Becoming a Mystery Shopper

As a mystery shopper, you can go to restaurants, stores, hairdressers, grocery stores, amusement parks or any other businesses as a customer. For example: in a restaurant, the mystery shopper would sit down, order a meal, pay the bill and leave, just like any customer. The purpose of this visit is to evaluate the overall customer service (actual service, knowledge of staff, cleanliness, etc.) that is being offered in the establishment. The Mystery Shopper then writes a report and rates the customer service based on a pre-established set of criteria. Then the report is turned into the business to use for training, employee rewards or any number of uses

Demand for Mystery Shoppers

Businesses know that in order to provide the best customer service possible, they need feedback from their customers on whether or not they are doing things to the customer's satisfaction. The problem is many customers don't always comment on how their visit to a place of business went, especially if it was a negative outcome. Statistics show that on average two out of three people who stop doing business with a company do so because of bad customer service (Source: abc News Online)

Many times these people won't actually give feedback to the company. Instead they never return to that particular business again and spread word to friends and family about the service they experienced. This is why the need for mystery shoppers is strong because it's a way for companies to receive an honest review of how business is being conducted, without the staff knowing what's occurring.

Mystery shoppers play a big role in the improvement of customer service and businesses heavily rely on them for feedback and constant improvement. As a mystery shopper you will be given a variety of assignments which involve anything from eating out at your favorite restaurant to watching the latest movie. You can also take pride in knowing you're helping to improve customer service standards. Mystery shopping is easy, fun and flexible. Grab your Moms Talk Biz Guide to Become a Mystery Shopper - Step-by-step instructions, resources and inside information to help you profit from mystery shopping.

What Makes a Good Mystery Shopper?

Mystery shopping can be both fun and rewarding. There are, however, a few traits which will help you land the best mystery shopping jobs.

Here are a few:

Must like to shop. If the thought of going to the mall doesn't appeal to you, this probably isn't the right job for you. Mystery shoppers need to be willing to shop and visit new stores and locations.
Keen eye for detail. When you start a new assignment you'll know before hand the things to look out for, in other words what the company is paying you to find out, you must remember to notice and observe all of these things during your "shop".
Must be accurate and timely in completing your shop and any related paperwork (survey/feedback forms, etc.). You'll have to show good organization skills and complete your assignments in a timely manner. After finishing a job you'll have to accurately fill in all the appropriate paperwork and follow the company's instructions as to how and when to submit the paper work to them.
Ability to be objective and honest (you cannot give your personal opinions about a company; you must only report the things that occurred while you were on assignment). You should always be honest and give only accurate feedback to the company you're working for.
You need to be reliable (many shopping companies will let shoppers go after one incomplete shop or cancellation). These companies rely on you to perform your assignments in a timely manner.
Strong communication skills. In most cases you'll be role playing and strong communication skills are very important. For example, you may be asked to go into a sporting goods store and ask about the different types of a specific piece of exercise equipment and several other questions. You may notice that the sales person seems impatient or abrupt; this shouldn't stop you from completing your job. You'll need to display the ability to communicate and not shy away from certain situations in order to do your job well. Grab your Moms Talk Biz Guide to Become a Mystery Shopper - Step-by-step instructions, resources and inside information to help you profit from mystery shopping.

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