FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS |
| WHAT IS MYSTERY
SHOPPING? |
Mystery Shopping is a service that provides a
checks and balance system for managers and owners to authentically
identify the performance of their frontline employees when they are
not around, especially in the area of customer service and employee
theft. After all, "when the cats away…the mice will play". Due to
competition, it is becoming more and more imperative for frontline
employees to treat customers properly, because if they don't,
another business will. And without customers, a business obviously
would not survive. The feedback from a "Mystery Shopper/customer"
can be used in any number of ways to help business owners pinpoint
areas of weakness and make improvements where necessary.
WHAT DO MYSTERY SHOPPING COMPANIES
DO?
WHAT DO THE MYSTERY SHOPPERS
DO? |
Mystery Shopping Companies (MSC) hire individuals
(Mystery Shoppers) to work as independent contractors when
evaluation assignments need to be filled. Mystery Shoppers are
assigned to various locations to evaluate the quality of service,
product delivery, appearance of the staff and site, and overall
operation of a business. MSC send their Mystery Shoppers out on an
assignment to visit their clients' business location and pretend to
be a typical, everyday customer. Before sending Mystery Shoppers out
in the field, they are educated on each visit in order to understand
what to look for and how to fill out a customized evaluation for the
business they will be evaluating/shopping. During their visit,
Mystery Shoppers concentrate on details that they will later report
in the customized evaluation. The Mystery Shoppers visit is
unannounced so they can authentically discover how customers are
typically treated on an everyday basis.
| IS MYSTERY SHOPPING, MARKET
RESEARCH? |
Mystery Shopping is not market research, as it does
not define who the customer is. Essentially, what a Mystery Shopping
Company does is perform undisclosed "Point-of-Sale Customer Service
and Operation" evaluations to help their clients experience what it
feels like to be their own customer, what their customer
experiences, and what their initial impression and perception of
their business is. Businesses who contract with Mystery Shopping
Companies can use the information obtained to make specific
improvements where necessary, revise the training of staff, change
product positioning and/or delivery, and maximize their quality of
service.
| WHO HIRES MYSTERY SHOPPING
COMPANIES |
From retail stores to restaurants… car dealerships
to banks…. real estate developments to hotels…you name it and almost
any business that involves a customers could benefit from the use of
Mystery Shopping services. Many national organizations are already
contracting companies for Mystery Shopping services.
| HOW SOON CAN I GET
STARTED? |
As soon as you finish reading the manual.
Especially if you buy the ready to use business forms that will not
only save you a lot of time, but money too!
| HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I
MAKE? |
It depends on how much time you put into your
business. The potential to build a huge enterprise is definitely
there. After all, Mystery Shopping is a $500 Million Dollar
industry. Because of the flexibility of the work, it can be done
part time, full time and really anytime. Chapter # 1 will touch on
earnings, Chapter #4 will give you ideas how to build your business
to become a lucrative company and Chapter # 11 will discuss pricing
and what to charge your clients. As you can or will soon see after
reading the manual the earning potential is unlimited.
| I WORK ANOTHER JOB AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO
QUIT OR START MY OWN BUSINESS JUST YET, IS THIS SOMETHING I
CAN DO PART TIME TO EARN EXTRA MONEY?
|
ABSOLUTELY! This
manual will prepare you with all you need to get hired by 1 client
or 100 clients. There is no office to come to, no time clock to
punch in, no hours of operation, no nothing! It is on your time. If
you pick up a local restaurant as a client, go on your lunch break
or maybe for dinner. If you pick up a retail store or dry cleaners,
bank, gas station etc.….go during your Saturday shopping and errand
day. Remember, You call the shots….You are the BOSS!
| WILL I NEED A LOT OF MONEY TO
START? |
If you have a home to work out of, a phone, a
computer, a fax (or access to a fax), a copier (or access to a
copier), a business name, business cards, letterhead and most
importantly passion to excel, than you can start building your
company…TODAY! Essentially you will need approximately $150.00 to
get all the miscellaneous odds and ends needed to conduct your
business professionally. Setting up your office is discussed in
further detail in Chapter # 2.
| I HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN THE
RESTAURANT BUSINESS, BUT THAT IS ALL I REALLY KNOW. CAN I
REALLY START MY OWN BUSINESS? |
Of course! Do you know how many restaurants are out
there that need the services of a Mystery Shopping Company? I don't
think I have to tell you. Your Mystery Shopping Company can target
and specialize in serving the restaurant industry. Just think how
you will be able to tell your client that you have hands on
experience in their industry and you can rest assure that you will
be able to identify areas of weakness and strengths. The same thing
goes for anyone. If your experience lies in one particular industry,
then you can choose to concentrate on that industry alone. However,
if you do decide to branch off into other industries, this manual
will help you every step of the way.
| I HAVE CHILDREN AND FIND IT DIFFICULT TO
WORK A 9 TO 5 JOB. IS THIS SOMETHING I CAN DO FROM
HOME? |
With out a doubt! That is exactly what this
business has gained so much recognition for. Entrepreneur Magazines
voted it as one of the "Top 81 home-based businesses to start for
the millennium". You can conduct all of the administrative and
reporting work from the comfort of your very own home. You can
either perform the Mystery Shops yourself (and bring your kids
along), or you could contract the work out to family, friends or
Mystery Shoppers that you have working for you (as independent
contractors). Chapter # 3 will teach you what to look for, how to
prepare a reliable group of Mystery Shoppers, what to pay them, how
to pay them and much much more.
| IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. IS THIS
REALLY A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS? |
National companies like Bloomingdales, The Gap,
McDonalds, Burger King, Banana Republic and many more are using
Mystery Shopping Companies and have been for years. From our
immediate success in our home-based Mystery Shopping business, we
can tell you first hand, that the business is respected and in high
demand by other companies.
| I DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT
STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS. SEVERAL BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS I HAVE
READ ARE SO COMPLEX AND HARD TO UNDERSTAND, WILL THIS JUST BE
ANOTHER HARD TO READ BUSINESS MANUAL?
|
You will find this book not only easy to read, but you will find it so interesting and so informative that you will not want to put it down. Part of the reason business manuals are so hard to understand is because your attention span gets lost after the first few chapters. They don't give you a vision of what is in store, they simply give you substance with no style. This manual is going to keep your interest at a pique the whole time. You will be given step by step instructions on how to start, run and build your business.
If you have a question that was not answered, please feel free to e-mail us at lynettejanac@yahoo.com. We receive hundreds of e-mail a day, so please allow 24 hours for response. |
