I receive a notice in my email telling me that an assignment is available in my area. I go to that mystery shopping company’s website to get more details and see if I want it. Let’s say that it is a purchase and return shop at a popular local clothing store. I decide that I want the assignment and submit my request. I put it on my calendar. Prior to going to the store, I download and print paperwork associated with the assignment and set up a file folder for the assignment. I read it all thoroughly so that I know what I am expected to do and what I should be looking for.
I go to the store and pose as a typical customer. I look around to check out the condition of the store and start browsing. When a sales associate asks if she can help me, I accept. I take note of her name and appearance. I interact with her according to the guidelines I have been given in my paperwork. I try on the items and see if she follows up with me in the fitting room. Then I make my selection and take it to the register (also known as the “cash wrap” in retail lingo). I leave the store, go out to my car, and fill out the report for the purchase portion of the shop and perhaps speak some notes into a digital voice recorder. After the minimum wait time, I go back to the shop to return the item. I pay attention to who handles the return and what happens during the transaction. I go to my car and fill out the return portion of the report.
I go home, scan the receipts, and save them on my computer. I transcribe any notes I spoke into the digital voice recorder and save them in a Word document. I go to the mystery shopping company’s website and enter the report using the information I recorded on the paper forms earlier. I upload the scanned receipts into the report and submit it. I record the shop in my log and file the assignment notes and receipts in the filing cabinet. Some time later, the mystery shopping company pays me, usually via Paypal.