Incognito mystery shoppers serve as managers' eyes and ears
Daily Breeze
By Karl-Erik Stromsta
* also ran in Canton Repository
The Mystery Shopper Providers Association
convention in Long Beach provides a glimpse into a growing business.
Imagine you have just started your morning shift at the local
coffee shop when a customer stumbles in and demands a medium soy
latte, no foam.
You could, of course, be a sterling employee and greet him with
a twinkle in your eye. But it's early, you're tired, and hawking
glorified cups of coffee grounds is the last thing you feel like
doing.
So, you don't greet him cheerfully. You don't make solid eye
contact. Your posture is slouched, your apron is wrinkled and
you forget to offer him a receipt. But it's only a $3 order and
the manager is in the back room anyway, right?
Wrong. The "customer" is actually a mystery shopper, who will
provide your boss with a thorough critique of your performance
within 48 hours.
While this may sound like the pitch for a bad MTV reality show,
businesses increasingly are using mystery shopping as a powerful
tool for spying on their employees.
Mystery shoppers act as the eyes and ears of managers, reporting
on the way they are treated as customers, the quality of the product
they receive, and the business's general atmosphere.
"People have probably always been snooping on their employees
in one form or another," said John Swinburn, executive director
of the Mystery Shopper Providers Association, the only professional
trade association of its kind. "Mystery shoppers just make it
so much easier and more effective."
While it was once viewed as a fringe industry -- relying on newspaper
ads and Internet pop-ups to drum up interest -- mystery shopping
has become increasingly organized and reputable in recent years,
Swinburn said.
This trend toward legitimacy was highlighted recently, as dozens
of area mystery shoppers congregated at Long Beach's Westin Hotel
for the MSPA's annual North American conference. They came to
trade notes, listen to lectures and size up the competition.
Mike Ford, of Lomita, said that although he has been mystery
shopping for more than seven years, it was his first time in a
room full of other shoppers.
"It seems like it has just really flourished in the last few
years," he said. "The Internet has made it so much easier for
everyone -- the businesses and the shoppers."
Typically, mystery shoppers receive an assignment and within
a day or two are expected to visit the business incognito. It
could be a supermarket, a restaurant, a clothing store or even
a gas station.
Some assignments require shoppers to simply jot down notes, while
others require them to use hidden cameras.
Upon leaving the store, shoppers fill out extensive performance
audit reports, which companies then use to check on their work
forces, design training modules, and ultimately improve their
customers' experience.
"It can be kind of exciting, like a little rush or something,"
Ford said. "You wonder if they can tell that you're the mystery
shopper -- some places know you're coming -- but they never can."
Mystery shopping assignments generally take less than an hour,
according to the MSPA. Fees for shopping vary greatly depending
on the type of business being investigated and the experience
level of the shopper, but normally range from $12 to $20. Shoppers
often receive free meals, discounts on products and other perks.
"I personally love the gas station shops," Ford said. "I mean,
free gas? Come on. I usually just check out the restrooms, the
store's cleanliness, and the customer service, and that's it.
In and out."
Mystery shopping is competitive by nature, but there are many
things ambitious shoppers can do to distinguish themselves, said
Cathy Stucker, author of The Mystery Shopper's Manual. For starters,
they can get certified through the MSPA.
"It's not rocket science," said Stucker, "but like any other
field, it's still about education. It's about giving yourself
a marketing edge, showing that you are a shopper that is a cut
above."
In addition to hearing speakers like Stucker, mystery shoppers
attending the MSPA conference also got to hear from business owners
who have found success employing the service.
"Every store has its own story to tell," said Brandon Gough,
president of Juice It Up, an Irvine-based health food franchise
with more than 85 locations in six states. "Mystery shopping provides
a snapshot of that story.
"For businesses like us, it provides an invaluable monitoring
tool," he said. "It allows us to see on a monthly basis not just
how our stores are doing in terms of sales, but also how they
are doing in terms of dealing with customers."
Gough said Juice It Up started mystery shopping using one of
its employees, who would drive around to each store. Eventually,
however, franchise owners and employees came to recognize the
shopper and treat him with special care.
"Mystery shopping companies have made it so much more anonymous,"
he said. "Now franchisees think, 'Wow, it could be anyone.' And
that's the point. You shouldn't treat someone nicely just because
you think they might be a mystery shopper. You should treat everyone
like that."
Jay Gastelum, vice president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank
in Long Beach, said his store has seen tremendous improvements
in its customer service reports since they started using mystery
shoppers two years ago.
"A customer cannot not have an experience when they come to a
store," he said. "I know that's a double negative, but if you
think about it, our customers are going to feel one way or another
about us. It's either going to be a positive, well-managed, enjoyable
experience for them, or it's not."
And there are plenty of banks to choose from, he said.
Jason Siwek, a mystery shopper from West Los Angeles, said that
although he works full time in the security industry, he plans
to continue mystery shopping on the weekends.
"For the most part it's something to do on the side -- the perfect
thing for stay-at-home moms or retired people," he said. "You
could do it every day if you were really a die-hard, but most
people doing this are just weekend warrior-types like me."
