Mercedes Del Ray - There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch: Mystery Shopping Explained

There Is Such A Thing

As A Free Lunch

Mercedes Del Ray

Copyright Mercedes Del Ray2015

All rightsreserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced orused in any manner whatsoever without the express writtenpermission of the author except for the use of brief quotations ina book review.

Disclaimer

I have triedto give as much information as I can to help new mystery shoppersget started, however, many companies explicitly forbid theircontractors to discuss job scenarios, fees and who their clientsare online. Therefore, to comply with this directive, the scenarioI have given as an example is a generic one written bymyself.

Index

Why you shouldnt pay for information on becoming a mysteryshopper

Mystery shopping is a respected, well established way tomeasure customer service used by many companies here in the UK. Theindustry has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and Ifind it hard to think of high street stores that I havent visitedincognito at one time or another in the fifteen years since Istarted doing this job.

Atpresent I work for a number of mystery shopping companies based inthe UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and Europe. I have never beenasked for money to register with them, or for any training coursesthey might offer. The reason why is simple - a reputable companywont do that.

However,in amongst the ethical companies who are honest and above board,there are low life con artists. They might email you pretendingthat they have started a new company, or claim to work for acompany you know the simple thing to remember is that if an offerof work sounds too good to be true, it will be a scam for sure. Youmight get emails offering you ridiculous sums of money to test banktransfer services, or a free meal in a good restaurant in returnfor a very high reimbursement.

Donttouch either of them. No experienced allocator would offer a visitto an upmarket restaurant or hotel to a shopper he or she doesntknow, they need experienced people they can trust to visitimportant clients - the last thing they want is a refusal to payfor an evaluation. If a client wont pay the mystery shoppingcompany, they cant pay the shopper. Banks dont send blanketemails out at random asking people to test their money transferservices, and offer them large sums of money in return for doingthis.

You mayalso find self-proclaimed mystery shopping experts online, whowill simply take your money and email you a list of mysteryshopping companies and a guide on how to be a good mystery shopper.I have seen advertisements for talks and seminars about how tobecome a mystery shopper and make money - for a fee of course! Imnot saying that the individual giving the lecture is beingdeliberately dishonest or wont give good advice, but they willtell you nothing you cant find out for free, and attending doesnot guarantee you will get work. Nor will any dubious qualificationor certificate of attendance they might issue.

Thereare also mystery shopper clubs around who charge new shoppers formembership and send them a page or two of company addresses, andalso, a number of books on the subject available in paperback aswell as on Amazon. Buy them if you want to, but you are unlikely tobe given any information in them that isnt available forfree.

Mysteryshopping is here to stay and is a great way to earn a bit of extramoney and get some nice freebies. However, there are an awful lotof unscrupulous people around, who are only too ready to jump onthe band wagon, and claim that they can help you get work if yougive them money. Im not one of them. I never handed over any moneyto a company or individual for guidance when I started mysteryshopping this is why I have made this book free.

What is mystery shopping?

Companies selling the public products andservices, want to know what their customers think of them. Thatswhere the mystery shopper comes in. A few customer servicedepartments hire mystery shoppers direct, but most recruit them ascontractors via a specialist company who will run their evaluationprogramme for them.

Therewill almost always be a set scenario for a shopper to follow, andthen an experience report to be filled out on their visit. Thesevary in complexity from filling in check boxes to full writtenreports. These are then sent back to the client, many of whom willreward staff for a good performance with a bonus, or take action ifthings arent as they should be.

In linewith the confidentiality agreement that the mystery shoppingcompanies insist their shoppers stick to, I cant name individualclients. However, I will say that I have visited businesses of allkinds including shops, supermarkets, banks, opticians, cinemas,theatres, hairdressers, beauty salons, restaurants, hotels, andtransport companies including airlines, with rail and coachcompanies. Ive also been asked to order products from companywebsites and have them delivered to my home, to assess the processfrom start to finish.

Jobshave ranged from the mind bogglingly boring to the fantastic. Icould eat lunch out nearly every day if I wished to, in a varietyof establishments ranging from fast food eateries through to highend restaurants, and have spent nights in five star hotels withroom service, afternoon tea and dinner and breakfast included. Ihave also flown for free to the Caribbean twice, and taken trainsaround the UK and to Europe. I have visited shops selling designerproducts and been allowed to keep my purchases, and own a piece ofjewellery worth around 300 as payment for a mystery shop andexperience report I did for the client. I had free gym membershipfor three years, in exchange for a quarterly report.

Who can be a mystery shopper?

Anyonecan do it, honest! The customers who use a companys services willcome from all walks of life, so they will want a variety ofdifferent mystery shoppers to try their product or service.However, some client scenarios might require a man, for example tovisit a betting shop, while a hairdressing chain might only wantwomen mystery shoppers. Other jobs might be age specific, or abusiness might want to see how its services work for disabledcustomers.

Itdoesnt matter if you already work full or part-time, what age youare, or if you are a student, a pensioner or a stay at home parent.Someone, somewhere needs to know what you think of their product orservice. Most of the jobs I get have to be done alone, however I dosometimes get the opportunity to take a friend for a meal, or caneven invite someone to stay in a nice hotel with me. I often seejobs which require shoppers with a family, so children need not bea barrier although you should know that many clients will not allowthem to be taken on assignments.

What qualities do you need to be a mystery shopper?

Most of all you need to be able to go into abusiness with an open mind, with no expectations either good orbad. Secondly have the ability to blend in with genuine customers,and act naturally at all times, so that you dont stand out to thestaff. This means keeping your temper even if the service isterrible and saving your comments for the report.

Somerestaurant chains and cafes require several visits a month, soshoppers have to be rotated because their employees will begin torecognise individuals. If you have bright pink hair, and complainin a loud voice, and are rude to the staff, they will remember you,even it has been three or four months since you last had a mealthere.

Mysteryshopping scenarios are usually tailored to a clientsspecification. If you dont like being told what to do, or cantfollow instructions this probably isnt the right job for you. Ihave heard of companies failing to pay shoppers innumerable timesbecause they havent done what was asked of them, so be warned. Ifthe job specifications ask you to visit a business alone, and youtake a friend or your child with you, expect not to be paid if youare found out. Never, ever forget that most business do have CCTVso your actions can be reviewed after your visit.