Traditionally, mystery shops occur in a specific time range, within a one-day timeframe for which you have scheduled your shop. However, we do have a variety of different secret shopper programs that require more than one step and can take more than one day, and sometimes may even take up to a week to complete.
These shop types include, but are not limited to:
- Fitness facility calls and tours
- Retail visits with an appointment setting via phone
- College admissions shops with multiple reach-outs to a specific department
- Hotel overnights
- Call and email inquiries
These shops tend to be a bit more involved and require more organization and coordination from the shopper’s perspective. While being organized is a great attribute for a mystery shopper to have in any situation, these multi-step shops require an even higher level of attention to detail. The following is a list of important things to remember and stay aware of when completing a multi-step shop.
Scheduled Date(s)
When scheduling a shop in our system, you are forced to choose a date you plan to complete the shop. If the shop requires you to make an appointment, then visit the location on your appointment date, it’s important to be conscious of your scheduled date in the system. You should make the appointment for the date you are scheduled for; if that date isn’t available when you schedule the appointment, you need to ensure you reschedule the shop in the system so that the scheduled date matches your assigned date. Shops will auto-remove from your account if not entered within 24 hours, so it’s crucial to ensure the scheduled date in the system is accurate.
Recording Information and Tracking Your Progress as You Go
When completing a shop stretched out over a few days, it’s important to record information on your shop report as you complete each step. For example, if you are reaching out to inquire about specific details through a website, it may take a few days for the company to respond. It’s important to keep track of when you reached out and how many times you have done so before you receive a return to your inquiry. If your shop requires you to speak to multiple departments over the course of a few days, always fill out each section of the report as you go, instead of waiting until the entire assignment is complete; fill out the information when it’s fresh in your mind.
Communication with the Scheduler
Staying in touch with your scheduler is extremely important in these multi-step shops, as they aren’t black and white assignments and can change depending on the situation and scenario regarding your shop. Some of these shops are situational, meaning that your next step of the shop process is dependent on the response you receive from the client you are conducting the shop for. It’s important to notify your scheduler if something occurs that is out of the realm of the mystery shop scenario, and that could affect when and the manner in which the shop is completed.
We understand that these shops are more complex and involved, and because of that, we compensate more for shops that are going to take you more than one day to complete. These shops are an important part of our shop portfolio and help us deliver information to our clients that is vital to the success of their business.
If you want to get a leg up on your marketing research, get in touch with 360 Relay today to learn more about our retail auditing process and other mystery shop programs we provide for businesses.