Have you ever gotten home from completing a mystery shopping assignment’s site visit and realized that you forgot to complete one aspect of the requirements? Or perhaps your site visit was interrupted in some fashion, such as a noisy customer or a cunning employee who was about to discover your identity as a mystery shopper, and you had to run out of the location right away to save the assignment. These are just a few of the many ways you may get home and realize that you left part of your assignment requirements unfulfilled.
In some cases, you will just have to simply notify your scheduler that you were unable to complete the assignment requirements fully and let the scheduler decide how to proceed. There is a possibility, in this case, that you may not be paid either fully or at all for the work you completed. However, there are some ways that you can try to save your assignment and still get paid for the work you have completed. There is no right or wrong way to handle such a scenario, so you will need to decide which option is best suited for your unique circumstances.
Make A Phone Call. If you are missing something simple such as an employee’s name, you can simply call the store location and make up a story. Say something along the lines of, “Hi, I was just in there about an hour ago. A woman with short blond hair and freckles was helping me out. I think her name was Sarah maybe….. Can I talk to her? I think I left my credit card there.” Chances are the salesperson’s name will not be whatever name you just made up on the fly, but the person answering the phone will likely say, “There’s a blond woman with freckles named Maggie. Is that her?” And just like that you have your information.
Return to the Store. When possible, head back to the store as soon as you can. You can use the line that you think you left your cell phone in the fitting room or bathroom as an excuse. This is a great way to find out a salesperson’s name, double check the fitting rooms or bathrooms if you forgot, check displays, or anything else that you may have forgotten.
Review the Requirements. If you forgot one of the requirements all on your own, with being rushed through your assignment by another customer’s or employee’s curiosity, you can take some steps be more diligent on your next assignment so you don’t forget requirements again. Review the requirements in your car one last time before you head into the store, restaurant, or other location. You can jot down a few notes on your cell phone or other PDA-type device. You can even use a shopping list if this would not seem out of place in the particular site in question. If you are a forgetful person, these are great strategies that will help ensure that you don’t forget requirements on future assignments.
Sometimes not completing an assignment fully will result in you losing out on a paycheck, but with some of these strategies, you may be able to save your mystery shopping paycheck!