MYSTERY SHOPPER

Make Extra Money: Become a Mystery Shopper

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:21:00 +0000

July 2, 2008
posted from http://abcnews.go.com/
By TORY JOHNSON

Many people have heard of mystery shopping, but not all of us understand exactly what it's really about.

Mystery shopping is focused on monitoring and improving service quality to ensure consistency with brand standards using anonymous resources. A growing trend involves home-based mystery shoppers who conduct their work by calling (as opposed to visiting) catalog companies, call centers and others, which accounts for 15 percent of the industry, according to trade group Mystery Shopping Providers Association.

With mystery shopping, an individual walks into a retail, grocery or convenience store, a restaurant, or a gas station to measure specific behaviors and make certain observations. Among them: associate greetings, the length of time to be served, the availability of merchandise, the knowledge of the sales team, and so on.

Many companies request "shops" of their own locations as well as those of their competitors. It enables them to understand how their services stack up against the competition — both generally and in specific areas.

One hypothetical example: Mystery shopper assignments might measure the wait in line at Target versus Wal-Mart. A hypothetical assignment might also measure how much information a Best Buy sales associate in electronics knows about a specific digital camera, compared with the sales associate at Circuit City.

Another option involves merchandising, where you're charged with helping manufacturers and retailers present their product consistent with brand standards in a retail environment to generate sales. You may assemble displays, distribute coupons, sample food, restock shelves or demonstrate products. The needs and the skill levels vary; companies post opportunities for people to sample cheese in grocery stores and they also look for techies to demonstrate a new video camera during in-store promotional events.

In both cases — mystery shopping and merchandising — retailers don't hire shoppers or merchandisers directly; all of this is handled by a third-party vendor. You accept an assigned task and then to get paid you must prove that you've completed it, which is typically done by answering and submitting an online survey about the experience. You might also be required to take photographs of your work, specifically for merchandising assignments. It's all spelled out in advance before you agree to the work.

According to Market Force, a nationwide leader in mystery shopping and merchandising among top brands, some of the requirements in the online questionnaire for a mystery shop may include:

Were you greeted properly?

Were all display items priced and in good condition?

Were accessories priced and well stocked (no empty peg hooks)?

Getting started making money. Both mystery shopping and merchandising pay by the assignment. You work as an independent contractor, which means you work when you want, but work is never guaranteed.

Most mystery shopping assignments pay between $8 and $10. Merchandising is generally in the range of $13 to $18. Some assignments offer free meals and/or groceries either as a form of compensation or in addition to a small fee. More complex assignments pay more — up to $30 or so per assignment. If you're being offered substantially more, that's a red flag and you should question the legitimacy of the assignment.

There are hundreds of companies throughout the country that hire shoppers and merchandisers. Some hire for both; others handle one or the other. Every shopper who told me she makes at least $100 a week is registered with several companies and actively takes on several assignments per week. Some women I spoke with say they make upwards of $500 a month because they're diligent about working at it.

Register with multiple companies because they all have different needs and they serve different clients. (If you live in a remote area without access to ample stores and restaurants, unfortunately your options are severely limited. Home-based "shops" might be best for you. Merchandising cannot be done from home.)

Click here for a listing of companies that offer mystery shopping and merchandising opportunities to independent contractors.

Details, details. Most companies critique your online application for proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, especially since your proof-of-completion reports are submitted in writing to the client. Poor spelling will knock you out of the running.

Pay attention to distance. Don't accept an assignment that pays $10 if you have to drive 20 miles each way to complete the task. The gas will eat up your fee.

Think about bundling assignments. Pick a time — after work, early mornings while your kids are in school or on a weekend — and pack as many assignments into those timeslots as possible. Companies will alert you to restrictions, if any, on how many competitive events you can work at once.

Many assignments require you to monitor the exact time of specific tasks. If you're easily flustered and don't like to multitask, this probably isn't the right fit for you. You'll find many people who've tried this type of work and hated it. They complain it's tedious and time-consuming — not worth the minimal money they were paid.

Two trade associations offer extensive information on their respective industries. The Mystery Shopping Providers Association and the and the National Association for Retail Marketing Services offer listings of legitimate companies and opportunities, a code of ethics guiding their industry and tips for success.

Avoid the scams. Many people are concerned about scams and rightly so, since they're everywhere in this space. Arm yourself with knowledge before getting started.

Never pay to be a mystery shopper or merchandiser. No legitimate opportunity requires a fee. (The MSPA offers a certification process that is optional, not required, to get work.)

Never get involved in check-cashing schemes. Legitimate opportunities will never require you to cash any checks as an assignment. If your assignment requires you to order a specific item in a restaurant, you'll have to front the cash, but with a receipt you'll be reimbursed.

Never respond to unsolicited requests by phone, e-mail or mail to become a mystery shopper or merchandiser. Most likely a fee will be involved with promises to teach you the "secrets" of making big bucks with little effort. That "secret" is a lie: There's no way to make lots of money with minimal effort in these industries.

Tory Johnson is the Workplace Contributor on ABC's Good Morning America and the CEO of Women For Hire. Connect with her at www.womenforhire.com.

posted from http://abcnews.go.com/
By TORY JOHNSON

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Mystery shoppers: Do companies benefit?

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:21:00 +0000

By Catherine Burns Business reporter, BBC News
15 April 2011 Last updated at 19:01

The tough economy means companies are having to take extra steps to make sure their customers are happy, so more are trying out mystery shopping.

Demand has gone up by 40% in the past two years, the Mystery Shopping Providers Association says, and the industry is worth an estimated £70m a year.

Mystery shopping started in the 1940s, and the association says well over a million assessments are carried out every year.

Each one takes up to 20 minutes, and the secret shopper can be paid up to £15 a go.

Undercover experience

We decided to go undercover and try it for ourselves. One mystery shopper, who has been doing it for years as a part-time job, gave us some tips. Unsurprisingly she asked to remain anonymous.

"You're looking out for if the store is clean, the staff are friendly, and if they approach you," she says.

Mystery shopper with Catherine Burns An experienced mystery shopper says she reports on whether staff approach her

"If you ask a question, do they take you to the relevant section? Do they ask you open questions, and try to sell you as much as they can?"

With that in mind, we headed to the Llantrisant branch of Leekes, a department store chain based mostly in Wales.

The company knew we were coming, but they had no idea when.

'Unbiased'

It was a mixed experience. We had to search for someone to help us in the homeware section. But once we had found someone they were friendly and approachable.

In other departments, staff were just hanging around, chatting to each other. But once we asked, they did their best to get a sale.

There were some examples of excellent customer service too.

Undercovery filming in Leekes Leekes said it uses mystery shoppers to rectify any problems

Some sales assistants did everything they could to answer our questions as helpfully as possible.

But Steve Hurst from the Mystery Shoppers Providers Association says the actual store visit is only part of the job.

"It's just as important what we, and the company itself does with the information. We put it all into a database, and can break it down from the bigger picture across the chain, to each individual store."

Companies pay about £40 each visit, which means nationwide chains can pay hefty bills.

It is difficult to say with any certainty what kind of return businesses get on that investment, Mr Hurst says, but he insists it is a cost-effective and unbiased research tool.

Fake and outdated

Not everyone agrees though. Jeremy Michael is from customer research company SMG, and used to work in mystery shopping. He now thinks it is outdated.

"Years ago, it was the best way to find out what was going on in a store, but now you've got much more modern methods," he says.

"Clients like Superdrug and Pets At Home have moved away from asking fake mystery shoppers, to asking genuine customers what they thought and how they can improve their experience."

But Leekes, who use mystery shoppers, say the feedback helps them.

"There are some positives in the way that staff dealt with you, but some negatives in terms of not being available when you were looking for assistance," says Peter Martin, store operations director at Leekes.

He says that the company will be able to learn from it, and fix any problems.

For them, mystery shopping is not about catching staff doing something wrong, but giving them a chance to show off their skills and training.

By Catherine Burns Business reporter, BBC News
15 April 2011 Last updated at 19:01

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Stress Test Customer Service with Mystery Shopping

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:20:00 +0000

Professional shoppers should be used in conjunction with call monitoring, speech analytics, surveying, and voice-of-the-customer feedback management.

By Leonard Klie
From http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/

Mystery shopping is a $1.5 billion industry that employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide. It has served for decades as a way for companies to measure the quality of the customer service their employees provide.

While typically associated with the on-premises experience at retail outlets, hotels, movie theaters, restaurants, fast food outlets, banks, gas stations, car dealerships, and health clubs, mystery shoppers have expanded their roles into the contact center, helping companies uncover the most common customer complaints.

If you want to find out if your call center is completely free of the long hold times, endless transfers, overly scripted and impersonal conversations, and unempowered employees that usually frustrate customers, you can now hire any one of a growing number of mystery shopping companies to act as your ears on the front lines of customer service.

"The retail industry as a whole is growing, and so are the number of opportunities to interact with customer service reps," says Dan Denston, executive director of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), which has more than 300 member companies worldwide. "As a result, there are a growing number of companies that do telephone performance testing, checking the quality of the customer service rep interactions."

One such company is Shoppers Critique International (SCI), a mystery shopping services provider in Longwood, Fla. Mystery shopping via the phone and electronic channels makes up about two-thirds of the company's business today.

"Most people now go online to research products before a purchase, and then they make contact with the company by email or phone to make specific inquiries," explains Paul Bell, national sales director at SCI.

Mercantile Systems, a Brentwood, Calif.–based mystery shopping services provider, performs about 30,000 telephone shops per year for a range of businesses. It's a growing area for the company, representing about 25 percent of its business today. "We're getting a lot more interest in it," says CEO Dan Cosgrove.

At Confero, a market research and mystery shopping services provider in Cary, N.C., telephone mystery shopping requests have increased in the past few years as well.

The service, according to Janet Morrison, Confero's business development manager, was originally popular in banking, healthcare, and education, but recently "has really been branching out to a lot of different industries because there's more of a focus on improving the customer experience across the board."

The reasons companies need to evaluate their phone support are very basic: For most customers, the phone is still the first point of contact with a company, and there's an expectation that the phone will be answered in three rings or less and that the agent who picks up the call will be warm, enthusiastic, courteous, and capable of addressing callers' issues.

"If the company does not make the best first impression, the customer will go somewhere else," Morrison explains.

Trish Overton, president of Mystery Shoppers, in Knoxville, Tenn., agrees. "In today's economy, you can't afford to lose customers," she says. "How the call is answered could determine whether [customers] make a purchase."

Matthew Kunz, senior director of global brand standards and quality at Sylvan Learning, which operates—either directly or through franchise agreements—about 900 facilities around the country to provide students with tutoring, homework help, study skill building, and test prep, knows that all too well.

"A lot of customers call for more information before coming into one of our centers," he says. "The phone call is incredibly important."

Kunz has used Confero to evaluate his company's telephone reps since late 2011, and last year budgeted about $15,000 for the service. Confero mystery shoppers made about 300 calls to Sylvan's phone reps throughout the year, and Kunz plans to add to that this year. "Some of our franchisees have expressed an interest in having this done monthly," he says.

That's just fine with Kunz, who is a big supporter of mystery shopping. "It's helped us be more responsive," he says. "And our staff likes it because it helps them do their jobs better."

Stacey Paynter, owner of marketing firm Strategic Connections, which is based in Larkspur, Calif., has used mystery shopping to evaluate how agents carry out campaigns. Paynter has been using Mercantile Systems for the past six years.

"I'm a big fan of mystery shopping," she says. "It's an insurance policy for my marketing to let me know if it's working, if my efforts are resonating with customers and converting sales. I can make sure the brand's message is being delivered consistently."

When it's not, Paynter says mystery phone shopping can help quickly uncover operational glitches that need to be corrected. "It's uncovered business opportunities I didn't even know about," she says. "And often, it's what you don't know that can hurt you the most."

Kunz also appreciates the speed at which he can get that kind of information. "I have a six-person staff to do quality control for nine hundred centers, and Confero does things much quicker than I could ever do them internally. It allows me to keep my staff to do what they're paid for. It's a better use of my resources," he says.

What They Do

Mystery shoppers, who are usually hired by the service providers as independent contractors, are able to assess the agent's friendliness, demeanor, product knowledge, script adherence, effectiveness in offering upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and whether the agent addressed the caller by name once his identity was established. Other factors that mystery shoppers consider and score are time to answer, time spent on hold, call duration, task completion, the number of transfers, and whether they had to explain their problem over and over when they were transferred.

Though some mystery shoppers can be hired to evaluate interactive voice response (IVR) systems, it's not as big of an area of concern. "Most of our clients want to evaluate the agent, not the automation," says Mary Furrie, owner of Quality Assessments Mystery Shoppers, based in Rochester, Ill. "They, through their own technology, can evaluate the IVR…fairly easily and should know if it's working and routing [calls] properly."

In cases when the call center is slammed and callers are given the option of a call-back when an agent becomes available, mystery shoppers log the length of time it takes for the call-back and how close to the scheduled time the call was actually placed.

Mystery shoppers can also call competitors' contact centers to help clients benchmark their customer service against the rest of the industry or against specific firms in the same geographic area.

With a telephone mystery shopping program, an actual live account can be set up to track a complete order transaction through every stage of the process. The mystery shopper can use that account to find out not only about the ordering process, but also to track product delivery, product quality, and even evaluate the returns process.

In almost every case, the mystery shopping service provider creates a customized program tailored to each unique client, based on the size of its contact center, the number and type of calls received, the specific metrics it wants to gauge, and other factors.

"A client may have a particular area that he wants to measure, and, depending on the industry, we can tailor a program to find that specific detail," the MSPA's Denston points out. "We can get very specific information if that is what the client wants."

After completing the call, the mystery shopper completes a survey and files a detailed report of the interaction. These reports can supply subjective and objective feedback, and can be segmented by issue, location, department, or any other area the client deems necessary.

And because information without analysis doesn't offer a complete picture, many mystery shopping service providers follow up with detailed recommendations for improving customer satisfaction, as well as clear cost projections, benchmarks, industry best practices, and other details.

Most mystery shoppers also record their phone interactions and share those recordings with the client.

If call recording is to be a part of the mystery shopping experience, though, it is crucial for the business to be aware of applicable laws. Under U.S. federal law, and in most states, there is nothing illegal about one of the parties to a telephone call recording the conversation. However, 12 states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington) have two-party consent laws, meaning that both parties on a phone call have to agree to the taping.

In those states where consent is required, most contact centers are covered by having agents sign consent forms when they are hired.

A Larger Plan

Mystery shopping is, of course, not the only tool call centers have at their disposal to keep track of agents and determine which ones might need extra coaching or training. They can use call recording, live call monitoring, speech analytics, surveying, quality and performance management, workforce optimization, and voice-of-the-customer feedback management, as well as a host of other technologies, to uncover contact center problems.

"We record and listen to calls, too, but we want a real person on the call," Sylvan Learning's Kunz says. "Technologies are very valuable, but you can't use them exclusively."

That's the sentiment shared by the MSPA. Mystery shopping is a valuable tool for businesses, but it should in no way replace other customer service evaluation tools, the organization advises on its Web site.

The use of mystery shopping should be a single part of a much larger, company-wide program designed to develop and augment employee performance, the MSPA explains further.

Another benefit of using mystery shoppers is having someone else to do all the background work. When it comes to call recordings and some of the other technologies available, the call center manager is often left to do the heavy lifting. With call recordings and other forms of automation, managers "get every call that comes into the system," Overton says. "They do not have the time to check every call that comes in. They don't have enough people to handle all of the volume."

Furrie adds, "Mystery shopping helps isolate the good and the bad calls, without [the call center manager] having to find them on his own from among hundreds or thousands of calls that might have been recorded."

Some companies conduct their own telephone mystery shopping using their own employees to place the calls. This kind of "insourcing," while valuable and presumably more economical, might not always be the best option. For one, the employee's evaluation of the call might not always accurately reflect what really happened on the call.

"We are anonymous and work outside of the company, so we can give unbiased scores and reports," Furrie says.

Additionally, internal employees are likely making these mystery shopping calls in their spare time between their other duties, and taking them away from their primary functions can cost more than hiring a trained mystery shopper.

But it goes beyond that. "You need people who are consumers but who also have a trained eye," Paynter says. "[Mystery shoppers] can look at things technically and from a shopper's perspective."

Getting Started

With all this in mind, any company hiring a mystery shopping services provider needs, first and foremost, to identify what it considers to be the truly important customer service characteristics and the objectives of providing phone support. Next, the firm should work with the mystery shopping services provider to incorporate those variables into the survey questionnaires and to devise the shopping experiences that the mystery shoppers will act out. The MSPA suggests that this scenario should be realistic, representing a natural consumer behavior that can be carried out convincingly by the mystery shopper.

To be fair to the agent, the scenario should also involve processes that fit within her job description and for which she has been properly trained, according to the MSPA.

The association also advises that "to be ethical," the staff at the location being tested "must have been advised that their performance may be checked from time to time through mystery shopping."

Having employees know they can be mystery shopped at any time often translates to immediate behavioral changes: Since they don't know which calls are from real customers and which ones are from mystery shoppers, they tend to be on their best behavior with every call they handle.

As for the types of calls they make, Furrie suggests mystery shoppers begin with the basics. "If your [call center] can't get the general stuff right, the more advanced stuff is not going to be right either," she says.

Once the firm settles on what shoppers will look for, the mystery shopping company will then select shoppers with the appropriate expertise. With hundreds of thousands of mystery shoppers available throughout the United States and Canada, service providers can match any company's customer profile or geographic characteristics to guarantee a recognizable area code, dialect, and regional familiarity. This adds credibility to the mystery shopping call.

"Mystery shopping is a very horizontal plan of action," Denston says. "You can get shoppers of all races and backgrounds."

The contact center must determine how many calls are to be made and over what period of time. At the least, it should consider the number of agents, hours of operation, and call volume.

It is universally accepted across the industry that mystery shopping needs to be done multiple times, at different times of the day, and on different days of the week to catch a broader sample of agents.

Furrie, who got her start in the call center industry, says most of her clients do regular testing, starting small and then scaling up once they see the value in the reports provided. "They try it, they like it, and it becomes a part of their regular processes," she says.

Confero's Morrison also suggests running tests repeatedly. "It's always good to have an ongoing program so you can see how employees improve over time," she says.

Spreading out the mystery shopping phone calls also ensures that the test will hit the right mix of employees. Clients often want the mystery shoppers to target specific employees, but that is usually next to impossible to do without arousing suspicion. "It's often the luck of the draw who picks up the call that comes in," Furrie says.

SCI's Bell also recommends continued service checks just because turnover in the contact center industry is so high.

And then, it's important to have clearly defined goals of what to do with the information that the mystery shopping uncovers. Most professionals in the field agree that mystery shopping should not be used for punishment. On its Web site, the MSPA clearly states that mystery shopping "must not be used as the sole justification for dismissals and reprimands."

"The key to successful mystery shopping is not to use it as a big hammer from above," Paynter adds. "Use it instead as a training tool and to reward great performance. Use it to recraft your scripting, for training, and to build best practices."

As a final caveat, Denston suggests that companies looking to hire a mystery shopping firm should look for one with experience. More important, though, "look for a real partner," he states emphatically. "With any business-to-business relationship, you want to work with someone you can feel comfortable with."

News Editor Leonard Klie can be reached at lklie@infotoday.com.

By Leonard Klie
From http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

How I Made $14,000 A Year Mystery Shopping

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:26:00 +0000

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/

LearnVesters loved the idea of mystery shopping in The Surprising Way I Make Money on the Side, so we spoke to a veteran mystery shopper to get the inside scoop on what it’s really like to get paid to hit the stores. The shopper asked to remain anonymous, because of the sensitive financial information in the post.

Like everyone else, I have an inbox full of spam. I ignore most of it. But, one day in 2007, I decided to open an email that read: “Sign up to become a Mystery Shopper!” And, for some reason, I clicked the link.

I’d heard the pitches: “Get paid to shop!” and “Get free stuff!” But I didn’t know what was required to be a mystery shopper. So I took a chance, figuring, “What do I have to lose?”

It was more like what I had to gain—not only little perks, like free jeans, but also enough money to buy a car in cash.

How Mystery Shopping Works

When I first signed up to shop, I was 30 years old and had just started a new job as an intellectual property assistant (a specialized form of legal secretary) at a law firm. On top of my regular expenses, I owed about $45,000 from two years of law school, but I was earning just enough to afford my overpriced studio apartment on the outskirts of Boston. And that was about it.

When I got that email about mystery shopping, I was cautiously optimistic. Although I signed up to be notified about opportunities, I elected not to pay the fee (about $5 per month), which meant that I could only see the first few lines of a job posting. But that didn’t stop me: I quickly realized that, most of the time, the listings offered just enough information that I could Google the info to figure out the company name, go to their website and apply directly through them. I’d discovered a loophole!

Mystery shopping is pretty simple: Companies hire people like me to visit their stores, pretend to be an average customer and report back on the service and overall experience. For each shop that you visit, companies pay an allotted amount of money (usually $5 to $20), and since they often want you to make a purchase to get the total customer experience, they also offer to reimburse for a certain portion of the item. It sounded doable, so I signed up with 20 companies to start.

Let the Shopping (and Earning) Begin!

My first “shop” was for an electronics store. (I can’t say which one because discretion is a big part of the mystery shopping code!) The company provided a scenario: I would interact with sales associates in two different departments, ask about a plasma TV or a GPS—and see if they engaged in conversation, were helpful or only answered questions in a cursory way.

It seemed weird to pretend—in fact, it’s still a little weird sometimes. You have to get an employee name, so if the customer service person isn’t wearing a badge, you need to ask, which can be awkward. Afterward, you file reports online, which are structured as multiple choice or two-sentence fill-in-the-blank answers.

At my peak, I’d dedicate four to six hours on a Saturday going to different locations of the same coffee shop, and then spend another two hours working on the reports because you must file within 24 hours. Yes, mystery shopping is a time commitment.

And, just like that, I was hooked: I began doing jobs during my lunch hour. I could even do them on my way home from work, since I’d be walking past retail locations anyway. Slowly but surely, the money began to roll in …

The Glory Days

After taxes, health insurance and other deductions, my daily take-home pay at that time was around $100. Most shops paid me $7 to $15, so a $7 shop fee (plus the reimbursement for the meal) equaled about 10% of what I was making at my “real” job. That extra 10% a day was a big deal for me, even if all it afforded me was the chance to buy lunch a few times a week.

Once in a while, I’d have a big score. When you shop for more expensive items, like electronics, the company requires you to make the purchase and then ship the product back to them. But, during the flush days of early 2008, a sportswear company asked me to buy a $250 watch for reimbursement—and I got to keep it. (Actually, I returned it to the store, making twice the amount back.)

It was amazing how quickly that money grew: Thanks to my mystery shopping, I was able to set up automatic withdrawals each month from my checking account to an emergency fund and an account for house savings. At the height of my shopping, I was probably registered with 75 companies. I was shopping six days a week, sometimes even on Sundays—for brunch, of course!

But it was worth it: I made about $14,000 that year as a mystery shopper, and that’s not including reimbursements—just pure earnings. (For the record, I was issued a 1099 by any company that paid me more than $599 and taxed on those earnings.)

In September of 2008, I paid for a 2009 Honda Fit—in cash! There’s no way that I would have been able to do that otherwise. I love that car to this day.

Why I Scaled Back My Mystery Shopping

When the recession hit, a lot of companies that prevously relied on mystery shoppers for customer feedback switched to different methods—like customer surveys in exchange for small giveaways—so there are fewer opportunities now.

I also changed law firms, and I make roughly $20,000 more annually, so I don’t need to spend as much free time mystery shopping. But even though companies aren’t as liberal with their perks due to post-recession budget tightening, they’re paying similar rates—and I can still earn decent extra cash.

In an average month these days, I probably do 10 to 15 shops. Although it’s all about convenience now—if I know that I’m going to be headed to a certain restaurant or store, I’ll squeeze in a shop. I can’t see a reason to stop!

Interested in trying mystery shopping yourself? Our mystery shopper recommends getting certified for just $10 through MSPA North America, allowing you to gain access to listings.

—

Love reading other people’s financial tales? Check out more great LearnVest-exclusive personal stories.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Garden centre name badges boost customer satisfaction by 12 per cent

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:16:00 +0000

By Matthew Appleby Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Article from Horticulture Week

Researchers have found that in garden retail businesses, wearing a name badge can make a huge and immediate difference to customer satisfaction levels.

Name badges can improve customer confidence very quickly, survey found - image: Dobbies

The study, carried out by mystery shopping and customer experience experts Shopper Anonymous, found that when garden centres they work with introduced name badges for all staff, customer satisfaction ratings rose by 12 per cent almost overnight, in comparison to those that didn’t require staff to wear badges.

The figure came out of the study of 10,000 mystery shopper reports carried out in garden centres and related retail outlets over the last eight years in the UK, Australia and New Zealand by Shopper Anonymous.

Mystery shoppers wanted staff to be wearing badges so they could distinguish between staff and other shoppers if uniforms weren’t being worn; said they trusted staff wearing name badges and were more likely to build up a relationship conducive to making a sale with someone who wasn’t anonymous.

Founder and MD of Shopper Anonymous Jonathan Winchester says the findings carry a stark message for those running garden centres and nurseries:

"Who wouldn’t want to see an almost immediate rise in satisfaction from their customers? It’s a no brainer, isn’t it? It may seem like a minor thing but customers like to know who they’re being served by and it makes it easier for the staff member to build rapport, thus making it easier to sell on.

"Badges also make staff more accountable for their actions and attitude as customers know who to complain about.

"I often hear garden centre owners saying ‘my staff don’t want to wear name badges’ but it should be part of conditions of employment, and management need to lead by example; after all, the manager is the first person customers want to be able to identify.

"A lot of consumer focused businesses such as garden centres really don’t know what customers think of their staff or service or whether they come away with a positive or negative impression, as they’ve never been mystery-shopped. It’s only by regular checking through a programme of mystery shopping that you discover the valuable insights and small changes such as introducing name badges that can make huge differences to the business."

Winchester's top tips for introducing name badges into your business:

First names only: this helps allay security fears.
Don’t make the badges too shiny: they need to be readable under bright over-head lighting.
Make sure staff understand the benefit of wearing badges and make their importance part of staff training.
Senior staff need to lead by example by always wearing one.
Ask your mystery shoppers to specifically look for name badges when dealing with staff, and reward those
identified and successfully mystery shopped.
Reward those who remember to wear their badge with spot prizes and team awards

Case Study

Paul Cooling of Cooling’s Garden Centre near Sevenoaks in Kent introduced name badges for all staff a few years ago and has seen the difference they can make:

"Having people’s names on view definitely helps improve the perception of good customer service. Some of those in the upper echelons of retail have had name badges for their staff for some time and Coolings now do the same; if anyone is without a name badge, the rest of the team pull them up on it as it lets the rest of the team down.

"If someone is giving good service, the customer will look for that staff member’s name and look for that staff member again in the future. We often get complimentary letters mentioning good service and mentioning people by name –

which goes down very well when they’re pinned up in the staff room, boosting team morale.

"Staff are definitely more aware that they’re accountable when they’re wearing their name badge. When we introduced them one or two people felt it intruded on their privacy, especially some of the less outgoing staff members, but now they all wear it without questioning it.

"Giving the staff name badges has definitely been a benefit to the business. We spend hundreds of pounds a year on the badges themselves as all staff have two, one on a fleece and one on their inner shirt so there’s always one on view, so we definitely think it’s worth it."

Article from Horticulture Week

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

This mystery wasn’t from the top shelf, says Terri Psiakis

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 11:40:00 +0000

05 Apr, 2012 10:59 AM

Article from The City Weekly

The truth is out there and it’s in suburban Adelaide, apparently. Closed-circuit TV footage from a supermarket in Brompton, South Australia, recently showed “unexplained footage” – and no, it’s not of a shopper getting through the 12-items-or-less-queue with 73 items.

The footage, captured on security cameras in the dead of night, shows a packet of fruit snacks being flung from a shelf. With no evidence of a break-in, no security alarms activated and no other human being visible in the footage, ghosts – that’s ghosts, not rats – were blamed for the event and the matter was suddenly in the hands of the Adelaide Paranormal Detectives.

One theory about the “spooky” occurrence is that it’s linked to the death of world-famous boxer Bora Altintas, who was shot dead in front of the store in 1998.

Let me make it clear: I am a sceptic. When I watched The X-Files I was definitely barracking for Scully (although I certainly wouldn’t have minded giving Mulder a quick rub-down.)

Being a sceptic makes me wary of this supermarket ghost story. For starters, I found it on the internet and we all know real ghost stories are told around campfires. If I’d found the story on the internet and it had consisted of a news reporter being filmed talking while sitting somewhere near an open flame – even while just brandishing a Zippo lighter – perhaps I would have found it slightly more credible.

Besides which, stuff gets flung from supermarket shelves all the time. Especially when I get distracted and accidentally let The Sprout get too close when she’s in the trolley. (Last week we went up and down about four aisles before I realised she’d been clutching a packet of Ansell sibling-stoppers the whole time – no wonder people had been glaring at me disapprovingly.)

As for the event being related to the boxer’s death, let me tell you, Bora Altintas was an underworld figure known to mix with outlaw bikies. I’m reasonably certain that if he was in any way still around, he would have far more interesting things to do at 11.30pm than chuck a packet of Roll-ups. This is far more likely to be the work of what’s known in the retail trade as a “mystery shopper”.

Mystery shoppers are people who visit stores and businesses anonymously at the request of the owners to observe and report on the quality of customer service.

Years ago when I worked in retail I didn’t actually know that but it still sounded a bit exciting, so when I was told to “treat every customer as though they might be a mystery shopper” I imagined that meant that at any moment, any customer might be about to anonymously present me with a large amount of money via a novelty cheque.

Regardless, mystery shoppers are meant to go pretty much unnoticed. I wouldn’t be surprised if one had gone so unnoticed at the Brompton supermarket that they had become wedged inside a grocery shelf and were now randomly flinging out fruit snacks at odd hours in an attempt to subtly remind the owner that they were still there and were now billing overtime.

And now for the Adelaide Paranormal Detectives: I’d like to tell you more about them but they are not on the internet, although if I ever happen to come across somebody telling a story about them around a campfire, I’ll let you know. You can follow Terri on Twitter @terripsiakis

Article from The City Weekly

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Mystery Shopper: The Eastbourne Supremacy...

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:30:00 +0000

by Mark Sutton

about 23 hours ago

Article from Bike Biz

IN NEWS

Which of this town's many retailers made a strong case for purchasing at their store?

Coastal Eastbourne would make an idyllic setting for packing in the miles along the seafront, even if the beach promenade does have ‘no cycling signs’ plastered all over it. Mystery Shopper ignores the warnings and goes in search of road bike and some fish and chips…

Phoenix Cycles

The first visit of the day sets the bar and nine times out of ten independent stores set the bar at a reasonable height.

It wasn't to be with this visit, however, as having done circles on the shop floor for five minutes unseen by staff, a matter of seconds more would have seen a walk out without interaction.

Thankfully, prior to that, intervention by the staffer came. Popping out from behind the counter, the staffer heard my brief and without hesitation told me “you've come at the wrong time of year.” There's a time of year for shopping?

“It will be around two months before we have stocks of road bikes again,” said the assistant. It goes without saying that that long a period without key items such as road bikes in a seaside town with cyclists aplenty is without doubt lost money.

I was passed a Giant catalogue and told to return in a month's time. You have to wonder, in this day and age, what kind of customer ready to buy would wait a month to purchase without at least browsing elsewhere.

Halfords

Little else could have fitted my brief better than a Boardman, given the Olympic star’s design team having a knack for knocking out bikes bang on my budget of £800 to £1,000?

Mystery Shopper tends to give ten minutes before being seen in most Halfords branches as staff numbers seem to vary drastically between visits. On this visit very few were present and my assistant was busy unpacking stock on the mezzanine bike department.

Having given near ten minutes I decided to intervene and having established that only the Boardman line would satisfy my brief – asked a few simple questions. Responses ranged from "I think so", through blunt yes and no replies while the staffer continued to unpack cleaning fluids. To summarise the broken pieces of information given, I was advised to shop at Halfords.com where deals I’d find details and "stuff probably a bit cheaper".

Seeing little opportunity to take much more from the experience I chose to leave it there.

Tri Store

One of the more spacious, well presented outlets in town, Tri Store carried a strong range from multiple brands, giving the assistant plenty to contrast and compare.

Both pros and cons were had here, with the latter centering largely around the assistant freely giving up the information on sizing that I’d need to go in order to shop online without any suggestion of why it’s best to buy (and size up) local when dropping £1,000 on a road bike.

There were, however, far more positives to take away, with warranty of each brand in my price bracket covered, a discussion on the transition from flat pedals to clip ins and the intermittent personal recommendations, which ultimately gave this store a lot more character than other stores that had stuck to the hard facts.

This was also the only shop to enquire about whether my employer offered a cycle to work scheme, which according to the staffer “could see me walk away with a bundle of kit,” given my upper 1K budget.

Cycleman

Cycleman appeared to stock a bit of everything, with a display outside and higher priced bikes inside.

Perhaps just to Mystery Shopper’s taste, a manned workstand on the shop floor often makes a retail environment look cluttered. Nonetheless, it does get you seen quickly.

On that plus point, the assistant was able to step away from his repair job and immediately begin selling bikes, flagging three up – one above my price range.

Explaining the build in a jargon free manner, this Italian made Botecchia was compared to the lower priced Claud Butler’s in a concise fashion. Weight was first to be discussed and bikes were pulled from the racks for that hands on approach. The versatility of a flat barred bike with knobbly tyres was then touted, should I ever have the urge to return to my earlier discussed ‘off road roots’.

When Mystery Shopper pushed the topic of add on sale pieces such as mudguards, the helper became a little more stand off-ish, providing no concise answers on whether or not the bikes in question could accommodate guards come winter.

Evolution - Star Store

Greeted on the doormat it was a strong first impression from this town centre store.

As one of the more talkative and confident sales pitches of the day, Mystery Shopper was in store for as long as the duration of a beachfront parking ticket would allow. In that time Evolution's staff managed to remove bikes from the racks for me to get to grips with, make well reasoned comparisons between the value for money aspects of various brands and dispatch my questions about fitting extras such as guards with ease.

Evolution was only one of two stores to mention properly sizing me up to a bike, which you'd think is a necessity for this kind of purchase. Furthermore, beyond our discussion about guard fitting, the storekeeper also made strong attempts to toy with my semi flexible budget, recommending the purchase of a helmet and cycling shoes, should I choose to clip in.

Resisting the urge to give away any detail that would allow me to order online, this store gave me real incentives to return for a purchase, using 2011 end of line discounts that “may not hang around for long” as a lure.

Summary

It’s tough to say that any store really ‘nailed it’ on this visit. As strong as Evolution and Tri Store were, both had plus points over one another in certain areas – and were furthermore head and shoulders above others in town on this occasion.

There’s plenty of ...

coastal town and there were a handful of other retailers Mystery Shopper could have visited had we enough room on the page. This, to me, says that if you’re going to be in business here you’ve got to be sharp and stand out in a customer’s mind once they’ve left the store. On this merit alone, Evolution will scoop this month’s Star Store.

Article from Bike Biz

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Mystery shopper job ads may be scams

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:25:00 +0000

Monday, April 02, 2012 Article from ABC

Ric Romero

More: Bio, E-mail, Facebook, Home Page, News Team

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- When you hear about Grace's job, you just might become envious.

"There is a lot of variety, there is a lot of flexibility, I make a lot of money," she said. "I get so much free stuff I can't even keep it all. I have to give it away."

What exactly is her job? She's a mystery shopper, someone who secretly poses as a regular customer to evaluate the business they're visiting and then report on the service, quality and overall experience.

When Grace first found out about mystery shopping, she nearly got scammed. After responding to an email advertisement for a mystery shopper job, Grace got a packet in the mail from a company called Full Time Shopper Inc. with only a mail drop for an address. Inside the packet was a check for $1,270.

"They wanted me to deposit it in my bank, and then take out," she said. "I think it was $400 and then wire it back to them, so I got to keep a whole $800."

But not for long, according to Janet Eden Harris of Market Force, a legitimate mystery shopper company.

"Of course, the check really isn't valid, and you now have just sent them money," Harris said.

Once you find out the check or postal money order is no good or bogus and you've wired the money, it's too late, there's no way to get the money back and you lose.

"You definitely want to be aware, if you're thinking about doing mystery shopping that you check out the company," Harris said. "Make sure it's legit.

Another tip from Harris is if you ever get offered money before or an advance before doing mystery shopping, be careful.

"That's a great tip off. It's not legit," she said.

Fortunately for Grace, when she got the bogus check, she knew something was wrong.

"The more I look, the more I think this is not legitimate, this looks like a high schooler typed this out on their computer," Grace said. "There is nothing professional looking about it."

If you want to be a mystery shopper, remember these red flags:

Legitimate mystery shopper companies do not advertise for jobs with fliers on telephone poles, unsolicited emails or telemarketing calls.
Be wary of a company that guarantees you a job as a mystery shopper.
Never pay a fee to apply or to obtain a job.
Don't ever wire money to the company that is supposedly hiring you.
"People that like to do mystery shopping, they come from all walks of life, but the last thing you want is to get pulled into this scam," Harris said.

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Why offers to become a 'mystery shopper' require lots of scrutiny

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:00:00 +0000

By (ARA)

Article from JS Online

(ARA) - Being paid to shop - a dream come true, right? Not so fast. While legitimate "mystery shopper" programs that pay people to shop and provide feedback on their experience exist, there are a number of scams out there that use "mystery shopping" as a cover. Therefore, it pays to be ultra-skeptical if you're ever approached with a mystery shopping offer.

In the typical scam, the victim is approached through the mail, over the phone or by email to become a mystery shopper. Often, one of the first things that happens is the victim is sent a check with instructions to deposit it. The victim will then be asked to send a money transfer using part of the money they received from the check, as the fraudster says they are evaluating a particular money transfer service.

Then the problems start. If the victim deposited a bad check from the fraudster, there's a good chance the bank made the funds available before the check actually cleared. When the check is later discovered to be fraudulent, which can take weeks, the victim will be responsible to the bank for the returned check and if they have wired the money as part of the mystery shopping scam they will have lost the money.

Western Union has teamed up with the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) to provide the following tips on how to recognize whether a mystery shopping offer is legitimate:

* You should never be asked to pay to sign up as a shopper. On the other side of the coin, legitimate mystery shopper programs will also never pay individuals before the actual shop is completed. No real mystery shopping program would take the chance of sending individuals a check for work that has yet to be done.

* Don't assume that official-looking feedback forms provided for your use make the offer legitimate. This includes the mystery shopping company website and materials which appear to be from an actual mystery shopping company. Fraudsters will often go as far as to "Knock Off" or create a company's logo and documents to sell their scam.

* Verify the mystery shopping company name at www.mysteryshop.org to see if they are registered with the MSPA. However, just because they are registered, don't automatically assume the offer is legitimate. Visit the company's website to make sure the phone number given to you in the offer matches the company's phone number. According to Michael Mershimer, Chairman of the MSPA's Industry Integrity Committee, and owner of HS Brands International, "Search for the company online - don't use a link provided in an email offer, because that could lead you to a bogus website page, which appears identical to the actual mystery shopping company website."

* If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are no mystery shopping jobs paying over $20 available to the general public who have never shopped for a mystery shopping company in the past.

Western Union also offers the following general tips for avoiding money transfer scams:

* Only send money to people you personally know and trust.

* Never send money through Western Union for job opportunities such as mystery shopping.

* Never send funds from a check deposited in your account until it officially clears which can take weeks. Just because funds are available does not mean a check has cleared.

* If someone gives you money, there's no legitimate reason for them to ask you to wire that money back to them.

If you think you've been approached by a fraudulent mystery shopping scam, contact the authorities. Your local police station can help, and you can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. For more information on mystery shopping scams and other common types of consumer fraud, visit www.westernunion.com/stopfraud.

Article from JS Online

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

American Diabetes Wholesale Awarded With Excellent Rating By STELLAService

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:44:00 +0000

PRWeb
Friday, March 30th 2012
Article from Virtual Strategy

STELLAService, an independent company that rates the customer service performance of online businesses, recently recognized American Diabetes Wholesale as having outstanding customer service.

Pompano Beach, FL (PRWEB) March 30, 2012

STELLAService, an independent company that rates the customer service performance of online businesses, recently recognized American Diabetes Wholesale as having outstanding customer service.

STELLAService leverages a nationwide network of mystery shoppers to stress test more than 300 different elements of the online customer experience using the most robust evaluation methodology ever assembled for online customer service.

American Diabetes Wholesale was awarded a rating of ‘Excellent’ by STELLAService. Less than 50% of companies rated by STELLAService achieve the award.

Online businesses with EXCELLENT ratings are eligible to display the STELLAService seal on their sites. This seal is the only trustmark on the Web that objectively and credibly communicates to shoppers that a business is truly dedicated to providing great customer service.

Chris Maguire, Executive Vice-President and co-founder of American Diabetes Wholesale, says ‘Customer Service is the most important facet of our business. Our team is 100% committed to providing the best overall service to each customer we service. We understand the importance of shipping medical supplies and are dedicated to provide customers with courtesy and care in a quick manner so their needs are fully met’.

About American Diabetes Wholesale:

American Diabetes Wholesale (ADW) is a diabetes supply mail order company that is dedicated to keeping diabetes management affordable. ADW is focused on helping customers effectively manage their disease and offers over 6000 diabetes-related products, including diabetes testing supplies, blood pressure monitors, diabetic friendly food and other healthcare products. ADW is committed to provide all their customers fast service, significant discounts and support for customers who have health insurance, as well as the uninsured. ADW is involved in and supports the diabetes community and organizations that further diabetes education and research. http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com

About STELLAService:

Dedicated to helping consumers make more informed online shopping decisions, STELLAService is the first and only independent provider of customer service ratings for online retailers. Using its proprietary, rigorous evaluation system, STELLAService rates thousands of retailers each year across a broad array of criteria, including usability and online tools, shipping and returns and customer support. To maintain its independence and objectivity, STELLAService pays for all products it purchases and relies on its staff of trained, full-time customer experience analysts to test the companies it evaluates. Based in New York City, the company also publishes reports and other research to help companies worldwide improve their service operations.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebamericandiabeteswholesale/stellaservice/prweb9322896.htm

Article from Virtual Strategy

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Why offers to become a 'mystery shopper' require lots of scrutiny

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:50:00 +0000

By (ARA) March 27, 2012

Article from Journal Sentinel Online

Western Union has teamed up with the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) to provide the following tips on how to recognize whether a mystery shopping offer is legitimate:

Western Union also offers the following general tips for avoiding money transfer scams:

* Only send money to people you personally know and trust.

* Never send money through Western Union for job opportunities such as mystery shopping.

* Never send funds from a check deposited in your account until it officially clears which can take weeks. Just because funds are available does not mean a check has cleared.

* If someone gives you money, there's no legitimate reason for them to ask you to wire that money back to them.

Article from Journal Sentinel Online

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Tales of a Mystery Shopper in Indonesia

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:36:00 +0000

Thomas Roberson | March 16, 2012
Article from Jakarta Globe

Look Closer founder Adi Kwok says he has audited close to 500 stores from Jakarta to Bali, bringing to the task his expertise as a graduate of hospitality management in Switzerland. (Photos courtesy of Adi Kwok)

When the term “mystery shopping” comes up in conversations, heads turn and brows furrow. Is that James Bond gathering secrets about an Apple retailer in Gandaria City Mall and then sending them to MI5? Or perhaps a SEAL Team gathering reconnaissance on J. COs around Jakarta for the CIA? Well, sort of.

Adi Kwok, who owns and operates a mystery shopping service called Look Closer, is in many ways the James Bond of Jakarta. A master of espionage, Adi’s line of work has him posing as a customer at his clients’ places of business to assess their level of service. And business is good.

“We have engaged with a large bakery with more than 200 branches. We also have a holding company with several fashion brands under it, adding around 450 to 500 stores and restaurants to our portfolio,” says Adi, who has audited close to 500 stores from Jakarta to Bali, and is opening a new office on the popular island destination this summer. “Not bad for a company started only a year ago. But we are always looking to grow.”

Once undercover, Adi takes detailed notes about how customers are treated in any given situation, from someone complaining about a refund to how quickly a glass is refilled at a restaurant.

He might be in the store you work at now, going floor-to-ceiling, counting the books on the shelves or checking the tidiness of the pleated khakis on the 50-percent-off rack. Department stores in Jakarta better make sure the “On Sale” sign is clearly visible, or Adi is bound to take a mental note or discretely snap a photo to inform the supervisor that the sign has fallen behind the boxer briefs.

An unlikely visionary, Adi had wanted to be in the military since he was young, but his father wouldn’t allow it. Nevertheless, while visiting hotels abroad growing up, he sampled countless types of cuisine and culture, and was drawn to a new passion: hospitality.

After studying hospitality management in Switzerland, Adi went on to run several top-notch businesses, from Planet Hollywood Singapore to five-star hotels along Singapore’s famous Orchard Road and even a high-end fashion retailer in Jakarta.

As for weird requests, he’s seen and heard them all, from a Dutch boy who demanded only yellow M&Ms to a member of the Saudi royal family who requested a buffet at 1 a.m. only to make a tuna sandwich and head off to bed. Adi enjoyed every minute of it.

“I’m naturally a very curious person, I’m the type of person who never gives up,” he says. “So I always try to innovate and compete at a high level.”

Today, Adi finds himself serving Indonesians in a different, more subtle way. He has his eyes set on upending Indonesia’s nascent but burgeoning service industry.

As a mystery shopper, Adi sometimes brings along his 7-year-old son to go even deeper undercover. He might just step into a dim sum joint. It’s probably a nice restaurant, well-lit with tasteful flowers, but perhaps the hostess didn’t greet Adi with a smile. Maybe his order wasn’t served properly, or just as importantly, punctually. Nobody wants to eat cold dim sum.

Supervisors best beware too, if not more so. Adi will certainly check that they’re helping customers when employees are not. And in any case, the poor work ethic of an employee is a reflection of the supervisor’s own work ethic. The same goes for managers, for no one is safe from the ever-watchful eyes of the Look Closer investigators.

You see, Adi and his team answer straight to the top, because that’s what mystery shopping is all about: letting the owner of an establishment know how well his or her place of business is being run.

But there’s no need to be frightened, because it’s not all negative. If someone goes out of his or her way to help, or if the service exceeds expectations, the Look Closer team will certainly send that information to the boss as well. Good news is just as important — and always more welcome — than bad news. It’s all about honesty and transparency, giving the owners a full report card of how well or how poorly their employees operate.

That’s right, a report card. After Look Closer finishes an assignment, the experienced industry “detectives” compile all the data gathered from the inspection into a detailed description. The team uses a point system to grade different aspects of a client’s business, such as cleanliness and professionalism or employee-customer interactions, like up-selling. Once this is done, the team turns in a final overall transcript to the client.

Look Closer will even perform special requests. It’s not uncommon for a retail client to ask them to return clothes to see how a cashier handles a refund or to double check if the employees are informing customers of unique promotions and sales. No task is too small.

Some might say this business model doesn’t make sense. As an owner, why pay another business to grade how the staff perform when it’s easy enough to just ask a friend or family member to do it for free?

“Most importantly, that friend or family member might not be working in that industry,” Adi says over coffee in Kemang, South Jakarta.

“They don’t know what to look for, what’s good or what’s bad. Whereas the mystery shoppers we have assigned, each of them has at least two years of experience as an operational manager in that specific case field. And of course, you cannot expect a friend or relative to write a report.”

Friends or family are great for sharing a cappuccino with, but they probably don’t know the finer points of being a barista, such as the time it takes to make that cappuccino. So what sets Look Closer apart from the competition? It is not the only mystery shopper service in Indonesia.

“Because these mystery shoppers are professionals,” Adi says with a confident grin, “they give us a very accurate report from a manager’s perspective.”

So, unlike other companies who hire any Tommy, Dede or Harry to grade an establishment, Look Closer employs professionals who have made careers in their respective industries.

From retailers to restaurants, amusement parks and beyond, the service industry is becoming a big part of the growing and diverse Indonesian economy. And ambitious young Jakartans are quickly becoming aware of the opportunities. Though, like the many other expanding markets in Indonesia, it’s struggling to keep up. Look Closer is stepping in to fill the void.

But the good news is that if you take pride in what you do, you won’t need to be on the lookout for Adi and the Look Closer team. “I’ve always tried to motivate my team by saying that if you’re simply here for a job, go somewhere else.” Adi says. “You should be looking for a real career.”

Article from Jakarta Globe

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Nelson cellar door experience gets a big tick

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:06:00 +0000

15:08 March 23, 2012
Press Release – Nelson Winegrowers Association
Article from Business.Scoop

Visitors to Nelson are getting an excellent cellar door experience along with their wine tasting, according to an independent survey commissioned by the Nelson Winegrowers Association.Nelson cellar door experience gets a big tick

Visitors to Nelson are getting an excellent cellar door experience along with their wine tasting, according to an independent survey commissioned by the Nelson Winegrowers Association.

Association General Manager, Gisela Purcell, says the mystery shopper survey was judged on various criteria covering staff, service and delivery of information.

“It took note of things like how easy it was to find the cellar door, initial impressions and the helpfulness of staff – which included how well they were able to talk, not only about their wine, but about things for visitors to do or see in the region.”

The association commissioned the survey to get objective feedback on cellar door service, to identify ‘stand-outs’ and to reveal areas that could be improved.

“The responses were overwhelmingly positive,” Gisela says, “the mystery shoppers were very impressed with the great work that’s going on at our cellar doors.”

Woollaston Estates returned the best survey results and was the winner of the competition, with Brightwater Vineyards runner up.

“Wine tourism is a very important part of the region’s tourism industry, and these two wineries demonstrate how to ensure a positive cellar door experience for our visitors,” Gisela says.

Woollaston Estates General Manager Scott Ingram credits their success in the competition to Cellar Door Manager, Vanessa Paton.

“Vanessa has huge wine knowledge and brings an extra level of professionalism, plus we are very fortunate to have four wonderful staff members at our cellar door,” Scott says. “They are the face of Woollaston – if people have a good experience when they visit the winery, they are more likely to support our brand and bring their friends and family back for repeat visits.”

Brightwater Winery owner, Valley Neale, says they are constantly striving to help visitors have a good time while they are in Nelson, which includes offering information about other activities and attractions.

“We are not just selling wine, we are ambassadors for Nelson – it’s the whole package,” she says. “As we don’t employ cellar door staff our visitors meet one of the owners or the wine maker so they are all intimately knowledgeable about the wine and can answer questions about the vineyard and explain the winemaking process.”

The Nelson Winegrowers Association intends to repeat the survey annually.

ENDS

Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz

Original url

Article from Business.Scoop

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Excellent service in local wineries - survey

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:18:00 +0000

Contributor: Voxy News Engine
Thursday, 22 March, 2012 - 09:14
Article from voxy.co.nz

Visitors to Nelson are getting an excellent cellar door experience along with their wine tasting, according to an independent survey commissioned by the Nelson Winegrowers Association.

Association General Manager, Gisela Purcell, says the mystery shopper survey was judged on various criteria covering staff, service and delivery of information.

"It took note of things like how easy it was to find the cellardoor, initial impressions and the helpfulness of staff - which included how well they were able to talk, not only about their wine, but about things for visitors to do or see in the region."

The association commissioned the survey to get objective feedback on cellar door service, to identify 'stand-outs' and to reveal areas that could be improved.

"The responses were overwhelmingly positive," Gisela says, "the mystery shoppers were very impressed with the great work that's going on at our cellar doors."

Woollaston Estates returned the best survey results and was the winner of the competition, with Brightwater Vineyards runner up.

"Wine tourism is a very important part of the region's tourism industry, and these two wineries demonstrate how to ensure a positive cellar door experience for our visitors," Gisela says.

Woollaston Estates General Manager Scott Ingram credits their success in the competition to Cellar Door Manager, Vanessa Paton.

"Vanessa has huge wine knowledge and brings an extra level of professionalism, plus we are very fortunate to have four wonderful staff members at our cellar door," Scott says. "They are the face of Woollaston - if people have a good experience when they visit the winery, they are more likely to support our brand and bring their friends and family back for repeat visits."

"We are not just selling wine, we are ambassadors for Nelson - it's the whole package," she says. "As we don't employ cellar door staff our visitors meet one of the owners or the wine maker so they are all intimately knowledgeable about the wine and can answer questions about the vineyard and explain the winemaking process."

The Nelson Winegrowers Association intends to repeat the survey annually.

Article from voxy.co.nz

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Onslaught of surveys frays customer patience

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 22:54:00 +0000

By William Grimes / New York Times News Service
Published: March 17. 2012 4:00AM PST
Article from the BendBulletin.com

Kimberly Nasief, the owner of Measure Consumer Perspectives, a company that uses mystery shoppers for customer service evaluation, has posted videos on YouTube showing the painful process of filling out her least favorite surveys.

Angela Shoemaker New York Times News Service

A commercial transaction, in its simplest form, involves a customer paying for goods or services. But these days, that is just the first step.

Businesses want your opinion of them, too, and their requests for feedback, like relentless tugs on the sleeve, now seem to come with every purchase, every call to a customer service department and every click of a mouse that is followed with a pop-up ad pleading with users to take a survey about the “website experience.”

On the telephone, in the mail, on their computers, smartphones and iPads, U.S. consumers are being solicited as never before to express their feelings about coffeemakers, hand creams, triple-bypass operations, veterinarians, dry cleaners and insurance agents.

One reason is that software companies like SurveyGizmo and QuestionPro have made it possible for small companies to create customer surveys at a fraction of the cost of traditional surveys done by established research companies. Businesses of all sizes, desperate to lock in customer loyalty, see surveys as a window into the emotional world of their customers and a database that will offer guidance on how to please them.

“It’s like the gold rush now,” said Jonathan Barsky, a founder of Market Metrix, which develops systems for measuring customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry. “Anyone who can craft a customer survey and throw it on the Internet is doing it.”

There is no way to determine exactly how many consumer satisfaction surveys are completed each year, but Mindshare Technologies, a small company that conducts and analyzes on-the-spot electronic surveys, says it completes 175,000 surveys every day, or more than 60 million annually.

ForeSee, an offshoot of the American Customer Satisfaction Index in Ann Arbor, Mich., a company that measures consumer sentiment about business and government, says it collected 15 million surveys in 2011.

Survey fatigue

Consumer patience may be fraying under the onslaught. The constant nagging has led to a condition known as survey fatigue and declining response rates over the past decade.

“The frequent requests to fill out these surveys, especially with no incentives, have been so annoying that people just stop doing it,” said Richard Oliver, a professor of management at Vanderbilt University and the author of the textbook “Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer” (McGraw Hill, 1996). “In the old days, you felt as though you had been selected to represent the community, or even the nation. But this is the information age, and people know their information is worth something.”

If customers balk at taking what can feel like an SAT test, the fault may lie with the surveys themselves. Many businesses, often against the advice of the experts they have hired to construct their questionnaires, cannot resist the urge to ask, ask and ask yet again. Exasperated consumers, assured that the survey will take only five minutes to complete, often bail out as they approach the 10-minute mark.

Kimberly Nasief, the owner of Measure Consumer Perspectives, a company that sends mystery shoppers into stores, fills out customer satisfaction surveys out of professional interest. She recently wrote a screed on her blog, Service Witch, about the excessive length and lack of focus in most online surveys.

“The one that broke my back was a survey for Babies R Us,” she said in an interview. “I wrote a blog entry, ‘Infant Who Begins Babies R Us Customer Satisfaction Survey Dies of Old Age.’ ”

In an act of revenge, she has posted videos on YouTube showing the painful process of filling out her least favorite surveys, from Walmart, Wendy’s, Continental Airlines, and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores — this last is an epic requiring two videos.

A renewed push

To counter survey fatigue, companies are pressing consumers with renewed urgency. On their register receipts, stores like Walmart, Petco and Rite Aid include a Web address and an invitation to fill out a survey, with the chance to win a prize. At Staples, the prize is a $5,000 store card.

In the auto industry, which tries to measure customer satisfaction at every possible stage, from the first tentative Web search to the last service visit, the assessment ritual can become a kind of performance.

Sales representatives have been known to show pictures of their wives and children as they plead for a favorable review in their dealership’s satisfaction survey. Some show their customers a sample survey already ticked off with top marks in every rating category.

Pressure tactics have crept into other industries as well. Cable technicians, after completing an installation or repair, often call in to the head office to report and then hand their cellphone over to the customer for a quick round of questioning about the service, an awkward conversation with the technician standing a few feet away.

Sales clerks who once concluded a transaction with “Have a nice day” now plead with customers to fill out surveys and award good marks because “my job depends on it.”

For beleaguered consumers, the forecast looks grim: more questionnaires. Although businesses now harvest a wealth of information on social media and opinion sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, they are unlikely to abandon the customer satisfaction surveys, for at least two reasons.

“From social media you can gauge sentiment and to a lesser extent underlying emotional content,” said Leonard Murphy, who writes for the marketing blog GreenBook. “But you won’t be able to determine why the customer feels that way. A survey gives you the opportunity to dig deeper.”

Traditional surveys are also deeply embedded in the salary and bonus structures of big companies, which have accumulated decades’ worth of information and statistics that analysts use for year-to-year comparisons.

Article from The BendBulletin.com

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

More than half of retail Facebook pages have a shopping element

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:27:00 +0000

March 13, 2012, 12:28 PM

Article from Internet Retailer

16% of merchants allow shoppers to buy on Facebook, the E-tailing Group says.

Zak Stambor

Senior Editor

Topics: consumer reviews, E-tailing Group, Facebook, Facebook and e-commerce, Facebook shopping, industry statistics, Lauren Freedman, Like button, Moosejaw Mountaineering, Mystery Shopping study, product pages, social commerce, social media

Shopping on Facebook? There’s scant evidence that’s what consumers want to do while on the social network. “Many retailers are not seeing a strong return on their investment from their efforts selling on Facebook,” says Lauren Freedman, president of consulting firm the E-tailing Group Inc.

But that hasn’t stopped 51% of retailers from enabling consumers to browse their products on Facebook, according to the E-Tailing Group’s 14th Annual Mystery Shopping Study. And 16% enable shoppers to buy directly on Facebook. Most of the rest link back to the retailer’s e-commerce site.

Whether those efforts will continue depends on whether retailers can figure out how to persuade consumers to buy via Facebook, says Freedman. “Retailers will follow the money and should results be forthcoming, you can certainly expect to find their participation to grow,” she says.

The research firm’s Mystery Shopping Study was conducted during the fourth quarter of 2011 and focused on both the retail site and Facebook page features and functions of 100 larger e-commerce web sites across 13 consumer product categories.

The survey found that retailers have also embraced social elements on their e-commerce sites. For instance, 65% of retailers are sorting landing pages by customer reviews, compared with 48% during the same period in 2010. Some retailers, like Moosejaw Mountaineering, No. 281 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, even have a separate tabbed section of the landing page that enables shoppers to view results based on those reviews.

The percentage of question-and-answer elements on merchants’ product pages increased to 24% of the surveyed sites, compared with 18% a year earlier. That’s important because product pages are where shoppers focus when shopping online, says Freedman.

“The product page is the destination for shoppers when they spend time, seek information and buy products,” she says. “This location must be comprehensive. While the social elements might not be as important as information and imagery, it still has a role to play and can feed on the traffic and take advantage of influencers.”

The survey also found that 37% of retailers had a social element, such as the Like button, in their post-order e-mails sent to consumers, compared with 29% in 2010.

Article from Internet Retailer

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Customer Service Emerges As 2012 Priority For Retailers

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:24:00 +0000

Monday, March 12, 2012

Article from San Francisco Chronicle

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 12, 2012

Customer service has emerged as a top priority for retailers in 2012. Already this year, 50 companies have joined an impressive list of hundreds of top retailers such as Zappos.com, Gilt.com, and 1-800 CONTACTS.com in leveraging the STELLAService seal on their websites to tell the world about their great customer service.

Dedicated to helping online shoppers make more informed buying decisions, STELLAService (www.stellaservice.com) rates thousands of retailers each year across more than 350 metrics, including usability and online tools, shipping and returns and customer support. The company leverages a nationwide network of full-time mystery shoppers to evaluate each site undercover, ensuring findings that are unbiased and true to the shopping experience.

"Our analysts have rated thousands of stores, and each day we receive more requests from those stores to display their customer service rating from STELLAService," Chief Executive Jordy Leiser said. "The Web already allows consumers to find any product at the lowest price, and now they're looking for the STELLAService seal to find stores with the best service. That's what matters to consumers in this new age of digital commerce. As a result, retailers realize they need to spread a credible, positive message around customer service."

Retailers' enthusiasm to communicate great service with the STELLAService seal mirrors the sentiment of a recent study by the National Retail Federation and auditing and advisory firm KPMG that suggests retailers have a renewed focus in 2012 on customer satisfaction.

The study shows that nearly 67 percent of the 247 companies polled rank customer satisfaction as the top strategic initiative in 2012 and, similarly, 82 percent say customer service strategies will be their top priority in the coming year, up from 75 percent last year.

Additionally, a 2011 American Express study reported that 70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service.

Online retailers who have already made a commitment to customer service this year by displaying the STELLAService seal include:

usbones.com

efavors.com

b-glowing.com

Handypantry.com

hansensurf.com

domyownpestcontrol.com

ecresearchcorp.com

baseballbats.com

hdis.com

headsets.com

lavera.com

carolinarustica.com

doddsshoe.com

cleopatraschoice.com

peterglenn.com

primarysafes.com

triathletesports.com

candyfavorites.com

MightyLeaf.com

austinbazaar.com

westcoastshaving.com

covenanthealthproducts.com

solestruck.com

garrettwade.com

techforless.com

candleluxury.com

discountwatchstore.com

mysafebirdstore.com

sprinklerwarehouse.com

kestrelmeters.com

titanium-jewelry.com

sportkilt.com

ultrafragrances.com

outdoorplay.com

batterymart.com

weddingringsdepot.com

daddiesboardshop.com

shopjimmy.com

beautystoredepot.com

lovetruenatural.com

us-elitegear.com

blackholeboards.com

candy.com

bikeman.com

buyradardetectors.com

zgostore.com

shelissacosmetics.com

championshipproductions.com

chasingtreasure.com

homelement.com

About STELLAService

Dedicated to helping consumers make more informed online shopping decisions, STELLAService is the first and only independent provider of customer service ratings for online retailers. The company leverages a nationwide network of full-time mystery shoppers to evaluate each site across more than 350 metrics, ensuring findings that are unbiased and true to the shopping experience. its data has been featured in outlets such as Time,SmartMoney, Consumerist, and CBS Money Watch . Based in New York City, the company also publishes reports and other research to help companies worldwide improve their service operations. For more information, visit www.STELLAService.com. Follow us on Twitter at @STELLAService. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/STELLAService.

# # #

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/3/prweb9267459.htm

Article from San Francisco Chronicle

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Mystery shopper catches out retailers

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:25:00 +0000

Article from tvnz

Published: 11:44AM Friday March 09, 2012 Source: ONE News

A consumer watchdog group says some retailers are misleading consumers about their legal rights with extended warranties.

Consumer NZ's deputy chief executive David Naulls said selling extended warranties for home appliances is a lucrative sideline for retailers.

"If you're buying goods for personal use, you don't usually need one. You already have strong after-sales rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act", he said.

Bond & Bond, Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming stores in Wellington all sold extended warranties with misleading advice about shoppers' legal rights when they were mystery shopped.

"Sales staff told us that if we did not buy an extended warranty - which can cost several hundred dollars - then we would have to go back to the manufacturer if the product failed," said Naulls.

Naulls said this advice is wrong.

"The Consumer Guarantees Act obliges retailers to guarantee the products they sell are of an acceptable quality. If a new product fails, and you haven't caused the fault, you go back to the retailer to get the problem fixed. You don't have to battle it out with the manufacturer," he said.

Article from tvnz

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Mystery Shopper results are tops

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:28:00 +0000

Published: 04/03/2012 12:00 - Updated: 02/03/2012 17:57
Article from MK News

Midsummer Place Shopping Centre has announced the results of its 2011 independent Mystery Shopper initiative, which has indicated the centre is achieving its highest level of customer standards.

Designed to ensure retailers are offering the best possible service, standards and highlight areas for improvement, the Mystery Shopper scheme is carried out by an independent company four times a year.

Briefed on a strict criteria - from perceptions on entering the store, signage, window displays, cleanliness and tidiness, zero dust visibility, general impressions, staff friendliness and service - the team are meticulous to ensure results are fair and constructive.

The results have revealed Caffe Italia as the overall winner receiving 100 per cent on each of the four individual visits. The Best Fashion retailer went to Hobbs with a rolling average of 92 per cent and the Most Improved since 2010 went to SportsDirect.com.

Martin Hindson, centre manager, said: “The customer experience is incredibly important to Midsummer Place and we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional customer service the Mystery Shopper scheme has been running for several years now and this is the second time we have handed out awards in recognition of our retailers achievements.”

Seventeen retailers achieved the highest level of 100 per cent on a single visit last year and 21 stores scored an over 90 per cent average throughout the whole of 2011.

Mr Hindson added: “These are incredibly high scoring results for most retailers and extremely encouraging. Each year the standard is raised a level and we work hard to achieve this to offer best practise throughout.”

Article from MK News

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Switching bank accounts – 8 out of 10 mystery shoppers faced difficulties

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 03:01:00 +0000

3/3/2012
Article from The Portugal News Online

Switching bank accounts may not be as easy as can be hoped, the European Commission has said following an in-depth investigation.

Results of a consumer market study published show that more than two thirds of mystery shoppers were not able to switch their bank account successfully.

The Commission’s 2007 inquiry into the retail banking sector identified significant barriers to customer mobility. These findings were followed by extensive consultation which led the European Commission to urge the Banking Industry Committee (EBIC) to act. EBIC established a self regulatory initiative based on common principles, which was expected to bring clarity for consumers, but today’s results show that self regulation in this case is clearly not delivering the desired results.

EU Health and Consumer Commissioner John Dalli said, “I would have liked to see this self regulation initiative working better and banks doing more to make switching easier for European consumers. Consumers need to be able to look for opportunities in the market without undue difficulty or fear of disruption of their payments or receipts. People should be able to change their bank account as easily as they do any other service.”

EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said “The results of the study published today explain why consumers change their banks so rarely. If consumers are not able to easily switch bank accounts, they cannot take advantage of better and cheaper banking services on offer elsewhere. The single market is thus deprived of the competitive drive that leads to innovation, cost savings and better quality banking services. This, in the long-run, can prove to be an obstacle to growth”.

In December 2010 the European Commission launched a mystery shopping exercise to monitor the effectiveness of the self regulation initiative, in all 27 EU Member States. Mystery shoppers conducted more than 1000 assessments involving more than 900 enquiries to test the provision of information and more than 400 tests for ease of switching.

The study found that only 19 percent of mystery shoppers were able to successfully open a bank account with a new bank and switch a standing order based on the process described in the Common Principles established through self-regulation.

A total of 81 percent of mystery shoppers had problems switching and they identified the following weaknesses; 71 percent of banks would not assist in the transfer (therefore they did not follow the procedures outlined in the Common Principles), while 7 percent of banks approached did not open an account and/or switch a standing order within fourteen working days and 3 percent of mystery shoppers found that the new bank refused to open a standard account. For example, shoppers were told they would have to receive their pay on the new account if they wanted to open it.

Edition: 1154

Article from The Portugal News Online

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

BBB Phone Bank Coming to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:45:00 +0000

Article from kstp.com

Many think of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) as a resource for consumers to call after they think they've been wronged. This month, the local BBB plans to take to the airwaves to promote a more proactive approach.

This Monday, (March 5) the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota will host a phonebank on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Midday and on that evening's newscasts. The purpose, says spokesperson Dan Hendrickson, is "to educate the public, provide information and answer questions from consumers regarding scams or unscrupulous business practices."

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS will also interview BBB staff during Sunday's (March 4) 8 a.m. newscast and again on the following Saturday's (March 10) morning newscast.

The appearances will be part of the BBB's efforts during the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) annual effort called National Consumer Protection Week.

"Like the FTC, our goal at the BBB is to protect consumers year-round," said BBB President Dana Badgerow. "However, the focus of National Consumer Protection Week is to show the public all the steps they can take to shield themselves from shady offers."

The phone bank on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS isn't your only opportunity to get advice. The BBB says it has Resource Specialists available by phone Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. You can reach them by calling 651-699-1111 or 1-800-646-6222. You can also find information online by clicking here.

In honor of National Consumer Protection Week, and the BBB's 100th anniversary, the organization released its "Scam Hall of Shame." Here are ten scams they want to warn you about:

1.) Bogus Health Products. The “granddaddy” of all other scams. Since the 1800s scammers have tried to peddle various elixirs and snake oils with claims to cure any and every malady, from balding to arthritis. The best way to protect yourself against this scam is to apply common sense and to talk to your doctor before using any “new” health product – especially ones that make outrageous claims.

2.) Advance Fee Loans – This scam has plagued consumers for years, and works like this: people in desperate financial straits search the Internet for a lender that will help them. Instead, they find fraudulent websites promising easy credit and loans in exchange for payments upfront ranging from several hundred to thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, these offers are bogus; people never receive their loans and wind up in worse financial shape than they were before. If a company asks you for payment upfront before they’ll give you a loan, they are not a legitimate company and you will not receive your loan.

3.) The Nigerian Scam – Circulating since the 1980s, the Nigerian Scam has defrauded scores of U.S. consumers. Though there are many variations of this scheme, we have detected a common pattern: people are contacted (usually via email) and told a wealthy foreign relative has died or a rich businessperson is trying to get funds out of a war-torn region. Scam artists make wild promises of untold riches, but then inform you that to claim your funds you’ll have to give them money upfront. In some cases, they request payment via wire transfer; in others, a fake check is sent to the victim, who is told to cash it and then wire a portion (or all) of those funds back to the scammers. However, the checks invariably bounce and people are out the money they sent to the scammers.

4.) The Grandparent Scam – This is a newer scam, but it’s been so successful we felt it warranted inclusion in the Scam Hall of Shame. The grandparent scam works like this: victims receive a call from someone claiming to be a relative (usually a grandchild) in distress. Often, the scammers will say they’re in some kind of legal trouble in a foreign country and don’t want to have to tell their parents. Victims are then told to wire money to the police station to clear the matter up. Unfortunately, victims soon discover their loved ones were never in another country and they’re out whatever money they wired away. The best defense against this scam is to remain calm. If someone calls you and says, “Grandpa (or grandma), it’s me,” don’t offer any information (Timmy?). Instead, make them fill in the blanks – and even if they have information about your loved ones, take time to verify their story. Don’t be pressured. Scam artists are very good at pushing buttons and they know most grandparents dote on their grandchildren and would do anything for them. Don’t let your kind-hearted nature open the door for scammers.

5.) Foreign lotteries or sweepstakes: Another (un)worthy entry into our Scam Hall of Shame, lottery/sweepstake scams rip countless people off every single year. Usually, people receive winning notifications via email, fax, letter or phone call. The notifications sent out through the mail usually contain a check which is supposed to cover taxes or fees (or insurance) on the winnings. People are urged to cash the checks and wire back the funds to claim their prizes. However, they soon discover the checks are no good and they’re out whatever money they were convinced to send. Remember, you can’t win contests you don’t enter, and it’s illegal for U.S. citizens to enter foreign sweepstakes or lotteries. If you have to pay to claim your prize, you haven’t won anything.

6.) Overpayment Scams – This is a scam that’s evolved through the years, but the basics remain the same. People who advertise items in the classifieds or on craigslist receive contact from someone (usually via email) expressing interest in the item. These mystery buyers will often use poor grammar and usually want the item to be delivered through a shipper. Per the name of the scam, they will offer to overpay on the cost of the item and then ask the seller to wire back the excess funds after the check is deposited. To steer clear of this scam, always know who you’re dealing with and never accept a check for more than the selling price. NEVER agree to wire back funds to a buyer.

7.) Charity Scams: The lowest of the low. These scams take advantage of people’s generosity and steal money from those who need it most. Usually these fraudulent solicitations come over the phone with scammers pretending to be affiliated with legitimate charities. Other common scams involve bogus websites created to look official and fool people into providing credit card numbers. To avoid this scam, cut out the middleman and go directly to a charity’s website. . Always make sure you know who you’re dealing with. You can investigate charities online at www.bbb.org/us/charity.

8.) Employment/Mystery Shopping Scams: Employment scams never go out of season and can be found online, in the classifieds and on websites like Craigslist and Monster.com. Sometimes you’ll find them in your email inbox! Red flags to watch for include:

• Requests for an upfront fee.

• Unsolicited job offers or employment offers that promise exorbitant pay for working just a few hours a day or from your home.

• “Companies” that seek sensitive personal or financial information for credit or background checks.

Regardless of the reason or excuse given by the employer, a job applicant should never give out his or her Social Security or bank account numbers over the phone or e-mail.

Mystery Shopping Scams lure unsuspecting victims by sending them checks for anywhere from several hundred to a few thousand dollars. The checks look authentic and come with letters providing instructions on what to do with the money once the checks are deposited. This generally involves wiring some of the funds back to your “employer.” Unfortunately, these checks turn out to be bogus and people are out whatever money they spent performing their supposed mystery shopping duties as well as the money they sent back to the scammers. Anytime you receive a check upfront or are asked to wire funds back to the sender, you’re dealing with scammers.

9) Phishing: Phishing is when scammers, masquerading as a trustworthy entity (such as a bank or credit card company), send businesses and consumers official-looking emails in an effort to get them to reveal passwords, account numbers or sensitive private data. If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don’t click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address. Don’t cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser — phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but actually send you to a different site. Use regularly updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall.

10) SMiShing: Similar to phishing, smishing uses cell phone text messages to deliver the "bait" to get people to divulge their personal information. The messages generally claim there’s a problem with the recipient’s debit cards, credit cards or bank accounts, and that the accounts in question have been frozen. People are then prompted to call a toll-free number, where they’re instructed to provide sensitive personal or financial information, opening the door to identity theft and/or fraud. To avoid smishing scams, consumers are advised to never provide personal or financial information to unknown parties, and never click on any embedded Internet links in unsolicited text messages.

Article from kstp.com

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Get paid to lie to banks

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 09:57:00 +0000

Become a mystery shopper, and banks and retailers will pay you to fib. All in the name of better customer service, of course.

By Donna_Freedman Fri 11:39 AM

Article from MSN Money

Steamed at the less-than-ethical antics of certain U.S. financial institutions? Here's one possible antidote: Sign up as a mystery shopper, request a banking assignment and get paid to lie through your teeth.

This may not change the bank's badness, but you might feel better after flinging a few falsehoods of your own.

Or maybe it will make a difference. Mystery shoppers are a company's eyes on the ground. Banks, shops and restaurants send you in undercover to keep tabs on customer service -- i.e., how their employees behave when the supervisors aren't watching.

I fibbed cheerfully at a major bank recently, asking about a service I already understood (automatic bill pay) and a product I didn't want (certificates of deposit).

Three things to know before you start:

Never pay for leads. Sign-up info is free at Volition and the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.
Ignore scam emails. Senders claim to be recruiting new shoppers and tell you to "register" with bank account, credit card and Social Security numbers. Um, seriously?
Ignore the fake-check scam, too. You're asked to cash a check, then wire most of it to the mystery shopping company. Guess what? The check's no good!

Let someone else pay

Mystery shopping usually doesn't pay very much (more on that in a minute), but it's a great chance to make a little cash on the side while getting food, drink, oil changes, rental cars and other goods for free.

Sort of. There is work involved: paying strict attention, following a script and filling out forms afterward. (Do it wrong and they won't pay you.) Myself, I look at each "shop" as a way to have fun on someone else's dime.

Bing: Mystery shopping scams

It's a great frugal hack, too:

Carless? Use an auto-rental shop to carry home things you want to buy in bulk.
Already own a car? Watch for those lube-and-oil gigs.
Tight budget? Grab those restaurant shops and treat a similarly broke buddy. Or make it a cheap date night.
Got a dog or cat? Pounce on pet store assignments.
No health insurance? Look for an eye-exam shop, which could include partial payment toward eyeglass frames.

Establish yourself as a conscientious shopper and better jobs will come your way. My daughter has been paid to stay in hotels, eat at high-end restaurants, spend the day at a water park (great fun that she could not afford at that time) and even gamble in casinos.

I'm too busy to do many shops these days, but that bank job was easy: about 45 minutes total to read the instructions, complete the visit and write and send my report. It wasn't huge remuneration -- just $9.50 -- but I needed to make a deposit anyway. Why not get paid to walk down and drop off my check?

Article from MSN Money

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Scammers looking for ‘mystery shopper’

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:16:00 +0000

Posted: Monday, Feb 20th, 2012
By Ken Curley
Article from The Brookings Register

• Brookings woman reports fraud attempt

A Brookings woman this week was the target of yet another mail scam designed to separate the gullible from their money.

But in this case – a mystery shopper offer – the woman contacted the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office before she followed the scam artist’s instructions, said Assistant Sheriff Scott Sebring.

The mystery or secret shopper letter is a new twist on the “fake check” scam: people receive letters in the mail, accompanied by sizable checks, inviting them to earn extra money as mystery shoppers.

Sebring said the woman’s experience should remind all Brookings County citizens that modern thieves are sophisticated, and if they receive unexpected offers or unsolicited checks in the mail, they would do well to call law enforcement authorities before getting involved.

The assistant sheriff said the letter the woman received purported to be from Mintel, a legitimate, quality market research group with headquarters in London and Chicago. Mintel – short for “market intelligence” – does use mystery shoppers in its research.

Enclosed in the materials the Brookings woman received was a contractor’s agreement along with a cashier’s check in the amount of $4,300.

“The terms of agreement and the check appear to be official,” Sebring said. “Instructions, included in the contract, direct the citizen to sign the agreement and return it to the company via fax. The citizen is directed to call the company at a specific time for further instructions.

“When the victim calls in, however, part of his or her instruction is to deposit the check at their bank and return a portion of the check to the company.”

That’s typical. In most cases, the scammer will instruct the victim then wire most of the money back, keeping several hundred dollars for “wiring fees” and another $100 to purchase merchandise.

“This is just another theft attempt in which scammers are using an established business for the purposes of deception,” Sebring said. “In this particular case, Mintel would not send out documents in this manner and will not call you unless you have registered with them on its website.”

Sebring noted that the checks look real, and many banks readily accept them. It’s only when the phony check bounces that the bank charges back the depositor – the victim – the full $4,300.

“These scams all work pretty much the same way,” Sebring said. “

And because the various transactions can take days to weeks to complete, the scammer is impossible to locate when officials investigate.

Sebring suggests that area residents who receive checks or offers that seem “too good to be true” should not respond. Instead they should report the matter to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office at 696-8300 or the Brookings Police Department, 692-2113.

Another option is to report the incident to Postal Inspectors online or call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.

Contact Ken Curley at kcurley@-brookingsregister.com.

Article from The Brookings Register

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Young Entrepreneur Turns Bedroom Business Into Online-Daily Deal Market Dominator.

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:17:00 +0000

By Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel
Feb. 13, 2012
Article from JS Online

The Milwaukee Bucks' sales staff received high marks in a recent mystery shopper survey conducted for the trade magazine SportsBusiness Journal.

The research firm IntelliShop conducted the survey and found that more than half of the potential buyers in a mystery shopper survey characterized their attempts to purchase NBA season tickets from a sales agent as being an above-average experience.

According to the study, 54% of the mystery shoppers said that compared to other telephone sales experiences they’d had as mystery shoppers, the NBA call was “one of the best” or “above average.”

A number specific to the Bucks was not mentioned, but the story said the Bucks fared well in the survey. The magazine said that, "during nearly every surveyed call, the team’s sales agent mentioned the benefits of being a season-ticket holder, made an attempt to convince the caller that the caller would be getting great seats, and was rated by the IntelliShop caller as providing 'one of the best sales experience I’ve ever had.'"

The survey was conducted from Dec. 20-30 last year.

The Bucks currently rank 25th out of 30 teams in the National Basketball Association, averaging 14,893 fans per game. Last year, the Bucks finished 23rd in the league in attendance, averaging 15,412 per game.

Article from JS Online

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO

Requested on Facebook: The Lowdown on Secret Shopper Scams

ridodirected@gmail.com (RIDO) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:18:00 +0000

Updated: 5:51 PM Feb 16, 2012

Some scammers are trying to take advantage of those Stateliners looking to make a quick buck--you asked us about it on Facebook and we investigated.

Posted: 4:20 PM Feb 16, 2012

Article from wifr

ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- Some scammers are trying to take advantage of those Stateliners looking to make a quick buck--you asked us about it on Facebook and we investigated.

It turns out some ads for "Secret Shoppers Jobs" aren't all that they seem. The Better Business Bureau tells us some Stateliners are getting a money orders to go shopping at a particular store, but when they try to cash the check it bounces and the consumer is held liable. That's why the BBB says it's better to be safe than sorry

Dennis Horton from the BBB said, “It is always a red flag when you receive in the mail an unsolicited check or call from someone who's willing to send you an unsolicited check for you to go to work for them.”

We’d like to give a special thanks to Angie who brought this story to our attention. If there's something you want to see covered, just become a fan of WIFR-TV on Facebook. Then log on for The Pulse every weekday at ten and two to weigh in and share your ideas.

One Victim's Story

This started about a couple of years ago I applied online for a mystery shoppers position and was told no positions were available at this time, but when one came available within my area they would contact me.

Well, around Christmas I received an email saying "mystery shoppers positions now available within your area" so I naturally thought it was the one I applied to before--so I answered the email. Then about a week later I received an email saying I have been accepted and I will be receiving a package in the mail when I receive this package take the contents to my bank and cash it then take my salary which was 200.00 for this one and then take the remainder to a Western Union and send the remainder to another mystery shopper and evaluate the Western Union employee--and don't forget to evaluate the surrounding also.

So I received the package and inside there were two money orders for $980.00 each. Well, I thought money orders had to be paid for in advance so they must be good. Tthe next day I took these money orders to my bank and they cashed them. Then went to Western Union and sent it to the next mystery shopper. Then back to my computer and sent an email with my survey of the Western Union employee and all the surroundings. The following Wednesday I received another package and another email So Thursday I'm doing the same thing except this time I have three money orders at $980.00 each and my salary was $300.00.

Then on Friday I received a call from my bank saying that all five of those money orders came back as counterfeit--now I need to come into the bank and make arrangements to repay this money back which was $4900.00.

At this time I'm sick to my stomach. So I called the police which they made an report I contacted consumer fraud I've talked to the FBI and there maybe a chance but very thin chance that these people will ever get caught. So now I have a loan through my bank just to get this cleared up. The same Friday that the bank called me I received three more packages in the mail--one sent by UPS, one sent by FedEx and, one sent by the USPS--totaling eight money orders inside equalling 7870.00.

I'm glad the bank called when they did.

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Tips to Avoid Scams:

Dennis Horton from the BBB says,

Be vigilant about choosing who you work with--there are legitimate secret shopper programs out there. However, if they offer payment up front or ask you to put up your own money it is likely a scam.

This type of scam pops up more frequently when unemployment is up.

Viewer Karina says,

You should go through a legitimate application process when applying for a secret shopper job. You shouldn't be giving them your money.

Also, check out the employer on the BBB.org website.

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Article from wifr

Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity. By RIDO