INTRODUCTION Mystery Shoppers are ordinary people of any background, race, nationality and faith, of any age group*,

men and women, with various education and income levels, biography and consumption habits. Mystery Shoppers are regular customers who dedicate some of their time to evaluation of service quality at various business, who get paid for it and have their main employment elsewhere. Mystery Shoppers work part-time. * but no younger than 18 y.o This ABC course contains the most important tips and rules for being a successful Mystery Shopper. Terminology Mystery shopping what is it? Mystery Shopping is the practice of service and sales quality evaluation by ordinary customers who are conducting the onsite evaluation after being screened and trained. Mystery shoppers measure the actual fulfillment of the client companys own service standards by the client company personnel: Meeting the customer; Customer service; Sales techniques; Personnel competencies; Dealing with complaints and returns; Visual design and overall location cleanness; POS material positioning; Cash desk operation; Staff appearance; Announcement of promotions and special offers.

Mystery Shopping measures customer experience, in order to help companies serve their customers better. Mystery Shopping is a powerful tool of service improvement. It is usually commisioned by the very same organization that is to be shopped companies buy mystery shopping services from providers such as 4Service. Before starting a mystery shopping programme, all employees of the organization to be mystery shopped are made aware of the initiative, its goals and methodology. Mystery Shopper visits a business as an ordinary customer, and behaves as a perfectly normal client. Service personnell should never be given any reason to think You are a mystery shopper, as it would make the whole idea meaningless. Mystery Shopper evaluates customer service standards of the particular organization he/she visits as a mystery shopper. Each company has its own set of rules and standards for serving its customers. Standards encommpass staff behaviour (greeting, smile etc.) as well as visual requirements uniforms, floor cleanness, merchandise layout etc. all of these standards are well-known and mandatory for service personell. And YOU are there to help maintain them :) A GOOD Mystery Shopper should: Have a desire to be a good mystery shopper; Be between 18 and 65 y.o;

Be a proficient computer user and have good stable Internet access. It also heloful to have a good voice-recorder and a camera, as many assignments require doing audio records or taking photos. A powerful mobile phone with these functions would do :). Be honest and not invent facts Be responsible and disciplined person that can be relied upon by the provider Have a good eye for detail, to be able to NOTICE important service aspects Have a good memory, to be able to REMEMBER important service aspects, thus not having to take notes right inside the location being evaluated! Have flexibility, to play any evaluation scenario in a natural and easy way, just as a real customer would do

A good Mystery Shopper should take to heart the Mystery Shopping industry mission help service companies improve the service quality they deliver to their customers. Confidentiality mystery shoppers should keep any information they received from their provider or they gather in the course of evaluation as strictly confidential: - You should never disclose names of companies You evaluate, not on Internet forums nor through the online social networks. - Mystery Shoppers are prohibited from contacting companies they evaluate directly and disclose their identity as a mystery shopper. You cant call a company Youve shopped and tell them anything about Your work as a mystery shopper. We hope You find all this quite normal and in accordance with ethical business practice. BASIC NOTES:

1. Mystery shoppers mission is to deliver objective and detailed feedback on customer

service quality. 2. All interaction between mystery shoppers and 4Service is done via 4Service online system and over the phone. There is no need to meet in person. 3. A good mystery shopper should be disciplined, relyable, a bit artistic to play roles and have a keen eye for detail 4. The job of improving service quality is important, sometimes difficult but also entertaining So, how do I start? First, You have to decide for Yourself whether You want to be a mystery shopper and why. Second set aside some time to carefully read this document as it sets out rules for all future projects You may take part in. Third pass the ABC Certification test. Remember, You have only 3 attempts to pass the certification test. In case You fail on the first attempt, You can try again after 3 days (You cant try again immediately), same after the second attempt. A score of at least 85% is reqired to pass the rest and be granted access to current projects in Your area. ABC Certification test is mandatory! If You have done it and scored 85% or above, Youll know instantly, as Your home page will change with new sections visible. Youll see such sections as Inbox, Open Opportunities, Certifications, My Applications and other. NEXT:

1. To apply for a project, go to Open Opportunities section to see the available projects in Your area. At this stage you will see the industry (bank or restaurant, for example), addresses of locations to be shopped, timeframe, scenario specifics and the shopper pay we offer for this particular assignment. 2. Choose the project You like, then go to Certifications section. You can only get an assignment after You successfully pass the certification for that project. Each project has its own certification, due to differences between projects. After You pass the certification You can apply for service evaluation jobs. 3. During the next 12-14 hours Your application will be reviewed by 4Service team and either approved or declined. In case it is approved, Youll receive an email notification stating that You are given the assignment and 4Service is expecting You to complete it until a certain deadline (stated in the message) and enter it into our system within 12 hours after the visit. Check Your mail and even the spam-box from time to time as the notification might end up there. You might also receive a call from 4Service team prior to Your visit. IMPORTANT! The visit assigned to you will appear in Assigned box on your personal page. The empty report form will now be available to you for filling in (after completing the visit). If Your application is declined, Youll receive an email message stating the evaluation has been assigned to another shopper. In most cases, there are more than one mystery shopper applying for every service evaluation job (so we can choose shoppers that showed the best fieldwork quality in the past). Dont get upset there surely will be many more chances to mystery shop with us! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------The core of a mystery shoppers job is visiting service businesses to evaluate service quality, and fill in a report on it thereupon through a providers web based system. Normally You have a selection of projects to choose from, ranging from various retail establishments to mobile shops, cofee shops, gas stations, banks, insurance companies, car dealerships etc.

The tariffs to pay for Your work are stated explicitly in the project description in the Open Opportunities section. These tariffs are again stated in each project Guidelines. Inexperienced mystery shoppers that only start cooperation with 4Service first receive rather simple assignments (like fast-food or gas stations evaluation). The typical pay is 10-20 Euros per assignment, with some projects paying as much as 100 Euro. The tariffs vary according to the industry, number of evaluation criteria and the complexity of scenario. As a mystery shopper positive record with us grows, a more complex and better paid project become available to him/her.

How do I receive my money? The payment is done via global money transfer systems or by payment to Your bank accounts. As Your first mystery shopping report has been reviewed and accepted by 4Service team, Your coordinator contacts You to prompt You to provide details in Your profile regarding Your account number either a bank account or a Moneybookers/Paypal account number so we can make a transfer. In case You dont have an account we do direct

money transfer to You through Western Union. In the latter case, upon receiving the payment notification from 4Service, You just take Your ID document and go to the nearest WU outlet to collect Your pay. We suggest You open an account with Moneybookers system at https://www.moneybookers.com/app/, as it is by far the most convenient and safest way for our Mystery Shoppers to receive payments for service evaluations. All shopper payments are transferred till the 30th day of the following month. That is, if You have completed a mystery shopping evaluation in March, the payment will come in April, till the 30th day (usually between the 20th and 30th).

BASIC NOTES:

1. Payment notification is sent by e-mail (for some countries also by sms) 2. Moneybookers is the system we recommend 3. If You opted for WU system, dont delay Your visit to WU as the money can be
returned to sender if uncollected by You DO NOT mystery shop in Your Expert Field! You must NOT evaluate a business You are familiar with. If You are a restaurant manager, You cant evaluate a pizzeria, and if You hold a diploma in banking, You should not go to a bank branch as a mystery shopper. Remember, we need REGULAR customers to provide feedback on customer service. However, You are allowed to mystery shop other industries that are not related to Your expert field. That is, we welcome a restaurant manager to evaluate a bank branch, and a banking college graduate to provide feedback on service process at a pizzeria! How do I prepare for the visit? All projects have Guidelines (an instruction) as well as the project-specific Certification (a test). Having chosen a project You would like to take part in, read the guidelines and take the certification You need to pass it successfully to be able to apply. Prior to going out to fulfill an assignment, You should be know well the following: 1. Brand name of the company to be visited 2. Location address 3. Deadline for report submission 4. Evaluation scenario. There may be an unlimited number of possible scenarios for any service business evaluation 5. Specific project requirements: photos, audio recording, non-shopping days etc. All Guidelines have a short summing up section at the end of it You need to print it and take it along. Make sure service personnell does not notice neither it nor any other evaluation related materials or equipment! Also, please remember deadline for report submission we wont accept Your report if the deadline has passed. Should You have any questions prior to visit which is already assigned to You, do not hesitate and contact Your coordinator. Check Your equipment before going into the store You dont want any batteries to go dead in the middle of evaluation!

BASIC NOTES: 1. The core of a mystery shoppers job is visiting service businesses to evaluate service quality, and fill in a report on it thereupon through a providers web based system. 2. DO NOT mystery shop in Your Expert Field 3. Prior to going out to fulfill an assignment, a mystery shopper should read the project guidelines carefully, look through the report form and evaluation criteria as well as think over his/her legend, 4. Dont forget deadline for report submission. 5. Check Your equipment before going into the store 6. Do not hesitate to contact Your coordinator in case You still have questions before embarking onto assignment! And now, we are going to introduce You to some more rules for a Mystery Shopper that we call GOLDEN RULES. These are 11 simple commandments You should always keep in mind whenever evaluating any service business:

1 Preserve anonymity as a mystery shopper! In most cases, service personnel know

they are being mystery shopped. So store assistants or bank clerks shall be on the watch looking for You. Dont give Yourself out by being different from a typical customer.

2 You should never evaluate people You know personally, such as friends,
relatives, neighbours. Such report could never be objective. So, if You stumble upoon someone You are aquainted with, just stop doing the evaluation and inform Your coordinator.

3 It is absolutely prohibited to carry out evaluations in a drunk/intoxicated

condition. You wont believe it, but some mystery shoppers do venture upon such an adventure as coming to a designated location in a non-sober condition. Those experiences being their last with us.

4 Dont take anyone along with You when You carry out an assignment (unless this
is required by the project Guidelines). The majority of shops You do on Your own.

5 Do not hurry when following Your scenario take Your time. If You spend less time
onsite then specified in the Guidelines, Your report will not be accepted. Just relax, keep calm and carry on. When interacting with a service employee, do not hesitate to ask questions, be genuinely interested in the product/service, express doubts and concerns play Your role!

6 Let the service personnel take the lead dont be overly dominant, let the
service staff establish Your needs and offer the best solution. Dont show how smart You are let the store staff demonstrate their smartness!

7 Always memorize employees name, reading on nametag, as well as that persons

appearence. All of Your reports will require service personell names and physical description, usually height as well as hair and eye colour.

8 Be natural, relaxed, reserved when onsite, so as not to draw excessive attention on

the part of staff and let them realize You might be a mystery shopper.

9 Do not take out any printed materials when onsite even those not related to
service evaluation, because the personnel is likely to notice them. Also make sure your dictaphone doesnt fall out, as well as its microphone.

10 Do not visit a location more than once a month. Various projects have even
stricter limitations, like 6 months for a bank branch. Ut once a month is the absolute maximum.

11 Having left the location, try to put down some notes immediately, and no later than
within 15 min. after leaving the site. This is due to short-time memory effects, whereas people usually forget 80% of an experience details within 15 minutes. While making notes, make sure service personnel from the locatoion Yiou just left does not notice You. So Id better walk away some 100 meters. Well, we have tried to impose many rules onto You already, and there is no way around it. Finally, if You still want to be an effective mystery shopper, there is another one. Lets call it PLATINUM rule: NEVER INVENT FACTS! Making up reports or individual details is a heavy vialation and in fact a crime against the business being evaluated, and especially against service people, who may get fined, lose a carrier chance and be disteressed after a dishonest report. We hope no farther words on this are nessesary. AFTER THE VISIT WHAT NOW? First, do the notes. Put down main facts and figures. Dont rely on Your memory too much, otherwise You will forget the most of what Youve seen. Having arrived home or anyother place where You have a computer and a stable Internet connection, start filling in the report. Each project Guidelines state the minimum requred time to submit Your report after the visit. In most cases, we expect Your report within 12 hours. That means, the best strategy is to fill in Your report the same day, usually in the evening. We then review report and pass it on to client or, if there are any issues, come back to You for clarification. HOW DO I FILL IN THE REPORT? A typical report form will have day and time of the visit, store associate name and outlook description and, of course, a checklist on service standards that had to be met in the location You visited. Standards usually have such sections as meeting/greeting the customer, establishing needs, presenting the product/service, emotional contact as well as staff appearance and location cleanness. Restaurant shops would also include product quality and service speed, while auto dealerships may have ample criteria including prior calls and appointments, test drives, interaction with acredit expert onsite etc. Besides checking boxes You will also be required to write subjective comments (narratives). Sensible and insightful comments are what distiguishes the best shoppers and what clients value most. BASIC NOTES: 1. Try to fill in Your report asap. 2. The discription of service personnel appearance should not be offensive. 3. In case Youve been required to do an audio recording, listen to it before uploading into our system.

4. Your narrative comments in the report should be ample and detailed with regard to service experience. 5. Remember Your mission is to report FACTS.