Are you interested in becoming a mystery shopper? Do you like a flexible work schedule and are comfortable with a variable income? Some weeks are busier than others. Do you thrive on multitasking and are willing to act out a role at times? All these aspects are part of being a mystery shopper. If you like these challenges, you might find mystery shopping interesting.
Before accepting work as a mystery shopper, research the mystery shopping companies you are interested in, as unfortunately there are some unscrupulous employers. A recognised company will never ask you for start-up fees.
Qualifications And Age
Mystery shoppers sometimes represent a certain type of person or a specific age demographic. The age requirements for jobs are as diverse as the consumers purchasing products or using services. Most assignments, however, do not have specific demographic requirements.
While no formal qualification is needed mystery shoppers require both good written and spoken English, as well as keen observational skills and the capacity to offer valuable feedback. It is crucial to have a grasp of what constitutes excellent customer service and the ability to identify and report on it.
As e-commerce continues to expand and technology increasingly plays a role our daily lives, having a fundamental knowledge of how mobile apps or web-based tools function, or at the very least, a willingness to acquire such knowledge, has become essential.
Experience-Level
Mystery shoppers are expected to have a basic understanding of the subject they are evaluating whether a specific industry, aspects of products and services, or the quality of customer service. To assess a restaurant fairly, you need to have a good idea how restaurants operate. The hotel industry has specific characteristics, and you need to know what the acceptable customer experience standards are within the tourist sector before you can act as a guest and provide quality feedback.
If you love chocolate, that might be the only experience a client wants when you need to observe how customers engage with a brand in the shops, as they don’t need you to know how chocolate is manufactured.
Personal Skills
As a mystery shopper, you will be required to do a variety of assessments, defined by the client’s requirements and the customer journey they want you to test. Here are some personal skills that are good to have if you want to become a mystery shopper.
- Detail oriented
- Excellent observational skills to see what is not obvious
- Active listener to hear what is not said
- Curious about the company or product you are evaluating
- Flexible enough to work at short notice and unusual hours
- Enjoy multitasking
- Objective and open-minded
- Good memory, as you might not be able to take notes on the job
- Willing to act out a role at times
- Timeliness
- Efficient and concise during reporting.
Proper Reporting Skills
Good verbal and written communication skills are vital to mystery shoppers. You are expected to give an honest assessment of your evaluation in detailed reports to the company that hired you. If you are unable to make notes while you are doing your mystery shopping, work out a system where you can record or write down information as soon as it is completed, as details are important for a successful assessment. Most companies have a particular format for the report to help you turn your experience into meaningful data.
We are a credible company with more than 10,000 experienced and trained field researchers, the largest base in Ireland. For Customer Perceptions, our field researchers are the core of our successful programmes. Are you interested in becoming a mystery shopper? Contact us for more information.
