Author: lford

When conducting an onsite mystery shop for EPMS, shoppers are usually asked to raise an “objection” to something during the onsite presentation. For many of our clients, this is one of the most important questions in our report. Prospective residents have an idea in mind of what they are looking for in a home. They may feel that a community or a specific apartment is “missing something” that is important to them. Leasing consultants are trained to address such objections in a way that is respectful of the prospect’s wishes, but still confirms that the community would be a good fit. When done correctly, overcoming objections is an art form!

Objection Overruled! What is NOT a good objection to raise during a shop?

• We aren’t trying to trip up the leasing agent. Don’t knowingly raise an objection that is beyond their control. If a community is all electric, don’t insist on gas appliances. Don’t object to something that would raise a fair housing concern, such as there being too many children living there. If the community does not have three-bedroom apartments, don’t say that a two bedroom is not large enough for you.
• If a leasing consultant makes a reasonable attempt to address your objection and build value in the community, don’t give the impression that it is still a “deal breaker.” Remember that shoppers are not actually going to lease there, so don’t go overboard in appearing displeased.
• Don’t state your objection in a negative tone as if what you’re asking for should be on everyone’s wish list and you should not even have to ask.
• Don’t state in your discussion onsite or in your report that they “should have” more flowers out front or a laundry room in every building, etc. – in other words something the leasing agent has no control over.

Objection Sustained! What are some reasonable and believable objections to raise?

• You may use a personal interest as a way of raising an objection. Do you need a place to dock your laptop or set up your sewing machine? The leasing agent may suggest a nook or corner of the apartment that would work well for that purpose. Do you have a large or awkward piece of furniture that you are concerned may not fit? She may suggest ways to arrange your furniture to maximize the space. Or he may be able to suggest where in the apartment he has seen other residents put their Christmas tree.
• Listen for an attempt to create rapport with you, while addressing your objection. Perhaps you said you were concerned that the noise from the pool would be too loud. She may say that she once thought so as well but when she saw everyone having fun out there, she found that it made her go to the pool a lot more often.
• If a situation arises the leasing professional cannot overcome, such as your request to move your personal appliances into the apartment, they may have to overcome that objection by offering something completely different. As an example, if you were hoping to bring your washer/dryer with you and there are no connections in the home, you might be offered a location right by a laundry facility, or told how new and awesome their onsite machines are, or maybe offered a few credits to use their laundry

Above all, remember that you should give the impression that what they do have to offer could work for you. Allow the leasing consultant to talk through your objections in a way that builds value in the apartment and the community. Give the appearance that you are able to be pleased and give credit for a reasonable attempt to accommodate your requests. You don’t have to really live there, but if they are trying to find a way to help solve for your problem that’s the ultimate goal.

The mystery shopping landscape has experienced some pretty big changes over the past couple of years, particularly the addition of virtual shopping. Once everyone got the handle on the new technology, virtual shopping became a game-changer for service providers and consumers alike. It’s also given mystery shoppers the opportunity to perform shops from home at locations all over the country.

One challenge shoppers can face when completing virtual (or telephone) shops for communities in a different part of the country is the difference in time zone. Many shops have specific instructions around the days and times you can call/visit and most communities are not open past 5 or 6 in the evening. This can become a problem if you forget to make calls according to the community’s time zone instead of your own. When you’re in California and you’re completing a virtual shop at a community in Virginia, there’s a significant time difference – the community is closing when it’s only 2 or 3 PM California time! The same is true on the flip side – even though it may be 10 AM on the East Coast, it’s only 7 AM on the West Coast. You’ll also need to keep this in mind when scheduling virtual tours so that you make sure to sign in at the right time.

It can be hard to remember what time it is when you’re doing multiple shops all over the place, so having a tool handy can be very helpful. Consider bookmarking a Timezone Map site for quick reference when you’re working on shops in other parts of the country. You can also use your phone/Alexa/Google what time it is in a particular city. Doing this will help you ensure you complete the shops in a time frame that will meet the contract specifications and ensure you are paid for the shop.

Submitting an accurate and informative report is crucial to ensure you have access to the most (and best) shops available. When shop reports are consistently inaccurate or incomplete, clients can choose not to allow a particular shopper to continue with their properties, which lowers the number of shops available to you. Beyond this, EPMS can lower the number of shops you are allowed to pick up at one time if reports are unreliable. Don’t freak out, though; we do have a team of editors who look over the report once more before sending it to the client in case anything was missed. So how can you make sure you’re submitting the best, most accurate reports? Here are some tips:

1. Look Over the Report Form Before Starting the Shop

You can open and look over the blank report form before you even start working on the shop! This will give you a good idea of the information you’ll be expected to provide so you’ll know what to look out for. You can find this when you log in, open your shop, and click the “Fill Out the Online Report” section. Don’t worry; you can look at the report and then back out of it without completing it without causing any issues. Just be sure not to mark that section complete until you’ve actually completed the report.

2. Listen to Your Recorded Call!

This is a big one – make sure to listen back to your recorded phone call (if the shop has a recorded call) as you complete the telephone section of the report. In this section, it’s very easy for the client to spot discrepancies since they are also able to listen to the call recording. Make sure your yes/no answers and comments match what actually happened in the call.

3. Jot Down Notes Right Away

As soon as a shop is finished and you leave the property, try to pull over somewhere to jot down notes about the onsite visit while they’re still fresh in your mind. Note: DO NOT jot down notes while you’re still in the property’s parking lot and definitely not during the shop as this can give you away as a shopper! Once you get home, the sooner you can complete the onsite portion of the report, the better. The more time that passes, the less info you’ll retain, especially if you’re working on more than one shop at a time!

When you make a habit of submitting great, accurate reports with just the right amount of information in the comment section, EPMS will notice! This will reflect positively on your profile and you’ll be one of the shoppers we reach out to when we have special or extra high-paying shops.

The time has come; you have some space in your schedule and are ready to earn extra cash doing some apartment mystery shopping! You click on the EPMS website to log in and find the shops you want, but – ACCESS DENIED! You can’t log in! Now what? Your first step should be figuring out why. There are several reasons you may not be able to get logged in, so let’s take a look at what they are and how you can solve the problem:

1. You Forgot Your Password or Entered the Wrong One

This one is usually easy to address just by clicking “Forgot Your User ID or Password”. From there, you can enter the email address you used to set up your EPMS account and then a reset link will be emailed to you. From there, you can create a new password to get logged in. If that doesn’t work, you can always contact us at support@epmsonline.com and we can help you take care of that password reset manually.

2. Your Account Was Inactivated

When you complete a shop, you are required to report on whether or not you receive follow-up from the person you shopped, either email, telephone or written note. The system will reach out to ask you to provide the follow-up details if you haven’t already. (If you did not receive any, you will still need to go into the shop and mark “No” for each type of follow-up.) If the answers to follow-up are not received within the time limit, the system will automatically inactivate your account, causing you to be unable to log in. In those cases, you can contact your follow-up person or scheduler for help. You can also email us at support@epmsonline.com and we can reactivate your account. However, you’ll still need to go and take care of the follow-up info to prevent the account from being automatically inactivated again.

3. Your Account Still Needs to Be Activated

If you only recently set up your account, you may have missed a step or two required to activate your account. Typically, this involves checking the boxes acknowledging you understand you are an independent contractor. When you log in, make sure you complete the links at the top of the shopper homepage to activate the account and remember:

• Enter your complete profile details – leaving parts of this blank will automatically disqualify you from some shops.
• Enter your direct deposit details as this is the only method we use for payment.
• View the “Best Shopper Practices” and the video equipment reference to ensure you’re fully prepared.

Once you have completed those steps, your account will automatically activate. Please note – this may still be the issue with your account, even if you opened it a long time ago, but never shopped before.

If none of these work and you still can’t get logged in, please email any one of us and we can help.