I've never done apartment shops. I had one scheduled way back when I was a new mystery shopper (early 2011), but one of my dogs died, and I cancelled. I was a little reluctant to sign up for another, because by then I'd seen the questionnaire ~ and it was pretty danged long. But I don't recall how much of that was narrative.

When I joined here (several months later) I read about the tedious and voluminous reporting (as in detailing minutiae) and redundant narratives involved with many apartment shops, so I continued to hold off on them. I'm not into two-hour plus narratives ~ especially not ones requiring insane levels of detail and redundancy ~ unless I'm being paid *way* more than apartment shops pay around here!

Then, I read that some apartment shops actually have reasonable reports and narratives.

So, I asked if it was OK to inquire about the level of detail, tedium, voluminous-ness, redundancy, etc. of the reports for apartment shops for specific companies, that offer them in my area. I was told that was OK, without breaking ICA's and all that. However, I got really busy with lots of other shops (and holidays & such) and forgot to ask!

My January has been a little short, as I've mentioned elsewhere, and there are some apartment shops in my area again. The two companies I see offering them are Market Stat and Shoppers Inc. I've never done any jobs for either of these companies before.

Any insight anyone cares to share about the reports involved for these companies' apartment shops? And if they pay on time? I'll be grateful for any advice.

I've done about 25 apartment shops, mostly for Ellis, and those forms are a pain. They do get easier over time as you get it down what kind of details they're looking for. I take at most a few shops a month. If I did them as a steady diet, I think I would go crazy.

Try to make mental notes of everything (the agent, the office, the amenities, the trip to the apartment, the decor if its a model, the floor plan it its vacant) and especially what the rental agent did and didn't do. As they say in school, pay attention because it will be on the test later.

The very first apartment shop I did, an hour plus into writing it up, when the report asked what color the agent's eyes were I just about had a cow! It makes me LOL now.

I almost always only do the non-targeted ones. The targeted ones I find are a pain in the butt and can tie up your schedule for days if you let them.

I've done a few other apartment shops for other companies, and they're not as detailed or tedious, but also don't pay as well. Ellis pays like clockwork, and I haven't had any bad luck with any of the other apartment shopping companies. Good luck!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2013 09:44AM by sportsed1.