Check your email for mystery shopping
correspondence
As GAPbuster has shifted its operations online,
email has become the predominant form of communication.
Remember to check your email regularly to ensure you are
up-to-date with important mystery shopping news. Given
the popularity of WebSelect, you'll need to be vigilant
to ensure you don't miss out when assignments are released.
We also encourage all our mystery shoppers to check the
Shopper News section of the web page.
Read your mystery shopping
paperwork thoroughly
Make sure you read your paperwork carefully.
It tells you everything you need to know to complete
an assignment successfully. Please be aware that the
paperwork can change on a monthly basis, so it is important
to read it each and every month. If you fail to meet
one of the standard requirements (Eg. to collect a receipt
during your mystery shopping assignment) we are unable
to accept your results. Consequently, you will not be
paid for your work.
Print your paperwork
We all like to think we've got photographic
memories, but let's face it.... there's a lot of information
to remember on our forms. To ensure maximum efficiency,
print out your paperwork and fill it out at the earliest
convenience.
But make sure you're well out of view of the site before
you pull out your paperwork: remember, the aim is to
keep your secret identity a mystery.
Finally, GAPbuster requires you to keep a hard copy
of your paperwork for up to 12 months following a mystery
shopping evaluation. For audit purposes we may require
you to send in a copy of your completed paperwork. If
you are required to collect a receipt, please staple
it to your paperwork after completing your mystery shopping
assignment.
Use your creativity
Feel free to use your creativity when developing
methods for collecting your data on your mystery shopping
assignments. We've heard some fantastic little tricks
certain mystery shoppers use to collect the necessary
information. Try this one out if you can....
Ever had problems keeping the total service time for
a fast food evaluation? How about using new technology
to assist you. Some mobile phones now have a stopwatch
as a feature. One of our mystery shoppers would keep
their mobile phone in their pocket and start the stop
watch when they began their order. Once they had received
the order and their change they would stop the watch
(discretely of course, your identity must remain a secret).
In this way they have a completely accurate measure
of how long their order took to complete.
Ingenious!
Keep a GAPbuster Folder
Please keep a record of all completed assignments
in a 'GAPbuster folder' or filed somewhere accessible
for 12 months. This is to ensure that you can provide
information easily if a follow-up query is made. Increasingly
our mystery shoppers are required to collect receipts.
It is a good idea to staple receipts to your paperwork.
Limit the mystery
We're experiencing problems with mystery shoppers
incorrectly recording the names of staff who have served
them. Not surprisingly, our clients query service evaluations
performed on staff whose name they do not recognise.
If you cannot read or remember the name of the person
who served you, please describe them carefully and never
hazard a guess.
Being in the right place
Mystery Shopping assignments may be situated
in malls or streets where there is more than one outlet
of the evaluated brand. GAPbuster renders your assignment
invalid if you visit the wrong shop. To avoid non-payment
for an invalid assignment, it is imperative that you
check your paperwork for the correct address. Generally
shopping malls provide information maps that direct
visitors to the correct shop number and location.
Look left, Look right
Many of our mystery shopping assignments begin
by asking you to note what was to the left or right
of an outlet. This information validates your assignment.
In the event of a client querying an assignment, this
information allows us to prove you have visited the
correct shop.
It is important that you nominate a fixed landmark.
It's best to name the shops on either side of the outlet.
If the mystery shopping assignment is on a corner or
has no other shops near it, please note the name of
the road or the address of the home to the left or right.
Keep the mystery a secret
Can you imagine the surprise of a 'House of
Travel' employee when a customer asked her, "How
did your mystery shop go?". When the customer queried
about how she knew the 'House of Travel' was evaluated,
she replied "Oh, my friend is your mystery shopper".
Not much of a secret anymore....
We wonder if Batman or James Bond was as forthcoming
about working undercover? Anonymity is what makes our
mystery shoppers effective. Remember, no matter how
much he loved Lois Lane, Superman could never tell her
his secret identity.
In the past, mystery shoppers have blown their cover
to get better service. Due to their lack of discretion,
these mystery shoppers were removed from our database
for breaching confidentiality, as outlined in the mystery
shopping contract. So, please be like James Bond and
keep the anonymity.
Express yourself
Once you have completed your mystery shopping
assignment, it is imperative that you express it within
8 hours. If your assignment is not Expressed within
this time frame, the assignment may be unassigned from
you. If this occurs, you will not be paid.
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