Mystery Shopper advice...from the retail end!

[fireheart]

So until I get some more permanent work, I'm currently trying my hand at mystery shopping. I know it tends to be the bane of people's existence here on this board and I've been mystery shopped a few times before in the past, but I was wondering if people could give me any advice for what NOT to do with mystery shopping. And yes I know it pays peanuts, but it's also giving me something to do in the meantime.

I already know about the whole "be polite, courteous and don't cause a scene" crap, what I'm referring to is more minor or subtle things that might give me away or similar. Or, what I should be keeping in mind (besides the cashier's attitude-I don't expect robotic cashiers) for when I do conduct any tests.

[Sandman]

Mention on the apps you worked retail. One company LOVED the fact that I worked retail so in the general comments I could say why I dinged them for something, but explain the background as to why this happened and it wasn't their fault.

[fireheart]

Mention on the apps you worked retail. One company LOVED the fact that I worked retail so in the general comments I could say why I dinged them for something, but explain the background as to why this happened and it wasn't their fault.

Will do!

I did my first mystery shops this morning for a fast-food chain...which was interesting to say the least. I received all this information specifying what they were looking for. Geez they are picky fucks sometimes! (for the record, this wasn't about things like dress or if the cashier did the right steps or whatever, it was things like "were all the ingredients centred in your food" or "did the chips have salt on them?")

[Kit-Ginevra]

Welcome to the dark side

Your main commandments are probably...

The first rule of Mystery Shopper is you do not reveal yourself as a Mystery Shopper.As far as anyone else knows you are a regular customer.

Don't sit there with your briefing out on the table or make notes in full view.

If you have to take notes,then conceal them.We are crossword fiends,so that works well-you'd have to be very astute to notice that the answer to 3 Down is really '5.53pm Server Fred arrived with the wrong meal'.

If there's a problem,then feel free to complain at the time,but normally you can't complain to Head Office.If it's that bad,it will be in the report and the company will take it up for you.

You're a smart cookie,so you won't need this,but READ YOUR ASSIGNMENT. If you turn up on the wrong day,at the wrong time,at the wrong branch,you won't get paid.If you have to order meal A and you order meal B,you won't get paid.

If you're not sure about something,then by all means contact the company and confirm it.

I tend to go for a general feel of the visit rather than individual details.I'm afraid I do get a bit biased depending on the service-for instance,if the meal has been wonderful and the service super,then the slightly smeared fork may not get mentioned.If it's been lousy service,then everything gets mentioned.

My general scale.
10-amazing-I'm making a special trip to come back here
9-pretty damn good-I want to come back
8-very good-no problems with the service or food
7-satisfactory-no problems,but not stunning
6 down-not good
>>.I don't want to return here.
>>>Get me out of this hellhole



In your reports,be concise and be objective.Put in as much detail as necessary-if there's a leak in the roof,I note which table it's over.If it took 20 minutes to be served at the bar,but there was a good reason,I note that there was one barman on duty to serve 20 people. Don't make personal comments-Fred may have been a lousy waiter,but don't say so. Instead just tell them why-he disappeared for half an hour and then brought the wrong drinks and swore at us....

And lastly-enjoy it!Even when your dessert arrives after an hour and it's the wrong one and the spoon has signs of life on it...

[Kit-Ginevra]

Oh and note what you've got to look for. Some assignments you have to note the names and appearances of all the people who serve you.Others you have to count for instance how many sauce stations or drinks fountains were up and working and what varieties were available. That's a lot easier when you're there than when you suddenly realise writing it up at home

[Sandman]

Restaurant shops are the best... i love doing a few as they are simple.. and fun. Due to agreements I can't tell you which company it is.. but if you like a state and a lodging by the street.. those are easy and fun.. but they got an auto fail due to not carding my wife

[Tama]

Oh damn. Heads will roll over that one!

[fireheart]

Restaurant shops are the best... i love doing a few as they are simple.. and fun. Due to agreements I can't tell you which company it is.. but if you like a state and a lodging by the street.. those are easy and fun.. but they got an auto fail due to not carding my wife

Not the company I do my shops with, but another one that I looked at but haven't done anything with yet, sent out an email the other week...basically they wanted two people in rural areas to do a mystery shop, but those people not only had to be 18 or 19, but had to look 18 or 19. Why? Because they were testing whether employees were carding customers or not, but because they weren't a government body, they couldn't send in underage folks to do it, otherwise that would be considered secondary purchasing and thus illegal! (The rules were that someone had to buy something, not attempt to do so)

I want to do the mystery shops that involve testing of loss prevention, but I doubt that'll come up anytime soon. (Basically, the idea is that you walk in and try to steal something small, but also something that can't be passed off as a "bag item" ie razor blades. The goal is to see whether staff are actually bothering to check bags or not. I don't get bag checked a lot nowadays anyway...guess I don't fit the profile of a suspected shoplifter )

[jedimaster91]

"were all the ingredients centred in your food" or "did the chips have salt on them?"

As long as half of the cheese isn't sloughing off to one side I don't care how centered every ingredient is. Most reasonable people don't either. As for do the fries/chips have salt on them, do they count too much salt as a yes?

[fireheart]

I got feedback today from my shops relating to my report writing. For this one, I had to write a report AND complete a questionnaire . I received 2 separate ones, but from the looks of it, my report writing improved between the first and second ones at least.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Oh some questionnaires are daft. By the time you have gone through 'Detail each person you interacted with and say whether or not they made you feel valued as a customer and if not why not and how they could improve it' phrased six different ways, you begin to inflict pain on innocent critters* just to get it out.Copy and paste can be your friend.


*just things like ants or gnats.Nothing cuddly.

[cindybubbles]

Can you make notes on your phone or tablet? Then people won't see you as a mystery shopper, just as someone playing with their devices.

[fireheart]

Can you make notes on your phone or tablet? Then people won't see you as a mystery shopper, just as someone playing with their devices.

Phone yes, tablet no. In these instances, I just had a small exercise book, but my head was bent right over it so nobody could see what I was doing. In one case, I also had my back to them. (these were food court places-for somewhere else, I will definitely be doing this)

The only challenge is relating to the timing. >.>

I wound up signing onto another mystery shopper gig, this one had a crapton of phone/email ones that don't require me to leave the house, but they DO require me to contact car dealers posing as someone who wants a booking for a car service or similar. Unfortunately while I have a full license in my home state, I currently do not have a full license in THIS state, so I can't actually do the ones that require a test drive

[fireheart]

So I go from having no jobs for a while to suddenly having 5 jobs in the next 2 weeks. Four of those are for the same company. This took a bit of interesting time management because they're all scattered across the area (as opposed to the last one which was 2 in the same building), so I had to sadly cancel a planned event with my partner.

[TheSHAD0W]

I wonder if a voice note app for your phone would be a good idea. That way it'd look like you were just talking on your phone, or if you had a bluetooth headset no one would notice anything at all.