Mystery shopping is a legitimate way to make money; however, if you received a large check and were told to wire money somewhere, don't do anything until you read about mystery shopping scams.

Do Employees Read Mystery Shop Reports?

Posted on July 27th, 2010 in Mystery Shopper Secrecy,Mystery Shopping Clients by Cathy Stucker

Question from a mystery shopper:

Do the employees who are mystery shopped read the reports submitted by shoppers? I sometimes return to shop the same location again, and I am concerned that employees will be able to figure out that I am the secret shopper if they have read the reports I wrote about past visits.

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?

Be Quiet and Let Them Talk

Posted on July 20th, 2010 in Secret Shopper How-To by Cathy Stucker

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

SQM Mystery Shopping Company

Posted on July 13th, 2010 in Mystery Shopping Company by Cathy Stucker

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

Mystery Shopper Scam Uses Name of MSPA

Posted on July 1st, 2010 in Mystery Shopper Scam by Cathy Stucker

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