Tips for Mystery Shopping – Page 12 – Ellis Mystery Shopper Jobs

How A Great Close Can Open A New Door

November 13, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

It’s important to listen closely to closing techniques used by Leasing Professionals when you mystery apartment shop. Since this is such an important part of their job, make sure you report on the many “closes” they use, including assumptive, indirect, time-sensitive and direct closes.

The agent that uses a natural approach can be very smooth when essentially asking for your business; they may begin early in the presentation and use an assumptive close when referring to the apartment or certain features as “yours” when asking you for your opinion. When the Leasing Professional uses an indirect close he/she may ask you “yes”/”no” questions like, “Do you like the apartment?” or “Will this work for you?” Be sure to pay close attention; a time sensitive close may attempt to tell you there are just a few apartments available or there is a rent special or discount for a limited period of time and is meant to emphasize that you need to make a decision. And last but not leas(ed), you will most certainly be asked to complete an application or leave a deposit to lease the apartment; this is what is commonly known as a direct close.

When submitting your mystery apartment shop report, make sure you detail these closes in order for the agent to get full credit for their sales efforts. Remember, a Leasing Professional’s great close may open a door to a potential renter!

A Professional Image

November 6, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

There are many attributes that create a professional image in the workplace. Whether you are wearing a suit and tie or dressing business casual, you can make the most of your wardrobe no matter the size. Online retailers as well as those found in indoor/outdoor malls always have suggestions found on mannequins and displays with suggested color combinations you may not have previously considered. You’ll love the compliments from your peers and others. The subject of dressing for success has been debated many times over the years as styles have changed. One thing the experts agree on is maximizing your wardrobe to the fullest extent; purchasing pieces that will mix and match on an everyday basis provides a fresh look each and every day when you venture out to face the world.

It’s easy to get into the habit of wearing the same clothing items on the same day every week. There’s one way to combat it though; start keeping track of what you wear and when. You can jot it down or make entries into your Smartphone, Tablet, PC or Laptop on a spreadsheet. It was especially helpful to me working in sales and visiting my clients on a weekly, semi-weekly or monthly basis. Once I put my plan into motion, I got results when people began to notice and complimented me on my versatile wardrobe. I rotated my suits, mixed and matched sport coats with dress slacks, shirts/ties, factored in time for my garments at the cleaners and before I knew it, my plan was working. I was perceived as not only being well-dressed, but successful. You can do it too, using any method you’d like!

Dressing The Part

October 21, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

Apartment shopping is one of the most important mystery shops for everyone to do. After all, we all need to a place to live. Shoppers help to review the apartments for people who are about to rent.

Shoppers play an import role as it is important people know they are renting in a safe clean place.

In fact, apartment shopping can be also one of the most complex shops that an evaluator may do. It can also be rewarding for the good shopper. So keep in mind the effort you put in will be compensated.

Dressing the part will help your frame of mind and help you to keep focused to your job at hand. Most apartment communities are in what is termed “good areas”. Try to dress in business casual and try not to dress in sweats, uniforms or ripped jeans. Remember most people will dress well to make a good impression on a prospective landlord. You also don’t want to bring extra scrutiny to you.

A little effort will go a long way. If you can find some khakis and a nice polo shirt that will suffice. Women can even pair a polo shirt with a skirt. Keep comfortable and look good it will help your cover as mystery shopper. Effort is required to play the part when you are touring the apartment complex. Being alert and being comfortable help you to make observations necessary for a more accurate shop.

What Is Required In a Mystery Shop Report?

October 6, 2014

Posted by: lford

No comments yet.

If you are a new shopper for a company and your first job entails typing up an evaluation report, then there is some basic information that every shopper should know. Remember, that every company has different rules and formats to follow on their reports, so before you visit your shop, ensure you review their guidelines in detail. If you have any questions, you can ask the contact person to clarify any information so there is no miscommunication.

When you visit your shop, ensure you take a note pad and leave it in your car while you visit the site. When you return to your car, immediately write down any information since that will help you recall what was stated by the targeted representative.

Ensure you write down detailed information first. For example, a financial shop might need you to write down a specific interest rate or a specific product name for their report so writing those specific names or rates should be the first thing you list on your note pad. Thereafter, write down as much as you can remember and then review the questions on the guidelines or company form, while you are still in your car, and quickly jot down any answers to any questions that was stated on the form.

Once you type your report, review the company’s format and ensure you answer all the questions listed on their report. Be sure you double check your work for accuracy and proofread your work several times before you hit the “submit“ button. Many companies also ask you to obtain a business card or company materials which you typically send as a computer attachment or they may want your notes so be sure you do not toss them out.

Elisa

What Type of Equipment Do I Need To Mystery Shop?

October 2, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

When looking for work, you might have run across ads about mystery shopping jobs on several websites and wondered if this employment might work with your scheduling. But you might also think, what type of equipment would you need to work for some of these companies?

Most mystery shopping jobs require basic equipment and typically require access to the Internet to navigate to the various websites or to check for daily computer jobs. Other basic items include a telephone, and writing materials. Other optional equipment include a digital camera or scanner and a xerox machine which can be valuable assets since they could save you money since xerox copies or having someone scan and upload a document can become costly.

If you are doing jobs that require typing an evaluation, then ensure you have a Spell Check system on your computer so you can review your work for all spelling errors. If your system does not have a Spell Check option, you can cut and paste your report onto numerous free Spell Check websites on the Internet. Of course, Spell Check can never replace a proper reading of your work, so ensure that you spend appropriate time and read your report several times to ensure the right words and grammar are used and it is in the proper format for the company.

Other basic mystery shopping tools include a Paypal or bank account, since many companies are set up to electronically send payments to a Paypal or bank account. Still, other companies only use checks so having a bank account or knowing where to cash a check can prove invaluable in getting your money paid timely.

Elisa E.

Attitudes

September 29, 2014

Posted by: lford

No comments yet.

I’ve heard it said that the attitude of workers are transmitted from the top down. A manager that runs a tight, but fair, ship has happy workers that value customers. Other managers give their employees free reign. In these places the old adage “while the cat’s away the mice will play” seems to ring true.

As a mystery shopper it is my responsibility to transmit what I encounter in either case. But who ‘secret shops’ our managers and co workers or other independent contractors that we as shoppers deal with on a daily basis?

I find most of the agencies and schedulers I work with understand what we deal with as shoppers. They are aware of the difficulties in reaching a target or the constraints long distance route shops place on meeting deadlines. One or two seem to work on a 9 to 5 schedule and haven’t a clue that their shoppers do not have that luxury.

I recently had a manager treat me as if I were back in junior high when he ‘sent me to the principal’s office’ for breaking a rule and submitting over the allowable monthly limit of shops. I readily accepted it was a mistake on my part and expected to not get paid for the shop. Instead, I was suspended and not allowed to apply for more shops until I was properly punished. After my suspension ended I had another incident with the same agency manager. At that point I simply asked to be removed from their list of shoppers. It took about three weeks and several more emails before he seemed satisfied that he had chastised me enough. He then relented and paid me for the shop in question. He appeared to have ignored my request to be removed from his shoppers list when he started his next statement with “In the future……..”

Is this manager’s attitude transmitted from his superiors or is he the worker with free rein?

I have a controlling personality and I like things orderly in my life. I certainly hope I never become so obsessed that I forget those I come in contact with are my equal.

Sandy

How to Deal With Customer Service Problems

September 23, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

With any job, you can always anticipate customer service problems might occur and mystery shopping is no exception. Sometimes you and a company staff member might have a lack of miscommunication or they just might be uncooperative or difficult.

If you have any problems with customer service, first politely ask the company employee if this could be resolved since you love working for their company and hope to resolve this quickly. If that doesn’t work and you still feel you are right, then you should not let your emotions quickly control you and do not type a quick return email response to this employee when you are upset. Normally, when someone is upset and types a response immediately after receiving an email, it often sounds worse in writing and the employee might be even more difficult. Remember, to take some time away from the computer to think about the situation and know which battles to fight and which ones to avoid.

As a general rule, if you like the company and make good money, try to just take the high road and walk away from the dispute. Sometimes it is difficult to walk away from customer service problems when they involve loss of money and you believe you were not wrong. If it is a small amount of money, it is usually best to walk away if the staff employee is being difficult since they can sometimes retaliate and cause you to lose jobs.

Remember, try to choose those disputes that just involve large amounts of money and you are absolutely sure you should be paid, otherwise, you might lose jobs with that company and do not forget, to always be kind and polite.

Elisa E.

3 Memorization Techniques That Can Save Hours of Work

July 10, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

Have you ever performed a mystery shopping visit and forgot one aspect of the kitchen or color of the walls? Here are three quick memorization techniques that professionals use to help activate and recall our memory. The techniques used are called Association, Visualization and Sing it.

To use the Association technique, you need to associate the item to something you enjoy. For example, if the colors of the apartment walls are white, but have an accent brown colored wall you can associate this coloring combination to something you enjoy, like a vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup.

Another technique that is used is called Visualization: Since some people are more visual, this tip allows the individual to visualize an item like a picture or image in your mind. The leasing office may be decorated in a contemporary style décor and you can visualize this room in your mind as a picture of a contemporary art picture with similar colors or any mental image. The visual image created in your mind helps you recall the details later when you type your report.

Lastly, another popular memorizing technique is Sing it! If you are an auditory person, think about which area of a mystery visit you tend to usually forget when you write your report. For me, I tend to forget the color of the kitchen appliances. However, when I create a short memorable singing jingle and replace a word with the color of the appliances. I use, “I’m having a White Christmas”, and insert “I’m having a White Appliances”, and I immediately recall if the appliances were white or another color.

Using any combination of these memory techniques can save hours of work on remembering your visit. However, don’t forget to write down anything as soon as you can after a visit on a notepad and not in view of any employees.

Be Prepared

June 26, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

When I request a shop I attempt to keep in mind how far I will need to travel and how long it will take to complete the onsite visit. When the distance is more than a few miles, I set up a route. Most of the time this planning works well, especially if the shops are not targeted.

Last month I was able to schedule five apartment shops in another town about 125 miles from my home. I knew that unless my stars were perfectly aligned it would be difficult to make all five visits, even without the long drive, so I booked a motel. I felt comfortable with the shop instructions to make the phone call and visit on the same day because all were untargeted shops.

All went well early on. Calls were made and visits completed on two shops that paid a bonus. Then, I began to reach Central Leasing rather than the property to be visited. I could not set up an appointment or ask for an agent to return my call because all the calls were recorded. I made 14 unsuccessful calls on the first day, another nine on the second and fretted as I watched my profits fly out the window. Luckily I drive a Prius. I paid for the gas, and my husband and I enjoyed an evening away from home.

This month I got caught in a similar situation. I scheduled three semi-targeted new home shops with instructions to spend no more than 15 minutes with the sales associate. I also scheduled five untargeted storage shops and allowed 30 minutes for each of these. Total time would be less than seven hours, including commute between shops. No problem!

Trouble began when I realized I had not been diligent in my research. On the day I visited the new home sales offices did not open until 1 PM. I arrived at 10 AM.

Okay, not a big problem! I would do the storage shops first. Was I surprised when I found I had to backtrack six miles because the rail crossing I had just navigated was now closed for work on the tracks?

Things did not improve as I attempted to complete the storage shops when three of the scheduled five took much longer than I had allowed.
To make a long story shorter, I was able to complete the storage shops but could not get back to the new homes shops in time and had to return a few days later.

We like to travel. My vehicle gets such good mileage and mystery shopping usually pays for our trips. This time I went in the hole on each of these excursions.

Next time, I will be better prepared to be profitable.

Mystery shopping and Etiquette

June 3, 2014

Posted by: lford

Tips for Mystery Shopping

No comments yet.

I opened my email message from Scheduler Jane Doe at ABC Market Research expecting to see an offer of a new mystery shop. Instead I was hit in the face with words about an old one. The words were not critical, just cold, but my defenses still came to full alert and my day was off to a rocky start.

I cannot fault Jane for the stance of her prose. She is of the age of the text message. Neither can I accept blame for my reaction to it. I am of the age of the hand written thank you note. I, for one, would like to find the middle ground between the two.

As mystery shoppers we are alert to the niceties of proper etiquette. Shops require it. We are asked for comments about how we are greeted and if we are thanked and offered a pleasant parting remark.

If I were to meet Jane in person, or speak with her on the phone, I’m sure she would have a bright smile and friendly demeanor. However, we are not often granted that privilege.

In the mystery shopping business, the relationships we have with our partners are only colored by our words. There are a couple of those words I find especially useful; Hello and Thanks. They are small, just a few key strokes, but oh so powerful. I know I feel more inclined to go above and beyond when that ‘personal’ relationship is established.

Our clients expect their employees to conduct themselves with decorum. Wouldn’t it be great if we could learn to treat each other with the same degree of kindness?

Thanks for your time.