The last few mystery shops before Christmas - free meals!

Its very quiet now in the mystery shop front, and the only jobs I'm picking up to carry out now are those in restaurants and pubs.

I've carried out a few over the last week or so, and I've for two more set before the end of the year.

I went to a chain pub last week for a standard assignment. It was about ordering a meal and a couple of drinks and them assessing the customer service and quality of the food and drinks. Its a repeat assignment, so it's something I can do in my sleep but sometimes this brings it's own problems. It really pays to read through the notes thoroughly, as these assignments can change over time. On this occasion I read through but it was very similar to the way it always has been - in fact this same assignment was my very first ever mystery shop!

Fee = £3.50

Reimbursement = £5.00

Spend = £11.00

Profit/Loss = -£2.50

I also visited the catering outlet of a local government establishment last week. It was to test the quality of food and service age in, but with a slightly different agenda. The measures that the client wanted was to establish whether the outlet was closer in standards to a catering facility or a restaurant chain. The offering was decidedly catering outlet fayre and this will no doubt disappoint the client. They are hoping to be viewed as a food destination in their own right but on the basis of this visit, that is unlikely to be happening any time soon.

Fee = £3.25

Reimbursement = £9.75

Spend = £19.00

Profit/Loss = +£6.00

If you are looking to mystery shop, and this really take soff in January then take a look at my book. It's a guide on how to become a successful mystery shopper.

There' still time to pick up the last few mystery shopping presents before Christmas

It really is just the odd mystery shop between now and the New Year, so make the most of the shops that are available. I had a mystery shop last Thursday in a clothing store in a local town. There were several enquiries to make in the same department, and as it happens there was only one team member present in that department.

I had to-

• ask about an item of clothing
• ask about an item of footwear
• ask to use the fitting room
• ask a question while in the fitting room
• ask about an online exclusive item
• make a purchase at the till

When you are asking this many questions of the same team member it can be easy to become spotted as a mystery shopper. It is important to keep the conversation as natural as you possibly can and to ensure that you are not spotted as a mystery shopper.

If someone ever asks you if you are a mystery shopper it's best to have a set answer in your mind. My stock answer if I was ever called out on it would be-

"Oh, what's a mystery shopper? That sounds interesting."

And I'd take it from there. Make sure you have an idea of what you would say if you were ever asked. It could save your fee for that assignment!

As for this assignment, I wasn't spotted and got a nice jumper as a Christmas present for someone.

Fee = £2.25

Reimbursement = £15.00

Spend = £15.00

Profit/Loss = +£2.25

If you are thinking about becoming a mystery shopper then my book is a good place to start. It gives the lowdown on becoming a mystery shopper and gives hints and tips on how to be a success. Check it out.

Read why you should be preparing for January mystery shops right now

It may seem like madness at this time of year but it's really time for mystery shoppers to start preparations for January. With Christmas and the New Year festivities in the offing, you may have your mind elsewhere at the moment but there is very good money to be made in January and the effect of your purchases can be multiplied by the sale prices.

Last January my partner and I carried out 150 mystery shops - almost an average of 5 per day! There are mystery shops available for-

• Clothing stores
• Bars
• Restaurants
• Fast food outlets
• Bookmakers
• Supermarkets
• Takeaways
• Pubs
• Gift retailers
• Sports stores
• And more

There are so many options as mystery shopping customers are looking to start off the quarter by getting their assessments done.

If you're currently a mystery shopper then it's time to get prepared and start looking on the mystery shop we sites for the early releases.

If you're not currently a mystery shopper then now is a great time to find out all about it. Get my book to find out how to become a mystery shopper - it's available now.

See why you should consider becoming a mystery shopper

Mystery shopping is becoming more and more prevalent as retailers, financial services organisations and hospitality providers want to know what their teams are doing when they're not around to supervise or assess. The use of mystery shopping in many economies grows as multi-site operations take over High Streets, shopping malls and out of town shopping centres. Multi-site operators will want each site to offer a similarly high standard of service, so every customer knows what to expect on every visit. The operations want to be able to provide the same level of customer experience in their outlets whether they be in London or Birmingham, Portsmouth or Glasgow, and for multinational companies from Madrid to New York. And there are several different steps that one of these companies can take to facilitate this similarity of customer experience. Staff training is the same throughout the company to ensure that everyone gets the same resources to be inducted, initially trained and improve themselves. And this is where a level of communication comes in. The companies need to communicate their requirements to the team. And some of these requirements come through really well in the way they are mystery shopped.

The management teams are also trained to deliver training. By this, I mean that they can communicate the ideals of the company and ensure that all their teams understand what is expected of them. From this base level of understanding, the idea is that the distinct standards of service I mentioned above are carried out to the best of people's ability.

But people are human, ideals can sometimes get lost in the everyday buzz of work and not everybody has the same training, personal standards, motivation or understanding, and this is where mystery shopping can help out. It gives a framework for managers and their teams to set out their work day. A good mystery shopping programme should work hand-in-hand with the training and supervision that a company offers to reinforce the standards that they have - it leaves those on the customer-facing front line in no doubt about what is expected of them. In turn, it should leave the customers in no doubt about what the company stands for and what they can expect - no matter where in the country (or indeed where in the world) they visit and spend their money.

So, as large organisations develop a mystery shopping programme, they need mystery shoppers to help to fulfill this. And this is where you can come in, help and earn money. Mystery shopping is fun, exciting, rewarding and is valuable. This blog will help to make it all of these things and more for you. I will add background to the process, as above, and give you knowledge, practical advice, hints and tips to make your time as a mystery shopper as interesting and rewarding as possible. With the benefit of the background knowledge, you can alter your responses to the situation and be comfortable that you understand the impact and importance of the mystery shop work that you carry out.

I will help you to make a success of it and any successful mystery shopper will add value for the company, the mystery shop provider and for themselves. It is probable that you will make reasonable money for yourself by mystery shopping. It is possible that you can make yourself a living from mystery shopping, if you are dedicated and when you get yourself up to speed and established. You will need to register with a number of mystery shopping companies. It is a self-employed position, where you carry out assignments on behalf of mystery shopping company and then deal with your own tax assessments, and we will look at that in one of the chapters. All in all, I want you to share the passion I have for doing this. It's a passion for improvement and a passion for making money. Just about all of us shop for things that you could just as easily mystery shop for, even if it's for groceries, days out or for a meal. Mystery shoppers are needed for supermarkets, for attractions or days out and for restaurants or cafés.

Check out my book for more information-

See how regular mystery shop clients can help you hone your skills

I went on to one of the mystery shop companies websites a few days ago and there were hundreds of shops available in my local patch. This usually means only one thing - that a major retailer with thousands of outlets across the country wants all of their shops assessed.

And this was the case. As usual I won't name the company involved but it's a food outlet that's on just about every High Street. I managed to carry out three of these tasks and repetition makes things easier.

Of course you'll want to read and understand each set of job notes individually to make sure that there are no differences. But once you understand what is required from you then carrying out the same shop repeatedly makes getting it right easier. You can almost carry out these shops on auto-pilot.

It's a piece of advice that I can give you for your own mystery shopping - carrying out jobs for the same client over and over again does make the completion of the assignment and the reports much, much easier.

If you're looking for advice on mystery shopping, how to become a mystery shopper or how to make things easier then my book is a great place to start.

Could you, would you have your Christmas Day dinner paid for on the house?

This is the time of year that mystery shop companies and retailers cut back on assignments to concentrate on customer service. The number of mystery shops available has started to drop quite a lot. But for the willing there are certain kind of jobs that start to appear about now.

If you want to have a few days away at Christmas or want your meal out on Christmas Day then there's possibly a mystery shop coming up for you!

There are often mystery shops at national restaurant chains to assess the service for Christmas Day dinner.

I've seen currently some mystery shopping assignments for a few days away for Christmas at national family resorts.

Both will give the willing participants a hassle-free Christmas experience. If you're interested then get applying for mystery shopping jobs.

My guide to becoming a mystery shopper is available now. Read it to get the lowdown on mystery shopping.

See how a quick mystery shopping trip ended up with a winning bet!

It's a blog today after a short trip to a local town to carry out three mystery shop assignments. It's the usual shop, lunch, shop scenario that has come to typify my mystery shopping activities at this time of the year.

This will quieten down soon so I'm just making the most of the last of the opportunities.

The first assignment is a home improvement store and this one is very similar to one I did last week I browsed the shop floor for literally 9 minutes and 50 seconds of the allowed 10 minutes before a team member came over and asked if I needed help. For the sale of 10 seconds I could hdve left without going through an enquiry and still earned the same fee!

Fee = £5.00

Reimbursement = £1.00

Spend = £0.71

Profit/Loss = +£5.29

The second assignment was to a national pub chain to assess service times and levels. The timing was about measuring how long to be served at the bar, brought food and plates cleared. The service was about staff knowledge and friendliness. There's very, very rarely a reason to mark these pubs down and this assignment isn't any different.

Fee = £3.25

Reimbursement = £9.75

Spend = £11.18

Profit/Loss = +£1.82

The third assignment is to a bookmakers and this gives me the opportunity to share a little insight of the type of overviews we have to produce for mystery shop reports-

"I entered the shop and I was greeted straight away by a team member from behind the counter. I then browsed the floor for approximately five minutes before a team member approached and asked if I was okay.The team member offered me a cup of coffee. I then looked at the betting football coupons before going to the counter to seek help. The team member was helpful and friendly and made conversation about the upcoming England match."

This is what is called an overview, and it's where the report wants a commentary on your visit. It's best to keep details fairly vague here, as you'll go into more detail in the full report.

Fee = £2.75

Reimbursement = £5.00

Spend = £5.00

Profit/Loss = +£2.75

TOTAL = +£9.86 + a tile, lunch for 2 and a free bet (which actually won and made a further £15.50!!!!)

If you are interested in mystery shopping and want to make a little money, get a free lunch or gamble with someone else's money then you can find out how with my book.