Work without experience: mystery shopper. Job: mystery shopper What kind of profession is a mystery shopper?

26.04.18 314 547 43

And is it possible to make a profession out of this?

500 R in fifteen minutes - that’s what my friend promised me when she offered to work as a secret shopper.

Natalya Kulyashova

worked as a secret shopper

A secret shopper is a person hired by an entrepreneur or company management to check from the outside how sellers work.

A mystery shopper comes disguised as an ordinary customer and makes a standard purchase, carefully noting all the details. Then he draws up a report and sends it to the central office: what was good, what was bad, what did not meet the standards. Management reads reports from all mystery shoppers, draws conclusions and changes something.

A secret shopper is needed to understand the real state of affairs on the ground: it is known that before the management arrives, the cashiers become smiling and the toilets become clean. A good mystery shopper doesn't raise suspicion and gets to know the truth.

Why pay if there are reviews?

In the wild, a business can learn about its performance from customer reviews. But there is a problem: it is difficult to distinguish real reviews from the orders of competitors, and not all customer reviews are genuine criticism. There are plenty of cases where the client remains dissatisfied due to high expectations. Not all reviews are equally useful.

The power of a mystery shopper is that he can be instructed where to look and what to notice. The company may give the mystery shopper a checklist to ensure that standards are met. You can ask them to play out a specific scenario: buy something, come with a specific request, or go to the right departments. You can check the work of the security service or provoke sellers into deception. Any fantasy for your money.

How to become a secret shopper

Like all good things in life, I found this job through an acquaintance. But usually, mystery shopper jobs are found on job sites or through career departments at universities. Students are good candidates to be secret shoppers.

Offers are posted on websites either by agencies or by companies themselves: shops, car centers, car washes, beauty salons. It is pleasant to work directly with companies, but the cooperation may not last long.

If the business is small and has few branches, then the same secret shopper will be identified quite quickly - you will have to change him. This problem does not exist in an agency - they can send the same people to different projects and check many clients in parallel, so there is more work. But agencies have their own disadvantages: there is more bureaucracy, payments can take months and depend on external factors that you cannot influence.

I was offered to work directly with the company, without an agency.

What to discuss with your employer

Discuss the details with the customer before agreeing to anything. Otherwise, all the work may turn out to be unprofitable for you.

Road. Decide how and what you will use to get to the points. I have not met any companies that would reimburse a mystery shopper for travel expenses. It is also not always possible to choose the inspection area.

My employer has 7 tea and coffee shops located in different shopping centers in Yekaterinburg. All of them are far from my home, and only one is near the metro. I use public transport, so I estimated trips based on time and price.

I calculated that taking a taxi would be 3-4 times more expensive, but three times faster. And I decided to sacrifice money to save time. I went shopping in the morning, so sometimes my husband drove me in the car. In total, I spent 1,688 rubles on a taxi - this is almost a quarter of my net fee.

Who pays for purchases? The mystery shopper's visit follows a certain scenario: it depends on what exactly the employer needs to check. Usually you need to ask the seller something and make a purchase. Sometimes the company will reimburse a certain amount of the purchase.

We agreed with the customer that he would compensate me 300 RUR for each purchase. If I kept within the established limit, I would not need to spend my own money, but in reality my check always exceeded 300 RUR. This became the main hole where my fee flowed, but it was my own fault: I could make purchases within the established budget.

300 R

I was compensated by my employer for every purchase

An important nuance is when exactly you are compensated for your purchases: before the project, after each purchase, or generally after the completion of the work. You may find that you only receive your full compensation after submitting the last report in a long series. If I had money difficulties, it would be problematic for me to buy tea 14 times at my own expense. I was lucky that the customer transferred this money in advance.

Do I need a return? Check whether you will need to return goods purchased with a card: after such a return, money may take several days. This is not scary if the purchase amount is small, but if you are asked to buy something expensive and then return it, the money will be frozen during the entire return period.

Is there a fee? Some customers believe that it is enough that they compensate the money for the purchase, and there is no need to pay separately for the work. It turns out to be a kind of barter. The issue of fees should be raised in advance, unless this is clearly stated in the vacancy.

Is there a time limit for the visit? Sometimes the customer assumes that you will be ready to come for inspection on a certain day and time: for example, when a specific salesperson is on duty in the store or there are the fewest customers. It's important to know this in advance so there are no surprises: maybe you plan to pop into the store after work, but the customer will expect you to arrive in the middle of the day.

Do you need audio or video recording? Sometimes they are required to record the purchase process either explicitly or covertly: photograph shop windows, record a conversation with a seller, film with a hidden camera. There is no single standard in this work: some people need a full report with all the evidence, while others need your written retelling.

Is it legal to record

A secret shopper has the right to film an employee and record a dialogue with him - there is no violation of the law. But an employer cannot always fire a seller due to poor performance based on the results of a survey, but only in certain and rather limited circumstances, but these cases no longer concern the secret shopper.

What is truly illegal is to stipulate in the contract that the mystery shopper must insult the seller or pretend to attack him.

Report and payment

After the purchase, I had to fill out a form and submit it to the curator along with an audio recording of the visit and a photo of the receipt. The report is just an Excel spreadsheet, nothing fancy. Large agencies have their own information systems for downloading reports; you should be taught how to work with them.

I filled out the forms immediately after returning from the store. This is important because the answers must be detailed. If you answer in monosyllables or repeat answers from previous questionnaires, the employer may not accept or pay for the questionnaire. I know of cases where an employer did not pay for questionnaires and parted ways with the inspector because the answers in two adjacent questionnaires were very similar. The employer decided that he was being deceived.

500 R

I spent on a headset to record conversations with sellers

If they check establishments with a lot of staff, for example cinemas, then in the questionnaire you need to remember the names of the cashier and ticket taker, how many people stood in front of you in line, how much time you spent in front of the box office, how many popcorn crumbs were on the floor and whether the ticket taker wished you a pleasant viewing before how to let you into the hall. Therefore, it is very useful to study the questionnaire in advance so that you don’t have to invent anything later.

I had to attach an audio recording from the store to each questionnaire. I took notes using a voice recorder on my smartphone. It had to be hidden in a bag or pocket, and the quality of the recording suffered. To improve the quality, I bought a headset at the nearest mobile phone store for 500 rubles. When the microphone is at face level, your voice is heard better and there is less interference.

I was paid a few days after submitting the report, the money was transferred to the card. There are companies that pay money once a month, summing up all the fees for inspections. I know of cases where a mystery shopper had to go to the other side of town to collect the fee because the employer insisted on paying in cash.

Registration and taxes

My employment went like this: over the phone with my supervisor, we discussed how to conduct secret shopping and how to submit reports. The post office agreed on a schedule for visiting stores. They decided not to sign the contract: the company didn’t want to bother with the formalities, and I agreed to work without a contract because I was confident in the honesty of my employer. I took this risk upon myself.

Mystery shopping jobs are usually temporary. Not all companies constantly monitor the quality of work of their employees. And if a company constantly monitors employees, then they know about it and can understand that you are checking them. Since the work is temporary, a civil law agreement (GPC) is suitable for formalizing relations with the employer.

I did not enter into an agreement, but I received income, so I will have to file a tax return myself. The company pays 500 rubles for a completed questionnaire and gives money for each purchase of tea or coffee - 300 rubles. 500 rubles are considered income under Article 41 of the Tax Code. They need to pay 13% personal income tax if I am a resident (and I am a resident).

Features of the GPC agreement

All agreements are recorded. The employer is obliged to pay for your work if he accepts it. You are required to meet the agreed deadlines and submit the results. If you don't meet the deadline or the work isn't ready, you won't get paid.

Taxes and contributions to funds are paid by the employer. You won't have to file your own tax return. The employer will pay contributions to the Pension Fund and the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund for you. Your earnings will be reduced by the amount of taxes and contributions paid.

Mystery shopping is a headache for employees of large and chain companies. He bursts into an office or sales floor, meticulously examines the goods and the appearance of the staff, pours out questions and elicits details that even manufacturers are not always aware of.

Company owners trust them, but employees fear and dislike them. However, control testing is considered a valid way to conduct research. If the inspector, of course, followed the rules.

Responsibilities of a mystery shopper

The manager or owner cannot always be on site 24/7, but he needs to know what the employees are doing, whether they are fulfilling their duties, and whether they are polite to clients. Therefore, to check his subordinates, he invites someone he knows or hires professional “dummy” clients.

Most often they check knowledge of a product or service, sales skills, staff appearance, discipline, etiquette, service standards, etc. The most popular testing is point of sale and customer services. Moreover, you can check both physically (during a personal visit) and remotely (by phone or virtually). The “mystery shopping” service is often ordered by retail chains, banks, car manufacturers and their dealers, restaurants and hotels.

Features of the “mystery shopper” profession

At first glance, it may seem that being a secret agent is easy and exciting - go to your favorite places, make purchases and find fault with sellers. But in reality, everything can turn out to be much more complicated.

The advantages of this employment include a flexible schedule and location. It is often possible to choose a testing point near your home or work. This same point can become a disadvantage: if you consider offers only in the selected area, you may not receive them. Or the customer is only interested in knowing how employees work in the morning, when you are at school, or in the evening, when it’s time to pick up your child from kindergarten.

Salaries vary: from a hundred or two for online testing to one and a half to three thousand for checking a premium car dealership. There are also payments in the form of a service. For example, if you need to check the quality of service in a restaurant or cafe, the company can order testing with payment of a check after the visit. You won’t get paid for this kind of work, but you can have lunch for free.

Is being a mystery shopper right for you?

Take a short test. Answer “yes” or “no” to the questions. Be honest with yourself.

1. Can you plan your day and find “windows” in it?
2. Do you need additional income?
3. Can you call yourself a collected person?
4. Are you annoyed when a bank employee or salesperson makes mistakes or is rude?
5. Can you name three sellers from the supermarket where you most often buy groceries?
6. Can you remember and describe the person who served you during your last visit to the bank?
7. Would you like the companies, shops and cafes you visit to do better?

If you answered “yes” to all points, it’s definitely worth a try. If you answered “no” to questions 5 and 6, you should practice your powers of observation and memory. These skills can be called key to being a successful mystery shopper. Also among the requirements for the tester is the presence of a phone with a high-resolution camera, a voice recorder and, in some cases, a car.

Before applying for a job, assess how well you fit the profile of a typical client of the company you are reviewing. For example, if we are talking about premium car dealerships, then the mystery shopper must own a car in the corresponding segment and behave appropriately, like a person with a certain social status and outlook.

To participate in some projects, it is required to undergo training on the specifics of the product or service, inspection scenarios, as well as on the activities of the company being assessed and its competitors. Therefore, study the conditions first, otherwise it may turn out that the fee will not cover the time you spent. If you have never approached a bank with a request for a loan, it will be difficult for you to immediately understand all the intricacies of concluding contracts and assessing communication standards. Perhaps checking out a beauty chain or medical center operator might be right for you.

Who shouldn't become a mystery shopper?

Dmitry Chumakov

If you notice that you do not always remain objective, and also if you are inattentive, it is better to refuse such work. The fact is that when you work as a mystery shopper, you evaluate the work of other people. And the results of your assessment can directly impact their salary, bonuses and career prospects. And that means for your personal life. Are you ready for such responsibility? Mystery shopper is not entertainment, but serious work.

Where to look for orders?

Familiar

If you know businessmen, owners of shops, salons, sports clubs and similar establishments, offer them a detailed and impartial story about your visit to their company in exchange for their services.

Pros: You can choose a product or service that you really need.

Disadvantages: a visit “for verification” will most likely be a single visit. In addition, not all owners feel the need to thoroughly check their business. You definitely shouldn’t impose yourself here, otherwise if you don’t like your report, it could affect your friendship.

Websites about work

For example, the site hosts more than 120 . And this number is constantly replenished.

Marketing agencies

There are several key agencies; they can be found in search engines in the top ten for “mystery shopping”. When choosing, pay attention to the duration of the agency’s work, the availability of a pool of clients, payment guarantees, and detailed ones. Be prepared for the fact that when registering you will be asked to indicate your home address, whether you have a driver’s license, links to pages on social networks, and in some cases, passport information.

If the company doesn't excite you, you shouldn't be put off by such attention to personal details. After all, you will be tasked with conducting research for customers. And the agency must be sure that you are a real person.

Websites, groups on social networks

As a rule, every major agency has websites and representations on social networks. But if you find a resource that is presented in only one form, you should be wary. For example, you came to a website that invites you to become a secret shopper, but does not indicate your real office. Or they joined the VKontakte group, where orders are placed on behalf of a company that exists only in the form of this group.

Save your time and contact only large agencies.

Personal experience

Here is what Sergei (37 years old), who worked as a secret shopper for more than three years, says:

I registered with two large marketing agencies that needed secret shoppers. All work was done through a personal account. I applied for vacancies myself, they called me several times and offered to conduct testing. I usually checked banks and points of sale of mobile operators. They paid 350 and 150 rubles respectively. I managed to earn around 4,000 rubles a month. The money came 2-4 weeks after the report was accepted.

The visit itself took from 5–10 minutes to half an hour if there was a queue. The report took 20–30 minutes to complete on one site and almost an hour for other testing. Over time, some templates appear that speed up the writing of reports. For example, “salespeople look neat, dressed in corporate clothes, there is no dust on the windows, the furniture is without scratches,” etc.

It was possible to visit a certain number of dealerships in a month, so I registered my wife and sometimes went through checkpoints for her. This, of course, is dangerous because the company can request CCTV footage from the point of sale and check whether you were actually there at the specified time.

If you work in a large city, look at orders for checking locations in the region. In small towns and villages it is difficult to find a person who could become a secret shopper. And if you have already prepared several high-quality reports, they may entrust you with a trip to the areas. For such testing, they paid an additional 1,000 rubles and covered travel expenses.

Several times I took orders to check grocery stores. There are some nuances there. The main disadvantage is that sellers of large chains quickly recognize secret shoppers. Customers ask to find out the availability of certain goods, write down several prices, and look at whether there is dust on the shelves. When you stand in front of a shop window with a notepad or write something on your phone, this arouses suspicion among employees. Once they write, it means it’s being verified. Several people immediately come up and start asking who I am and where I’m from.

I almost got figured out only once. They asked if I worked as a secret shopper. I made a surprised face and replied that, of course not, I really need just such a phone.

Sometimes I saw that corrections were made based on my comments. It's nice! And then the new test passes with a higher score.

Large companies (banks, chain supermarkets, car dealerships) can indeed transmit information that an inspector raid has been launched. And while one department is taking a breather, the rest are changing their flip-flops for stiletto heels, removing prohibited items from the table and refreshing their memory of instructions on communicating with clients.

Dmitry Chumakov

CEO of Vector Market Research agency

If a mystery shopper realizes that he has been discovered, he should under no circumstances admit to being a “mystery shopper.” He must definitely inform the agency that he has been exposed and that another check needs to be carried out.

The information about the audits itself should not be a secret for companies: when employees know that everyone can be a “secret shopper,” they try to better serve all customers.

If you decide to try yourself as a mystery shopper, remember that you must work within limits. You have a goal - to check certain parameters, but not to show in any way who is in charge here.

When using materials from the site, an indication of the author and an active link to the site are required!

You often visit stores just to see new products, find out prices for goods you are interested in, or stop at a gas station. Then you have a great opportunity to earn some money by becoming a secret shopper.

The work is not difficult and does not require special knowledge, you will just behave as usual, and you will be paid money for it.

Let's look at all the features of this work, who needs it, where to find a customer, and how much you can earn.

What is the job

Working as a mystery shopper means you go into a store and check the level of service. Namely, how the staff will behave, whether they will advise you what exactly is right for you, and whether they will advise you competently.

In addition, you will need to express your opinion on how the merchandise is laid out, the level of cleanliness in the store, and how the store display looks.

You will need to record the entire communication process on a voice recorder. You should not be afraid of violating the law, since you are recording on behalf of the store owner; only you and his staff are recorded during working hours, so you are not breaking the law.

In some cases, you may be asked to create a conflict situation to determine how staff will resolve it.

Before you begin the task of checking the store’s service, you will be given a script for your visit. You need to study it carefully and strictly follow this scenario, since deviation from it may lead to you simply not being paid for the task.

In addition, you need to behave as naturally as possible so that the staff does not guess that you are a “sent Cossack” and does not begin to behave too respectfully in front of you. The naturalness of your behavior when checking is very important.

Where can I find such a job?

There are several companies on the Internet that recruit mystery shoppers. I worked at “4service” and “GOOD SERVICE”.

Let's look at the differences between these systems, as they are quite significant.

Work at 4service

4service is the most popular and probably the oldest service for working as a secret shopper. The service is proven and guaranteed to pay, but to be honest, working on it is not suitable for everyone, as it has a number of features.

Work on 4service begins with you going through a short registration, and after that you are sent an email with your login and password to enter the site. If you think that you can start working right away, then this is not so.

After logging into the site for the first time, you will need to be certified in order to see available vacancies. Don’t be afraid of certification, the most important thing is to just click the “Next” button and carefully read what you are shown on the pages.

These are the rules of work, what the service is intended for, the ethical and moral code of the company, and other information that you need to work.

After you have read the information, you will need to take a test, the questions are not difficult, and only relate to what you have read before.

If you want a lot of work, then in addition to the initial certification, you will need to pass additional certifications.

After you have passed the first certification, a section opens with vacancies that you can apply for.

All you have to do is select a task and indicate a date that is convenient for you to attend. That's it, you have a task at work.

But there are tasks that you will not be able to take on; for them you will need to undergo separate certification to prove your skills.

All your work is controlled by your curator, so do not be surprised by a call after you have registered on the site or taken a job. Personally, the curator called me back two hours after registration, clarified the place where I was, and selected tasks for me in my city, and immediately sent them to me on the vacancy website.

Maybe this is due to the fact that there are not many secret shoppers in my region, or maybe they always do this, I can’t say.

Executing a task in 4service

So, you took on the task of checking the store and became a secret shopper. Now you need to complete the task. Don’t think that it’s easy, because this work requires care and responsibility.

To work, you will definitely need a voice recorder, or this function must be present in your mobile, and a camera or smartphone with a camera with good resolution.

Most visits should be recorded with a voice recorder, sometimes photographs of facades or how goods are laid out are required.

The first thing you need to do is carefully study the visit script. There is no need to rehearse in front of the mirror and imagine how they will answer you, just remember what you should ask and think through those parts of the script that are left to your discretion.

If you have carefully memorized the script, then you can get to work.

To avoid having to repeat the visit, check how the voice recorder works; the most important thing is that the gadget is not in a visible place and that store employees cannot notice it. But at the same time, the recording quality must be good, and every word must be clearly audible. If everything is normal, then you can visit the store.

In the store you should behave as naturally as possible. So try to forget that you have a voice recorder in your pocket and just consult according to the script.

After you leave the store, take a photo of the front of the store if the task requires it, but move away some distance, because otherwise the store employees themselves may see this and understand that they are being checked by secret shoppers, and therefore further checks will lose their meaning.

Reporting in 4service

One of the most important points in order to receive payment for a visit to the store is the preparation of reports. Don't think that just sending a voice recorder and a photo you took is enough.

There is a lengthy questionnaire waiting for you that you will have to fill out. There can be a wide variety of questions here, including whether you liked the intonation with which the seller spoke to you.

It takes at least 20 minutes to fill out the form, and sometimes more. This data is needed in order to objectively assess the operation of the institution and its condition. Therefore, you will need to fill out all points of the questionnaire before submitting it for verification.

You must attach a record from the store and a photo to the completed application form, if this was specified in the task.

Terms and amounts of payment

You can immediately see the price of the task in the list of tasks. In principle, the minimum cost of a task starts from 100 rubles, there are some tasks worth 1000, and there are more.

It all depends on the complexity and equipment required to complete the task. For example, if you need to visit a gas station, then you must have a car, so such a task costs more. Therefore, you can refuel and get money for it.

But most of the tasks, to be honest, are quite cheap, since you need to spend quite a lot of time on them. But if you already visit stores, then working as a mystery shopper can be considered as additional discounts.

There is no minimum payment as such; even one completed task that is approved will be paid.

I'm really not happy with the payment terms. Payment takes place after the 20th of the next month after completing the task, within 40 banking days.

This means that, for example, if you complete a task in March, then after April 20 it will only go into the queue for payment. Of course, in most cases you will not have to wait exactly 40 days, since the conditions are formulated during, and not after, but you will still have to wait at least a month and a half for the money you earn.

Work at GOOD SERVICE

At GOOD SERVICE, you can also earn money as a secret shopper. Although this service has some nuances. For example, on the official website you will not be able to register to start working; there you can only order research.

To start working for GOOD SERVICE, you need to join their official VKontakte community. This is where available tasks appear on the wall. Although the fact that there are not very many participants in the group is a little annoying.

If you see a task that suits you, then you simply call the curator or contact him through VKontakte messages. He gives you tasks and you immediately discuss payment. The work is no different from 4service, the same checks, the same records and photos.

What’s noteworthy is that there is no minimum payment here either; you get paid for every accepted task. In addition, when you get paid, you see either in the task, or you can ask the curator about it. Usually the payment period does not exceed two weeks, which is much faster than in 4service.

What I liked about GOOD SERVICE is that in almost every task you will have to make purchases, small ones, 100 rubles sometimes and for significant amounts. But this money will be returned to you, since it is included in the cost of the task.

Therefore, you can immediately add the purchase price to the cost of the task to see its real cost. And if you buy the things you need, then we can assume that you have a net gain, since the things remain yours after the purchase.

Working directly as a mystery shopper

As usual, all services and companies that offer work take at least half of the cost of the task itself. And the direct performer is usually left with crumbs. But you can work as a secret shopper directly.

Owners of shops, salons, restaurants and other commercial establishments sometimes also want to check how their staff is working. But since the amount of work is small, and large companies have high prices for buyers, they resort to the services of individual mystery shoppers.

Most importantly, working directly is much more profitable, since the price for one inspection, even without purchases, starts from 500 rubles. In addition, if you need, for example, to evaluate the work of a restaurant, then the owner will compensate you within reasonable limits for the order, the same can be said about other small purchases.

It’s worth noting right away that finding such a job will be a little more difficult than simply ordering from popular services. But the effort expended will be fully repaid by a large income, in addition, if you work with large companies, then no one is stopping you from taking an individual order, since you do not need to report to anyone about what you do in your free time. There are three ways to find customers.

First and the most common way is to look at message boards. Orders of this kind appear there from time to time. If you find them, you just need to contact the employer and find out the details of the vacancy. If there are aspects that you don’t like, or you are not sure that you will be paid, you can simply ask for an advance payment. It’s better to lose a client right away than to waste your time.

Second way, this is an independent placement of an advertisement offering mystery shopping services. Thanks to such an advertisement, people themselves will find you and offer you a job. Especially if you beautifully describe your skills and professionalism.

Third and the most rare way is when your friends ask you to check the service in a store. Such cases, although rare, do occur.

How much can you earn

There is no definite answer to this question, since everything depends on factors such as the number of tasks completed, their price, and your place of residence.

If you live in a big city where there are many stores, then you will earn more, but if you live in a regional center, you will not have many orders.

On average, you can earn 150 rubles for one task; in a day you can complete 2-3 tasks at most, especially if you have a job.

Therefore, working as a secret shopper should not be considered as the main type of income; it is rather a combination of business and pleasure, namely visiting stores and receiving a reward for it.

Job offers are full of advertisements for secret shoppers. What are the responsibilities, what are the requirements for candidates for such positions, how to get a job as a secret shopper and what kind of remuneration can you expect?

This is a representative of the management of a store, a chain of stores or other companies in the fields of trade, entertainment, and the provision of various types of services.

By directing the “sent Cossack”, the owner or manager through the eyes of an outsider tries to see his establishment from the inside and understand how well the work is organized and the staff is selected.

What is the essence of this work?

The job of a mystery shopper is to impartially assess the quality of customer service, the competence of employees, and also identify the presence of violations or make sure that there are no violations.