Thursday 11 February 2016

There were some subtle but important differences on the mystery shops Icarried out yesterday

I carried out two mystery shops yesterday, and both had subtle differences to the standard mystery shops I carry out that made then interesting. In my view these changes also made the shops more relevant to the companies I visited.

The first one was a visit to a discount store that sells all kinds of items for the home. The mystery shop in general was to check out the service - pretty standard I hear you say. But the difference was that I was to stand close to a member of staff and look at a product. This was to see how long (if at all) it was before I was approached. The measure is that a customer shouldn't have to approach the member of staff for help. The member of staff should approach customers and see if they can help.

The subtle difference is in the level of customer service and interaction. The fact is that customers that aren't approached may just go without asking, resulting in lost sales.

In this case, the team member asked if I was okay after only about 30 seconds. This was good service.

Fee = £7.00
Reimbursement = £1.00
Spend = £1.50
Profit/Loss = +£6.50

The second mystery shop was to a cafe situated inside another store. Again it was mainly standard fayre for most of the mystery shop-

How long to be served?
Cleanliness of the cafe
Quality of the food

The difference in this assignment was the fact that the instructions stated "be honest, fair but be strict." The honesty and fair are how you approach every mystery shop. It is quite rare that you are instructed to be strict. I feel that must mystery shopping companies I carry out shops for allow a little leeway for the place you are assessing. But the instructions here were to be strict.

I do feel as though I pointed out things that I may have overlooked in past shops so it does make a difference.

Fee = £0.00
Reimbursement = £11.00
Spend = £12.00
Profit/Loss = -£1.00

TOTAL = +£5.50 + a tube of toothpaste and lunch for 2

If you are thinking about becoming a mystery shopper then a great way to get into it is to read my book on how to become a mystery shopper. It will help you to apply to be a mystery shopper and then shows you great ideas on how to be successful.

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