Car Dealership Mystery Shopper Experiences: When You Want the Salesman to Stop Talking
Car dealership mystery shopper experiences can become memorable when a salesperson says something you never expected to hear.
Automobile shops are interesting assignments because you usually spend quite a bit of time with one salesperson. You may ask about a particular vehicle, discuss features and financing, and take the car for a test drive. With a video mystery shop, much of that interaction may be recorded for the client to review later.
Most salespeople probably don't give much thought to the possibility that the customer standing in front of them is evaluating their performance.
That's what makes the following story so interesting.
Want more help getting started? My book, Take That Job And Mystery Shop It!, walks you through finding assignments, completing shops, writing reports, and avoiding many of the mistakes new shoppers make.
This story didn't happen to me, but I heard it from a mentor I worked with. A shopper went to an automobile dealership to complete a video assignment. A salesman approached him like normal, and they talked about a vehicle on the lot. The shopper agreed to a test drive.
The shopper drove the vehicle. The salesman sat in the passenger seat.
Then the conversation took an unexpected turn.
Car Dealership Mystery Shopper Experiences Can Go Off Script
During the test drive, the salesman started talking about gentlemen's clubs.
Not automobile clubs.
He began discussing some of the adult entertainment establishments in the area and offering his opinions on which ones were the best.
Meanwhile, the video shopper had a problem.
He knew the conversation was being recorded.
The salesman didn't.
The shopper went along with the conversation enough to avoid acting suspicious. On the outside, he remained a normal prospective customer having a conversation during a test drive.
Inside his head, however, he was saying:
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!
He wasn't hoping the salesman would get himself into more trouble. He wanted him to stop before he said something that could have serious consequences when management reviewed the video.
That's a side of mystery shopping that people don't always think about.
Mystery Shoppers Aren't Hoping You Fail
There's a misconception that mystery shoppers walk into businesses looking for employees to make mistakes.
Most shoppers I know don't think that way.
Many actually root for the employee.
When you're evaluating someone, particularly during a lengthy video shop, you may begin to like the person. The salesperson may be friendly, funny, and genuinely helpful. You'd much rather submit a recording showing someone doing an excellent job than one that could get the person reprimanded.
That's what made this particular assignment uncomfortable.
The shopper couldn't exactly turn to the salesman and say, "You might want to stop talking about this because your boss is going to hear everything you're saying."
That would have ended the mystery portion of the mystery shop rather quickly.
Instead, the shopper had to remain in character.
Video Captures More Than a Written Report
One reason car dealership mystery shopper experiences can be particularly revealing is the amount of interaction involved.
A written mystery shopper might have to describe an inappropriate conversation afterward. The shopper could write down what was said, where it happened, and how the conversation developed.
With video, management can see and hear it.
That can eliminate a lot of uncertainty. The client's representative isn't simply reading, "The salesperson made an inappropriate comment." The person reviewing the assignment may hear the actual conversation, including the words used and the context in which they were said.
That's valuable information for a company evaluating its customer service.
It can also be painful for the shopper who already knows the employee probably crossed a line.
What Happens to the Employee?
The mystery shopper generally isn't the person making that decision.
The client is.
Depending on what happened and the company's policies, an employee caught doing something inappropriate during an evaluation might receive additional coaching or training. A more serious incident could result in a reprimand. In some situations, an employee could lose the job.
That's why a compassionate shopper may find himself silently rooting for the person being evaluated.
During the test drive in this story, the shopper knew the salesman was digging himself a deeper hole every time the conversation continued.
There wasn't much he could do about it.
His job was to behave naturally and document the customer experience—not warn the salesman that management might eventually hear the conversation.
Don't Encourage Bad Behavior
There's another lesson here for anyone doing video shops.
Don't bait the employee.
If somebody makes an inappropriate remark, the shopper shouldn't deliberately encourage the person to say increasingly outrageous things just to create a more dramatic recording. Unless the assignment requires you to pursue a particular subject, let the employee determine where the interaction goes.
A mystery shopper is there to observe and evaluate.
It isn't supposed to become a contest to see how badly you can make someone behave.
If a salesperson changes the subject, let it go. If the person continues talking, remain natural and follow the assignment instructions.
The video can speak for itself.
Every Test Drive Can Be Different
That's one thing I find fascinating about car dealership mystery shopper experiences. You can prepare for the assignment, study the scenario, know the vehicle you're supposed to ask about, and understand every question on the report.
You still can't predict the human being you're going to meet.
One salesperson may give you a textbook presentation. Another may barely seem interested in selling you a car. Someone else may become so comfortable during the test drive that he forgets he's talking to a customer.
And occasionally, a salesperson may start recommending gentlemen's clubs while sitting in the passenger seat.
The shopper in this story probably didn't need any help remembering what happened when it was time to submit the assignment.
Some car dealership mystery shopper experiences require careful notes to remember the details.
Others practically write the report for you.
About the Author
I'm Mystery Don, and I've completed mystery shopping assignments for restaurants, hotels, apartment communities, automobile dealerships, and new home builders.
I created this website to help people avoid the mistakes I've seen—and to show new shoppers how legitimate mystery shopping really works.
My book Take That Job And Mystery Shop It! lists over 150 mystery shopping companies to contact. I offer beginner-friendly tips and honest guidance without hype.
We're always looking for new faces to visit different places.
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