What is Mystery Shopping?

Mystery shoppers are people who visit businesses posing as customers, evaluate the service they receive, and complete an evaluation form. Business owners and managers use these reports to insure their employees are practicing good selling techniques and providing quality service to their customers. For more information on mystery shopping, go directly to Vickie's company website http://www.feedbackplusinc.com

Funny things can happen on mystery shops. One story Vickie tells a lot is that of a shopper in a fine dining restaurant - we instruct our shoppers to allow time for the servers to ask them if they want a dessert. This can mean $100,000's on the bottom line for our large restaurant chains. In this case, she had not, so our shopper said, "I think I would like to order a dessert tonight." She said, "Are you kidding? After all you just ate!!"

Here are some actual quotes from mystery shopping forms and interviews:

"She asked me if I needed a receipt and seemed irritated when I said 'Yes'."
"My credit card was denied in error. The associate 'serving' me turned to her co-worker, giggled and said,'His credit card was turned down'!"
"The cashier talked to a server, organized some tickets, and tidied her area before acknowledging us."

Do you have any funny stories about mystery shopping experiences or shopping experiences in general. If you would like you can share that story with Vickie by filling out this form. You might even see your story here!