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Make Your Mystery Shop Reports Unique

June 29, 2010 by Cathy Stucker 1 Comment

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

Why Was Your Report Rejected?

May 17, 2010 by Cathy Stucker 10 Comments

This is a guest post from C. McDaniel of Spot Check Services Ltd.

You’ve just completed and submitted your shop… now you get a notice saying your report has been REJECTED… WHY did it happen to YOU?

Everyone runs the risk of making a mistake at some point during their shop, whether you’re a newbie, or the most seasoned mystery shopper. Depending on the nature of your error, it can be nothing more than an email informing you of your error. But in those cases where the error was crucial, it can result in your shop and report being rejected by either the client or the mystery shopping company. The word REJECTION isn’t pleasant in any case, and the fallout can be detrimental to you as a person, as well as a mystery shopper.Continue Reading

When to Use ‘A’ and When to Use ‘An’

February 5, 2010 by Cathy Stucker Leave a Comment

Incorrect usage of ‘a’ and ‘an’ is one of the things that will mark you as a poor writer. Although some uses are obvious to most native English speakers, there are (as with so many other grammar rules) exceptions to the usual rules.

Most people know to use ‘a’ before a word beginning with a consonant and ‘an’ before a word beginning with a vowel:

The sandwich was served with a salad and an apple.

Simple, right? Most of the time. But here are some exceptions.Continue Reading

Mystery Shopper Report Deadlines

December 22, 2009 by Cathy Stucker Leave a Comment

mystery-shopper-report-deadlinesI got started in mystery shopping back in the “old days,” before the Internet. When reports were mailed, there was not a big rush to get the report submitted within hours of completing the shop visit. Of course, smart mystery shoppers did their reports soon after the shop so that all of the details were still fresh in their minds; however, that didn’t have to mean staying up all night to get the final report completed within six hours of leaving the client location.

These days, report deadlines are very short. Many reports must be submitted within 24 hours of completing the shop, but others may have to be done within six hours, or within twelve hours, by midnight, 10:00 a.m. or noon the following day.

The deadlines have gotten shorter for us because mystery shopper reports have more value when they are fresh, so clients want the reports as soon as they can get them. They may expect to have a report 24 or 48 hours after the shop visit. Remember that the report has to be reviewed by an editor before it can be released, so that means we have to submit the report within several hours after the visit to meet the client deadline. And if the editor has questions about your report, you need to be available to answer them quickly, so the report can be finalized and released.

What can you do to make sure you produce quality reports by the deadline? Here are some tips.Continue Reading

What Do Secret Shopping Editors Do?

September 16, 2009 by Cathy Stucker 5 Comments

editor-pencilsWhen you submit a mystery shopper report, it will be reviewed by an editor. The editor will review the report for proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, but there is much more to an editor’s job than proofreading reports.

Here are some of the issues an editor has to consider when examining a secret shopping report.

Did the secret shopper complete the shop during the required time frame? Mystery shopper jobs may have to be completed on a specific day, or during a range of dates. For example, the shop guidelines may say that the shop is to be completed between the 1st and the 8th, and it must not be done on a Saturday. There may be a time of day specified (e.g., before 4:00 p.m.) or the guidelines may say that the shop may be done any time the business is open, except the 30 minutes after they open and one hour prior to closing time.
Continue Reading

Describe Behavior, Not Feelings, in Your Mystery Shop Reports

September 13, 2009 by Cathy Stucker 2 Comments

woman_writingThe best advice I can give secret shoppers about making their reports better is contained in just four words: Describe behavior, not feelings. This is a reminder to keep reports objective and stick to the facts.

Every mystery shopper has probably written comments such as, “Susan was polite and helpful.” The problem with that is that it says what you felt about Susan, but it doesn’t say what she did. The best mystery shop reports allow readers to experience the shop visit with you. Your answers and comments lead them through the visit, and they know exactly what happened.

Let’s look at some examples.Continue Reading

Simple Sentences and Compound Sentences

August 4, 2009 by Cathy Stucker Leave a Comment

simple-sentences-compound-sentencesGood narrative writing spells out the facts in a clear, concise way. However, “concise” does not mean using sentence fragments or only short sentences. To make your writing more readable, interesting and easy to follow, vary the lengths of your sentences.

When all of the sentences you use are very short, the narrative is choppy:

I entered the store at 3:04 p.m. Mary greeted me. She told me about the sale. I found three blouses. Mary asked if I wanted to try them on. She led me to the fitting room. Mary unlocked the door. She hung the blouses in the room.

You also should not use only long sentences, especially run-on sentences:

I entered the store at 3:04 p.m. and Mary greeted me and she told me about the sale. I found three blouses, and Mary asked if I wanted to try them on then led me to the fitting room and unlocked the door and hung the blouses in the room.

Continue Reading

Secret Shopper Reports and Too Much Information

May 22, 2009 by Cathy Stucker 1 Comment

tmiMystery shopping companies and clients love to see accurate, detailed reports that give them a true picture of what happened during your visit. However, there is such a thing as “too much information” in a shop report.

Each client has different needs when if comes to mystery shopping reports. Some want to know every single thing that happened, while others want more of an overview. Or perhaps they are looking for information regarding a specific aspect of the shop.

You can get an idea of how much detail a client wants, and the type of information they are looking for, by carefully reading the assignment guidelines.Continue Reading

Mystery Shopper Reports Minus the Opinions

December 14, 2008 by Cathy Stucker Leave a Comment

photographer_figure.jpgAs mystery shoppers, we do not offer our opinions unless specifically asked. Instead, we document the objective story of what happened. Think of yourself as a journalist. Your job is not to affect the outcome or to give your opinion, but just to report the facts.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing reports to keep them objective.Continue Reading

Mystery Shopper Reports Paint Pictures with Words

December 9, 2008 by Cathy Stucker Leave a Comment

painter.jpgWhen you write a mystery shop report, you are giving the client a snapshot of what happened during your visit. Although some mystery shopper jobs include taking digital photos, most of the time we make the picture of our experience appear through our words.

You paint the picture through your choice of answers to the yes or no questions, and with your comments and narratives. The facts and details you include, as well as your choice of words, tell the story of your customer experience.

Mystery shopper reports are objective, so it is important not to shade or color your answers. Simply present the facts in a straightforward way.

Give details. The more you can tell the client about your visit, the more useful your report is to them.
Continue Reading

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