Why
do companies use Mystery Shoppers?
Companies
use mystery shoppers to check their customer services, and
ensure their employees are behaving politely to members of
the public. It’s important for a company to have a
good reputation where treating their customers is
concerned. Companies, from insurance firms to fast food outlets deal
with a mystery shopping agency to conduct their market
research using people like you, mystery shoppers.
Assignments
from the agency are given to a mystery shopper because
employees will not recognise you as being associated with
management . You are given instructions of what to do,
such as buy an item, make a complaint, use a service or
make an enquiry. You then make a report and
submit it to us within 24 hours and we forward
your feedback to their client, who pays us
and we pay you. Not necessarily in that
order so make sure that whoever you register with has a
clear outline for you of when you will get paid.
Mystery
shopping helps companies find out weaknesses and areas for
training and improvement, not just for their employees,
but to find if customer service procedures are working or
need improvements.
That’s why Mystery Shoppers are
paid for what they do.
How
do I Mystery Shop?
There
are different types of mystery shopping. Example:
Never
take notes while in the shop/establishment, but do carry a
pad and soon as you are outside (or in your car) write
everything you remember down. The more you delay
writing your notes, the less you will remember. You
are being paid for accuracy! If your reports are of
poor standard, badly written or very brief, the company
may not call on you again to be a mystery shopper.
If a mystery shopper company finds out you were discovered
to be a mystery shopper, they can refuse to pay you.
And finally, KEEP A COPY of your notes and all receipts,
the company may contact you after a few weeks to ask you
questions their client has asked about
your experience.
Once
you have become established with the mystery shopping
company you can start to turn down jobs and “cherry
pick” the higher paying ones, so do submit your reports
within 24 hours, and make sure they are well written and
detailed.
When
will I get paid?
You’ll
get paid, on the industry average, between 2 weeks and 4
weeks. Do not expect to be paid immediately, but do
chase them after 5 weeks if you are still waiting.
Accounts are usually done at the end of each month.
Keep a copy of receipts, as you
may need them (the real ones
are submitted to the agency
for a refund, or proof of purchase if
keeping products).
How
much can I earn per mystery shop?
How
much you will earn depends on the mystery shopper business
you are working for and in what area - supermarkets and
restaurants usually pay you more than fast food outlets,
for example, including the refund of the meal.
How
many companies shall I register with?
We
suggest you apply to less than 12 companies at first, most
may only require you to mystery shop once a week or once a
month. If after a few weeks you find that you do
have spare time to do more mystery shopping, then send of
applications to other companies. Just don’t
“over-do” it, assignments vary, and it would look bad
to the company if you began making late reports or simply
forgetting to mystery shop for a client. If you are
prepared to travel, you may find a company is asking you
to mystery shop 5 times a week, especially if you live in
a town or city.
How
long does an assignment take?
This
varies. A retail shop can take 20 minutes to an
hour, a supermarket can take 30 minutes to an hour, a
restaurant one hour to two hours while a fast food outlet
can be less than 15 minutes! You may be asked
to return again a few days later, and write another
report, eat another meal, buy another item or follow up a
complaint you were asked to do – or simply to see if
their customer service has improved since last time!
What
if I miss a deadline for my report?
Most
companies will expect you to send them a report within 24
hours of doing an assignment. This helps them know
that you’ve made a more accurate report than relying on
memory if you went a week earlier! If you file a
late report will mean you will earn less from the company,
the longer you leave it, the less they pay you. Plus
a late submission of a report would certainly mean
they will call on you less often to do an assignment.
So, as soon as you’ve visited a shop or restaurant (or
whatever) ensure you send your report in the same day if
you can. Be prompt!
