by Barbry Booth, Customer Impact Senior Scheduler
The end of the month is a hectic time for most mystery shopping companies. Schedulers are busy wrapping up the month while simultaneously preparing for the start of a new month. Editors are meticulously reviewing last minute reports that clients are anxious to receive. Shoppers are coming to our rescue, picking up last minute shops and submitting their reports.
When all aspects are in sync, the end of the month can go smoothly for all involved. However, if there was ever a time to stay on your toes in mystery shopping, it’s at this time.
Here are just a few end-of-the-month tips for shoppers:
- Complete your shop as scheduled. If you are assigned a shop during the last week of the month, we have little time, if any, to get a shop reassigned. If you’ve been assigned a shop during this time, know that the scheduler is counting on you to complete it as scheduled.
- Submit your report before, or at least within, the given deadline. Schedulers are worriers, and they become obsessive worriers at the end of the month. Wondering whether or not a shop was completed, and if/when the shopper is going to submit their report, can be torturous to a scheduler.
- Call us back! Let’s say a scheduler you seldom hear from calls you and asks if you can complete a shop. If this happens, please realize that the scheduler really is in a bind. We certainly don’t expect shoppers to help out every time we ask, but we do appreciate a call back to let us know of your availability. Editors may also call you to ask for additional information or clarification on a recently submitted report. It’s especially important to return an editor’s call. Missing or vague information can result in an invalid report. The editors are there to help you ensure your report is accepted by the client. We value the relationships we build with our shoppers and love to hear from you!
- Review your shop as soon as it’s assigned to you! Once you are assigned a shop, read over the guidelines and form as soon as possible. If you are shopping a client for the first time, you are required to call our office to review the shop (guidelines and form) before you attempt to complete it. We are in the office Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST. The last thing anyone wants is a shop to be missed or rejected simply because the shopper failed to call in to review it. If there are any instructions that are unclear, or you have any questions, please contact us about that as well. Again, we are here to help you be successful!
- Current month’s shops always take precedence over the next month’s shops. If you contact a scheduler about a shop that is available for next month, don’t be surprised if the scheduler doesn’t email you back right away. We’re busily wrapping up the current month, but know that we will get back with you as soon as it’s possible.
Have you ever been assigned a shop during the last week of the month that had to be completed before month’s end? Is there anything that could have been done by you or the mystery shopping company to make your experience better?