The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

This is part one of a series of posts on mystery shopping best practices.

Mystery shoppers represent the mystery shopping industry, and the quality and professionalism of our work helps to shape the reputation of the industry. By maintaining the highest standards, we elevate the professionalism and public perception of mystery shopping.

Secret shoppers who complete the MSPA mystery shopper certification program agree to uphold a code of professional standards and ethics. These standards and ethics might be considered “best practices” for mystery shoppers, whether they are MSPA certified or not.

Certified shoppers who fail to operate according to the standards can lose their mystery shopper certification. However, any shopper who is unethical or unprofessional risks losing future mystery shopper jobs, as mystery shopping companies will not work with secret shoppers whom they can not trust.

With the permission of the MSPA, I am using the MSPA Code of Professional Standards and Ethics For Mystery Shoppers as the basis for a series of posts exploring ethical mystery shopper behavior and best practices for professional shoppers. …continue reading Professional Shopper “Best Practices”

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Question from a shopper:

I am a new secret shopper. I would like to get Silver Certified, but because I have just started mystery shopping I am concerned that I do not yet know enough to pass the test.

How long should I wait (or how many mystery  shops should I do) before I complete the Silver Certification?

I get this question a lot, and the answer is simple. …continue reading How Much Do I Have to Know to Get MSPA Shopper Certification?

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The Mystery Shopping Providers Association will hold a Gold Certification workshop for mystery shoppers in Miami, Florida on Saturday, September 27, 2008.

I will once again present the workshop, and I look forward to meeting many of you there. This is a great opportunity to get that Gold Certification you have been thinking about, and to meet other shoppers as well as industry leaders.

Inside Scoop: The MSPA Board will be meeting in Miami on that day, and rumor has it that they may come by the workshop for a Q&A session. Is there something you want to ask the top dogs of MSPA about the mystery shopping industry? This is your chance.

To learn more and to register for the workshop, go to http://www.MysteryShop.org/shoppers/gold.php. If you can be in Miami on September 27th, you will want to be there.

Can’t make it to Miami? You can still get your certification via DVD. Get all the information at http://www.MysteryShop.org/shoppers/gold.php

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Would you like to have a direct impact on gaining recognition for the value of mystery shopping? All you need to do is simply participate in an MSPA national survey on customer wait times.

The brief survey will ask you to report on recent experiences waiting in lines at various establishments during your regular, day-to-day routines. No special trips are necessary! You may report on just one experience, or you may complete the survey multiple times to reflect different experiences. The important thing is to participate!

How will participating in the survey benefit you, the shopper? The MSPA will use the survey results to highlight the type of valuable information mystery shopping gathers and share it with media in the largest cities across the United States. Ultimately, increased media attention will help gain additional mystery shopping recognition among business owners, in turn, increasing the number of mystery shopping assignments available to you!

To participate, simply visit http://survey,mysteryshop.org.

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I have been involved with the mystery shopper certification program offered by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) since its inception, and I recommend MSPA certification to secret shoppers who are serious about their mystery shopping careers. Although it is not necessary to be certified in order to be a mystery shopper, certification can make a shopper stand out in a competitive field and it can definitely repay the time and money invested.

In addition to MSPA certification, other certifications have sprung up. The sponsors suggest that getting certified through them will help shoppers to get more jobs. Although there may be a few legitimate training programs available in addition to the MSPA certifications, many are not worth the paper the certificate is printed on.

One California man was recently indicted by a federal grand jury for offering worthless training and certifications in mystery shopping and bartending. Although the certifications were worthless to the “students” they were not worthless to the scammer. He is believed to have collected at least $6 million from his victims.

Here are some questions you should ask before handing over any money for a training or certification program. …continue reading Mystery Shopper Certification Scams

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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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The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) is the largest professional association dedicated to mystery shopping and related forms of market research. Although membership in the MSPA is not open to shoppers, the MSPA serves shoppers in many ways. Here is what you should know about the MSPA and its role in the mystery shopping industry. …continue reading What is the Mystery Shopping Providers Association?

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The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) is now offering the Gold Certification program on DVD. Instead of waiting for a workshop to come to your town, or spending time and money to travel to a workshop, you can get the most widely-recognized mystery shopper certification at home, on your schedule. You can even complete the certification while you are in your jammies!

Although certification is not required to be a mystery shopper, the MPSA’s Gold Certification is an effective way for new secret shoppers to get up to speed on how to be effective shoppers, and for more experienced shoppers to demonstrate to mystery shopping companies their qualification and commitment to being great secret shoppers. It can help you get more and better assignments, faster. …continue reading MSPA Gold Certification Now on DVD

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The first 2008 dates for the Mystery Shopping Providers Association Gold Certification have been announced. There will be more, but here are the first four:

February 16, 2008 – Austin, TX

February 23, 2008 – Orlando, FL

March 1, 2008 – San Diego, CA

March 8, 2008 – Phoenix, AZ

Exact locations have not been determined for all of these, but you can get learn more and register for a workshop at the MSPA web site: http://www.MysteryShop.org/shoppers/gold.php

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