Happy New Year from the team at 360 Relay!
So many of us choose this time of year to establish resolutions; the things we want to focus on in the new year to help us become better partners, parents, friends, and just better people all around. Personally, I have been setting new year’s resolutions since the age of nine and will continue to do so until they actually stick! All kidding aside, this is the year I will consistently wear my nightguard and stop eating so much cheese. Now that I have written this in a blog post that will live on the Internet forever, I think that means I have to nail these resolutions!
As someone who has worked in the mystery shop industry for fifteen years, I have a good grasp on the areas where shoppers could be doing things a little differently to make them better shoppers. For any shoppers looking to create resolutions around their mystery shopping gigs, I have pulled together a few ideas:
*Timeliness: Being timely with your mystery shop submissions is extremely important for both your shopper reputation and our brand reputation as our clients depend on your feedback in a timely manner so that they can take appropriate action. Entering your reports as soon as you are finished with your visit is a great way to ensure that you are recording the information when it’s most fresh in your mind and to ensure that you are hitting the allotted deadlines established by the companies you contract with.
*Accuracy: When filling out your shop reports, it’s vital that the information you are entering is factual and precise. Our clients use your feedback to make decisions about their businesses and therefore we need to ensure that the data and details we are sending them is one-hundred percent accurate.
*Communication: It’s important to keep an open line of communication with the MSP’s that you contract with. Just because you have submitted a shop, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your job is done. You must remain available for any follow-up questions our editors or schedulers may have regarding your visit and the details you have provided. Shops are addressed by our editing team within 24 hours, so it’s essential that you remain available for at least that timeframe, after you have submitted your shop. Once your shop is approved and there are no further questions, you will receive a notification.
*Reputation: You should always be aware of your shopper reputation within the iSS platform; knowing which badges you have accumulated and knowing what your point total is. For every shop you do and every poll you contribute to, your point value goes up. On the flip side, for every shop you fail to complete on time, or shop you complete incorrectly, you lose points in your ranking. We receive a lot of requests for our shops, and we will always choose a shopper with a high-ranking reputation over one with a poor reputation.
*Try New Things! If you primarily stick to completing the same types of shop month after month, try moving outside your comfort zone and picking up some new shops you haven’t yet tried! We are constantly adding new shops to our system, and we value shoppers who can provide coverage to us across a plethora of different shop types.
Best Wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2023!