Today, when viewing vacancies in the columns of any media, you can stumble upon an announcement that a particular company needs a mystery shopper. However, most people have never encountered such a job. That is why such a vacancy is somewhat alarming and sometimes does not attract any attention.
What is the essence of this mysterious work, and is it worth paying attention to this vacancy?
Of course, this profession has appeared in our country recently. However, today it is quite possible to find mystery shoppers with a certain experience and work experience. Who is paid the salary for shopping? Should I get a job like this? Let's try to understand these and other issues.
Why and who needs it?
Is mystery shopper important? Reviews of people who came to a particular store often relate to a situation where, standing in the trading floor, I want to ask about a particular product, but there is no one to ask a question. One seller left his place to powder his nose, the second to smoke, and the third had lunch at that time. The fourth one, although it is present in the hall, is not at all interested in the customers who have come to the store. As a result, the person simply waves his hand and leaves for the purchase at another point of sale.
A similar situation is familiar to many. Heads of stores also know about it, which, of course, do not like it at all. In order to stop this attitude of sellers to work and not scare away a potential customer, they resort to the help of a secret buyer. There is nothing supernatural in this profession. Otherwise, it is called:
- audit service;
- Mystery shopping;
- secret guest.
All these names are various options for marketing research, which is becoming more and more popular every year.
Essence of the work
Who is this mystery shopper? Reviews, who worked in this field, say that outwardly this is an ordinary person. He comes to any point where a product or service is sold (a restaurant or a store, a pharmacy or a bank, as well as to another institution), in order to perform certain actions there. This professional buys goods, makes an order, asks for advice, etc. In the process of communicating with staff, the entire conversation is recorded by a secret buyer on a voice recorder. Of course, this is being done imperceptibly.
As you can see, the mystery shopper is a real spy. Its main task is to assess the level of service of the outlet and the quality of the services or goods it offers. In the end, this person, as a rule, does not make any purchase. After all, he only assesses the quality of staff and the level of sales organization. The seller’s reaction after the refusal is also interesting to him.
Such specialists sometimes work by telephone. The essence of their task is similar. Mystery shoppers clarify the characteristics of a product or service, evaluate the professionalism of an employee located on the other end of the wire, the speed of its response and other related factors. But it is worth bearing in mind that telephone work is paid more than modestly.
There is also a mystery shopper profile. He fills it after an audit. In this form, the person who conducted a small marketing research makes his own conclusions. After this, the mystery shopper’s profile along with the audio recording gets to the customerBased on the results of such a check, employers sometimes make certain reassignments of employees, give someone a bonus, or, conversely, charge a fine without any explanation.
Everything. The order is deemed completed. In these actions the whole essence of the work of the mystery shopper is concluded. However, as in any business, there are many nuances.
Who is being hired?
For whom is a mystery shopper suitable? Feedback from representatives of personnel services of various companies suggests that they can accept absolutely any person for this position. However, based on specific conditions, the customer sometimes puts forward certain requirements for such a “spy”. For example, if it is necessary to conduct an inspection of a children's goods store, then a mystery shopper will most likely take a woman. Sometimes the customer makes demands on job applicants by age or level of knowledge in a particular field. For example, a person who becomes a secret agent, it is important to understand household appliances.
In addition, the presence of certain psychological qualities in a person requires work as a mystery shopper. Responses from personnel services officers indicate that candidates for this position should have sociability and the absence of any fear and constraint in carrying out the tasks assigned to them.
The presence of acting talent in such people is not necessary. However, they still must be able to play their role credibly. It can be a cheeky customer at a bank or a picky customer at a point of sale. According to professional secret agents, this skill significantly increases the number of orders. Good memory and the ability to get out of any situation will also come in handy.
Who is not suitable for this job?
It is the responsibility of the mystery shopper to control the work of others. That is why this position is unlikely to require a person who is not able to maintain objectivity in various situations, inattentive. After all, the customer requires a valid assessment of the work of his outlets. It is very important for the proper organization of their activities.
Where do they offer such a job?
There are specialized organizations called the Mystery Shops Agency. There are a lot of such people in Russia today. The Mystery Shoppers Agency acts as an intermediary between the companies making the order and the performers, who are the mystery shoppers. Sometimes small organizations themselves advertise that they need such specialists.
Where are the agencies looking for candidates for this position? The service "mystery shopper" is provided by people who can conditionally be divided into three groups. The first of them includes those for whom it is the main income. In the second group are applicants who are satisfied only with a part-time job as a secret buyer. In the third are those who have never conducted such a marketing research, but want to try their hand in this field. It is worth noting that the candidates from the third group represent the majority of applicants.
Agency selection
Specialized organizations for the selection of mystery shoppers are in the top ten of any search engine. Which one should I focus on? According to the reviews of those who have already tried their hand at this path, it is worth looking at the duration of the agency, its regular customers and payment guarantees.
You should always be prepared for the fact that during the registration process the candidate for the vacancy will be asked to provide links to personal pages on social networks, indicate passport details and home address. If the organization is not suspicious of anything, then the attention to such details should not confuse the applicant. After all, agencies must be sure that they are a real person who will fulfill the order entrusted to him with dignity.
If the agency is large enough, then it must have representative offices and sites on social networks. According to experienced secret agents, the only resource should alert the applicant. So, if a company is looking for people to conduct marketing research, but does not indicate its office, then most likely it simply does not exist.
If in your city there is no such agency, then you can try to find a job yourself. Where, then, look for orders to a mystery shopper?
Personal contacts
The service "mystery shopper" can be offered to familiar store owners, businessmen, managers of salons, sports clubs and other similar institutions. These people are unlikely to give up a detailed and impartial story about visiting their outlet.
The positive side of this activity is that the mystery shopper will be able to choose the service that he really needs. However, such visits are unlikely to become regular. In addition, if the customer’s thorough audit report does not please the customer, then this is likely to worsen relations with him.
Sites
Mystery shopper vacancy can be found when visiting special resources offering jobs. Already today, this unusual specialty is still quite in demand. Moreover, its popularity continues to grow.
Preliminary instructions
What should a mystery shopper know? The reviews of those who worked in this position indicate that before the audit, the customer hands the representative an audit of the service the instructions compiled by the company. In it, all the actions of a mystery shopper can be described in sufficient detail. Sometimes such instructions relate to checking the correct placement of goods on the shelves, cleanliness of the floor, quality and friendly service, and those phrases with which sellers begin their conversation with a customer.
The instructions describe the behavior and the most mysterious buyer in the form of a list of questions that need to be asked to employees of the institution, as well as a model of behavior, which is sometimes not polite.
Sometimes such a “spy” is tasked with the implementation of which will require a certain resourcefulness. For example, determine if the smell of alcohol from the guard. To complete this task just will not succeed. We have to ask the guard one question or another, and then pretend that it is hard to hear, and get as close to him as possible.
Profession Features
It seems that the work of the secret agent is easy and exciting - go to various institutions, make purchases and find fault with the staff. However, in reality, everything is much more complicated.
Of course, a huge plus of this profession is in the free work schedule and location. After all, you can always choose a point of sale, which is located near your home or work. However, this is also a minus of this activity. If you wait for offers to visit nearby stores, you can lose a lot of time. It also happens that the customer is important information about the work of his employees at a time when you are especially busy.
The amount of remuneration
What payment does the mystery shopper have for their services? The salary of this specialist directly depends on the customer. As a rule, there are always a lot of offers in this market. This allows the mystery shopper to choose the right company for himself. However, living on such a salary is unlikely to succeed. This applies even to those for whom the constant work is a mystery shopper. Feedback from experienced "spies" suggests that one check is paid by the customer company in the amount of 3-4 dollars. The approximate time spent by such an artist at one point is 20-30 minutes.
How does a mystery shopper get his money? Payment is made daily as the order is completed.
Sometimes the customer pays for the service.For example, when checking the quality of service of a cafe or restaurant. In such cases, companies usually order research, followed by payment of the check. Of course, you won’t see money for the work done, but lunch will be completely free.