In my last post on how to apply to be a Mystery Shopper, I discussed 3 things that you need to consider to get hired as a Mystery Shopper. As mentioned, every application from a mystery shopping company will look different. Some will be quick and easy to fill out, yet others will require more work. Do not skimp out on the details. Doing so will affect your chances of getting jobs as a Secret Shopper. Here is a sample narrative I had to do for an application form. They wanted me to describe a recent shopping experience I had. First you will see the question they asked on their form, and then my typed response. I will then explain why I answered this question the way I did. Providing a Sample Narrative: Use the area below to submit a sample narrative report. Your submission will allow us to evaluate your reporting and grammar skills to ensure they meet our high standards. The quality of your submitted report will be taken into consideration in our decision to offer you Mystery Shopping assignments or not. We’re not looking for the length of your narrative; rather, we’ll look for a detailed reporting style coupled with proper grammar and punctuation as well as an unbiased account of your experience. Please provide an account of a recent shopping experience that you have had. The experience could have been an excellent encounter, or a less than satisfactory one. A sample narrative is required in order to complete your shopper registration. When I walked into the clothing store at 10 am, I was greeted instantly by a Sales Associate. She was at the counter assisting a customer. There was another Sales Associate on the floor helping a customer look for an item of clothing. There were also two other customers together looking through the racks of clothes. As I looked around, I noticed unfolded clothes on the shelves. I found a shirt to try on and went to the fitting room, where I was immediately assisted by the floor Sales Associate. She had finished with her customer. She wasn't smiling. I came out of the fitting room and provided her with the shirt on the hanger and said that it was too small. I asked her if there was a larger size and she asked me where I got it from, and again she wasn't smiling. I showed her the area where I found it. She asked me if I looked at this other area also, and pointed to another section of the store. I said that I did, but that it was okay. She mumbled something. I walked out of the store, near the counter, but wasn't acknowledged by the Sales Associate. She was looking down doing paperwork. First of all, even though I was told I could recount either an excellent or a poor shopping experience, I opted to provide a more satisfactory one. You want to try and avoid sounding negative! Most of your shops that you do will turn out to be an overall positive or neutral experience anyway. You will also notice that I sound factual, and am not putting any emotions into my response. This is very important. In real shopping reports, you are to state the facts objectively. What you may have thought was poor service would have been great service for someone else, and vice-versa. For instance, I said that the Sales Associate wasn't smiling. I didn't say she was unfriendly. This was important to include, 'cause working with customers it is important she smile. But do notice that by saying she's unfriendly, I could be wrong. Maybe she wasn't feeling well. You just don't know. So you can't judge. Always remain objective. I made sure that my spelling, grammar, and punctuation were up to par. They do state that they are looking for these skills, so it's even more important to be mindful of how you write. The sample narrative sounds like a report with a story to it. What I mean is you can get a sense of time and place, with a beginning, middle, and end. This is important. You want to have a flow to your report. You want it to make sense. Details are so important to notice when you are doing your secret shops, and you will definitely want to include them in your reports. Notice how I mention how many staff and how many customers were in the store. This is something that I noticed that all of my reports ask. I guess it gives the sense how busy the store is. If they asked, "Was it busy in there?", it would be based on your subjective opinion. This is why numbers and facts are so important to include. This sample of a customer service experience I had was written in reporting fashion. You will have to do this type of thing every time you complete a report. Often, you will need longer answers than this. The quality of your reporting is key, and will determine if you get called back for more shops or not. Sometimes if a poor report is done, they don't have to pay you. Hopefully, this post on how to apply to be a Mystery Shopper gives you more insight on how to get those jobs that pay you to shop and dine! -Kat
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start secret shopping blogWelcome to my blog on the information and advice you need to know to get started as a Secret Shopper! I love this work and would like to share my experience with you. :)
-Kat
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