Tag Archive for: Mystery Shopping

 

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“Oh, sorry, I just lost my wig” – As a Mystery Evaluator, have you ever been in a situation like this? This story is about a guy called Sam, who is actually pretty nice, but needs to improve a bit. Obviously his name is fictional, but the scripts were written by Life.

The hilarious story of a Mystery Evaluator

Once upon a time there was a Mystery Evaluator who wanted to become the best of all. As you might think this wasn’t going so well at first. Let’s see some of our protagonist’s encounters.

 

The Mystery Visit – always check your job board and never reveal yourself

 

Resource Mgr. “Hello, Bare International, how can I help you?”
Sam “Hi, this is Sam. I signed up last week and already did the mystery visit, but I can’t see it on my job board at all.”
Resource Mgr. “Hi Sam. Sorry, I can’t see that job offer either. Did you get a notification email that we effectively assigned the visit to you?”
Sam “Uh… no… yes! I think I got that.”
Resource Mgr. “Are you sure? That’s funny, because I just gave that one to another Evaluator…”
Sam “Wait, does that mean I don’t get paid?”
Resource Mgr. “Well, in this case this job offer was never assigned to you, therefore we cannot pay you for something we didn’t ask you to do. So the answer is Yes.”
Sam But I did everything perfectly; I even wore a wig!”
Resource Mgr. Sorry for the misunderstanding… Hold on, you wore a wig?
Sam Yes, a wig. Long. Black. Wig.
Resource Mgr. Do you usually wear a wig?
Sam Don’t misunderstand me I have my hair… probably that’s why the wig fell off.
Resource Mgr. Was that before or after the visit?
Sam During the visit.
Resource Mgr. You lost your wig during a mystery evaluation?
Sam But I was smart enough not to emphasise that I was a Mystery Evaluator.

 

After the first shock, both the Resource Manager and Sam agreed to start over and properly assign another visit to him. Sam received the confirmation email this time and he performed his first, real, approved visit. Everything went well until one day the visit required a proof of some sort. In this case this was a photo that had to be taken inside the shop where the brand logo was visible – easy, right? What can possibly go wrong during a mystery visit?

 

Resource Mgr. Hi Sam, this is me, your favourite Resource Manager. I’m calling you because there is an issue with the photo you sent.
Sam Hi. What problem? I sent you the picture…
Resource Mgr. You sent us two pictures. One is with you and a shop assistant in the shop…
Sam Yes, that was funny.
Resource Mgr. Indeed, but we cannot see any logo in the picture – and it is not necessary to take a selfie with the staff, it sounds suspicious anyway.
Sam Ok, but there is another picture, right?
Resource Mgr. Now, that one is too small. We cannot see the logo or anything for that matter. Can you please send us another picture with a higher resolution?
Sam Oh… I can’t.
Resource Mgr. Why not?
Sam I shot that picture with my laptop.
Resource Mgr. Your laptop’s camera? With the one in the front? The little one?
Sam Yes.
Resource Mgr. Just for the sake of creativity?
Sam By the time I finished the visit to take the picture of the logo, my phone’s battery died. But I still had my laptop with me.
Resource Mgr. Hmm… next time just make sure your phone is charged.
Sam So, next time should I take a picture before the visit?
Resource Mgr. If you want to be revealed as a Mystery Evaluator then yes; in any other case just don’t.

 

Poor Sam sometimes really felt that mystery shopping was not for him, but the bright side of the story is that he never gave up. Neither should you. This is the end of Sam’s story this time, but I’m sure that many more stories are about to come. Just remember: if you don’t need a wig on a daily basis, then leave it at home. It’s best for the wig, for you, and for your Resource Manager as well.

 


Author: Anita @AnitaKocsis910facebook_profile picture

Anita is an employee of Bare International. Besides her work
at the Social Media and Recruitment team, she loves doing yoga,
travelling and reading. Her love for the automotive industry came
from the passion for innovations and technology. She has a master’s
degree in International Economics and Business.


Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?

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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?

Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com

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A few years ago I was surfing on the internet when I saw the ad: „Get paid for shopping.”
Hahaha! Could it sound more like a scam? I am not falling for this. Or am I?

It somehow still made me thinking… Well, I heard about this guy who does mystery shopping and he never complained. Checking out the company’s website won’t hurt. I started exploring the page…
I saw logos of prestigious clients, I even discovered some brands I liked. I remembered, last time I went to that shop, the salesperson was really rude and I had the feeling I was ruining her life by asking for a smaller size of that shirt. How funny it would be to go to that very same shop and leave feedback about her. I will register.


What? Why on earth do they have to know how tall I am?
Later a friend told me that her boyfriend had registered for a mystery shopping company. They called him to offer him a mystery visit including a test drive with one of the world’s smallest car. They asked him how tall he was. After he said he was 1.92, the agent kindly apologized for having called him. He would not even fit in the tiny car.

 

And also my bank account number?
OK, they have to pay me somehow. I guess if it is only the account number, not the credit card number and my PIN, it is pretty safe. After I registered, I was checking my job-board regularly, but there were mostly visits which required owning a car, so I didn’t apply for any of them. As a funny twist in life, I came across another mystery shopping company when I was looking for a job. BARE International hired me as a recruiter. My job is to look for people in several countries, who are interested in doing mystery visits. I thought it would be beneficial to try mystery shopping, so that I can answer the people’s question and I know exactly what I am offering them

 

Mystery shopping, here I come! But how is it all done?
How could I learn it? I am so confused…oh, there is an online training! Sounds good. I went through the slides and the test, I have to admit it took a lot of time and I wanted to give up at some point. But I remembered, every time we start something new, we have to invest time and energy into learning it.

 

I visited my job-board and found some mystery calls.
Before the visit I had to read the long guidelines but at least I was confident on what to do while on the phone. When I finally dialed the call center, my knees were shaking like jelly and I thought they knew instantly that I was a mystery shopper. I was shivering and stuttering. It took at least 5 minutes to feel normal again. I will never forget that rush of adrenalin in my body. Fortunately, the customer service representative on a the other end of the line was doing a very decent job and I was happy to leave a feedback about him in the online questionnaire. I hope his boss will read it and he will get promoted! Since then I have done several mystery calls. Sometimes it was a pleasant experience.

 

Yet, other times I received terrible customer service.
First I felt very bad reporting about it in the questionnaire. I felt like I betrayed the customer service representative. But I developed this theory, that if they do not have the necessary communication skills and inner motivation to behave recpectfully with the customers, they should change jobs and do something they really like.

 

I can say that including the good and bad aspects, I became a fan of mystery shopping.
I like the adrenaline rush, when I start an assignment. I appreciate working in such a „green industry”. There is no production, no printing, everything goes online. Last but not least I like the moment when I receive the notification that my shop fee was transferred to my account. Some say the payment is low, but usually it’s enough to cover a good dinner in a restaurant. Money best spent.


 

Author: Szintia 1601260_10203075703433404_7153695029350124384_n

Szintia is an employee of Bare International.
Besides her work in the Social Media and Recruitment team, she loves sports, travelling, and she is learning her 6th language. She is a Couchsurfer. She has a master’s degree in Strategic HR Management and she is a professional pastry chef.

 


Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?

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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?

Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com

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I started working in the mystery shopping industry for BARE International in 2015.
BARE International is one of the market-leading companies providing mystery customer research and auditing services at a national and global level. A mystery evaluator is a freelancer who goes to specific shops pretending to be a regular customer whilst keeping an eye on all details, because after the store visit they have to answer questions about the customer service.

As a newcomer at the company I wanted to learn as much as possible.
I was curiously asking my colleagues about their positions and responsibilities. One key account manager told me that she was the main point of contact for the clients: she mapped their needs; she helped them set up the group of questions that mystery customers would have to answer, and reported the results to the clients.

Some clients need help in setting up the questions?
It fully surprised me. I have to admit I have full respect for our clients: they realized the importance of customer satisfaction, they are ready to get feedback and they are even paying for it.
But how can one ask for feedback if one is not even sure what he or she wants to know? It made me think…

There can be a parallel drawn between customer satisfaction and life satisfaction.
I work in an industry where we sell feedback to clients who ask for it. These companies have a healthy level of self-criticism to hear an honest opinion about the customer service they provide. They are ready to hear it. They are keen on improving.

Are we ready to receive a detailed feedback about our lives?
We don’t necessarily have to ask others to provide it in the first place. Mystery evaluation made me realize that the most important thing is to be able to set up our questionnaire and to be aware of what the most crucial things are for us to be satisfied. I think my questions would be: Do I spend enough time with the ones I love? Do I keep travelling? Is there enough music and sport in my life? Am I in a good mood on Monday mornings? Can I be proud of my professional and private life achievements when I look back to past years? The list is much longer of course, and will be changing constantly during the course of my life.

What questions would you ask yourself?
Have you thought about them yet?
Are you ready to give yourself feedback?


 

Author: Szintia 1601260_10203075703433404_7153695029350124384_n

Szintia is an employee of Bare International.
Besides her work in the Social Media and Recruitment team, she loves sports, travelling, and she is learning her 6th language. She is a Couchsurfer. She has a master’s degree in Strategic HR Management and she is a professional pastry chef.

 


Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?

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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?

Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com