You’re all ready to go! You’ve checked the instructions, taken the needed exam, made sure there’s gas in the car, and your cell phone is charged. What else? I carry a Mystery Shopping Kit in my car. It’s full of stuff that isn’t really necessary for a shop, but sure makes it easier! Here’s what’s in mine (you’ll need to tailor yours to whatever kind of shops you do):
- A box of pens. Not just one or two. A box. Otherwise, it’ll be the time when I have two dozen details in my head that are about to be lost that the pens run out of ink, slip under the seat where I can’t reach them, or simply disappear.
- Notepad. For quick notes.
- A transparent receipt holder. I got a nice one at Staples that closes like a Ziploc, except it’s a lot heavier. I got mine in bright pink so it’s easy to see. Otherwise, receipts tend to get lost in a wallet or purse. In most case, no receipt = no pay.
- A clean shirt. Okay, maybe you’re not as messy as I am. Often enough, though, I have spilled on my shirt at a lunch shop when I still have several others to complete. The extra shirt can be a lifesaver. You don’t want to be memorable – and certainly not for the spilled spaghetti sauce on your shirt. Hint: roll your shirt to keep it from getting wrinkled.
- A bottle of water. Because a shopping day can get long. Ditto with an energy bar.
- The shop instructions. Yeah, this should go without saying, but it never fails that the time I forget to bring the instructions is the time I need to refer to them. My daughter says she’s going to start charging me for calling up and asking her to read them to me.
- A CD with both pictures and text. I do a lot of office supply shops that require me to print out three-page documents or five-page documents. The CD has all the Boy Scout merit badge requirements. I print them out and leave them in our Scout library for the others to use. It’s better than printing something useless and throwing it away! Also, some shops require using a photo machine, and having a disk ready means that I don’t have to spend the time the night before.
- A list of scheduler’s phone numbers for the companies I shop most frequently. Things happen. Being able to call a scheduler can mean the difference between a shop getting rejected or salvaged.
That’s what’s in my kit, in a file box that goes with me. It’s saved me more than once!