This is a multi million dollar industry across the world although it is in its toddler days in India. As a shopper I take a serious and calculated step towards the client guidelines, on the basis of which the project needs to be completed by the scheduling company(Mystery shopping firm). I have successfully completed over 200 different mystery shopping assignments with more than 10 international firms and it had been a pleasant experience in over 98% of my audits.
There are times when a shopper fails to follow the complete guidelines in a hurry and may get a rejected report. This possibility could be totally eliminated with a wee bit of caution.
When performing a mystery shopping assignment we need to understand that the Client( Showroom or Restaurant or a Spa/Salon) has a reason for conducting the audit. It maybe to assess if the customers are getting the proper hospitality or why the sales figures are going down, or maybe any other reason which will be evident from the guidelines of an assignment. So, even though you are shopping or eating out for the client, every detail which is’out-of-the-ordinary’ should be captured in your memory or discreetly in your mobile phone to be safe. An eye-for-details, a good quality camera, a voice recorder and a stopwatch(A mid-range cell-phone has all of these) are the most important needs of a shopper. A fast internet connection teamed with a good PC/Laptop and a scanner will get you all set for a shopping home-base.
It raises your grade or rating in the system if you take extra care to fill in the report with complete details without any inadvertent errors after the shopping is done. If you have a higher grade, you get a priority over other shoppers in getting a high paying assignment when available.