Three Tips to Write the Best Shop Report

Your apartment mystery shop assignment includes writing a report to share your observations with EPMS and the apartment management company. This is your time to shine and show how awesome your mystery shopping skills are! Here are three tips to help you write the most effective report and ensure you will be awarded as many shops as you want.

1. Ensure the call recording and written report match.

Some shops include a recorded telephone call or even an audio or video recording of the on-site visit. It’s important to make sure the yes/no answers and the written comments in the report are supported by the recording. The client receives the recordings along with the written report and they will identify and report discrepancies. When this happens, it negatively impacts your future access to shops. You can avoid this when you make sure to listen to the recording as you complete the report.

2. Avoid completing comment boxes with “N/A”.

Most of the questions in the written report require a simple yes/no answer. However, there are certain questions where the client requires additional details. Some of these may seem redundant but adding comments will paint a more thorough picture of what occurred. For example, when asked if the leasing professional created rapport, you will check yes or no and will then be asked to explain. In this comment, explain what they did to create rapport or if not, explain why you felt they did not. When asked to explain if an apartment was available to view, explain the type of apartment that was available (model, vacant, one bedroom, two bedroom, etc.) or that there was no availability. Another reason some questions ask for an explanation is to confirm the yes/no answer. In these cases, the question is worth more points and is of more significance, so it’s important to make sure the correct answer was selected.

3. Keep summary comments relevant to the report page.

The written report is divided into segments based on each step of the shop process. There is a segment for the telephone call and the remaining segments pertain to the on-site visit. The on-site visit portion is typically divided into segments including greeting, identifying needs, demonstrating (the apartment/community tour) and closing. In the telephone call segment, make sure to keep the comments and credits awarded specific only to what occurring during the telephone call. Anything that happened on-site does not apply here. For the on-site portion, keep summary comments relevant to each segment. For example, in the greeting segment, only talk about how you were greeted when you first entered the office; you should not discuss the tour on this page.

If you can keep these tips in mind as you complete shop reports, you will build a great reputation for yourself as a reliable and competent shopper.