Mystery Shopping

You may’ve heard from a friend, seen on TV or read about it in a magazine. Whether or not mystery shopping rings a bell, for many people it’s a way to make money doing what they like, when they like. A secret shopper looks just like the next guy in the store, the bank, the office. Mystery shoppers are trained researchers, not secret agents. It’s not their job to find faults by all means or put on a show. Quite the opposite, they’re expected to provide a clear and detailed account of the quality of the service they received, and report on a checklist of criteria.

Mystery shopping is used in many sectors in retail and services to gather information about the quality of customer service. Agencies like ours will deploy trained mystery shoppers in stores, restaurants, showrooms, financial institutions, service providers from a wide range of industries to evaluate the quality of service, products and business practices in a non-biased way.

What it takes to be a mystery shopper

To begin with, reliable Internet access and a personal camera / mobile phone will certainly help, but a set of skills and personal qualities are essential:

• discipline – follows instructions to a T and is respectful of deadlines
• loyalty and discretion – respects the confidentiality of personal and commercial information
• observant – outstanding attention to detail but no nitpicking
• focused – never reveals the real purpose of the visit, never misses an important detail
• composed – doesn’t appear nervous, looks the part
• articulate – able to write clear, logical and structured reports. Proper Bulgarian grammar goes without saying.

Mystery shopping isn’t a lifetime career – it’s a part-time but responsible job in research. It can be quite stimulating and diverse enough to never get boring. Not least, you make the most of your own time.

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