Qualities of a Good Mystery Shopper

Mystery shopping agencies require people from all walks of life, age, (although usually do not take on anyone younger than 18), race, gender etc regardless and in areas all over the country but you have to be aware of the kind of work involved and decide whether it is of interest to you. Also if you live in the middle of nowhere the chances are that there will be limited work in your area.

You really need to be able to drive as if you don’t you have to consider the additional cost of getting to the assignment. Most companies reimburse mileage but public transport can take a large chunk out of your earnings.

A phone and access to the internet are usually required. A credit/debit card and the ability to work at short notice are all advantageous but not always necessary.

Mystery shopping is particularly popular with females. This is because they are more likely to take advantage of freelance or part-time work to balance around child care and family commitments. Also Mystery shopping is a big hit with students, who can fit the assignments in around their lessons.

To be a successful Mystery Shopper you need to be…..

Discreet: It is important to be discreet otherwise you will not get an accurate account of the customer service. You must blend in with the crowd; therefore, if you have bright red spiky hair, body piercing and tattoos you are not likely to be accepted as a suitable Mystery Shopper.
Confident: You need to be confident in your ability to act as a normal, ordinary customer.
Articulate: You need to be able to write a clear and concise report on the evaluation.
Observant: You need to play close attention to detail to report on your findings.
Good Memory: There is a lot to remember when you do a Mystery Shop and you are not encouraged to take anything with you although if doing a supermarket visit a piece of paper that looks like a shopping list would be acceptable. Learning a few memory techniques would be helpful.
Reliable: Mystery Shopping visits tend to be booked within restricted time periods (sometimes days) and once you commit to a visit, you can cause an agency real problems if you let them down. All agencies look after the Mystery Shoppers who do what they say they will do when they say they will do it.
Honest: You must provide honest opinions on the shopper reports and all answers must be objective and professional.
Conscientious: Most visits have a fairly prescriptive scenario that you will be asked to complete. You will therefore need to record certain details or say certain things and it is clearly important to the agencies that the scenario is followed precisely.
Punctual: Most assignments are time sensitive which means you have to shop during a specified time of the day.
Resourceful: On most assignments you have to obtain the name of the employee and not all of them wear name tags. You have to be creative in finding out their name.
Good Writer: Some agencies like a report rather than a questionnaire or some have space on the questionnaire for you to paint a picture with words to make the reader feel as if he has been shopping with you. You must check for spelling and grammar before submitting your questionnaire or report. You must always go back over the report afterwards reading the questions carefully to make sure there are no contradicting answers.
Unbiased: It is extremely important that the Mystery Shopper gives an unbiased view of the visit.