Targeted Apartment Shops

How are these accomplished? What are your best strategies for reaching a target? What do you do when the wrong person answers the phone after 3-4 times? I like apartment shops but I"m a little mystified as to how these are done. I'd like to have some tips and strategies before I dive in.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Apartment Mystery Shopping

1. Call different times of day
2. Tag team; have someone else call to tag up the line
3. Ask for them by name
4. Say your spouse spoke with a male/female before who was so nice and told you to ask for them but you can't remember their name, is there someone else who it may be
5. If there is a front desk person, act like you're a resident and ask who's in the office today. I do this often:
"Hey Patrick this is Pat from apt 415, I have a question about my rent, who's in the office today?"

DO NOT ask for the target until/unless the guidelines or your scheduler say(s) (in writing) that it is okay to do so. You will invalidate the whole shop if you fail to follow their rules/instructions about this.

Have someone call and engage the person who answers the phone to increase your chances of getting the target to answer your call.

IFF permission is given to ask for the target by name, I then say that I drove there and walked around recently to checkout the neighborhood. While I was there "I met a resident who said to be sure to ask for you, Shirley." Sorry, no, I did not get his name, he was tall and wore jogging clothes. (They like to reward residents for referrals so you need to have an answer prepared.)

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

You're right, not to ask for targets by name unless the guidelines state so. I had a specific msc in mind when replying, since the OP said, they completed 4 attempts already. That specific msc allows you to ask for target if you havent reached them by the 5th call. Most companies give you theu targets schedule and it was implied that the OP didnt have the targets scheduled so I assume it was said company.

@walesmaven wrote:

DO NOT ask for the target until/unless the guidelines or your scheduler say(s) (in writing) that it is okay to do so. You will invalidate the whole shop if you fail to follow their rules/instructions about this.

Have someone call and engage the person who answers the phone to increase your chances of getting the target to answer your call.

IFF permission is given to ask for the target by name, I then say that I drove there and walked around recently to checkout the neighborhood. While I was there "I met a resident who said to be sure to ask for you, Shirley." Sorry, no, I did not get his name, he was tall and wore jogging clothes. (They like to reward residents for referrals so you need to have an answer prepared.)

EPMS will sometimes give wrong information for targets. Remington is great for giving shoppers the target's schedule.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

If the MSC requires one to play tag in reaching the target, never asking for the person, I charge an additional 20% and do not waiver on that sum. Usually, I am not assigned the shop, which is okey dokey with me, as I had one this past June that required 13 calls spread out over six business days. I finally reached the agent and set an appointment, but when I arrived she was off on Mondays. I completed the job, but the MSC took a week to decide if I would be paid. Naturally, I did not submit the report until my money was confirmed. As an added note, the shop had been on the board for three months, so I am guessing the MSC was aware the target might be ducking being shopped.

Great answers, thank you all. Why does a target duck the shop? Might there not be a bonus, raise or other perk involved in a good shop?

CQ,

Several years ago, I had an apartment shop that both forbade asking for the target and blocking my number. After at least a dozen attempts, I received permission to call without blocking and reached my agent on the first call. While seated in her small office, it was a single person community, the phone rang. She then mentioned to a maintenance man she had been warned not to answer any calls from a blocked number, as it was probably a shopper. It is my opinion some workers look upon shoppers as rats, someone to cause them problems and/or they simply delight in making our jobs difficult.

When I did shops for Remington, I found targets would use a variation of their name so they would know when the shopper called. I would call and wait for Maria to answer. She never did. I finally got permission to ask for her by name. Imagine my surprise when Denver and Maria were the same person, and Denver had been answering the phone for the past two weeks..

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

Great answers, thank you all. Why does a target duck the shop? Might there not be a bonus, raise or other perk involved in a good shop?

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Targeted Apartment Shops

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine