The key to making a lot of money as a mystery shopper is speed. The faster you can complete assignments, the more money you can make. But mystery shoppers often get slowed down by confusing or misleading report questions. You may need to pause and consider what the question is actually asking rather than fly right through the report. Add to that the fact that answering a question incorrectly can cause delays in payment or even cause your report to get thrown out entirely, resulting in no pay at all for your hard work.
There are a few things you can do to help you better decipher those confusing reporting questions and keep you moving along at a fast pace:
Take A Moment. You may not want to slow down and think twice about a question. Your initial impulse may be to simply turn out a fast answer to what you perceive the question is asking. However, consider the incredible time delays it would take for you to get into a back-and-forth Q&A session with your scheduler if your answer doesn’t address the question asked. Also consider the time delay this would cause in receiving your paycheck. It’s far better to simply take an extra minute or two to review the question again and get a firm grasp for what the question is asking.
When There Is A Gray Area. It’s not uncommon to run into a question that is confusing merely because of its wording. If you read the question one way, it could be asking for one thing. But if you read it another way, it would change your answer entirely. First, look for the middle ground and see if there is a way you can answer the question that addresses the ambiguity. Also, dig deeper into the report and see if there is a place where you can explain your answer later.
When There Are Still Questions. Often there are questions that, regardless of how much time you spend trying to understand the question or how many times you try to look at an ambiguity, the gray area still remains in a confusing question. If you are spending more than a few minutes trying to understand a question, by all means call the scheduler. It’s far better to take a moment to phone your scheduler than to deal with the ramifications of answering the question incorrectly. The last thing you want is for your report to get thrown out or your paycheck to get delayed because you didn’t answer the question correctly. This can easily be cured with just a simple phone call.
While most questions on the reports are pretty straightforward and easy to understand, there are a few here and there cause major hang-ups and delays. Keep in mind that it’s far better in many regards to simply take time to deal with the question at that time than to come back to it after you’ve submitted your report. Take a moment to answer the question correctly, and then you’ll be free to fly on through the rest of the report!