Getting caught might possibly be one of a mystery shopper’s worst fears.
“Hey, aren’t you a mystery shopper?”
“Who, moi?”
“Yeah, you. You’re acting very suspicious.”
“Why, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Can you tell me where the restroom is?”
The fear is real. The secret is to not appear afraid. Look confused. Look angry. Look like a label nerd. But never show fear. Fear is a dead give away.
There is a formula for good mystery shopping:
- Know what you are looking for.
- Know the layout of the territory.
- Have a plan.
- Have an exit strategy.
First, know what you are looking for. You’ll find your instructions in the guidelines from the mystery shopping company who got the instructions from the client. The client is looking for something specific. Are they wanting to know if their employees are behaving according to their standards? Are the employees stealing? Are the employees upselling where they are supposed to? What about the facility itself? Or the food? Or did the bartender card you when you ordered a beer? You have to know what you are looking for so you can remove distraction
Second, get a feel for the layout of the location. Are there certain departments you need to visit? Do you need to visit the restroom as part of the evaluation? Is this supposed to be your first time at this establishment? Knowing where to go and, especially, how to get out quickly, is an important part of playing it cool.
Next, some shops are super simple. Pull into a stall and order off the menu. Easy peasy. But others, like amusement parks, museums, casinos or resorts can be a veritable maze. Create a cheat sheet so you know exactly what, where and who you need to evaluate before you arrive.
Last, know how to respond if something goes wrong. I once went to a clothing store that was divided into two parts: the “mature ladies” clothing and the “hip” ladies clothes. The week before, I had visited the mature side and the MSC (mystery shopping company) asked me to go back the following week to evaluate the hip side. While browsing, the lady I had evaluated the previous week started chatting with the girls at the register. Imagine my horror when I heard her say, “Yeah, so the mystery shopper came in last week.” The girls chatted along, chiming in that they had been mystery shopped a few months back. Another girl said she hoped she never got mystery shopped. With my back to the register, I slowly made my way to the front door and slipped out. Narrow escape.
So to fly beneath the radar, know what you are looking for, know where to look for it, organize your actions and get ready to bolt. Once you are armed with all the knowledge, you can more effectively look clueless. Intentionally clueless and nearly invisible.