Career as a mystery shopper
Posted On Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at at 12:58 PM by PradeepBusinesses are eager to see how their service evaluates from the eyes of a regular customer. The field of mystery shopping offers new opportunities, discovers Mithila Mehta
Posted On: Monday, May 09, 2011
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Businesses are increasingly discovering the importance of customer satisfaction. Faced with countless options, customers expect increasingly high levels of service quality. Further, companies need to know the service standards being followed by employees and whether internal company guidelines are being implemented.
Unravelling the mystery
Mystery shopping can give the organisation a mine of valuable information. Explains Sonul Verdia, General Manager for India, Middle East and Africa, BARE International, a Global Mystery Customer Research company, “Mystery Customer Research is a tool used by market research and mystery customer research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Our role is to provide consistent measurements for our clients to guarantee that they receive data that truly reflects their customers' experiences and satisfaction around the globe.”
Essentially, the ‘mystery shopper’ visits the client location as a regular customer. The shopper must then carry out specific pre-decided tasks—such as asking questions, registering a complaint, noting the sales tactics and timing the service efficiency. The tasks to be performed are determined by the parameters indicated by the client organisation. The mystery shopper fills out a feedback report, detailing their experiences and observations.
“Mystery shopping provides an insight into the world of the customer. The tasks revolve around service scenarios—some very routine, others slightly unusual. For example, I have been asked to go to a bank, express my interest in opening an account and document how the staff takes me through the process,” explains Mumbai-based housewife Sunita Deshpande, who has been on several mystery shopping assignments. Businesses then use this information to improve their service standards. Employee bonuses may also be determined by the rating given to them by mystery shoppers.
It is a common misconception that customer research equals market research. Explains Verdia, “The biggest differentiator is that customer research is more objective based and deep dives into why customer feel and react in a certain way rather than a market research study, which would be more subjective, perception driven, focusing on how customers behave.”
Being a mystery shopper
The beauty of mystery shopping is that is requires you to be yourself, going about your regular shopping experience, while paying attention to certain predefined criteria. “Shoppers must usually be above 18 years old, must adhere to instructions, while being objective and thorough in their evaluations. They must be observant, honest and strictly meet all deadlines. Finally, they should never give away their true identities and create the required scenarios. Hence, they need to be good role players,” says career counsellor Rupa Keswani.
“Most people can be mystery shoppers, depending on the client need. One just needs to pay attention to details and be able to follow a defined scenario. Some mystery shopping projects require our evaluators to have a specific industry qualification to look more credible or to validate their knowledge and not alert the staff when conducting their evaluation,” backs Verdia.
Practical pointers
Mystery shoppers are usually paid on an assignment basis, depending on their experience, skills and the complexity of the task. Payment could also be in non-cash modes, such as vouchers, depending on the company you are dealing with. Most shoppers use mystery shopping as a supplementary stream of income, since it allows relatively flexible work schedules. It is also ideal for those who want part-time work schedules.
Prospective mystery shoppers should keep in mind that there are countless scams associated with this field, usually financial in nature. To avoid being duped, it is advisable to join the field through a reputed intermediary, a company that conducts mystery customer research. Applications can be made online and jobs are routed through a centralised system. The remuneration one earns usually depends on the job profile assigned. “I am able to scan jobs online, read the description of the tasks required and select ones which are located close-by. Job descriptions aren’t merely about walking into a shop and buying a product. The diversity is exciting and challenging,” says Delhi-based college student and mystery shopper Komal Gupta.
Career Prospects
“The industry has grown along with the Indian economy. As an example, the more retail stores, the bigger the need for mystery shopping. We are also seeing more competition than ever before, which validates that India companies have a bigger budget for mystery shopping projects. With today’s social media technologies, companies cannot afford to have a poor customer service as it will spread like wildfire online,” ends Verdia.
Unravelling the mystery
Mystery shopping can give the organisation a mine of valuable information. Explains Sonul Verdia, General Manager for India, Middle East and Africa, BARE International, a Global Mystery Customer Research company, “Mystery Customer Research is a tool used by market research and mystery customer research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Our role is to provide consistent measurements for our clients to guarantee that they receive data that truly reflects their customers' experiences and satisfaction around the globe.”
Essentially, the ‘mystery shopper’ visits the client location as a regular customer. The shopper must then carry out specific pre-decided tasks—such as asking questions, registering a complaint, noting the sales tactics and timing the service efficiency. The tasks to be performed are determined by the parameters indicated by the client organisation. The mystery shopper fills out a feedback report, detailing their experiences and observations.
“Mystery shopping provides an insight into the world of the customer. The tasks revolve around service scenarios—some very routine, others slightly unusual. For example, I have been asked to go to a bank, express my interest in opening an account and document how the staff takes me through the process,” explains Mumbai-based housewife Sunita Deshpande, who has been on several mystery shopping assignments. Businesses then use this information to improve their service standards. Employee bonuses may also be determined by the rating given to them by mystery shoppers.
It is a common misconception that customer research equals market research. Explains Verdia, “The biggest differentiator is that customer research is more objective based and deep dives into why customer feel and react in a certain way rather than a market research study, which would be more subjective, perception driven, focusing on how customers behave.”
Being a mystery shopper
The beauty of mystery shopping is that is requires you to be yourself, going about your regular shopping experience, while paying attention to certain predefined criteria. “Shoppers must usually be above 18 years old, must adhere to instructions, while being objective and thorough in their evaluations. They must be observant, honest and strictly meet all deadlines. Finally, they should never give away their true identities and create the required scenarios. Hence, they need to be good role players,” says career counsellor Rupa Keswani.
“Most people can be mystery shoppers, depending on the client need. One just needs to pay attention to details and be able to follow a defined scenario. Some mystery shopping projects require our evaluators to have a specific industry qualification to look more credible or to validate their knowledge and not alert the staff when conducting their evaluation,” backs Verdia.
Practical pointers
Mystery shoppers are usually paid on an assignment basis, depending on their experience, skills and the complexity of the task. Payment could also be in non-cash modes, such as vouchers, depending on the company you are dealing with. Most shoppers use mystery shopping as a supplementary stream of income, since it allows relatively flexible work schedules. It is also ideal for those who want part-time work schedules.
Prospective mystery shoppers should keep in mind that there are countless scams associated with this field, usually financial in nature. To avoid being duped, it is advisable to join the field through a reputed intermediary, a company that conducts mystery customer research. Applications can be made online and jobs are routed through a centralised system. The remuneration one earns usually depends on the job profile assigned. “I am able to scan jobs online, read the description of the tasks required and select ones which are located close-by. Job descriptions aren’t merely about walking into a shop and buying a product. The diversity is exciting and challenging,” says Delhi-based college student and mystery shopper Komal Gupta.
Career Prospects
“The industry has grown along with the Indian economy. As an example, the more retail stores, the bigger the need for mystery shopping. We are also seeing more competition than ever before, which validates that India companies have a bigger budget for mystery shopping projects. With today’s social media technologies, companies cannot afford to have a poor customer service as it will spread like wildfire online,” ends Verdia.