Many mystery shoppers by nature are devoted to the job and will try to make their relationships with mystery shopping providers work despite less than desirable events and details that crop up over the course of the relationship. Not every relationship, however, is meant to work out. Try as you may to make the relationship work, there are times when you simply need to call it quits with one provider and seek out new relationship with other mystery shopping providers. Here are the top three signs it’s time to drop a mystery shopping provider:
You’re Losing Money. You are in mystery shopping to make money, and not to do volunteer work for major corporations. On the surface, a job that pays $15 for your time and efforts may seem like it’s a good deal. However, other factors such as the time and expense of your travel and a required purchase can really eat away at your profits. Other jobs may appear to be paying lower amounts, such as $5 assignment at a grocery store. However, if this assignment is close by with little time and travel expense required, and has a nice expense reimbursement on items you intended to buy anyway, the $5 assignment may be a more profitable venture for you after all. Take time to truly analyze the profitability of all of your assignments, and if you notice a trend with a certain provider that shows you are not making much money for your time and effort, it’s time to move on to greener, more profitable pastures.
You’re Losing Time. In the mystery shopping world, time is money. The more time you spend driving around in your car, typing up reports, corresponding with providers about silly issues, and correcting reports that should have been approved the first time you submitted them, the less money you are making on another assignments. As a mystery shopper, you want to focus your efforts working on assignments with mystery shopping providers who are “user friendly”. You want to be able to knock assignments out with little hassle from the provider. If you have a mystery shopping provider who is a real pain to deal with, and if that pain is costing you valuable time, it is time drop that provider and replace them with a better provider.
No Love Lost. As a mystery shopper, you rarely will get a pat on the back for a job well done. In most cases, the best case scenario is that your report gets accepted as-is, and you get your payment for the work done in a timely manner. However, there are times when mystery shoppers simply feel no love or respect at all. There is really no excuse for a provider to be rude or disrespectful to you, regardless of the circumstances. If you feel that a provider has really been giving you a hard time, regardless of the reason, it is time to move on. There are far too many mystery shopping providers out there who do value your time and efforts, and who will show you the respect you deserve.
Mystery shopping may be a unique job, but it is still a professional job that requires you to look at your relationships from a business standpoint. Consider these aspects of your relationship with your providers on a regular basis to analyze your business relationships.