What is a "mystery shopper"?

Question

It's a semi-dumb question I know.

But what is it anyway?

Answer 1

we had m/s'ers when i worked at a hotel. they came in and checked how clean the place was and the service etc... you never know who they are. they send back a report after the stay
they have them for resturants and shopping stores too.
i would assume amusement parks and other public venues too.
all to make sure the businesses are up to par and treating people properly.
however some of these are turning in to scams to work for. you have to be carefull if you decide to work for one of these m/s companies

Answer 2

I worked at a Mobil Station once and we were always told to be polite and friendly etc. because the Mobil Corp hired Mystery Shoppers who would come in as a regular customer (there was no way to tell that they were any different than a regular customer).

They would look the store over, check the service and then submit a report based on their overall impression of that particular store and the employees. They would also check for cleanliness, shelves stocked, cooler stocked...stuff like that.....don't ever think working in a small store is easy, you can get in 10 hours every eighthour shift..LOL

It did keep us on the ball so to speak and probably, in the long run, improved the service and goods delivery to many Mobile customers.



There is no such thing as a dumb or semi-dumb question

Answer 3

Mystery shoppers evaluate how well a company and its' employees do their jobs. They also look for cleanliness, friendliness, knowledge of products, etc. Be aware, however, that with most mystery shopping companies, you will have to purchase items (such as a big mac meal at mcdonald's, etc) and THEN be reimbursed along with mileage money and the pay for the mystery shopping.

Answer 4

I was a Secret Shopper for Safeway grocery stores way back when.

I would get a call from corporate. They'd give me information on who I was to shop and what customer service point they needed to be shopped on (giving a sample, offering to take a customer to an item, etc.). I'd give them a cue to give the customer service (in the bakery asking, "what does that cookie taste like?" for example) and then whether they did the customer service action or not I'd write a report based on my experience.

My report might say something along the lines of: I went into the store and asked Robert Smith where the Ground Cumin was. He stopped what he was doing, made eye contact with me and took me to the spice aisle and helped me locate the item. After we located it, I thanked him and he said, "Is there anything else I can help you with?" I said, "No, thank you." and he replied, "have a nice day."

I would fax it in to the corporate office & then I was done & would get paid for my shop.

They used my services after another shopper had shopped the whole store and wrote a comprehensive report on the whole store and everyone he/she'd interacted with. They referred it to me after they'd had Robert Smith (or whoever) fail one of the customer service training points. They'd counsel Robert on the cues for the behavior and the expected response to the behavior. Then I'd shop Robert & if he needed more coaching, they'd provide it.

It was a fun job & very flexible.

Answer 5

Many Companies and organizations hire a person "Mystery Shopper" to go into an establishment and be a customer..Then you rate the business and emplyees. Usually you get to keep what you buy or eat and get paid to boot!