Sniffing Out the Secret Shopper

     Hell hath no fury like a secret shopper.  These undercover spies can get both you and your manager in trouble with a flick of a pen. But let’s be real though, its mostly you that gets in trouble. Especially if you’re the one who had the misfortune of assisting the secret shopper. But, if you’re good enough, if you know what you’re doing and you know how to recognize them, a secret shopper can also mean a free meal ticket from your boss.

     Believe it or not, I’ve scored a 100% on a secret shopper evaluation. I’ve also scored a 60%, but we’re not going to talk about that. The key to getting a good grade on your secret shopper evaluation is being able to sniff them out.  I have a sixth sense when it comes to these people. In all actuality I just remember customers really well, and since secret shopper reports usually have a quick turn around, I try and remember who asked me a bunch of questions a couple days earlier. From this correlation, I’ve come up with a handy list of observations so that you too can have a secret shopper sense of your own. 

• Secret shoppers are almost always women, because lets face it, no man likes to shop, and no man asks a bunch of questions when they do. Men know where everything is, and what everything does. Always.
• Secret shoppers always ask questions. Sure, the typical customer asks a question or two, but those questions are usually limited to “where’s the bathroom,” and “why is this so expensive?” Secret shoppers will ask you specific questions about specific products. “Do you have blank in blank color?” “Are there any special deals if I buy blank and blank?” “My son/daughter really likes blank, but I don’t know what to get them for their blank, what would you suggest other than blank?” If a customer is asking you really poignant questions, chances are you have a secret shopper in your midst.
•  There is only one secret shopper a month, unless the company you work for is really cruel. If your secret shopper evaluation already came, congratulations, you can slack off for the rest of the month. If not, stay on your toes until it does. From what I’ve experienced, secret shoppers come in at random times during the day, but usually they come in later in the month. I guess the logic behind this is that corporate doesn’t want you slacking off if they come in earlier in the month. The people who work at corporate aren’t as dumb as you think they are.
•  Secret shoppers will make a point to learn your name, because after all, they have to put the blame on someone. If they’re not staring at your name badge, then they’re asking for your name, maybe so that they can “fill out a survey” or some b.s like that. If they don’t ask for your name, and you aren’t wearing a badge, they’ll just describe your physical features on their report, and unless you work with fifty other people, it’ll be pretty easy to narrow down who was evaluated.

So now that you know how to recognize a secret shopper, you need to know how to handle them. Read how in the next post!