How Does a Secret Shopper Spend a Workday?

A secret shopper, or mystery shopper, begins her day checking in with her clients to see if any new requests are available. More than likely, the shopper is already booked for that day, so the scheduling will be for the next few shops. When scheduling, the secret shopper makes contact with clients to find out all the pertinent information: What the fee will be for the assignment; where and when the shop needs to take place; what aspects in particular the client wishes the shopper to take note of; and what specific information the client needs the shopper to ask the sales people.

Once a secret shopper has scheduled his day, he completes his assignments for the day. These assignments have probably been scheduled some days in advance and the mystery shopper should already have a very clear idea of what information the client is expecting from this assignment. How many assignments a mystery shopper might complete in one day depends on the type of assignments available. If the shopper has to do a review of a restaurant serving dinner, then he may schedule a few more assignments for earlier in the day. Sometimes an assignment can take all day. For instance, a client may expect a secret shopper to spend several hours going to car dealerships, posing as someone looking to buy a car, asking very detailed questions and even test driving a car. Other typical assignments include getting an oil change, staying overnight at a hotel, buying a particular item at a store, or staying in a store and watching the sales people complete a certain number of transactions. It is very rare, but occasionally a secret shopper can reveal themselves to a manager, and reward a sales team with a gift certificate that his client has provided. However, for the most part, a secret shopper must remain undercover while also being willing to talk to the sales people, get names of the sales people, ask questions, and generally assess their helpfulness. As well as how helpful the staff is, a secret shopper will probably be asked to look at cleanliness (particularly in restaurants) and how long they had to wait for service.

When the mystery shopper has completed the assignments for the day, she must go home and complete the reports for the client. How detailed the reports are vary depending on the assignment. The shopper will probably have already taken notes while on the assignment, so she doesn't forget anything. The reports have to be detailed and accurate. Clients look less for the shopper's opinion than for the facts. So if a sales clerk was rude, the shopper will have to explain what that sales clerk did to appear rude. Once the assignment is complete, the secret shopper can expect to be paid, usually either by PayPal or by check. This payment may be a fee for the assignment or it may just be a reimbursement.