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What is Mystery Shopping/Test shopping?
"Mystery Shopping" has a lot of alternative names: for example test purchase, shop controlling, covered shopping and so on. The thing they all have in common is that they are all used as a market research tool, to learn more about the friendliness, the service, the offering, in brief, more about the general conditions at the points of sale. Furthermore "Mystery Calling" indicates test calling hotlines, "Mystery Visits" test visiting Hotels, for example.
The Mystery Shopper/Test Shopper does not expose himself as a tester. In fact he appears as a regular customer with regular concerns.
The staff of the tested branch behaves towards the tester just the same as it would behave towards any customer. As the Mystery Shopper/Test Shopper knows exactly what he has to pay attention to, and later puts all the details down in the questionnaire, one can get a pretty exact picture of the conditions in this branch.
Good market research companies test the same shop more than once. It would also be unfair if the tester would have visited the seller on a bad day...
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What needs a Mystery Shopper/Test shopper to pay attention to?
First of all: don't act neither too showy nor too discreet. Try to behave as you always do while shopping. Nothing is worse, than a tester trying to sham - this goes wrong in most cases! Consider: the only thing that differentiates you from another customer in the store is that you pay attention to things that others miss!
Next: do not come up with the idea to fill out the questionnaire during the conversation! Before the visit read all the questions once again. So you know what you have to pay attention to. At the earliest, complete the questionnaire when you get out of sight of the store - however do this as soon as possible after the shopping experience.
Do not hesitate to contact your employer if there are some ambiguities in the questionnaire. We all make mistakes. It can happen that the expressions in the questionnaire are not clear enough. If you don't know what exactly is meant - ask! For the evaluation is important, that all testers understand the questions exactly as they are meant. This is the only way to get a usable result at the end.
Am I allowed to keep the purchase?
In most cases - yes. Often you get the amount back, when presenting the bill. In general, it depends from the project, if you should buy something. Sometimes, only the service has to be tested.
Do I only visit shops?
This is also very dependant from the project. Hotels, restaurants, amusement parks etc. are tested as well.
Is Mystery Shopping a full-time job?
No! To be a tester is not a job that you can solely live from! It is a nice side job - nothing more.
What's behind Tester News?
TesterNews is a service of
checkstone survey technologies GmbH. The checkstone survey technologies GmbH is one of the leading providers in the field of Mystery Shopping.
How can I become a Mystery Shopper?
The easiest way is here - at TesterNews!
Register - FOR FREE - by us.
And soon you will receive assignments.
What happens with my personal data?
We recognize and respect your privacy completely. Our concept was reviewed by Federal Commissioners for Data Protection. We guarantee compliance with the Privacy Policy and have therefore volunteered to be subject of regular check by a recognized site.
Ich habe mich angemeldet - was nun?
You are now recorded in our database and will be informed immediately about any new assignments.
What do I earn?
It is very different. The nature and the extent of the assignment can vary alot, and so does the pay.
If you have any questions, jus send us an email or use our contact form.
You can find the tester registration here.
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