What Is Secret Shopping ?

OK, you like the sound of getting paid for spending someone else's money? Before we go any further, lets answer the question "What is secret shopping or mystery shopping as it is sometimes called ?" Many people that mistakenly believe that it is nothing more than going into a store or a restaurant and getting paid to shop or eat there.  While this is true, there is much more work to it.   If you want to build a business out of and you want to make a decent amount of income from it, there are certain things that you should keep in mind before getting started.

Why Do Secret Shopping?

So, why do businesses pay for people like you and me to carry out  shopping assignments. Since you are soon to be a business owner, you can understand this.  If you were to be in your place of business all of the time, everyone that worked for you would do their job 100% of the time right.  But, what if you could not be there all of the hours that it was open?  What if your business got so large that you opened other locations? 

The problem is that even those that you trust and put in charge may not do their job as well as you would want them to.  Therefore, as a secret shopper, it is your job to see if those that are running the business are doing so as the owner of the business would like them to.

If that sounds difficult, it does not have to be.  But, before you head out for your first shopping experience, it is essential to realize what is at stake here. 

What Happens To What I Report?

Once you begin to shop, you will be required to enter locations, take note of specific things and then be required to report back to the company about what you saw, heard and experienced there.  This information is very important to those that are running the business.  In a sense, you are the eyes and the ears of the company from a customer’s point of view.  Therefore, they take what you have to say very seriously.

In some businesses, employees receive additional benefits including prizes or bonuses if in fact they do well based on what the Secret Shopper says about them.  In other cases, the business owner may punish or subject some sort of negative feedback to the employee that does not do well with his or her shop.  But, this should not discourage you from reporting the facts. 

In effect, you will not be doing your job or building your business if you do not provide just the facts.

Just the Facts

One of the biggest mistakes new shoppers make that prevents them from developing their business is by not sticking to the facts.  You see, the guidelines for the shop that you are doing are going to be set in stone.  That is, they have laid the foundation for the assignment.  If you are to work with them, you need to take those guidelines, follow them to the T and then report back in the proper manner.

If you use opinion rather than fact, you will not get many shops from this time forward.  Here is why. 

If you are to enter a location and determine if the location is clean and you answer with, “Although the floors were clean and free from debris, I did not find the promotional material to be beneficial to my tastes.”  This is in fact an opinion statement and not effective, beneficial, or worth their money to pay you. 

Instead, what you should say is something like, “The floors in the location were clean and free from debris.  I noticed the promotional material for this month’s sale hanging neatly.  The windows were clean and smudge free around the materials hanging there.”  This is all fact and has nothing to do with what you think, rather just what is there.

In some cases, the companies will ask you to put in your opinion and then it is just find and even a very important part of the process.  But, also insure that this is what they are asking before you get started.

Why Secret Shopping Is Vitally Important

The results supplied by secret shoppers is quickly becoming one of the key factors as to why people get raises, the way they are recognized and the way in which a company gears its next promotion, its customer service needs and even the way that they will spend their profits.  Seeing things from the customer’s point of view is, in short, vitally important to the well being of the company.

If you are creating a business in which you will be shopping for various companies, you will want to ensure that your standards are just as high as those that the company you are working for is looking for in its own employees.  We will get into what things you should and should not do when it comes to shopping shortly, but, what you need to know is that this is a serious job and it can be developed into a profitable business if you invest your time, energy and dedication into it. 

This is a business that will be around for many years to come.  Any company looking to invest in hiring people to pose as customers is one company that will be better able to see  and understand what the customer sees.  At odd times of the day or night, when the new guy is working or when there is a large rush, they can see just what their customers see and experience.  

Here are some of the things that a secret shopper will help a business owner to decide based on their report of their experiences during the shop.

Did my customers have to wait long to be served?

 

Did my customers have good service or were the employees rude to them?

 

Did my business look good when the customer came in?

 

Did we land the sale or did the customer go else where to get it?

 

Did my employee follow all of my rules, my policies and did he do his job to the best of his abilities?

 

What can my company do better to impress that customer?

 

Do I need to use a customer satisfaction program to enhance the way that my employees treat my customers?

 

What are my customer’s thinking, feeling, seeing and experiencing when they enter?

 

Does this employee deserve a raise or promotion?

 

Is this store the store that does the best because of its location or because it has great customer service? 

 

Would I want to be a customer in that store?   

All of these and more besides are the questions to be answered by the secret shopper. In turn, if you plan to be a successful business owner, then it is vitally important for you to invest the time and the skills necessary in making sure that you provide detailed information to enable companies to better run their businesses.

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