Pop Goes Perfection: Writing A Perfect Mystery Shop Report

March 25, 2011

Written By: Liz Wehrmeister, Field Staff Coordinator

Are you tired of receiving scores of 7, 8 or 9 on your mystery shopping reports? Are you ready to get a perfect 10? Here are a few helpful hints as you chase perfection.

The longer a proofreader spends editing your report, the lower your grade will be. Follow these four simple pointers, and you should see your report grades rise!

Spelling: Use our Spell Check feature. This is in every mystery shopping report. When you click the Spell Check, a new window will pop up and show you any spelling errors. If you submit a report without using Spell Check, our proofreaders will have to correct any spelling errors. The longer a proofreader spends editing your report, the lower your grade will be.  Another possibility is to type your answers in a word processing program with a built-in spelling/grammar checker, and copying your responses into your report.

Grammar Errors: I suggest reading your report out loud before submitting it. This will help you find errors you didn't realize were there. Keep in mind, just because you say something in everyday speech, does not mean it is grammatically correct. There are countless websites with grammar guidelines as well as tools within your word processing software.

Overly Opinionated Comments: Your mystery shopping reports should be filled with facts; not opinions.  We want an objective perspective.  If you are not specifically asked for your opinion, only enter the facts.

Support your answers: You will likely answer multiple choice and yes/no questions and then be asked for supporting comments. Be sure to both detail your experience and provide details as to why you answered the way you did.

Follow the four simple pointers above and you are well on your way to earning tens on your reports, which increases your shopper rating, which can translate to more shopping assignments!