Mystery shoppers today can enjoy many benefits from visiting a mystery shopping online forum regularly. This is a career option that often creates a feeling of isolation for mystery shoppers. While workers in other industries may hear industry-related news, or gain tips, advice, or even warnings from time to time from their co-workers and colleagues around the water cooler or at business social events, this is simply not possible for mystery shoppers to do. Mystery shopping online forums, however, provide mystery shoppers with these benefits as they provide a virtual gathering place for mystery shoppers to meet and communicate. While few mystery shoppers will disagree that online forums provide them with many benefits, many wonder just how frequently they should be logging on to an online forum.
Different Workers, Different Needs
Some mystery shoppers work on numerous assignments almost every day of the week, and they are considered to be full-time mystery shoppers. Others, however, may only work on a couple of assignments per week or even just a few assignments each month. Clearly there is a large difference in the needs and uses that different mystery shoppers have of online forums. It is important for those working in this industry to consider what their own needs are while trying to determine who frequently they should visit a forum.
Frequency of New Posts
An online community is available for individuals to create new message threads and to leave posts on other threads around the clock. In some cases, hot topics create quite a stir among mystery shoppers, and it is not uncommon for a controversial or interesting topic to generate dozens of new comments within a day or two. Yet other topics create little buzz, and it may be many long days before response is left for the original poster to read. When mystery shoppers notice a comment left behind that interests them, returning to the forums frequently and leaving personal responses of their own can be beneficial. It is also important to return frequently and offer assistance and advice to those mystery shoppers who have posted a new thread. These are, after all, online communities that mystery shoppers can both learn from and contribute to.
Time Availability
Some mystery shoppers who participate in this job on a full-time basis may have more time to devote to reading posts, and they likewise can benefit more from doing so. Others, however, have outside commitments such as a family to take care of, a full-time job, and more, and so the benefit of spending a considerable amount of time reading posts as soon as they are left behind are minimized. Those who work as mystery shoppers work on a limited number of assignments each week or month don’t necessarily need to be kept up to date with industry news on a daily basis. However, they can contribute to the posts others have left behind when they do have time available.
The bottom line is that those who are more active mystery shoppers can benefit in some cases from visiting the forums daily. Others who work in this job only on a limited or part-time basis should visit the forums as often as their schedule permits, as they can still benefit from industry-related news and leave their own advice and tips for others to benefit from.