Mystery shopper: what is, features and principles of the profession

The method of "mystery shopper" is widely used in Western companies, but has recently become known in the Russian market. It is immediately worth noting that almost all employees engaged in the service sector have heard about such a profession, but few are aware of what the mystery shopper is doing and how the check is being done.

Consider what kind of profession it is, where to look for vacancies, what requirements an applicant for a mystery shopper must meet, and how the quality of work and possible errors are evaluated.

What is a "mystery shopper"

In English, there is the term Mystery Shopper or Secret Shopper, which is called the mystery shopper profession. The name itself speaks for itself. This is a person who must collect certain information or evaluate the quality of work / services of a particular organization, but at the same time go unnoticed.

Most often, it is the service industry enterprises that undergo inspections. Evaluating the quality of work, for example, of a waiter, is the easiest. The main task in the profession is to go unnoticed so that the attendants treat the mystery shopper in the same way as they treat other visitors.

Verification by a secret buyer occurs for compliance with standards and quality of service. Based on this, he should have certain knowledge in the field that he checks. Most often, a qualified specialist is hired for this, but there may also be an ordinary person who can assess the quality of service.

It should be understood that the mystery shopper is not a scout, they are not used to obtain data on the work of a competing company. He performs exclusively a quality control check to understand if the company has problems and what measures should be taken to improve the situation.

Work specifics

Many people wonder what work is a mystery shopper, that is, what it is. The specifics of his activity is that under the guise of an ordinary visitor to make a purchase or get a service in a store, restaurant, bank, gas station or cafe. That is, check the quality of service of an enterprise where the management is interested in improving the service. There is a specific service standard, and it is the mystery shopper who needs to check whether company employees adhere to this standard.

A secret client can evaluate the quality of the services provided by various companies, knowing the specifics of their work. He can check waiters, sellers, taxi drivers, secretaries, managers or operators. To do this, he carries out a test purchase or service order. Confirmation of this is a check.

Checking can be done by phone, the conversation is recorded on the recorder. The operator must clearly and distinctly answer the questions posed regarding the activities of the company. At the same time, a mystery shopper can provoke an operator or company employee to a conflict by asking tricky questions, because customers can be different.

Recently, companies are increasingly using online research via chat, video, or email. Regardless of the method used, the secret client provides management with a report on the work done with their findings on the quality of the goods, services or services provided.

The objects that are checked most often are branded clothing stores, banks, restaurants and cafes. The mystery shopper has a specific scenario. The management may ask in the mystery shopper’s report to indicate all the nuances, including how long it took for the client to pay attention, what they suggested, how and how much the conversation was, the condition of the workplace of the inspected employee, how the goods were laid out on shelves, and so on. It all depends on the specifics of the company. To confirm the fact of verification, photo and video fixation is provided.

Who can become a mystery shopper

The secret client can be anyone who is interested in improving the quality of service. The age of applicants for the position can vary from 18 to 65 years. Preference is given to those applicants who are fluent in the computer, are able to competently speak, have the makings of an actor and are versed in the specifics of the company.

Each company has its own concept of what a mystery shopper is, since it is the management that draws up the job description and puts forward certain requirements. To become a secret client, you should pass a knowledge test and get acquainted with the specifics of the work.

What qualities should a candidate for a mystery shopper possess?

• Honesty. The information provided in the report should be reliable, objective, and not based solely on personal judgment.
• Good memory and observation. Most often, the check takes no more than 20 minutes, during which the client must catch all the details, remember certain points and clearly state in the report.
• Acting talent. Sometimes companies pose non-standard tasks to their secret clients (for example, behave aggressively) in order to check the stress resistance of staff, not everyone can cope with this.
• Impartiality - reporting should be based on an objective assessment, not subjective judgments.

Stages of Test Procurement

You still don’t know what a mystery shopper is and what is his job? We will analyze in stages how the control purchase or the provision of services goes.

Milestones:

1. Customer meeting. Attendants should greet each new customer who comes to the store / cafe / bar. If for several minutes no one pays attention to the client, this is considered a major drawback and is displayed in the report.
2. Customer needs. The employee should ask the visitor what to help him or suggest something. In the event of a refusal, the sales assistant should still be in the visibility range of the client. Questions of interest to him may arise at any time.
3. Consultation. It is important to check employees, or rather their knowledge of a particular product / service. The seller should clearly talk about the pros and cons of the selected model and it is advisable to offer at least two analogues for comparison.
4. Checkout After the client has made a choice, a good employee will take it to the cashier himself, offer related products (for example, covers or phone accessories) and help with the design.
5. Parting. It is important that the employee says goodbye to the visitor, even in the absence of a purchase. A customer who is greeted and escorted in a friendly manner, regardless of choice, will return to the store / restaurant again.

What additional details should a secret examiner pay attention to?

After the work done, the secret client fills out a questionnaire previously developed by the management. In most cases, they require the provision of photographs from the place of verification, video or audio recordings. The mystery shopper checks several times in the same place to see if the mistakes made last time were corrected.

Most often, users are looking for data about what a mystery shopper is, reviews about the profession, what to look for during the check first.

In his activities, the secret client is guided by the following assessments:

• how the staff works with customers / visitors / guests;
• whether the rules of etiquette are respected (in particular this applies to controversial or critical situations);
• how disciplined the staff is;
• appearance of company employees;
• cleanliness in the room;
• how fast they serve customers;
• Do employees have information about the company / product / service.

The list of criteria by which a mystery shopper is evaluated depends on the specifics of the company. The results obtained with the provision of evidence are included in the report.

How is the work of a secret client verified and how much does it receive for verification

Knowing what a mystery shopper is, it is worth figuring out what kind of reporting it should provide. When purchasing goods or providing services should be a check. It is important to provide good photos from the place of verification, audio recording of a conversation with staff. He also fills out a questionnaire, indicating all the nuances of verification. It can contain from 40 to 60 questions. The development of the questionnaire is carried out by the marketing department taking into account the specifics of the company.

The questionnaire with questions may be supplemented or modified depending on the purpose the company pursues. It is important that the mystery shopper is able to analyze the information received, group by estimates and calculate the indicator of service quality. All reports are collected in one and checked by the inspector (assessor) and directly by the customer. Mystery shoppers are most often hired separately and are not part of the company's employees.

The company reimburses the expenses of the secret client for the purchase of goods or the provision of services. In rare cases, an item is returned back to the store after purchase. Compensation of the cost takes place on a bank card, and the check price is from 250-300 rubles. The cheapest thing is the work of a mystery shopper in small retail stores. For example, a chain of draft beer shops pays for the work of a mystery shopper in the amount of 150 rubles per inspection. More can be earned from car dealership owners. The price of verification can reach more than 1 thousand rubles.

The cost of verification depends on its complexity, but on average it takes no more than half an hour in duration. Next is filling out a questionnaire and analyzing the assessment, which takes another couple of hours. Despite the fact that in general the work is simple, the mystery shopper must understand that not only the conclusion drawn by the company, but also the career of some of the employees indicated in the report depends on the quality of its evaluation.

Where to look for suitable vacancy

Having figured out what it is - a mystery shopper profession, wondering where to look for a suitable vacancy? Indeed, for verification, a contract with the company must be signed, indicating the nuances of the audit and its cost.

There are several ways where to find work as a mystery shopper:

• get a job in a company that specializes in providing secret client services (this can be a Russian or foreign company);
• search on thematic sites - you can work as a mystery shopper as a freelancer on services such as the World of Mystery Shoppers, 4Service Group, Good Service, Radix Group, Lucid and others;
• there are intermediary firms - it’s easier to work with them, but the cost of verification is lower than when concluding a contract specifically with the organization.

The social component of the profession

According to reviews, what is a mystery shopper? This is primarily a person who cares and who wants to improve and improve the quality of service. After all, almost every day he visits certain stores, banks, restaurants or cafes. And who, if not visitors, can and want to make this service better. In general, we can say that the profession is noble in relation to customers, but somewhat unfair to employees. That is why it is important not to subjectively evaluate the work, but still to approach the assessment carefully.

In addition, as some note, it is possible at the expense of the company to eat in the cafe during the inspection. This is what makes the secret client profession the most attractive for a certain group of people. But do not forget also that the customer does not just pay for the inspection, but wants to get responsible work and certain recommendations for improving the quality.

Common mistakes

Not everyone understands, judging by the reviews about work, what a mystery shopper is. Let's talk about the mistakes made by customers who make secret purchases.

Common mistakes:

• excessive emotionality - can lead to an underestimation or overestimation of the assessment, this also applies to subjectivity (for example, a woman can be more loyal to a man’s seller and vice versa);
• “Star disease” - professional secret clients believe that they should be served better than ordinary visitors, paying attention to a variety of details that may not be relevant to the check;
• retelling of the seller - the mystery shopper should express his opinion and give an objective assessment, and not just retell the words of the company employee (less water and more dry facts);
• purchase time - it takes no more than half an hour to buy a product from an ordinary customer, some mystery shoppers walk around the store for hours, constantly asking staff in hopes of revealing additional details.

In order to avoid mistakes, it is worthwhile to be guided clearly by a pre-prepared verification script, where the schedule, time, and also the nuances of the purchase are indicated.

Advantages and disadvantages

Interested in the mystery shopper service, but don’t know the advantages and disadvantages of the profession? Consider the pros and cons in more detail.

The benefits of the profession are as follows:

• free work schedule (can be combined with the main activity);
• no compulsory employment;
• special education is not required;
• non-standard work of interest;
• gaining knowledge about new products or services;
• decent pay.

Despite the large number of advantages, there are also disadvantages. On average, it takes almost half a day to verify and process the received data, because it is important to systematize all the information. Also disadvantages include excessive pickiness of employees during a personal visit to a store or cafe by a secret buyer. Also, the work may be unpaid, especially when searching the Internet and an agreement in words.

Conclusion

In a profession such as a mystery shopper, companies that monitor their reputation and wish to constantly improve the quality of customer service are primarily interested. This work requires certain knowledge, primarily relating to the specifics of the company. The salary of a secret client is small, but depends on his professionalism and approach to evaluation.