Secrets of a Mystery Shopper

I have a confession; a confession not even my best friend knows yet; I have signed up to be a mystery shopper. I work part-time in the retail industry and as anyone in the retail industry knows, shop staff is often on the lookout for mystery shoppers. Curiosity getting the better of me, I applied to a few local and national mystery shopping firms. I have to admit, I have been a little nervous. Will I be able to fulfil my requirements? Will I be able to provide objective responses? Will I give away that I am a mystery shopper?

In this Secrets of a Mystery Shopper lens, I will write about my experiences mystery shopping and I will also share any useful tips and experiences that I may come across.

There are many mystery shopper organisations around the country. Some are in their infancy, others are well established. Not many people are forthcoming about working as a mystery shopper, therefore determining the credibility of each company can be tricky. This was one of my primary concerns until I learnt of the Mystery Shoppers Providers Association. It's a way of finding ethical legitimate companies that do not charge its shoppers are a fee. Never join a company that requires a fee, good mystery shopping companies should not need its employees to pay them to work.

Applying To Be a Mystery Shopper

Applying to be a mystery shopper takes about 30-60 minutes per organisation and will either be a purely online process or a combination of a pre-online application that will prompt you to provide further information via post.

Once you are approved you will need to provide bank details before you can be paid. Payments may be distributed weekly, fortnightly or more commonly monthly. As I am not a fan of sharing my bank details online, I have opened up a bank account just for my mystery shopping earnings.

You will most likely have to complete a mystery shopping online manual and test before being allowed to apply for any job. The manual will train you in all aspects of being a mystery shopper from accepting your first mystery shopping assignment to your conduct whilst on a job.

Getting a Mystery Shopping Assignment

Most jobs are offered on a first come first serve basis. On your shoppers profile you would have determined what type of jobs you are willing to accept (retail, dining, experience) and which postcodes you willing to drive to. When an assignment becomes available, all the shoppers who match the criteria are either emailed or the available assignment is posted on the website.

Whilst this 'first come first serve' selection process could deter newbies, it is important to note that many companies do reward good shoppers with priority listings and many assignments are reoccurring which require a new shopper each week.

On any mystery shop, you need to wipe the slate clean and need to provide results on just that one shopping experience. However, if on this one occasion you have received a bad level of service, but ordinarily receive good service, you could note that under the 'any other comments' section on your questionnaire. I was quite surprised that the level of service I received today was unsatisfactory as ordinarily the level of service I am given is above average.