Maximize Your Mystery Shopping Income

Nothing is more frustrating as a mystery shopper than working to complete a shop, only to find out you neglected to fulfill the terms of the contract and your shop will be cancelled without pay! In this blog, we’ll discuss 3 ways you can help ensure an acceptable shop completion to earn the maximum pay. Continue reading “Maximize Your Mystery Shopping Income”

Making the Most of Your Holiday Hours

Along with the joy and cheer of the holiday season can come some added financial considerations. Many of us look for ways to bring in a little extra income to cover these costs and apartment mystery shopping can be a great solution! However, with all the activities with family and friends, it can be a challenge to find the time to do it all. When you have many shops to do, you will need to do some planning to maximize your time.

 

With Ellis Mystery Shopping Company, the apartment shops you choose typically have a window of a few days for completion. Once you dig deeper, you will see that some shops can only be shopped on weekdays while others may have weekend only specifications. In order to make sure you can compete the shops you assigned to yourself during the time you have available, make a note of the times the apartment shops can be completed.

Also, if you choose a shop with a specific target agent, you should start making calls from the time you assign the shop, even if it isn’t due for a couple of days. After completing the calls, you will have a better idea of the best order to complete your assigned shops based on distance and due dates.

Of course, you should complete the shops with dates coming up soon. If you need more time, you can reach out to the team at Ellis and they can help. However, some clients have time constraints and need shops completed by the deadline, so extensions are not possible.

In conclusion, you can make the most of your holiday earnings if you identify your availability and then pick up the jobs that work best with that timeframe. When you successfully stack your shops for streamlined completion, you maximize your potential earnings.

Apartment Mystery Shopping is a Job You Can Be Thankful For

There are plenty of reasons to be thankful to have a job in the apartment mystery shopping industry!  In this blog, we’ll explore 3 reasons why apartment mystery shopping is a great choice for you to earn extra money this holiday season and all year round.
Continue reading “Apartment Mystery Shopping is a Job You Can Be Thankful For”

The Holiday Hustle

The holidays are fast approaching, so it’s time to start thinking about that holiday hustle. You can set out to secure a part-time seasonal job with set hours or you can pursue a more flexible way to earn extra cash – apartment mystery shopping!

If you choose to get started with apartment mystery shopping, you will be able to complete shops on your own time; you can forget the time clock! You are sure to find jobs near you as EPMS offers shops all over the country, from Erie, Pennsylvania to Amarillo, Texas to San Diego, California. This will allow you to earn as much or as little as you need to get you through the coming holiday months.

Below are two ways to increase the chances of securing more apartment mystery shops.

Check the Site Often

Check the EPMS apartment mystery shopping page often. Doing this gives you the best opportunity to pick up the apartment mystery shops you want before someone else does. The best times to check for new available shops is on the first of the month and the middle of the month. Later in the month there may be fewer shops, but there are often additional bonuses attached at that time, so it would be to your advantage to check late in the month if you have a few days free to shop.

Another important note: do not forget to respond to the emails you receive from the EPMS staff. Often, they will reach out to solicit for shoppers to complete shops coming due soon and these shops generally have additional bonus pay attached.

Choose to Be a Backup Shopper

If you check the site and only see the backup option, take it! Why? You never know when the original mystery shopper may need to back out of the shop and when they do, the shop is yours!

By volunteering to be a backup shopper, you will be of service to EPMS and the mystery shopper who needed to drop the shop, not to mention, you will be able to make some extra quick cash.

These are just two of many ways to increase your holiday cash while still operating on your own time.

Go over to the EPMS log in page now and see what is listed in your area today. Happy shopping!

Maximizing Mystery Shop Volume

Mystery shopping is a great way to work from home!  You stand to make the most money when you are able to complete your shops quickly and efficiently. Here are three suggestions to help you cut out the excess and streamline your shopping process. 

Be Receptive 

Work to present yourself as open and receptive to what the leasing agent has to offer. If you are able to make them feel comfortable, the process will flow organically and it will encourage them to give their best presentation. Although most leasing agents receive similar training, each puts his or her own “flavor” on their sales technique, so it’s best if you can go with the flow and let them take the lead. 

Be Natural  

Excessive talking and over-explaining can cause a mystery shop to take more time than necessary.  Remember, your job is to evaluate the leasing agent’s performance in trying to convince you to lease. You will not actually be leasing the apartment you are being shown, so there is no risk in showing interest in a community or apartment you may not actually be interested in a real scenario. Be mindful not to over-explain your shopper story as this can tip the agent off that you are a shopper and could cause your shop to be invalid.

Let the Leasing Agent Shine 

Allow the leasing agent to lead the tour.  A good leasing agent will walk ahead of or near you during the apartment mystery shop tour. Along the way, he or she will ask you questions to determine your needs and wants in a new apartment home and will know what to say and how to respond to your needs. You will want to be sure to let the leasing agent lead the both phone call and the onsite apartment tour.

The more you can relax, the quicker your mystery shops will be over time, which will allow you to complete more shops each month.

Getting the Most Shops

There are a variety of reasons why you may not get more apartment mystery shops. Take time to make sure you are not making these mistakes, so you can maximize the number of shops you are assigned…and the amount of money you make! 

Late Reports 

If you are consistently late with submitting your apartment mystery shop reports, your account may be flagged. EPMS, just as every other mystery shopping company, will need you to submit your report on time so they can meet client deadlines.

Remember, you are required to upload your backup documents (such as business card, floor plan, pricing and fee sheets, audio and video recordings of your onsite shop if applicable) to the site within 24 hours and the online report should be submitted by the end of the day following the visit. The sooner you can submit the required items, the more you will remember from the mystery shop. This is especially important if you complete more than one apartment mystery shop in a day or if you are completing shops along a travel route. Can you say Kauai’s Na Pali Coast – who would not love to route shop in Hawaii?

Grammatical Errors  

Make sure to check your spelling and grammar before submitting your reports. The more difficult your shop reports are to edit, the less likely you will be able to select multiple shops. You should take time to proofread the sections of your report. If you are unsure, you can use Word or other similar software to help proofread. 

Not Checking the Site Often Enough  

Many apartment mystery shops are self-assigned, so remember to check the EPMS site often, especially around the first of the month. On the other hand, if you check for apartment mystery shops near the end of the month, you may have a chance to complete some mystery shops with bonuses available. In some areas – Nebraska, Minnesota, and West Texas, for instance – EPMS is always looking for shoppers, so be on the lookout for the potential to plan a route for shops.

Try to be aware of these pitfalls and you’ll have the best chance to complete the most shops each month. This will be a great way to work from home and make great money!

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.

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.

Two Tips to Grow Mystery Shop Monthly Income

89Let’s face it, we mystery shop because we like to provide invaluable information to companies so they can continue to provide great customer service to their clients. However, we also like to make money. We have bills to pay and we want to enjoy life; that takes money.

First, decide how much money you want to make each month. You should determine how much extra money you want to make each month and you can decide a different amount from one month to the next. Remember, nothing is set in stone here.  From there, you can work out the math for how many shops you need to complete to make that amount of money.

The great thing about apartment shops is it costs no money for you to complete the shops, meaning  you do not have to buy any item or pay for  anything and wait to be reimbursed. This is great, not to mention apartment shops pay well.

You should check the mystery shop site weekly. There are some mystery shop companies that will send you weekly emails on what is available. Otherwise, you will need to check the site to make sure you are able to secure the shops you want to complete.

Mystery shopping gives you the flexibility to make more with less time invested than going to work. Take some time today to check EPMS and see what shops are available for you to complete during your spare time. You can thank me later!