We have all heard the saying, “What goes around, comes around.” This saying applies to mystery shopping as well. What you do as a shopper directly affects other shoppers. It is hard to believe you have the power to make another shopper’s life easier or more difficult, but it is very true. Here are some top ways you can help other shoppers out:
It’s All About Follow Through. Once you have accepted a shop assignment, you have committed yourself to completing that shop and doing an accurate and thorough job. The scheduler likewise is depending on you to follow through on your commitment. In the event you have to cancel your shop at the last minute, or worse – fail to complete the shop without notifying your scheduler, you have forced the scheduler to appeal to other shoppers to fit a last-minute shop into their already busy schedules. While you may have had a large time window within which to complete the assignment, the new shopper assigned to the shop may just be given a matter of hours to complete it. So if you spend a few extra moments checking your calendar before you accept an assignment, you can save yourself, your scheduler, and the new shopper assigned to take over your assignment a lot of stress and headache.
Shopper Beware. While it may seem as though you as a mystery shopper are fairly isolated in your job, this is not the case. You have a great network of “co-workers” available at your fingertips in the many online mystery shopping communities. If you have had a bad experience with a provider, or worse – you are a victim to a scam, you owe it to your fellow mystery shoppers to notify them immediately. Take immediate action by posting any information you think may help others, and make them aware of the potential issue as soon as you can. By doing this, you will save other people the frustration and stress you have encountered. While you should definitely notify the authorities about a potential scam as well, you will get the word out faster to your fellow shoppers when you hop onto your online community and make a post about your experience. Likewise, you can use the forums and online communities to check with other shoppers on their experiences with questionable jobs.
Give A Piece of Yourself. If you have been shopping for several years, you likely have a lot of completed shops under your belt. You have been able to creatively work out issues you have had with various shops, as well as schedulers and providers. You are a valuable resource to less experienced mystery shoppers. Spend some time in the forums sharing your secrets and answering questions from frustrated new shoppers. You will save your fellow shoppers some stress and time by helping them with issues you have already encountered.
When you share your experiences online, you are more likely to encounter shoppers who have had experiences with issues you are currently having with mystery shopping. So share your knowledge, and learn from others.
Show your fellow shoppers courtesy and respect, and you will enjoy the reciprocated feelings in return.