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Mystery Shopping
Mystery shopping or Mystery Consumer is a tool used by market
research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather
specific information about products and services. Mystery shoppers
posing as normal customers perform specific tasks¡Xsuch as
purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or
behaving in a certain way ¡V and then provide detailed reports or
feedback about their experiences. Mystery shopping is often touted as a perfect way for people to earn extra money, and has thus been subject to much abuse and fraud.
Mystery
shopping began in the 1940s as a
way to measure employee integrity. Tools used for mystery shopping
assessments range from simple questionnaires to complete audio and
video recordings. Many mystery shopping companies are completely
administered through the Internet, allowing potential mystery
shoppers to use the Internet to register for participation, find
mystery shopping jobs and receive payment.
The most common venues where mystery shopping is used are retail
stores, movie theaters, restaurants, fast food chains, banks, gas
stations, car dealerships, apartments and health clubs, as well as
health care facilities. In the UK,
mystery shopping is increasingly used to provide feedback on
customer services provided by local authorities and other non-profit
organizations, such as housing associations and churches.
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