Shopping Through the Holidays

Walking into the electronics store four days before Christmas I wondered, will this shop be profitable?  As a mystery shopper we ask that question before accepting any assignment, but when confronted with the checkout line stretching to the back of the store I asked it again.
This would be a profitable shop for me!  I had remembered not to take any purchase or worse yet, purchase and return shops in   December.  I always draw a magic line on my calendar and stick to it, ‘after this date I will not be buying mystery shopping items!’ The date usually depends on how many Christmas cards are left to address, but could also depend on gifts yet to buy or if I have enough stocking stuffers yet.
During this stressful time of year I prefer to pick up lunch or dinner shops for reimbursement only over a retail shop. Schedulers will try to front end load December and have their work done as early as possible.  Do not beat yourself up if you do not meet your earning quota this month!  The shopper schedules may have been set far in advance leaving the self-assigner out in the cold.  This is the time of year to have an open schedule to help out that scheduler for whom you have been trying to work!
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Do you have a good mystery/holiday shopping story? admin@shoplogs.com
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• U.S. Christmas shoppers buy for an average of 13 people, and spend an average of $1,015 on Christmas gifts. Over 75% of U.S. consumers will pay for purchases using credit and/or debit cards. Visa Survey by Thomas Lightstone & Co

• Debit and credit transactions are nearly a minute faster than using cash.
  VISA U.S.A.

• 46,438 malls and shopping centers dotted the U.S. landscape in 2002, a total that has increased by almost 10,000 since 1990. (Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003.)

• By law, retailers - including e-tailers - are required to ship an order within the time stated on their website (or in their ads) or at the time the order is placed. If a company doesn't promise a time, it must ship the order within 30 days after receiving it. And if the company is unable to ship within the promised time, it is required to say so and allow the consumer to agree to the delay or to cancel the order and receive a prompt refund. (Source: Federal Trade Commission)

• Holiday sales in November and December climbed 5.7 percent to $222.3 billion in 2004, the strongest showing since 1999 and an increase from 5.1 percent growth in 2003. (Source: National Retail Federation)
  

Being a mystery shopper is often  a lonely experience.  We communicate formally with schedulers and editors in business lingo.  Mystery shoppers can participate in forums, but risk being subjected to other shopper’s opinions (logical, caustic or otherwise).

I craved a public, yet friendly place to release all my mystery shopping thoughts.  Recently I created my own blog, short for weblog, meaning an online journal or diary.  I enjoy mystery shopping, but do not like the inability to share every silly little observation, irony or even catty comment freely with my peers.  I maintain the proper Independent Contractor objectivity, but can type in my opinions that I have traditionally edited when submitting reports.  I can give a person thinking about being a mystery shopper a true, day to day glimpse at what he or she might be in for as a mystery shopper.  And I can definitely elicit a laugh out of a fellow mystery shopper!

The first step in joining this virtual group of mystery shopping bloggers is to read what I have blogged so far and see if this is something in which you would be interested. 

I used Word Press to set up my blog.  I joined a web ring about mystery shopping and am currently the only blog in that group.

Do you already have a blog on mystery shopping? 
Maybe you know of one about the industry? 
Send me an email at admin@shoplogs.com!

The web Ring my Blog is associated with currently has eight other web pages linked to it.   These other web pages do not duplicate my blog, but offer complementary information.  A Web Ring could be formed of other blogs if the interest was great enough.  Joining a Web Ring consists of placing a link to the ring somewhere in your page content.  Statistics are generally available as to which pages generate traffic in to the Web Ring and where traffic is heading.  As of the writing of this article, my Blog is second in generating traffic and third in receiving traffic.  Some pages advertise the services of independent contractors and others list free information on mystery shopping company listings.

A good blog needs to have consistent entries, not lengthy or formal, but consistent.  Blogs can stray off topic, but must generally have a consistent theme of they may not hold the attention of a niche audience.