This month is National Wellness Month! In more recent years, there’s been a lot of discussion around incorporating wellness-boosting habits into our everyday lives. From getting out in nature, to getting creative, to connecting with people – it all contributes to being kind to our minds. Whether you’re a mystery visit connoisseur, or you take a much more casual approach, it’s important to do it in a way that works best for you. So how can you get the most out of Mystery Dining? We’ve included our top 5 tips below to help you get the most out of your visits!
Making mystery dining work for you isn’t just beneficial to the mystery dining itself – it also makes for a great form of escapism! These visits make a great side quest, taking you out of your usual routine and keeping things interesting. In our busy lives, it’s important to have something for yourself that you feel good doing, and mystery dining not only offers different experiences for you to try, but it can also give you that feeling of achievement and accomplishment that drives us forward. The best part is, it’s in your control – whether you’re doing a visit every other day, or once a month, you can shape it around your lifestyle.
When it comes to mystery dining, your “status” is simply a way of benchmarking your mystery diner record overtime. You might notice a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum status badge on your profile - this is based on how consistently you complete visits and reports.
Your status determines when certain visits become visible to you, and certain visits are reserved for specific statuses. Your status reflects the visits you’ve completed, how timely you were with cancellations, and the feedback you’ve received. It’s helpful to review your feedback, as it can guide you in making each mystery dining experience more enjoyable and fulfilling.
It's helpful to think of your status as a reflection of how you like to approach your visits. If you’re taking a more casual approach and booking fewer visits, that’s absolutely fine - it’s all about fitting it into your life in a way that works for you... and if you enjoy working your way to Platinum, that can be rewarding too!
Most importantly, status should never feel like pressure - whether you’re dining with friends, making it a family outing, or enjoying some solo “me time,” the real benefit is the experience itself. The reports and status simply follow naturally when you’re engaged, present, and enjoying the process.
For those mystery diners who want to make strides towards Platinum status, it's important that you're not taking on visits that don't work for you. It's always worth double checking that you can realistically complete a visit (and enjoy it!) – is the visit somewhere you’re willing to go and can easily get to? Is the venue somewhere you’ll feel comfortable? Are you happy with the requirements in the brief? If you book somewhere and then discover that it might not be for you, the cancellation could impact you, so it’s wise to check these details in advance.
It’s also imperative to consider how much time and energy you can spare - for both the visit itself and the subsequent report. This is different for everyone, but it's worth bearing in mind that your visits schedule is completely in your control – you can do things at your own pace, giving yourself the time and space to undertake the visits that you want to do.
Being a mystery diner is a great opportunity to try things that you might not do usually – whether it’s due to money restraints, or purely that you hadn’t heard of an experience until it popped up on your 'Book a visit' page, it’s a great way to see what’s out there and try things out without breaking the bank. Why not try a cuisine you’re not familiar with, or see if there are any mini golf or darts visits near you? If you’re a sports or music fan, you could even find yourself soaking up the iconic vibe of Wembley Stadium!
We’re here for you! If there’s ever anything you’re unsure of, you can use our Helpdesk or our Live Chat function, and we’ll do our best to help you. And it doesn’t stop there – the forums are a great way to connect with other diners, so whether you have a more general question you want to chat over or just want to share a funny story, there’s plenty of people ready to hear it all. Whichever format you choose, if you ever have anything you need to discuss, don’t keep it to yourself – understanding something is the first step to enjoying it!
