The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

What is the best way for a new shopper to get in the door and get a first assignment?

The best way for a new shopper to get in the door to their first assignment is to register with our company at http://www.baiservices.com/ for free and apply for shops they are interested in on the job board.

What types of shops does your company do? What types of reports are used?

At BAI we work with numerous of different industries such as financial, restaurant/bar, automotive, retail, grocery, hotel, health and fitness, etc. We’re sure we’ll have a shop that will interest you! The types of reports that we use are simple yes/no questions and comment boxes or narratives to detail your interactions.

How long after a shop are your shoppers typically paid? Do you use/require PayPal? Do you plan to?

At BAI our shoppers are paid on the 15^th of the month following the month in which the shop is performed. We offer the convenience of direct deposit for all our shoppers. The PayPal option is not available to our U.S. residents at the moment.

Does your company recognize MSPA certification? What advantage does a Silver shopper have over a non-certified? Gold over Silver?

We recognize the MSPA certification; as we are a charter member of the MSPA. A Silver shopper lets our schedulers know that the shopper has taken the time to improve their skills as a professional mystery shopper. A Gold shopper lets our schedulers know that the shopper has been trained in the essentials of mystery shopping and has agreed to uphold professional standards and ethics. It demonstrates that the shopper has taken the time and made the effort to study and become an expert mystery shopper.

Do you have your own testing/certification in place (general or client-specific)? Do you recognize any other certification?

We do have client-specific testing in place that we distribute before allowing shoppers to perform those shops.

Describe the ideal shopper.

The ideal shopper is conscientious, detail oriented, a good communicator and a good actress/actor/spy. In addition, the ideal shopper reads the guidelines for the shop thoroughly before attempting to perform it and emails the account manager with any questions they have about the shop. All good shoppers stay in touch with their scheduler/account manager regarding questions, extensions, problems. Completed reports and proof of shops are submitted by the due dates, and reports are written in the correct format including concise details of their shop.