Mystery Shopping for
Senior Living Communities
Mystery shopping for senior living communities involves evaluating the cleanliness and living conditions to staff interactions and amenities. Assignments can range from low-income to luxury apartments to new home builders. Your main goal as a mystery shopper is to provide an accurate account of the service you received and that the living standards meet expectations of the client.
The company that owns the senior living community, contacts a mystery shopping company and orders mystery shoppers to visit their locations. Mystery shoppers may be required to pretend that they are seeking information about accommodations for a parent or close relative. Of course, that person can be totally made up by you. You just have to remember some of the details about the person during the visit. You might get caught as a mystery shopper if change any details. You will be required to answer questions on a questionnaire to assess the community's responsiveness and care.
Learn about the tax advantages of running a mystery shopping business from tax expert Tim Kiker.
Senior living communities have a number of options that you may be assigned to. They include independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing homes. Most of the assignments I've done have been for independent living. This is where the loved one you are inquiring about can live independently without too much assistance or medical support. You, as a mystery shopper, must keep in mind what type of care is required in the instructions given after you accepted the assignment.
Role playing is an important part of evaluating the counselor who helps you. The client wants to know if the salesperson hits on all of the selling points and that they are giving accurate information. The counselor may be required to give several closing statements or cues to gain the sale. (You, of course, will not be making a purchase.)
The second part of the assignment is to check the cleanliness of the facility. That includes the sales office, the amenities, the dining room and most likely the restrooms. The final report goes to the client, who will evaluate how their employee did on the mystery shop. Their performance could determine if the counselor gets an increase or a bonus at the end of the year.
If there were too many points missing, the client will have to do a lot of retraining on that person and call for more mystery shoppers to visit again.
Many times, the counselor will ask you if you want to visit a vacant room or apartment. You must accept the offer, or your report may not be accepted, and you won't get paid. If the counselor doesn't offer to show you a room or one is not available to show, then you will not be required to tour a room.
Learn more about video Mystery shopping.
Some assignments might include video mystery shopping to capture interactions and conditions more accurately. Video assignments offer a great way to see and hear the sales counselor's presentation. The client can also see the cleanliness of the facility. The mystery shopper may have to pause at certain time (discreetly of course) and pan around the entire room. These assignments usually pay double than the written reports.
Video assignments were rare for a while however they are becoming more prevalent. There may be a number of questions to answer and some narrative to write. For the most part, video assignments have fewer questions to answer and take less time to submit. You'll be required to upload the video to a file server that the mystery shopping company provides. If you have high-speed internet, that should take a few minutes.
Low-Income Senior Living Communities
I've visited low-income housing facilities that appeared difficult to maintain. The air conditioning units leaked a lot of water outside the apartment window and would stay puddled on a concrete sidewalk. I saw this bench in a low-income community that I pointed out to the client. I didn't see how anyone could sit on this dilapidated wood and feel comfortable.
On the other side of the spectrum, I've visited some luxury new home communities for seniors and retirees. These assignments are essential just like shopping for a new home. The ones I've visited had a lot of activities for fellow seniors in the community. Every lawn looked exactly the same in every yard. That's because a professional lawn crew cut and edged every home once a week whether it needed it or not.
Compensation for these assignments vary depending on the number of questions and narrative that you may be required to write. If the report is short, you could earn anywhere from $15 to $20. The more complex reports can pay up to $50 for the visit. If you visit a new home community, that assignment can pay $100 or more.
Listen to this Podcast I did with a veteran mystery shopper, Mystery Phil.
The mystery shopping business is always looking for new faces to visit different places. Learn how you can start your own mystery shopping business from my book, "Take That Job And Mystery Shop It!." I also list close to 200 mystery shopping companies that you can click on their website and fill out an application. There's information about each company and I indicate which ones I've worked with.
