your mystery shops, you should already have your scenario and back-up plan ready for your shop.  If it is an apartment shop, you should know whether you can use your real name, telephone number, email address, the size of the apartment, and what preferences you need.  Be sure to read the website instructions carefully, since many companies keep an electronic database of residents that visited their community and your name, telephone number, and email address may already be entered in their database.

If the website instructions show any previous calls you made to this shop, ensure you change the necessary information when you make your call.

Also, ensure that part of your planned scenario allows for changes to the size of an apartment.  Sometimes, your scenario may have consisted of inquiring of a two bedroom apartment, but when you make the call, the leasing professional may state they have no vacancies for that size.  You need to ensure that you have a back-up plan and state you are also open to an one or possibly any larger sized apartments.

If nothing seems available at this community, then ask when the next anticipated vacancy might occur and mention that you plan to be in their area looking for apartments anyways, so can you stop and tour their community grounds.   Also, if they have a floor-plan to show you or any sample photos on the computer of apartments since you are willing to wait to find the right apartment.   Having a planned scenario with several back-up plans will allow you to be far successful in getting a job done fast.

There are times when you may be assigned a target to shop. What is a target shop? It is when you are assigned a person you must reach in order to complete the shop properly and be paid. Target shops can be a bit tricky but with some know how you can get your target when needed.

First of all, make sure when you call you use a blocking feature such as *67. This way your number does not show. Besides a need for privacy you may be calling the place a few times to reach your required person. You would not want someone on the other end noticing you had called at various times during the day. That would certainly raise a red flag to say you are a shopper.

Secondly, if you cannot reach your target then you must contact Ellis Mystery Shoppers http://ellismysteryshopperjobs.com/ Once at the page go to Contact and there you can send an email saying you have tried but you have not reached your contact. Most likely someone will get back to you and let you know if can move ahead with another contact or that the contact is there and you can try again.

Lastly, don’t cancel the shop because of frustration. It may be hard to reach the person but with a little help you can get your target. The staff members at Ellis would be able to advise you on different times to call and even tell you if you reach the person on a certain day.

Conducting an apartment shops for Ellis Mystery Shopping Company requires a series of steps. Following these steps help you to be a better shopper. Not to mention you will be able to accurately file your report.

First of all, in order to complete shops you will have to sign up on the mystery shopping board as a shopper. You will need a valid email. This email should be one you can check with ease. Once you have this sign on and then choose a password. Afterward you are ready to shop.

To get shops, you can either check your email to see if you are offered a shop or you can log in to the website. To get shops from the website log in. Once there, you can select shops by your current location you may want. Then you select the shop you want it will be part of your to do shops and you can update the status of the shop as you complete the steps.

Furthermore, the guidelines are part of the shop and you will see the telephone number and the target if there is one on the page. Look at the different areas of the site to familiarize you with webpage layout. The information there will also tell you the type of property you are shopping.

Lastly there are color-coded marks to guide you to the type of shop. For instance blue means a regular shop where you shop without equipment. Next there are shops for recording with audio equipment and then there is video. Simply click the balloon next to the area on the map and you can see the type of shop.

So look and review these pointers and you will be on your way to knowing how to be a better mystery shopper.

Some mystery shops require submitting a writing sample to begin receiving approval for jobs. If you have already done mystery shops before, hopefully, you saved some of your writing samples on your computer files. If you have not saved a writing sample, do not despair.

In approximately fifteen minutes, you can quickly finish a writing sample that looks both professionally done and typo free which will command a higher pay or more job availability. Some mystery shopping sites generally want a short paragraph on your work experience.

Ensure that you start your writing sample with your objective and passion that is relevant to their mystery shopping company’s specialty area. If the company does mystery shopping for apartments, then your opening statements should be on an experience you performed in that area. Don’t forget to mention any areas where you have excelled in work skills such as auditing, communicating, writing, proofreading, resolving problems, or any skills that are relevant to that mystery shopping specialty.

Furthermore, nothing can ruin your opportunity as a high rated shopper if you fail to proofread your work and submit a writing sample with typos, which is a big red flag! Most computers have a spell-check system and there are free download software’s that focus on grammar usage. No one wants to read a paragraph that has grammatical errors, typos, or incomplete sentences.

Remember to double check each sentence to ensure that it is a proper sentence which would include a subject, noun, verb, and a complete thought. Do not underestimate the usage of a Thesaurus since an educated vocabulary can make your paragraph stand out, but do not overdo the use of ten letter words. If you can not pronounce it or understand the word in a sentence, then do not use it.