The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

“What do you say?” How many hundreds of times did our growing toddler brains hear that question from our mothers as they taught us the importance of being polite and saying, “Thank you,” when we received something? For most of us it became an automatic response: someone hands you something, you say thank you.

I want you to break that habit right now, at least when you are mystery shopping. No, I am not saying you should be rude, but let’s take a look at how saying “thank you” can damage the integrity of your mystery shop report. …continue reading Stop Saying Thank You!

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Many shoppers have an email address they use only for secret shopping. Having an address for shopping is a good idea, because
it can make it easier to manage the volume of email mystery shoppers receive. If you want to stay on top of your mystery shopping email, you can check that account on your mobile device while you are out-and-about. And if you want to take a break from mystery shopping, you can simply ignore that email account for a while.

Here are some tips for choosing and using your mystery shopping email address. …continue reading Mystery Shopper Email Address Ideas

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A common writing error is the improper use of double negatives. Examples of double negatives include:

“I haven’t got no money.”

“He is not going nowhere.”

And, courtesy of Pink Floyd:

“We don’t need no education.”

Here is what you need to know about double negatives and why you shouldn’t never . . . uh, shouldn’t ever use them. …continue reading Don’t Use No Double Negatives

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Have you ever done a mystery shop where you had to pretend to be something or someone you are not?

Most mystery shops do not require a specific scenario. You simply visit the business and act like a customer. For example, you go to a restaurant and order a meal, get your hair cut at a salon, or make a small purchase at a retail store. There may be questions you are to ask, or specific items you are to buy, but there is not a detailed scenario.

However, there are shops where as the shopper you must:

• Pretend that you are getting married and need to buy a gown, or a ring.
• Present yourself as someone who is looking to invest $400,000.
• Say that you are looking for day care for your children, or elder care for a parent.
• Act like you are looking for a new house or apartment.
• Be able to appear knowledgeable about hunting, motorcycles, art or other subjects.
• Represent yourself as a member of a profession, such as an interior designer.
• Give the impression that you are pregnant.
• Be willing to hide your knowledge of technology, financial matters or other subjects.

The important part is not that you actually are what you claim to be during the shop, but that you can realistically present yourself that way. You can do a shop where you claim to have $400,000 to invest even if you don’t even have $400, as long as you come across as someone who would have $400,000.

If the scenario you are asked to use is not your real-life situation, you will need to do a little acting and a lot of preparation. Pretending like this is not dishonest–you are not doing it to deceive anyone, only to do the evaluation. It is simply a form of acting, and you will probably enjoy those occasions when you get to play-act a situation.

Here are some tips for performing scenarios that require you to present yourself as someone or something you are not. …continue reading Secret Shopping and Acting

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When faced with a difficult or rude customer, many employees believe that they have encountered a mystery shopper. That fits with the perceptions of many people that the job of a secret shopper is to catch employees doing a bad job, or at least to make it harder for them to do their jobs.

Unfortunately, some mystery shoppers also have this impression. However, there are several reasons why you should not be a difficult or extraordinary customer, and only one reason why you should ever do so.

Let’s start with the reasons why you should not be a difficult customer: …continue reading Should Mystery Shoppers Be Difficult Customers?

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Early registration discount available through June 18, 2008.

The Mystery Shopping Providers Association will host the 5th Annual Educational Conference for Mystery Shoppers, July 18 - 20, 2008, in Pittsburgh, PA. There will also be a Gold Certification Workshop on Friday, July 18, 2008, before the conference begins.

If you have been to any of the past years’ conferences, you know why you should be there. There are many top shoppers who have attended all four of the previous conferences. They know that the conference is a great opportunity to learn about the industry and network with other shoppers, as well as schedulers, editors, account managers, executives and company owners from many of the top mystery shopping companies. This year, at least 30 MSPA-member companies are expected to be represented. But if you haven’t been to a Mystery Shopper Educational Conference before, here is what you need to know about what you can get out of attending. …continue reading MSPA 2008 Shopper Conference in Pittsburgh

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