Secret Shopping Job Characteristics

One might aspire to become a secret shopper owing to the numerous advantages that this work offers, but there are certain things one must know to perform his professional duties efficiently. These are

• One of the prime characteristics of working as an agent for a firm is to maintain secrecy of identity and to not get noticed by the front office property manager staff even when visiting a store for a number of times. The agent should be as casual in approach as possible and not arouse the suspicion of the staff or consumers while interacting with them or observing the proceedings in the store. Good agents do not take notes at the store itself as this can attract a lot of undesirable attraction. They make a mental note of the proceedings at the store and later jot them down or record them in privacy.

• The performance evaluation of a secret shopper is very stringent. Firms are always on the lookout for people who deliver good output within the stipulated deadline. Though the work might appear as though involving a lot fun, it is actually a lot of serious work in disguise. The employers expect the agents to work for them reliably and meet the deadlines strictly. Occasionally they might pardon deadline violation due to genuine reasons, but this should not be taken advantage of. Nowadays, there are a lot of people who want to work as agents and there is a lot of competition in this area. One has to prove himself in order to stay in the good books of the employer.

• Many firms have a predefined questionnaire in which they ask the secret shopper to fill in his observations. The agent is supposed to provide the answers to each and every question asked. No part of the question paper should be left blank and no vague information should be given. All these factors can offend the employers and they might think of cutting down on the pay of the agent or even firing him from work.

• An agent is expected to furnish reports of high standard that carry complete information, are well detailed out and are very accurate. The reports are reviewed, sent and put into storage by an editor who checks the reports for these criteria. The agent should make his own self available for the review so that he can sit with the editor and sort problems that might arise during the course of reviewing. The reports must contain names of people who are being reported for or against. If the name is not mentioned, the report loses its importance.

If the secret shopper is not able to identify the names, he should be able to give an accurate physical description of the person that includes his height, complexion, color, age and whether he wears glasses etc. The report should not refer to people with objectionable terminology like fat, ugly, hubby etc.

• All the given instructions whether in the verbal or written form should be followed to the letter. If instructions are not followed as they should be, for example, if the agent fails to buy a specified product, or buys another one in its place without valid reasons, his report will not be accepted.

• A secret shopper must be an adult i.e. a person who is eighteen or above in age. He is not allowed to visit a store where his relatives or acquaintances work, on an official trip.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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