* Be careful to
be seen as an ordinary shopper, not as someone obviously spying on
staff or noting prices, selection, store layout, and so on.
Try to blend in with the surroundings by dressing like the ‘average’
customer and not spending too long in any particular area or staring
continuously in one direction.
* ‘Practice’
being a mystery shopper before applying for work. A friend,
now a very successful mystery shopper, shortly to start her own
business, offered to mystery shop for acquaintances in various lines
of business.
* Give a clear
indication of your own likes and preferences when applying for work
and increase your chances of gaining valuable items to take home
free.
* Your most
likely bet for ‘freebies’ is with firms selling perishables and
low-value goods.
* Look for work with several
companies, thereby reducing the chance of becoming well known and
harder to employ. Anyone contemplating a full-time career
should approach several recruitment firms and be willing to accept
most kinds of assignment in various commercial sectors over a wide
geographic area.
* It’s very
unlikely that anyone will gain enough work with one company to
generate more than pocket money, unlike another person who
approaches several potential employers and also offers herself for
work in other areas of market research. The exception is where
one hiring company or market research bureau provides a contract
excluding you from working for anyone else. Treat such offers
with caution and consider only if payment is high for regular
openings.
* Most mystery
shopping application forms ask whether you are working for other
companies. This presents benefits and problems for mystery
shoppers. Working for other companies shows you are
experienced and trusted by other employers as well as, sometimes,
indicating you are working for a major competitor, and might
possibly be biased in favour of another company.
* Make yourself
available at all times, at short notice, and look forward to a
hectic and well-paid career as a mystery shopper. In time you
can expect to receive plenty of referral business from firms you
have worked for previously, as well as through fellow mystery
shoppers and their supervisors who are happy to recommend you to
others.
* Mystery
shoppers are invariably good actors, so to speak. ‘Mystery’
means what it says and anyone who looks ruffled, embarrassed or
conspicuous will not receive regular assignments. Practice
being a mystery shopper at home on the Internet and in shops and
stores. Get someone to ask questions about the shop to check
your observation and memory skills.
* Take it all
in your stride, study other shoppers in similar environments before
accepting an assignment, and just do your best at pretending to be
one of them.
* Always
maintain confidentiality and never give outsiders details of work
carried out for other companies, especially rival firms.
* Consider
starting your own small mystery shopping business, beginning with
local firms which you visit in person and later expanding into a
larger set-up visiting more distant locations and seconding your own
representatives. Learn the ropes first as a mystery shopper,
take note of all that goes on, retain copies of all documentation
and questionnaires, keep a diary of events and compile a database of
firms using mystery shoppers. Branch out when you have the
appropriate level of confidence and expertise.
* Despite the
benefits of accepting whatever mystery shopping work is offered, it
is sometimes a good idea to focus on specific areas, such as banks
and building societies, restaurants and hotels, where specialist
knowledge and experience could make you more desirable to major
hiring companies.
* Keep receipts
which will be needed to pay you later. Make copies of
everything connected with the shop, such as bus tickets, assignment
details, rough notes, reports. Keep records of employing and
hiring companies too.
* Start an
ideas file in case you might one day start your own mystery shopping
business.
* Some shops
have strict deadlines for accepting, undertaking and returning
mystery shopping reports. Stick to those deadlines or be
labelled unprofessional, unreliable, and risk losing all work with
the establishment involved and the hiring company!
* Decline
mystery shopping jobs you won’t enjoy or might compromise your
principles. A committed teetotaler, for example, might feel
uncomfortable handing out drinks vouchers in pubs and wine bars, as
might a lifelong vegetarian assigned to butchers shops and
fishmongers.
* Be as
accurate and thorough as possible both in doing the shop and
reporting your findings. Answer questions clearly and
thoroughly but don’t waffle. If you mean ‘dirty’, say ‘dirty’,
don’t feel obliged to gloss over the company’s bad points.
They have employed you to be honest, to be their eyes and ears, they
need you to be honest and open! Be precise, don’t repeat
points, although you can underline or otherwise emphasize important
comments.
* Don’t comment
on matters not associated with the mystery shopping assignment.
For example, if you are asked to count people leaving the shop,
don’t include copious notes on the state of the toilets and the fact
your favorite brand of beans were sold out.
* Work at
improving your skills of communicating in spoken and written word.
Use the right words to describe your thoughts and feelings and don’t
use words you think are appropriate, know they are!
* Don’t try to
impress others with your writing skills and extensive vocabulary.
If they need a writer or speaker, they’ll find one! So use
everyday words to communicate your thoughts and write, preferably
type your reports for the clearest, neatest presentation possible.
* Never, ever,
use sheets of lined paper torn from the children’s exercise books.
Be professional, buy yourself a ream of quality white paper for
typed and written reports. Anyone who has trouble writing
straight lines can lay a ruled sheet of paper under the top plain
sheet and be guided by the lines showing through.
* For nearby
shops visit once as a genuine shopper so you’ll know which areas to
evaluate during the real assignment.
* Respond to
job offers fast. Firms do not like to be kept waiting and even
where shops are not allocated ‘first come, first served’ you might
still alienate a potential employer by appearing less enthusiastic
than other shoppers.
* Make sure
hirers can reach you at all times, if not in person, then at least
by leaving a faxed or recorded telephone message. Anyone
proving too hard to reach, especially for urgent jobs, will be
dropped from the list.
* Read the
rules and abide by them. If it says ‘enter the shop at 9 am’,
don’t do it two hours later. If it says ‘fax your report’, do
just that. If they ask for email or telephoned reports, that’s
what you give!
* Only apply
for work because you enjoy the experience and not just for money!
Boredom, stress and apathy will show through and might even make you
more noticeable to staff.
* Don’t be
surprised to hear you have been checked yourself during the shop or
afterwards. Some shops use closed circuit cameras to check,
how discretely the mystery shopper performs a task and whether that
person does in fact do all that is asked of her. Some firms
will even assign other shoppers to work the same store, at the same
time, with the same instructions, to check consistency of answers.
* Be totally
up-front and honest about everything in your report and
questionnaire as well as your claim forms. Don’t tell lies
about bus fares or distance traveled to shop, and so on. While
you might get away with it once in a while, you will eventually be
caught and dropped from the list. Don’t take the risk!
* Many
successful mystery shoppers, having gained experience with other
companies, begin working independently, by targeting potential
clients in person, by telephone or mail. While shopping for
the family, a friend with several years’ experience approached the
manager of her local supermarket with suggestions for improving
their performance and offering herself as a mystery shopper.
Having gained one regular client, the exercise was repeated until
eventually she had enough work to begin turning down outside
assignments.
