Welcome to the Mystery Shopping Learning Center Blog

When preparing for a mystery shop, you are usually provided with written instructions and/or guidelines for the specific shop. Sometimes they can span many pages, depending on how detailed the shop is. Do you read through the entire guide?

Most would say yes (and do it), and others would claim to, but maybe skim through some of it. The point of the instructions is to give you detailed needed to answer the questions on the mystery shopping report. Reading through them prior to the shop, and then using them as a guide when you are completed the report will bring you the most success. You’d be surprised with the fact that some mystery shoppers don’t do this, and then they are surprised when a company cannot use their shop.

A mystery shopping company did a small experiment many years ago that I remembered recently and wanted to share. A client had a small number of shops to complete for a project. When creating the guidelines, they decided to do an experiment…..at the end of the shop instructions, in a separate line of text, they wrote:

“If you are reading this, please contact your scheduler to let him/her know. You will receive a $5.00 bonus for this shop.”

Turns out, less than half of the shoppers received a bonus.

That is startling – companies rely on these guidelines to provide all the information a mystery shopper will need to properly perform a shop. Typically, we try to put the most important information at the beginning, with detailed clarification of specific issues afterward for reference. Yes, they can be long, and some of the instructions might seem tedious or bordering on ridiculous (“when doing the video shop, if you put your backpack down at any time, make sure it’s right side up when you pick it up again – the client does not enjoy standing on their head to watch videos, nor do we” or “you must have a car to perform this oil change shop”), but those details are usually added because someone has done something to warrant this addition.

The challenge is making sure all of the details are included without becoming overwhelming to the mystery shopper. Therefore, we strive to provide checklist type instructions for easy reference, instructions with links for you to be able to jump to the appropriate section easily as you’re writing your report, and other time saving methods.

Preparing for mystery shops can take some time, and we appreciate your time in making each program a success! Reading through all documents prior to the shop will ensure that you perform the shop correctly, evaluate and record all of the necessary details, and submit a stellar report!

Until next time…happy shopping!

There have been times when companies have shops in a remote location, and will try shopper referral programs. In our experience (I can only speak for Ann Michaels & Associates), these are not successful. I’ve always wondered the reason that shoppers are hesitant to offer shopper referrals – is it because they want to keep their work anonymous, are afraid that there will be more competition and therefore less work, or is there another reason?

When companies are asking for referrals, it usually means that they are tapped out in the area for mystery shoppers which are desperately needed. We’ve tried all of the standard procedures – posting on forms and job boards, emailing our databases, etc. with no luck.

If shoppers are not offering referrals because they fear a decrease in work, we can reassure you that this is not the case. Mystery shopping companies need to rotate shoppers, and sometimes if you complete a shop once, you cannot return for one to six months (sometimes more). If you refer someone who successfully completes a shop, not only does that help us as a company, but it helps you, because we will always remember that you helped us out in a pinch. As soon as you are able to complete another shop, you will be the first we contact. Also, as companies gain new accounts in your area, you will be at the top of their list to do these new shops.

Shopper referral programs can be helpful to companies and shoppers alike. Sometimes there is a monetary reward for shoppers who refer others who in turn successfully complete a shop. Sometimes the reward lies in being at the top of a company’s list for new/existing shops.

Please feel free to share your experiences with referral programs, and your reasons for not participating if you typically don’t. This will serve as a good learning experience for all of us!

Until next time…happy shopping!

I’ve attended several MSPA Gold Conferences, and always hear the collective gasp of surprise and shock when the speaker mentions that the standard “bail” rate on shops across the board is around 30% – meaning that 30% of shoppers assigned mystery shops will not do them.

30% is a lot – of 1,000 shops in a month, that’s 300 that have to be rescheduled for one reason or another. The people responsible for these shops are often referred to as “bailers” or “flakers”, but who are these people?

Let me preface the explanation by stating that the MAJORITYof mystery shoppers are outstanding to work with – they communicate well, follow instructions, and provide quality reports. There are shoppers who have to cancel for legitimate reasons as well – we do not count these shoppers into our “bailer” rate because they didn’t leave us hanging. They communicated and then rescheduled or let us know they could not complete the shop due to unforeseen circumstances. Communication is critical, and is one of the factors that leads to a mystery shopper’s success.

Now back to the other 30%…..after more than a decade in the industry, we can classify “bailers” into a few key groups:

“Drive by” shoppers
These are shoppers who we’ve classified as the drive by people. I wonder if they fall victim to the “eat, shop and get paid thousands per month” ads, sign up with a company (or three), and quickly realize that the ads are not as true as they once thought. They are assigned a shop, review the shop questions and instructions, and decide mystery shopping is not for them. Instead of communicating this to the schedulers, they instead fall of the face of the Earth, never to be heard from again. Calls and emails go unanswered, and we are left with no choice but to deactivate these people.

Anonymity of the Internet
I think this comes into play….shoppers will “try out” mystery shopping and pick up a few shops. When they no longer want to do them, they just don’t do the shop. Because the Internet world is more anonymous, I think we’ve started to see a trend where people don’t follow through because there is an invisible face to apply to the work, and they may not feel as accountable to anyone.

“It sounded good at the time”
There is a small group that I’ve noticed that may simply over-schedule themselves, or perhaps apply for shops three weeks into the future that sound good at the time. When the time comes to do the shop, it doesn’t sound so good anymore, they’ve forgotten about it, or simply don’t want to do it anymore. We don’t learn of this until after the shop is due and we have to contact these shoppers to find out what is happening. It is only then we hear that “there wasn’t enough time” or they “decided they didn’t want to do the shop anymore.” Had this been communicated with us earlier, it would be easier to reschedule. However, when this doesn’t happen, it leaves us scrambling to get these shops covered.

Unclassified
This is the group that we cannot understand. These are the people who apply for and are assigned shops, never to be heard from again. We’re not sure where they go or what happened, but they don’t respond to emails or phone calls, and obviously don’t complete their assigned shops. What makes it more fascinating is that sometimes we will see these shoppers apply for other shops a few weeks later as though nothing happened.

Things happen to everyone, and as mystery shopping companies, we do understand. We also realize that there will also be bailers in the industry, as frustrating as it is – imagine if you had to redo 30% of your work each month! We thank all of the shoppers who do the outstanding work every day – we couldn’t do it without you!

Until next time…happy shopping!