Each of your mystery shopping assignments is essentially a two-part process. Step one involves completing the site visit per the assignment requirements. The second step relates to completing the mystery shopping report. In most cases, the report is submitted online and must be completed within a few hours to a day of completing the site visit. Without completing both of these steps, you will not be paid for your efforts on the assignments. While the site visit must be completed before the report is typed and submitted, the report is the only aspect of the assignment that your providers will generally see. With this in mind, you should take note of three important things about mystery shopping reports before you complete another assignment.
Details Can Be Good, But Not Always
One factor to consider when you write your reports is the amount of detail that you include. Many report questions are free form, essay-style questions. In some cases, a question can be answered directly with just one sentence. However, in many cases, some elaboration is required. Keep in mind that you should strive to answer the question fully, but avoid providing excessive detail. You may have heard the saying, “The devil is in the details.” This holds true for mystery shopping. When you include too much detail, you run the risk of confusing your reader. If your writing is not clear, you may also seem to contradict yourself in the answer to another question. Both of these may trigger a revision request.
Timing Matters
Many mystery shopping reports require you to note timing in some way. With some reports, you may simply need to state when you entered and left the location. However, this may be required with other timing-related questions. For example, you may be required to state how long you waited in line for assistance, how long you were in a dressing room and other factors. If you fudge these numbers because you didn’t take good notes on-site or if you make a typo on these numbers, your information may not make sense. Your reader, as an example, may question why you only spent 15 minutes on site, but you waited for assistance for 10 minutes and waited another 10 minutes to checkout.
Grammar and Spelling Mistakes Can Cost You
Typos and grammar mistakes are easy to make. In some cases, your mind just moves faster than your fingers can type. Perhaps you had something else on your mind while typing and accidentally typed the wrong word. Your finger may have skipped a key, or any number of other things could have happened. The fact is that even the most skilled writers and devoted mystery shoppers make typos and grammatical errors from time to time. Proofreading your work is the best way to catch these errors. Bear in mind that some typos can lead to confusion or may even change the entire meaning of your sentence.
Writing your reports is one of the most important aspects of your mystery shopping job, and there is considerable importance in completing these reports correctly. Take note of these factors as you complete your future mystery shopping reports.