Becoming A Secret Shopper

Once again Secret Shopper Review would like to send out a Big Thank You to everyone who participated in the secret shopper contest. Judging was extremely difficult as there were many excellent entries.

Here are the results…

Congratulations to Cheryl Klein, winner of the “Best Entry” for her excellent submission, copied below. Her admirable entry has won herself a lifetime membership to our number 1 rated secret shopper network, Shop Until You Drop.

The Winning Entry:

I am very educated in this topic because I have been “shopped” and reviewed by secret shoppers and have read their feedback and answer what needs to be reported, such as “did you get a welcome” or “is there something I can help you with”. Not only are the secret shoppers supposed to “pass” as a typical shopper, few actually do and a good secret shopper needs to know mainly how to shop like a pro and also know what a salesperson is expected to do to every time , like greet, be friendly, wearing the right code of dress that a store requires. Wearing ID pin on correctly, how the salesperson attitude is towards you, the customer, noticing if you are completely ignored or if the salesperson is on the phone during your sale, grooming and self presentation and tone of speech is also watched. Usually a good secret shopper is a person who is passionate about shopping and by live experience can tell if this sales person is just passing time behind the counter and really doesn’t want to be there, doesn’t care about making sales, summing up if salesperson is a asset or a liability.

A secret shopper usually is asked to shop certain flagged salespeople who might be already close to losing their job and in some rare cases a job on the line can actually be save if a secret shopper feels and reports a favourable reviewed. Another reason secret shoppers are hired is to answer security issues. Is the salesperson correctly entering the sale or in a cash sale, “forgetting to give you a receipt, because the sale was cash and it is this can be a temptation to many salespeople especially if the employee is dealing with large amounts of cash for the first time. I would make a report honestly without prejudice, racial or any kind and only report what actually occurred, not to fabricate a story so I look like a hero to the store. People are human and it is possible that management is not doing their job honestly either. Managers are “shopped” also in some cases as well. This is a job as fun as it sounds that really is very important to the future reputation of the store and it needs to be taken seriously because like any job a shopper is not there to shop but to be mature, experienced in sales and to be respectful to the sales associate the same way the customer expects to be in order to get the most reliable report, and like a judge be impartial and fair.

- Cheryl Klein

Unfortunately, there could only be one winner for the “Best Entry”. There were many great submissions, including one in the form of a poem which we thought was worth posting here as well. Thank you Donna Wyse for this great entry:

‘Tis no secret, I’m a serious shopper,
And as a Brit in the US, always proper.
I always make sure I never come a cropper
Because I can shop ’til I dropper.

‘Tis true with shopping I’m obsessed.
So much so, that I’m probably possessed!!
If I cannot win this contest
The shops will not be impressed.

So if I may suggest, please grant my request.
Any secret would be very close to my chest
That no company or person will ever guess!!
Who would think a Brit could be so blessed?

So I can be a pest or better than the rest.
Now it’s down to you to end this test.

-Donna Wyse

Random Selection Winner

Congratulations SK for winning the second Shop Until You Drop membership, selected at random from all entries received.

If you would like to be informed of our next contest (yes, we will be having more contests in the future!), be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up to date on the latest secret shopper happenings, tips, advice, and contests!

Secret Shopper Review’s first ever contest came to a close at 12:00 am on Feb 29^th, 2008 . The contest was a great success with over 80 entries received (you can view all the entries here). There were many excellent submissions, and selecting only one to win the “best entry” will be a challenging task. A big thanks to everyone who participated.

The winners as well as the winning entry will be posted here sometime next week, so be sure to stay tuned!

It’s contest time! Secret-Shopper-Review.com would like to thank its many fans by offering 2 lifetime memberships to our number one rated secret shopper network, Shop Until You Drop (see review here). This is your chance to become part of one of the largest secret shopper networks absolutely free!  If you’re not sure what a secret shopper network is, click here to learn more.

How to Enter
To enter for your chance to win, simply reply to this post (by clicking here) and briefly state why you want to be a secret shopper and/or why you think you would make a good secret shopper.  

Two Ways to Win
The best entry received (judged by Secret Shopper Review admin) will win the first membership. The second winner will be selected at random from all received entries.

Contest Deadline: All entries must be received by Feb. 28^th 2008 to be considered.

Chances of winning depend on amount of entries received.

Judging and draw will take place during the first week of March. Winners will be contacted by email and announced on Secret-Shopper-Review.com

Good Luck To All!