The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

The most time-consuming part of most mystery shops is writing the reports. Saving time on report writing (while still doing a great job, of course) means that you make more money in less time. Here are seven things you can do to write great mystery shop reports in less time.

Assemble everything you will need to do the report before you sit down at the computer. Get receipts, notes, business cards, guidelines, etc. together in one place so you do not have to keep running off to get something else you need.

Eliminate any distractions. Turn off the television, don’t answer the phone, and tell the kids not to disturb you unless there is blood.
…continue reading Seven Ways to Write Mystery Shop Reports Faster

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As mystery shoppers, we know that employees are expected to say certain things and ask certain questions when they interact with customers. For example, they may ask questions to lead to suggestive selling, such as, “Would you like to make that a combo?” or questions about preferences, such as the kind of bread you want in your sandwich.

One New York professor decided that a Starbucks employee asking if she wanted butter or cream cheese on her bagel was an outrage. According to a report in the New York Post,  Lynne Rosenthal ordered a toasted multigrain bagel — and became enraged when the barista followed up by asking, “Do you want butter or cheese?” …continue reading Venti Rage

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Many mystery shoppers spend a lot of time in the car, traveling from one client location to another. That can be lost time or, with a little planning, you can put it to good use. Here are some ideas on how you can use your travel time.

Plan your route. Use mapping software, such as Microsoft Streets and Trips, to plan your route before you get in the car. With this software, you can enter a list of addresses, and the software will map out the most efficient route. That way you will not spend a lot of time (and gasoline!) backtracking or getting lost. …continue reading Making the Most of Travel Time

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Why should businesses use mystery shopping? This video explains what mystery shopping is all about and how businesses benefit.

Should you tell your employees they will be mystery shopped? How are mystery shoppers selected and screened? How much does mystery shopping cost? These questions and more are answered in this video from MSNBC.

It includes interviews with employees and management of a grocery store that uses mystery shopping, as well as Judi Hess of Customer Perspectives and Jeff Hall of Second to None.

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Question from a mystery shopper:

If they do read them, why would clients allow that? Doesn’t it make mystery shopping less valuable if the employees know exactly what was reported?

Many client companies do share mystery shop reports with the staff who were shopped. There are good reasons to do so. …continue reading Do Employees Read Mystery Shop Reports?

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Human beings seem to have an aversion to quiet. Too often, we rush to fill up any silence with a stream of words. When you are mystery shopping, that can be a mistake.

As mystery shoppers, we are there to observe and report, not to influence the outcome of the shop. One of the best ways to do that is by talking no more than is necessary.

Obviously, we need to speak on mystery shops. There are questions that need to be asked or answered, and appropriate conversations to hold. Saying too little is almost as bad as saying too much. But saying too much can affect the outcome of the mystery shop.

Here are some ways that talking too much on a mystery shop can make the shop go wrong. …continue reading Be Quiet and Let Them Talk

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Sensors Quality Management Inc. — SQM — is a mystery shopping company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They were founded in 1993, and they serve clients in a variety of industries in 40 countries around the world, including the United States.

SQM recently answered some questions about mystery shopping for them. Here is what they had to say.
…continue reading SQM Mystery Shopping Company

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In the last few days, I have been contacted by two mystery shoppers who let me know they received mystery shopper scam emails that claimed to be from the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA). Both were obvious scams, but the scam might not be as obvious to someone unfamiliar with mystery shopping.

The use of the MSPA name is clearly an attempt to make the scam look legitimate to people who are not acquainted with secret shopping, or have just a vague awareness of it. Doing a search for Mystery Shopping Providers Association or MSPA would show that MSPA is a legitimate organization. That might cause an unsuspecting person to believe the scam is a real offer.

Here are the things that should tip you off that this is a scam:
…continue reading Mystery Shopper Scam Uses Name of MSPA

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Do you like to get form letters? You know, those letters where they try to sound personal, but you can tell the same letter went to thousands of other people?

Most people hate form letters; however, many mystery shoppers like to submit “form reports.” By that I mean reports that all read alike, and appear that they could be submitted for just about any shop assignment by changing a few details.

Each mystery shop experience is unique, and your reports should reflect that uniqueness. When a client receives a batch of mystery shop reports that are nearly identical, they may start to wonder if there is truly any value in mystery shopping. And companies that receive cookie-cutter reports from a shopper may wonder if the shopper really did the assignment, or if they are simply recycling old reports.

Here are some tips to make your reports accurately reflect what happened during your shop visit while adding variety and interest to your reports—and also making it less likely that your reports will be questioned by the mystery shopping company or the client. …continue reading Make Your Mystery Shop Reports Unique

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