Mystery Shopping Program Guide
This handbook explains how we run a mystery-shopping programme: how shoppers are vetted, which scenarios we deploy, how visits are scored, what evidence we require, when reports arrive, and how findings should — and should not — be used. It is a reference document; there is nothing to fill in or return. Where it differs from your signed services agreement, the agreement governs.
Section 1 — Methodology & Shopper Vetting
A mystery-shopping programme is only as good as the panel behind it. Our shoppers are recruited to look like your actual customers in that market, not like professional auditors, and every one of them is vetted before a single assignment is offered.
- Identity verified and a confidentiality agreement signed before the first visit.
- A standing shopper profile records coverage area, categories, availability and languages, so assignments are matched rather than broadcast.
- Conflicts of interest are declared up front — nobody shops a brand they work for, worked for recently, or has a close family connection to.
- Rotation rules stop the same shopper being sent back to a location often enough to be recognised.
- Report quality is reviewed on every submission; shoppers who fabricate or recycle content are removed from the panel permanently.
Section 2 — Scenario Types We Run
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| The full journey from entry to payment, including upsell and close | |
| Whether an undecided customer is approached, and how well they are advised | |
| Answer time, accuracy of information, and whether a follow-up is offered | |
| Order accuracy, wait at the counter, and the online-to-store handover | |
| Service recovery from a scripted, low-intensity issue | |
| Policy consistency and tone when money goes back to the customer | |
Section 3 — The Scoring Framework
Each scored area is rated 1–5 against an observable standard, then weighted according to your programme file to give an overall visit score. Scores describe a single visit at a single moment — they are a sample, not a census.
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| | Behaviour worth codifying and teaching across the estate. |
| | Above standard with minor, easily coached gaps. |
| | The expected experience was delivered. This is the healthy baseline. |
| | A defined step was missed. Address through coaching, not sanction. |
| | A real customer would have been lost. Escalated as soon as it is verified. |
Section 4 — Evidence Standards
- Every purchase visit is backed by the original itemised receipt. No receipt, no score for the purchase section.
- Entry, wait and exit times are recorded to the minute, not estimated after the fact.
- Photographs cover shelves, signage and store condition only. We do not photograph staff, customers, tills or back-of-house areas.
- Comments describe observable behaviour — what was said and done — rather than the shopper’s inference about attitude or motive.
- Any low score must be supported by a specific narrative comment before the report is accepted.
- We do not use covert audio or video recording in any programme.
Section 5 — Reporting & Turnaround
- The shopper logs a check-in immediately after the visit and submits the full evaluation within 24 hours.
- A coordinator reviews the report for completeness, evidence and tone, and queries anything unclear with the shopper.
- Accepted individual reports are delivered to you within five business days of the visit.
- Anything meeting your escalation rules is raised the same day it is verified, ahead of the report.
- A period summary follows at the end of each cycle — score trends by location, region and scored area.
- At each programme review we revisit locations, cadence, scenarios, weightings and caps, and record the outcome in your programme file.
Section 6 — Anonymity, Legality & Fair Use of Findings
- Shopper identities are never disclosed to you or to evaluated staff, under any circumstances.
- Reports identify staff only as far as your programme file permits and local law allows.
- Personal data in reports is processed for the agreed evaluation purpose only, retained for the agreed period, and then deleted.
- Use findings to coach, to recognise good practice, and to spot patterns across locations over time.
- Do not use a single visit as the sole basis for disciplinary action, dismissal, or an individual pay decision. One visit is one sample.
- Tell your teams that the programme exists and what it measures. Transparency about the programme costs nothing; transparency about a specific visit ruins the sample.
Section 7 — Reimbursement & Billing Policy
- Assignment fees cover the shopper’s time and the coordination and review behind each visit.
- Required purchases are reimbursed at cost, up to the cap recorded in your programme file, and are billed on separately from fees.
- Spend above the cap is not passed on to you unless it was approved in writing beforehand.
- A visit aborted through no fault of the shopper — closed store, refit, product unavailable — is billed at the aborted-visit rate and rescheduled.
- A rejected report is never billed, and the visit is re-run at our cost.
- Scope changes are quoted in writing before work starts and never appear as a surprise line on an invoice.
This guide is general information about how we work and is not legal or employment advice. Take local advice before using evaluation findings in any people decision.