If you have done a mystery shop or have read through our shopper agreement and guidelines, then you have seen the 360 Relay policy of submitting your report within 24 hours of completing your visit. While this turn-around time may seem quick, there are reasons that this important deadline is in place.
As a shopper, you are asked to obtain a lot of detail on your visits. The quicker you fill out your shop report, the more you are going to remember, and the more accurate your report is going to be. We recommend doing it as soon as you return home, so that the information stays fresh, and that the details you provide remain top of mind when writing your report.
Our clients are given a guarantee of when they can expect their shop reports. They want to know what is going in their establishments, as it happens. If it was a case of fraud or stealing that was observed on your shop, we want to get that data to them as soon as possible so they can take proper action. The longer that information is withheld, the more issues that can occur for our clients. On the flip side, some of our clients use their mystery shop scores to bonus their managers, and if it is an extremely positive report, then they want that information as soon as possible as well so they can reward their staff appropriately.
Most of our clients run their shop schedules monthly; meaning they expect a certain number of shops within the month’s timeframe. While a month does seem like a long period of time to conduct a client’s shops, the reality is that a lot of shoppers who sign up to complete a mystery shop, do not carry through on their shop commitments. We need to know if a shop did not occur as soon as possible so that our scheduling team can work to get the shop rescheduled in a timely manner. For this reason, shops are automatically removed from a shopper’s account, if not completed within the 24-hour deadline.
While 24 hours is the standard turn-around time expectation for the majority of our shops, we do conduct some shops that occur over a multiple-day span. It is important to read through your shop instructions so that you know what the specific deadline is. If you are conducting a shop over multiple days, make sure that you are filling out your report and saving your work along the way, so that the system knows you have started your assignment.
If you have a valid emergency that is going to prevent you from submitting your report within the deadline, you should always communicate proactively with your scheduler and they may be able to offer an extension. We understand that shoppers have many commitments beyond mystery shopping, and we do want to work with you to obtain your data in a timely manner. If you ever have any questions about why this or any other specific piece of our shopper agreements is in place, please do not hesitate to reach out and let us know.