Many people have an interest in mystery shopping. They are intrigued with the concept of getting free meals and retail items. What is really important to understand is that mystery shopping is a great way to subsidize income and activities, but something is expected in return. You need to provide feedback on customer service, usually within 24 hours. To be a successful mystery shopper, you need to have good writing skills and the ability to follow instructions. ShadowShopper is a useful resource for learning about the mystery shopping industry for the first time or to improve your mystery shopping skills. Getting to know the ShadowShopper web site and available resources can improve your number of assignments.

There are two main groups of people who subscribe to ShadowShopper:

1) Those that don't have the time to carefully study the web sites of companies who have available assignments.
2) Those that don't have the information or know where to begin their mystery shopping journey.

These groups are divided into those that succeed and those that have a challenge with mystery shopping.

1) Those that succeed are eager to learn any information possible about mystery shopping. They study articles on mystery shopping. They accept constructive feedback from schedulers. They pay attention to instructions when asking for jobs.
2) Shoppers who have problems getting assignments are impatient to be prepared for looking their best. They read job postings so quickly that they don't provide all of the requested information. They don't proof their reports and they don't understand all they need to know about jobs because they didn't ask.

Which group of shoppers best describes you? Do you take the time to read the useful tips on mystery shopping that are available on the web site? Do you simply copy and paste information to create a bio or do you use it as a guideline to create your own original work?

Shoppers who make time to completely understand instructions and guidelines will be much more successful than shoppers who are looking for a short cut and a free ride. Mystery shopping is a wonderful way to be reimbursed and paid for every day tasks you would be completing anyway. Why not get paid to do them?

Shoppers who want to start their experience with mystery shopping will increase their chances of getting that first assignment if they would take the time to just pay attention. Most shoppers skim over job postings and focus on the details of a nice dinner. They want the job so badly that they didn't take the time to read that this assignment is for a seafood dinner. Maybe the shopper doesn't eat seafood. Imagine the work caused to the scheduler who assigns the job to the shopper, only to learn that the shopper is allergic to seafood. A lot of time and energy could have been saved if the shopper had simply paid attention to all of the details in the posting.

Some assignments are for specific restaurants or stores. A scheduler may have 30 locations that need to be filled in the same city. That means that when a job is posted, numerous shoppers will be asking for the same job. When you contact a scheduler, you will want your request to look as professional as possible.

The ShadowShopper web site has a built in template that makes requesting jobs really easy. Here are important details to remember when using that template to ask for work:

• Your bio is already printed on the template. You don't need to copy it onto your email. If you do, the scheduler will see it twice.
• It is very important to proof your bio. Any spelling or grammar errors will be noticed and the scheduler will presume that you will write your reports the same way.
• There is a place for the shopper to write a message to the scheduler within the template. Please make your thoughts very clear and be sure to include every piece of information that was requested.
• The example of how to write a bio is to give the shopper an idea of how to write one. The bio should not be copied! If you are a new shopper just getting into the business of mystery shopping, many parts of the bio will not even be relevant for you yet. It is a good idea to take time to write your own biography, based on your own experiences. The sample bio is intended to help shoppers have a place to start. The sample bio was written by a scheduler and when shoppers send their copied bios to that scheduler, it is known that the shopper did not write something original.

Message to a scheduler:
I just applied to your web site. I am interested in the casual restaurant shop located in Nashville, TN. I am free for lunch or dinner any weekday and available for dinners on the weekend. My available dates in July are 4-9, 15-19 and the 23rd. I have shopped many restaurants and have an eye for detail. I appreciate your consideration.

Shoppers should take time to request more than one assignment. It isn't always possible to get every assignment you request. When a shopper makes multiple requests, they increase the chances of getting a job.

One of the most frequent mistakes made by ShadowShopper subscribers is not taking the time to completely understand the posting instructions. Sometimes a scheduler may ask for specific information, including your available days for any particular month and if you are already shopping for the company that has the job. Subscribers who simply request the job without taking the time to provide all of the relevant information are wasting the scheduler's time and their own.

Most companies will expect shoppers to submit an application to their web site before any job can be requested. Schedulers aren't trying to create more work for the shopper. The reason that a shopper has to submit an application to the web site of the company posting the job is because that is the only way to get paid. When a shopper fills out an application, the data is saved on the computer. Your data helps determine a shopper user number or login number. When you ask for a job without first submitting an application, the scheduler will have to take the time to contact the shopper and request the application. Most schedulers are too busy to take that time. If a shopper does not meet all of the criteria with their initial email, they will probably have their request deleted.

ShadowShopper has a job assignment number listed beside every available job with any company. This assignment number is for internal use only. If you contact a scheduler and you only use the assignment number, the scheduler will not know what job you want. Shoppers should avoid using the job assignment number provided by ShadowShopper. Most companies will have other reference numbers or will describe the job. Shoppers who use the assignment number with their requests are less likely to actually get the assignment.

ShadowShopper has a lot of material available to shoppers. Taking time to read articles and useful information provided by the company can only improve your mystery shopping experience.