Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Factors to be Considered before Taking up Mystery or Secret Shopping Assignments

Mystery Shopping is no more ‘mysterious’ since many people have learned what they exactly are, what their purpose is and how people can be benefited taking up mystery shopping jobs on a part-time or full-time basis. Mystery shopping is a unique profession that enables companies discover their brand effectiveness. In other words, mystery shopping or secret shopping is a part of modern day market research. Mystery shoppers can reap great benefits doing mystery shopping jobs. They can enjoy travelling in their area, go for short trips or vacations with family, dine out with family and friends, enjoy watching the latest movies in theatres, use various products and services – all for free! Besides, companies also pay mystery shoppers with cash after they submit the assignments. This way, mystery shoppers can sign up with many mystery shopping companies and earn more per day. Becoming a mystery shopper requires one to consider a few vital factors, which are as follows:
A mystery shopper is more or less like the ‘hidden camera’ through which companies get to know what is going on surrounding their business. They instruct the hired mystery shoppers to visit their outlets or stores, pose as regular customers and carefully observe how the stores and products are maintained, how quick and adept the employees are in dealing with the customers, how well a customer’s raised concerns are tackled, etc. The shopper needs to record or write the details of his shopping experience honestly in a report and submit it to the client company either in person or online.
With the increasing popularity of the Internet, several mystery shopping companies have opted to conduct a major part of the mystery shopping business online. This includes the online recruitment of aspiring mystery shoppers and online submission of the reports after the hired secret shoppers are done with their assignments. The idea behind such an attempt is to cut down the considerable costs and time. Therefore, those who wish to submit their reports online must ensure that they have a good system with reliable broadband connection.
Those who are completely new to the mystery shopping field and are apprehensive about their to-the-mark performance as mystery shoppers need not worry. Mystery shopping companies take every possible initiative to train beginners and sharpen their skills by rendering thorough technical training. They ensure that post training, the mystery shoppers carry out their shopping assignments flawlessly. Generally, before the commencement of every shopping assignment, companies give detailed guidelines to the mystery shoppers. In case if individuals have doubts and approach the company officials for clarifications and there is no response from the latter’s side, the company might be a scam.
Mystery shopping companies pay the shoppers after reviewing and approving of the reports submitted. If they find a report to be insignificant, inappropriate or irrelevant, they do not approve of it and do not pay the secret shopper responsible for it. Therefore, it is extremely vital to attend the training sessions attentively and go through each instruction carefully before starting a secret shopping assignment.

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