Mystery Shopper Tips: What Happens
When Someone Recognizes You?
Some of the best mystery shopper tips come from assignments where something happens that you never expected. I learned that during a new home builder mystery shop when someone I knew walked into the sales office and could have exposed my real identity.
New home builder shops can be excellent assignments. They generally require more time and preparation than a simple retail or restaurant shop, but mystery shoppers can make some good money doing them. I've always considered them worthwhile assignments when the requirements and pay make sense.
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.
They can also require you to play a more convincing role.
For this particular assignment, I wasn't using my real name. The mystery shopping company provided me with an alias, along with an email address and phone number.
There was a reason for that.
The salesperson wasn't evaluated only on what happened while I was looking at homes. Follow-up was also part of the assignment. Would the salesperson contact me afterward? How long would it take? Would I receive a phone call, email, or text?
I had given the sales counselor my assigned name and was playing the role of someone interested in buying a new home.
Everything was going fine.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
It was a co-worker from my full-time job.
My co-worker didn't know that I was a mystery shopper. I immediately realized what could happen if I was spotted.
“Hey, Don!”
That would have been difficult to explain after I had just introduced myself to the sales counselor using another name.
Fortunately, my co-worker didn't see me.
But I could still hear the conversation taking place nearby. I didn't want to finish my visit and walk out of the sales office at exactly the wrong time.
So I stayed a little longer.
Mystery Shopper Tips When Your Identity Is at Risk
I started asking the sales counselor more questions.
That wasn't unusual. After all, I was supposed to be someone interested in buying a house. A real customer might have plenty of questions about the home, neighborhood, features, prices, financing, or buying process.
I just happened to have a few more questions that day.
My goal was simple. I wanted to give my co-worker enough time to leave without doing anything that would make the sales counselor suspicious.
Eventually, I stopped hearing the familiar voice. I waited a little longer, finished the visit, and left.
I got away without being recognized.
I've learned plenty of mystery shopper tips over the years, but that experience taught me something you probably won't find in the assignment instructions.
You have to be ready for the unexpected.
Know Your Mystery Shopping Alias
One of my mystery shopper tips when an assignment requires an alias is to know your new identity before you walk through the door.
If your name for the day is Robert and somebody asks your name, you don't want to stand there for five seconds trying to remember who you are.
The same applies to an assigned email address and phone number. Review everything before beginning the shop.
I also wouldn't recommend creating an elaborate background story unless the assignment requires one. The more details you invent, the more details you have to remember.
In my situation, asking additional questions was enough. I didn't have to invent an emergency, pretend I received a phone call, or suddenly disappear into the restroom.
I simply kept talking.
What If Someone Recognizes You?
What would I have done if my co-worker had seen me?
I would have had a problem.
If someone had called me by my real name in front of the sales counselor, I don't think trying to explain it away with another made-up story would have helped. Once an assignment has been compromised, covering one story with another could make matters worse.
If something happens that could affect the validity of your assignment, follow the mystery shopping company's instructions. If necessary, contact the scheduler and explain exactly what happened.
That's another one of my mystery shopper tips: don't hide a problem that could affect your report. The mystery shopping company needs to know if something happened that may have changed the normal customer experience.
Sometimes You Have to Think on Your Feet
Most mystery shopper tips involve things you can prepare for: read the instructions, remember names, record the correct times, get a receipt, take required photographs, and submit a complete report.
You can't prepare for everything.
A salesperson may recognize you from a previous visit. Someone you know could walk into the business. Your equipment could stop working. You could even realize halfway through an assignment that something isn't going according to plan.
The important thing is not to panic. Think about what you can do without drawing attention to yourself while still following the assignment requirements.
That's especially important with a new home builder shop. These can be good-paying assignments, and you don't want to lose the shop because you panicked when something unexpected happened.
In my case, the solution was easy.
I asked questions.
I've completed plenty of mystery shops where everything went exactly as expected. This wasn't one of them.
I went into a new home sales office worried about remembering my alias.
I didn't expect the bigger challenge would be keeping someone else from remembering my real name.
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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