3 Easy Ways To Maximize Your
Mystery Shopper Income
As an experienced mystery shopper, I am constantly thinking of ways to earn the most I can from my mystery shopping work. The goal should be to improve your work habits so you can do more higher-paying shops, while still maintaining the quality of your research.
Here are three tips from my books, The Perfect Work-At-Home Job: Mystery Shopping and How-To Finally Make Money As A Mystery Shopper.
Melanie's Tip #1: Group Assignments Together
This idea is very important for time management so that you can get the most shops in within the time you have to devote to the work each week. Plus, it is key if you do retail shops which often take place in a local mall or major strip center. It is a waste of your time and gas to make a trip for one shop and then have to go back to the same location for another one, and perhaps another one. While scheduling may not always permit, do your best to not do a solo shop in such a location.
Combining assignments may also make a lower paying shop more attractive if it is quick and you can do it with one or two other ones on the same trip. If you can do three $7 to $12 shops in one trip, your hourly rate has now increased substantially. Yet if you did each of them separately with driving time and gas, it would not be worth your time. This holds true even for higher-paying shops. Do your best to do shops that are in the same area together. Also, use the directions web site on Yahoo under the "maps" link to map out the best directions so you can easily go from one location to another as quickly as possible.
Melanie's Tip #2: Focus on Service Assignments
Service shops and dinner restaurant shops (in reimbursement) tend to pay the most unless you decide to get involved in the new audio and video mystery shopping work which not all shoppers are comfortable with (they can pay up to $50 and $100, respectively). These are your apartment, homebuilder, office space, gym, car dealer, oil change, testing center, financial service shops (and anything else that falls in this category) paying at least $20 to $25 and up to $50; dinner restaurant shops can pay from $35 to $100 (in reimbursement including a token shop fee of $5 to $10 where offered).
Yes, these assignments are more complex and there are those narratives to do (if you don't know what a narrative is, it is a detailed description of your phone and/or on-site experience consisting of a paragraph or two to a full page). But you'll find that the more you do these shops, the faster and easier the narrative-handling becomes. With experience, you'll also develop ways to keep your time on the actual assignment down to an appropriate amount so that you do the minimum necessary to do a good, quality job for your client, but no more.
You'll also find that many shoppers will go for the "easy" $8-12 quickie retail shop because they get to go to the mall. Yes, it is fun to go to the mall and get paid for it, but that fun comes at the expense of making real money as a mystery shopper if you don't handle it correctly as I have described in Tip #1--Grouping Assignments Together. Even better for you, since there will be less competition. Besides, these service and dinner restaurant shops are fun too!
On another note, service and restaurant shops are also preferable because in doing retail shops you may be tempted to spend the money you're earning, and then some at the local mall or shopping center. You're less likely to spend by doing an apartment shop or bank shop. Be careful at those car dealer shops though--you don't want to let them talk you into a new car (unless you really need one)! And don't accept too many dinner shops or your waistline may suffer. Then, again, you can always accept some gym shops to make up for it!
Melanie's Tip #3: Come to the Rescue of a Scheduler or Mystery Shopping Company
If a mystery shopping company or scheduler (if you don't know, a scheduler is someone who books shops for one or more clients) knows that you are a good, professional mystery shopper that they can turn to when a rush assignment or cancellation comes in, you will get these assignments offered directly to you without having to compete with other shoppers to get them.
When you get that call or e-mail, jump in immediately if you can possibly re-arrange your schedule that day--especially if it is for a company you have not worked for before. Your grateful mystery shopping company or scheduler will remember how you came to their rescue, and you'll have an "in" with them. In fact, while you are in contact, they may just offer you another shop they just received and they haven't even posted anywhere yet!
Summary: Maximize your mystery shopper income by grouping assignments together to save time and make lower-paying assignments worthwhile; focusing on service shops; and being flexible in your schedule so you can jump in and help out
a scheduler or mystery shopping company.
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