Myth Busters : What Is Secret Shopping

Being in the secret shopping industry, I sometimes have to work as a "Myth Buster" about what it is I really do.

Whenever I go to the dentist or a social event and have to do the "What do you do? Do you have kids - how old are they? Don't you love the weather..." talk, and I respond, "I run a secret shopping business", people excitedly say, "Do you get stuff for free? How can I do that?!"

While it is true, some secret shoppers are sent out on mystery shopping assignments and are compensated with a product or service, that is not the purpose or intent of the shop.

Business owners understand the value of their customer's experience.

In self storage, I've seen small business owners who try to take control of quality assurance on their own.

They call the facility and try to "shop" them. They stop by unnanounced to see the state of the premises.

Then they persuade their friends and family to call or stop in and give their opinion.

Once they run out of nieces, cousins and friends and they begin to realize how much legwork is involved, they call me back.

Offering them a third-party, unbiased opinion from a professional point of view is only the beginning.

Because of our strong sales background, built on the backbone of the PhoneSmart call center, our secret shopping program is more like a Sales Training Management Service than just a report about how friendly your manager is.

If you find yourself in need of some quality assurance, give us a call.