Most people have a number of personal relationship they cherish, and this may include relationships with parents, kids, siblings, friends and others. You may not give much thought to your professional relationships with your mystery shopping provider, however, but this important relationship can help you to enjoy greater levels of job satisfaction and can even provide you with a boost in your earning potential from mystery shopping assignments. With these key benefits in mind, you may be wondering how healthy your relationship with your mystery shopping provider is. Consider these characteristics of a healthy working relationship.
Excellent Communication
As a mystery shopper, you may work for years earning paycheck after paycheck in your job without ever meeting your provider face to face. The relationship between a provider and a mystery shopper is one that most often develops through email communication and a few phone calls that take place periodically. Your ability to communicate effectively with your provide largely through email is critical. Fast response to email requests and the ability to communicate clearly in the written form is a “must.” Misunderstandings are common with writing issues like typos and poorly worded sentences. Analyze your previous communications with your provider to determine if communication has been clear or if you have had to back track and clarify your messages.
Professionalism
Mystery shopping is a fun job, but it also is a stressful job. Providers are under pressure on their end to get assignments completed on-time by mystery shoppers, and mystery shoppers face their own pressures regarding timing, avoiding being identified, juggling multiple assignments on a given day and more. When pressure and stress run high, it is easy to get snappy and lose your cool. However, maintaining your professionalism at all times is necessary. Consider times in the past when communication with your provider has gotten heated. Were you simply unhappy with a situation yet kept your cool, or did you lash out verbally?
Give-and-Take
A healthy relationship is one where there is some give-and-take. Largely, the relationship will be defined by you taking on assignments and completing them without issue. However, there are times when a provider may ask you to take on an extra assignment that urgently needs to be done. There may be times when you ask for extra compensation to complete an assignment. Consider times when these events have happened. How did you and your provider respond to each other’s requests?
If you have read through these characteristics of a healthy relationship and have determined that your relationship with your provider is not as healthy as it could be, that may be a warning sign that you should consider working with another provider. This is especially true of the unhealthy nature of the relationship is stemming from the provider’s side rather than your side of the relationship. However, certain instances that are few and far between can easily be overlooked. You can strive to improve your relationship by working harder to make your relationship healthier in these key areas.