By Daniel Price, Customer Impact Project Manager
We all have things in our personal lives that make us happy, sad, angry, confused, frustrated, scared, excited, exhilarated, and more. However, no matter what profession you have, be it a banker, athlete, educator, or mystery shopper, it is extremely important that you make a strong effort to not bring those attitudes with you into your work place.
Recently, I was hit with a personal tragedy and the loss of a close friend. This was very tough on me, as it came shockingly and was someone I’ve known my whole life. While it is definitely appropriate to grieve, and I needed to take time to do that, I also understand that I owe it to others not to let those feelings dominate my work day when I returned to the office. It’s not fair to my co-workers or my bosses, or the clients we serve, to be in a constant “funk” at the office. While it’s a struggle, and my mind naturally wanders at times, I also know that when I’m in the office, I need to work extra hard to focus on my job. It’s important for me to have a good support system in my personal life to help take that burden off of me when I’m at the office.
The same can be said in mystery shopping. Even if it’s not a tragedy, but you’re just having a bad day, it can have a major affect on your job. Bringing the wrong attitude into a mystery shop could have potentially negative effects for the people you are evaluating, or the establishment that you are mystery shopping. The same can be said if you go into a shop and you aren’t prepared for everything the shop will entail. That may in turn frustrate you, and then paint a more subjective light on a mystery shop, when we need to try our hardest to be objective and do a good job for those who depend on us.
It’s very easy in life to let the things that stimulate our emotions dominate other aspects of our lives. Affecting our work is no different. This year, try your hardest to not bring your attitude to work. Check it at the door, and make it a goal to give a great and honest hard-working effort in every aspect of your daily life. You’d be surprised how much more pleasant your work day will be. I know I’m going to try.