What is mystery shopping all about?

Okay, my post this morning is not really craft related but it is a fun thing to do in your free time especially for those looking for work at home opportunities.

Mystery shopping is also known by other names such as, secret shopping, shadow shopper, mystery dinner , secret evaluation, mystery check and others even call it undercover shopping.

Mystery shopping is seen by many as one of those internet scams. However, this is not entirely the case. This is because mystery shopping has been in practice since the early 1940s as a tool to check worker's integrity. I know mystery shopping is real because I have done a couple of them and the did get paid.

Mystery shopping is a tool used externally by companies to measure quality of service or compliance to regulation by the staffs, or to gather specific information about products and services. Mystery shopping is also called secret shopping or product checking.

The mystery shopper will usually behave like an average, regular customer and will make sure he/she is not recognized by any one as a secret shopper. Mystery shoppers may be required to do the following:

• He/she may be required to buy certain product or request for certain services
• Ask a specific question about a product or service and note the reply
• Behave in some ways

The shopper then writes a detailed report of his/her observation and forwards it to the mystery shopping company. The mystery shopper in addition to the written report may be required to answer a questionnaire or make a video or an audio recording.

Mystery shoppers are used in many industries like banks, restaurants, hotels, fast food outlets,  gym, retail stores and any other place where goods are sold are services are rendered.