Here’s one example of how mystery shoppers do their jobs, according to an article by Chad Cain in Gazettenet.com. A 59-year-old substitute teacher working as a mystery shopper has gone assignment wearing a tiny video camera hidden in one of the buttons of her shirt. She was hired by a company to be a shopper that captures everything about her experience and her interactions with employees.
“The company wants to hear and see everything,” the shopper explained. She is part of a growing number of mystery shoppers posing as typical customers in banks, veterinary clinics, auto repair shops and retail stores, for example. The job of a mystery shopper is usually to make observations about how they were treated y the clerk and perhaps the general appearance of the store, among other things. A mystery shopper may ask questions, buy specific products or takes notes, inconspicuously.
After they shop, they report back to the agency that hired them, perhaps one like Customer Perspectives, with detailed information that is then compiled and passed along to the business’s management.
In her 10 years on the job, this mystery shopper has been on duty at museums, car dealerships, convenience stores, an aquarium and even a roller skating rink. Financial services institutions are her “bread and butter,” she says.
Most of her assignments do not require the use of a video camera. Nonetheless, she takes precautions so as not to be found out by employees. This mystery shopper takes notes by filling out a crossword puzzle. “Unless they are looking awfully close, they just think I’m doing the crossword,” she said.
She has also employed her 14-year-old daughter who has been given assignments that fall under “compliance”—buying games or videos that were rated for above her age group, for example.
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