Shopping for shoppers

Editor’s note: David McAleese is co-founder and CEO of A Closer Look, a Norcross, Ga., mystery shopping firm.

A recent posting in a chat room for mystery shoppers states, “I just took the test at a company site and failed it. Why does this company want me to do this test? I thought mystery shopping was just that, not how smart you are! I think this site might be a little picky about who they hire.”

Given the erroneous, spam-fueled claims of easy money and free products garnered from mystery shopping, the floodgates have opened up, and anyone with a computer wanting to make a little money on the side thinks they are the perfect candidate for mystery shopping. After all, we all shop, so therefore we all qualify to be mystery shoppers, right? Absolutely not! Mystery shopping companies have a right to be picky about their shoppers. The shopper reports are the product they are selling, and if the product doesn’t live up to expectations, clients will certainly go elsewhere.

There is much more to mystery shopping than just enjoying the shopping process. Attention to detail, excellent grammar skills, objectivity, reliability and the ability to express oneself clearly and succinctly are absolutely critical.

Recruiting only the best independent contractors

The Web has made shopper recruitment very easy and cost-effective, benefiting the industry as a whole. However, it has also opened the door for scammers and illegitimate companies. How do you differentiate your company from others and get the best shoppers to register with you?

First, if you haven’t already joined the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), consider applying for membership. The association is the largest in the world dedicated to mystery shopping. The MSPA Web site, www.mysteryshop.org, allows visitors to search for companies by location or specialty. Being listed on the site gives your company credibility, and shoppers who do their homework will sooner or later end up at the MSPA site.

Next, use the Web to your advantage. Register your site with the big three search engines, establishing keyword phrases that prospective shoppers will likely search, such as “mystery shopping company” and “secret shopper.” Make sure your Web site is user-friendly for prospective shoppers. A good way to find out whether your site is truly easy to navigate is to solicit input from current and prospective shoppers.

Also, be sure to advertise for shoppers on message boards and within chat rooms. Three good ones to check out are www.mysteryshop.org,  www.volition.com, and www.mymommybizboards.com. By targeting these and similar sites, your likelihood of finding quality shoppers is much higher than Internet advertising on sites that aren’t directly related to mystery shopping.

Last but not least, one of the most productive forms of recruitment is word-of-mouth. Great shoppers are like gazelles and tend to herd together. Identify your best shoppers and tap into them for referrals. This is an especially good tactic when you have to field a study quickly in a new area.

Downplay demographic information

Now that you have a pool of shopper candidates, it’s important to weed out those who don’t possess the skills needed to do a good job. There are several ways firms currently qualify shoppers, but not all of them reap the very best candidates.

Many mystery shopping companies qualify shoppers based solely on demographic information, but what does that really tell you? If we know Sally Shopper is 5’4”, married, holds a college degree and earns $52,000 a year, does that mean she can objectively and thoroughly evaluate the client’s business? It may give a scheduler insight into whether she fits a client’s customer profile, but does she possess the skills needed to be a good shopper? Even having an Ivy League education doesn’t necessarily make someone a great shopper.

In addition to possessing excellent grammar skills, the top shoppers are observant, organized, perceptive, focused and detail-oriented. In a casual-dining restaurant, for example, the timing of the food is extremely important to managers. For instance, they want to confirm that the salads arrived five minutes after the appetizers were cleared, that the main course was delivered within seven minutes after the salads were removed and that desserts were served seven minutes after ordering. An astute shopper keeps track of the timing, while also evaluating the server’s knowledge, appearance, efficiency and interpersonal skills.

In qualifying shoppers, it’s best to consider a two-phased approach, introducing both quantitative and qualitative criteria. If you think about it, rarely do you hire anyone without a minimum of two interviews. Hiring a mystery shopper should be no different. They are representing your company, and their skills and fit should be as important to you as if you were hiring them to work in your office full-time.

Issuing a two-phased test doesn’t have to be a drain on your existing staff. Begin with a quantitative section, which will help to weed out shoppers who don’t possess the basic skills required for a mystery shopper. Include questions that test an applicant’s grammar, spelling and sentence structure skills.

This quantitative section should be short, between 10 and 12 questions, and is well-suited for multiple choice and yes/no questions, which are easily graded.

To ensure credibility, experts suggest generating extra questions, so no two applicants get the same set of questions, or, if you allow an applicant to retake the test, they do not take an identical test. It’s also a good idea to randomize the questions so there is variety both in the type of questions and in the order in which they appear.

It’s relatively simple to put together a test for shoppers. One approach is to solicit questions from your staff; they have a vested interest in working with quality shoppers. Another approach is to tap the Web for sample tests. Use the search term “free spelling test” for instance.

The argument for an aptitude test

An argument can also be made for testing shopper aptitude by including a couple of analytical, sequencing or numerical questions. This aspect helps to measure an applicant’s ability to follow instructions, while also testing their intellect.

There is a distinct benefit to incorporating these types of questions since shoppers are required to assess a client’s strengths and weaknesses, says Stephanie Husk, president of Deep Blue Insight Group, Inc., an Atlanta research firm. “Analyzing a company’s strengths and weaknesses requires critical thinking skills. It is important that a shopper’s answers be objective and well thought out,” she says.

In terms of scoring, apply the standard grading scale used in schools. People who score 90 percent and higher should automatically move on to the qualitative section of the test. Applicants scoring between 70-89 percent are on the bubble and their narrative should be closely evaluated. Those applicants scoring 69 or below should be thanked for their time and dismissed.

Some of the applicants you turn down may want to retake the test, so determine how many times a person can take the test, keeping track of their attempts via their e-mail address. Two attempts should be sufficient to determine if a shopper is right for your organization.

Passionate people are preferred

The narrative is a very important part of a pre-qualification test. In addition to measuring writing skills, and the ability to express one’s opinions, you should ask an applicant to submit his or her observations about a recent shopping, dining or customer service experience.

Naturally, you want to find people who are passionate about eating out, staying in hotels or shopping. They can be discriminating about the service and product. When your client reads comments about a shopper’s experience, he or she is going to want more than “Yes, I think it was good.”

Finding out whether a shopper is truly passionate can be determined by the way a shopper answers the narrative question. Instead of asking, “Tell us about a recent restaurant experience,” Husk suggests taking it one step further, asking a follow-up question such as: “What made it great?” or “What could they have done better?”

Reviewing these narratives obviously takes time. Consider paying an editor to review the applications, or perhaps even hire a college student majoring in English, giving them specific guidelines on how to grade the potential shopper’s submission. There are several elements that should be rated:

  • grammar and spelling;
  • sentence structure;
  • ability to express oneself;
  • attention to detail;
  • ease and flow of writing.

These items can be weighted equally, or the most important ones can be weighted appropriately. For instance, if the ability to express oneself and attention to detail are most important, assign those sections a higher point value than the others.

Segmenting your shoppers

Similar to how companies segment their audiences for marketing purposes, you should segment your shoppers based on their aptitude and performance. In order for a shopper to give an accurate assessment, he or she must be a frequent patron of shops, restaurants or services of the client’s caliber.

The narrative often provides insight into which types of shops are suitable for the applicant, enabling you to appropriately assign your audits. An exception would be high-end or extremely detailed shop locations such as fine restaurants, expensive department stores or full-service day spas. In those cases, it’s wise to let your best, most seasoned shoppers handle these assignments.

The initial testing process should be just that - the start of a shopper’s file. After each completed shop, consider assigning a grade, scoring the timeliness of the report, grammar and spelling, attention to detail and the ability to follow instructions. Keep a running average of each shopper’s score, so when you are fielding shoppers for your clients, it’s easy to identify the best shoppers, ensuring that the client will be pleased with the results.

Corral certified shoppers

The Mystery Shopping Providers Association offers a certification program for shoppers, testing their knowledge of the industry. Shoppers must pay a fee and pass a test to become certified. Silver certification can be earned by passing an online test; however, gold certification requires that a shopper attend a full-day seminar before taking the test.

There is definitely a correlation between silver/gold certification and great shoppers. Those who are willing to invest time and money becoming certified take their assignments seriously.

Although a certified shopper should still be required to pass the test you institute, devise a way to identify the silver/gold shoppers, and tap into them frequently.

Staging seminars

In some instances, it is beneficial to hold a shopper seminar for a client. This gives selected shoppers the opportunity to hear directly from the client what is most important to them.

Eddie Valente, director of operations for Atlanta-based Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, says that shopper seminars are beneficial. “Hosting seminars for shoppers gives us the opportunity to explain in-depth our philosophy and what we are looking for,” he says. “During the seminars, we tell shoppers that we are not necessarily looking for food reviews. Rather, we want them to pay special attention to the technical aspects of the service.”

To Valente’s point, prior to each assignment, no matter how experienced a shopper is, it’s important to educate him or her on the company’s philosophy and overall objectives. In order to prepare shoppers adequately, require that they review the shop guidelines, making sure to post any special notes that are specific to the client or their locations.

Best and brightest

Building a database of superior shoppers will ensure that you are providing every client with the best and brightest. They will consistently generate reports that are timely, objective, practical and relevant, helping management easily identify potential issues before they become problems while recognizing staff members for exemplary performance. As a result, clients will continue to see the value in the service you provide, and your client retention rate will increase, proving the maxim we mystery shopping companies frequently preach: “The cost of maintaining a customer’s loyalty over time is much lower than the cost of gaining a new one.”  | Q