If You Desire To Become a Professional Mystery Shopper
Listen, anyone can get paid to shop. And I mean anyone. Mystery shopping companies evaluate your profile looking for unique matches for their clients requests. Most of the time you will fit the bill of a typical customer, you have to look, act and feel like a normal customer. For example, you don't want to be anorexic and be asked to shop at a Plus size department store. You would have a hard time explaining how you are going to fit into a size 60.
Or an job might ask for a person from a certain ethnic background or speak a different language, this is to help the company make sure that it's staff doesn't discriminate. Or if you are a stay-at-home mom you could find yourself needing to shop a day care or toy store and be asked to bring your child along. If you don't have a child of you own, I'm sure you could borrow one...
In all me research I have built up a list of qualities the REALLY make one person stand out from another. And companies are begging for these people with these attributes. Some of them you may already posses. And some you may have to work on. All of these can easily be learned with a little patience.
Here they are in no specific order:
Don't reveal who are and keep your opinion to yourself:
First of all if your identity is ever discovered you will not be paid. But, in the mysteryshopper handbook there are many tactics to help you get out of these sticky situations. No revealing who you are means that you don't tell anyone what you are doing. If someone comes up to you and asks your name don't act weird and freak out because your not supposed to reveal who you are. This is an important distinction to make, because you need to act as natural as possible. Being that you are probably not the first person to shop at this store.
Next, you need to keep your opinions to yourself. The details you get from the shop need to be observations. For example, if you have a problem with a certain type of person (ie, a pushy used car salesman) you need to leave this out of your report. Only take note of the things you are asked to observe. Did your meal arrive on time? Was it cooked the way you ordered it? Was the staff polite? I hope you get the idea.
Another trait that will come in handy is your ability to adapt to any situation RAPIDLY. When push comes to shove you need to be able to get the information you need to complete the job. Sometimes this can be tricky but if you want to become a mystery shopper, keep an open mind you should be fine and have everything work out.
Is observant and has a good memory:
You need to be able to take mental notes of your surroundings during your assignment from any one of the mystery shopper companies. Take note of anything out of the ordinary and make notes without being obvious (this is where a good memory really shines). You might be asked to remember things you normally don't even pay attention to. Things such as, did the waitress have a name tag?
Is reliable, honest and acts professionally:
Ok, I believe that being reliable and honest both fall under the umbrella of being professional. So if sign up for an assignment from a mystery shopping company you always complete it. And you fill out the report in a truthful manner. If you do this you will stand out as being professional and will rise to the top. Plus you will become qualified for higher paying jobs from a mystery shopper company.
Has good communication skills:
You need to be able to communicate and talk with people in a natural manner just as if you're an actual customer. You also have to write good enough to complete a report, but you don't have to be a novelist. This may seem trivial, but you would be surprised at how many people take this for granted and don't receive payment just from not paying attention.
A good imagination:
If you plan out your “story” before you shop you will be more like a real customer. Once again you want to be as natural as possible. If you were actually going to buy the thing or service you are evaluating, what types of questions would you ask?
Well organized and follow directions:
Until you are paid you need to keep track of ALL receipts and purchases, business cards, names of people, pretty much everything about the job. Just in case you have to go back and rewrite your report. You will also need to keep track of your time, making sure you complete your shops on time. And if you are working with several companies you need to keep track of when you submitted your assignments and when you are supposed to get paid. You also need to exactly as you are told, if you deviate from your provided plan, your probably won't be paid due to the fact that you are changing the aspects of the research.
Basic computer and internet knowledge:
Here are the basic skills you should understand before applying for your first mystery shopper job:
- Send email with attachments
- Use a word processing program such as Microsoft word
- Access website and fill out forms
- Create and save documents
- Work with Excel sheets using copy and paste
So, do you want to become a mystery shopper?