You got to the right restaurant on time. You discreetly slipped into the restroom to jot important information on an index card. You wrote a report filled with fabulous details and filed it hours ahead of your deadline.
When you received your grade, it wasn’t a 10. Or even a 9. It was a 7.
You’re shocked, then angry. What on earth went wrong?
I edit several accounts for one of the largest mystery shopping companies in the United States. Due to my independent contractor agreement, I cannot tell you which one or give you any specifics about what I do on a daily basis or how I’m paid. However, each month, I receive emails from shoppers wondering why their reports were not a “perfect 10”.
Most mystery shopping companies grade reports on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). While they all have different criteria for each numerical grade, generally speaking, good reports are scored 8 to 10. Both a shopper’s overall grade average as well as the score on a single report can affect the likelihood of future assignments.
In a nutshell, the reason why shoppers receive lower grades than expected is they did not give the editor or account manager what he or she wanted. Most of the time, this means they did not understand what they were supposed to do during the mystery shop, what to include in their report, or how to say it.
Following these tips will help you receive consistently high grades:
Read and print out all information sent to you before the shop. Always, always, always print out (1) the email confirming your assignment, (2) the guidelines that tell you what you must do, and (3) the questionnaire you will later complete as your report. If the mystery shopping company has included a sample report, print it out and read it before you go out the door. Double check the address, phone number, and hours of the establishment you are to shop. If you note any discrepancies, contact your account manager or scheduler before leaving for the shop. Understand exactly what you must do before you set out to perform the shop.
Collect all the information you need-and don’t guess. One of the biggest mistakes shoppers make is wavering about details. You will not get a 10 if you include statements such as, “I think the server’s name was Connie, but it might have been Caroline.” A better solution would be to indicate why you could not see the server’s nametag and provide a physical description of the individual.
Record accurate, objective observations. The #1 characteristic of a good mystery shopping report is accuracy. Stating you called the restaurant at 2:13 PM to make a reservation, then arrived at 1:30 PM the same day will hurt your grade. The #2 attribute of a great report is objectivity. Too often, shoppers provide a wonderful array of details, only to conclude with statements such as, “The associate should not have gone on break then” or “They really should find a better location for this club.” Your job as a shopper is not to tell the client’s management what to do, only to report what you saw.
Build narratives on the order of the questions. Mystery shopping companies send you questionnaires worded and ordered according to what their clients need to know. Do not assume you should write narratives according to what happened when during the shop. There is a reason the questions appear in the order they do. Form your narratives accordingly. If a narrative box is supposed to address a telephone call, I have to lower the grade of a report that addresses interaction during a visit. I have even encountered reports stating an associate shook hands with the shopper during a call!
Write in active voice and use past tense. While style requirements differ among mystery shopping companies and even among accounts for such things as how to express time and currency, virtually all of them want you to write primarily in active instead of passive voice. WRONG: “I was greeted by Jeremy within 15 seconds.” RIGHT: “Jeremy greeted my within 15 seconds.” Likewise, every mystery shop I have ever seen over the years has required writing in past tense. The biggest mistake shoppers make is splitting verb tense when there are at least two verbs in the sentence. Past tense means past tense. WRONG: “He informed me the hours are 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.” RIGHT: “He informed me the hours were 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.” This seems to be a quirk in mystery shopping land.
Submit an attractive report. Most reports are submitted online. You cannot vary the format. However, you can make your report as attractive as possible by using proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage. Redundancy such as “explained about” is not going to add to your score. The single greatest reason I have to lower grades based on report presentation is improper word usage. We do not try to “loose” weight. We attempt to “lose” it. Elaborate, flowery language and vague words such as “nice” are also detractions. Abbreviations and contractions are also verboten.
Check and double-check your completed report. Hitting ye olde spell-check button is not sufficient. This feature will not differentiate between “two” and “to” or “saw” and “was” (the dilemma of supersonic typists). You should also check for consistency. Did you spell a staff member’s name the same way throughout the report? Many mistakes are made when reporting times. While we can readily believe you arrived at 5:33 PM, marking you left at 6:14 AM is a major goof. Also make sure you have the correct calendar date and day. February 17 did not fall on a Friday this year.
Submit revisions quickly. Editors have questions. Sometimes we just need more details or minor clarification. In other cases, the report missed the mark and needs to be rewritten. The information you received with your assignment should tell you how quickly you must submit revisions or answer questions by email. Typically, it is either 12 or 24 hours. Failure to do so will undoubtedly lower your grade or cause you to forfeit payment for your hard work.
Don’t expect pages of comments from the editor. Depending upon the online software utilized for reporting, editors might have only 275 to 300 characters to record observations. This means we can include at most two or three short sentences. Some mystery shopping companies do not even require their editors to leave comments. You should also understand the edited report normally passes to an account manager to be finalized. The editor typically does not see it again and will not remember specific details such as the number of misspelled words days later.
The most common complaint I hear from shoppers is the huge variation in editors’ standards. This is a valid observation. The best defense you have against this problem is to submit an accurate, attractive, and timely report each time. Then watch the 10s headed your way.
