2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16
We all visit various stores every day, buying food, household goods, clothes, household appliances. But if you want to know how to earn money in this business, you can try to choose such a profession as a mystery shopper. Reviews of retail outlets that are left by ordinary visitors are, of course, significant for business owners and can affect service standards. But the "mystery shopper" (secret client) works according to a certain scenario, and his opinion will be more weighty.
A driver at a gas station, a student queuing for a hamburger at McDonald's, or a married couple applying for a mortgage at a bank can all share the same profession: the mystery shopper. The reviews they leave should serve to study the quality of service at this point. This way of earning and occupation is quite new toCentral Europe and Russia. There are only a few professional companies on the market that offer such services to trade enterprises, banks, and car dealerships. More recently, another specialization has appeared - a secret buyer of new buildings. Seems incredible? However, developers and developers, owners and management of real estate agencies also want to know how their agents serve clients - middle and junior managers. More and more companies understand the need for such marketing research. With such fierce competition that is currently in the market, businessmen cannot afford mediocre and poor quality customer service. After all, no matter how great the design or project is, no matter what discounts the owner of the outlet provides, if the waiter or salesperson is impolite or incompetent, the customers will vote against it. With their money, which they will leave elsewhere.
The main goal of the "mystery shopper" research is feedback received after real communication, after a staged or actual purchase or visit to a given point. The study of the quality of customer service is carried out not only with the help of detailed questionnaires. These can be audio recordings of conversations recorded by a hidden voice recorder, and photographs. The whole process of customer service is assessed as a whole: the appearance of the object, the waiting time for staff assistance, the way and way of solving a specific issue by the employee, cleanliness and comfort, the result is successfulcompleting or canceling a purchase.
After passing a special briefing, training and visiting the specified place, the mystery shopper enters the reviews into a detailed questionnaire, evaluating all areas that the company's management wants to check. He must also express his own, subjective opinion on this issue, describe his emotions and impressions. Some mystery shoppers work with shops, others with banks and restaurants. In these last two sectors there is a huge competition for the client. And if he is dissatisfied with the service, then most often he will not file a complaint, but he will simply go to another restaurant, change banks, and in addition, tell his friends about all the troubles he has encountered. And this is the most powerful way of advertising (or anti-advertising). A satisfied client will bring friends and family, a disappointed one can scare off dozens of potential visitors. Therefore, reasonably minded company leaders will do everything to make the guests happy. And a mystery shopper will help them with this. The reviews left by these "secret agents" are carefully analyzed by the management, based on which far-reaching conclusions are drawn. That is why such qualities as observation, scrupulousness, good memory, and the ability to express one's thoughts are very important for such work.
Do you want to try yourself in such a profession as a mystery shopper? Jobs should be sought primarily in agencies conducting marketing research. It is they who are not limited only to questionnaires, but try toprovide enterprises with the widest possible range of analytical services. The mystery shopper conducts often covert surveillance of service at various retail outlets (shops, salons, boutiques, showrooms), playing a typical client of the company. The purpose of the study is to assess the actual level of service, which means that the person conducting the study cannot disclose their actual role. Sometimes auditors must record the conversation with the consultant on a dictaphone, but in such a way that no one notices or guesses about it. Mystery shoppers conduct their research locally or in places they occasionally visit, often based on their own preferences and not just the scenario. This is a suitable type of additional income for students, mothers on maternity leave, freelancers.
Unfortunately, there is still a stereotype that the "Mystery Shopping" research method is a tool to fire employees. However, in practice this is far from the truth. The company that commissions such a study will analyze the results and what weaknesses the company has and what mistakes employees make. However, most often the management does not know which of the employees the auditors left feedback on, because this information is not disclosed. Competent businessmen understand that it is cheaper and faster to retrain and motivate an existing employee to improve than to fire him and train a new one. Thus, the new profession of "mystery shopper" directly contributes to raising standardsservice and has a positive effect on the market.
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