Summer Job

The Definition of a Mystery Shopper

While this business has been around for over 70 years, it is still widely unknown among many businesses and many consumers. If you are looking to become a mystery shopper, you will find the process relatively simple and easy to get started. The most important thing to take into consideration is to choose the most reputable company that is known for their client service and their overall shopper program.

Every mystery shopper has the same goals - working covertly to increase a company’s sales, reduce risk of liability, making employees more aware of the customer, and improving customer satisfaction. All of this is done using a special process in which the mystery shopper would take on an assignment, go to the business anonymously, and gather all of the required information. Then, the mystery shopper is required to complete a form, submitting it to the company hired by. In turn, this company will perform an analysis of the information, followed by a plan or recommendations to the customer on improving operations and performance.

Although the mystery shopper performs that same type of job, the jobs themselves vary dramatically. For instance, if you were to become a mystery shopper with a number of companies, you could end up performing a restaurant, oil change, apartment, and clothing store shop in a single week. The type of assignment the mystery shopper does is dependent on the industry for which the shop is being completed.

Additionally, a mystery shopper will be reimbursed for his/her services in several ways. Typically, anything having to do with the hospitality field, such as hotels, restaurants, or fast-food places, would provide a reimbursement to a set figure. For example, you might be asked to shop a restaurant, which in return, would reimburse you for your meal up to $20 to $50, depending on the price of the menu items. However, many other shops will pay a flat fee. Keep in mind that some assignments provide the mystery shopper both, reimbursing for a service and/or product purchased, as well as a small fee.

The requirements of a mystery shopper include being honest, confidential, and having a high level of integrity. You would also be required to have transportation, speak English unless a bilingual shop is needed, and complete the shop anonymously. Sometimes, a company will ask the mystery shopper to bring a cell phone or digital camera. However, if you do not own one or both of these items, we are now finding several of the larger mystery shopping companies loaning the items to the mystery shopper for the assignment. It is also required in most cases that the mystery shopper be a minimum of 18 or 21 years of age.

The last key set of skills that a mystery shopper should possess would be strong communication along with strong listening skills so that you can engage in dialogue with the people within the business that you are shopping. To compliment your communication ability, the ability to be professional can also play an important role when you are performing the role of a mystery shopper.