Mystery Shopper Jobs Play an Important Role at Retail and are Plentiful

• June 26, 2012
• Topics:
  • Mystery Shopper Jobs

Mystery shopping (also known as secret shopping) is the method by which a store or a company evaluates its employees’ performance and customers’ experiences. A mystery shopper will visit a retail outlet pretending to be a customer. The mystery shopper will interact with employees to assess their customer service and sales abilities.

Mystery shoppers can be deployed by brands, retailers or companies who offer supporting services to brands and retailers. A mystery shopper will report his or her results, which will reveal to the retailer or brand what they need to do to improve their services.

Apart from evaluating performance, a mystery shopper will analyze other commercial aspects of a retailer’s store. These aspects could be price, availability, quality of the product and customer service via websites, telephones and in person, as well as housekeeping.

The role that a mystery shopper fills is an important one and mystery shopper jobs are in great demand. There are no essential requirements to become a mystery shopper, as shoppers don’t have specific appearance or qualification. With that said, a mystery shopper job is a profession just like any other. While the job entails shopping, which is fun; mystery shopping is a serious business and should be carefully dealt with. To be successful, a mystery shopper must be able to act or pretend, be trustworthy, reliable and professional. Apart from all these characteristics, mystery shoppers should have good writing skills and a clear perspective of reporting their personal opinions so that the truth is not tampered with and the brand or retailer gets a very clear picture of what was observed. Mystery shoppers are relied upon to help stores and brands to uplift their sales by improving customer satisfaction and improving the performance of the employees.

Mystery shopping is useful not just for evaluating the staff’s performance but also for checking the customer service offered by rival businesses. It can be compared with one’s own customer service to find the problem areas. The problems can then be rectified to increase the number of customers and in-turn will increase a retailer’s sales.

Mystery shoppers represent ROI to retailers and brands, especially when they are deployed by third party organizations. This is because third party organizations provide the retailer or brand with a truly impartial review of performance. Third party organizations who specialize in mystery shopping can work with a brand or retailer to pinpoint areas of focus, develop a strategy, and take measurements to ensure that the mystery shopper and outcome of the exercise is effective.

Mystery shopper jobs can be found with organizations that provide these services to brands and retailers. If you interested in becoming a mystery shopper, sourcing mystery shopper jobs through these organizations is your best first step. Because these organizations service so many different brands and retailers, obtaining a mystery shopper job through one of these organizations promises to be exciting and diverse.

The role of a mystery shopper at retail is an invaluable one. In addition, those interested in becoming a mystery shopper will find a fun and rewarding career opportunity as well as a fantastic opportunity to help brands and retailers become more competitive while improving their offering.

For more information about mystery shopper jobs or to apply for a mystery shopper job, please visit www.storesupport.ca or call Bonnie Yhip at 1 877 421-5081.