Mystery Shopping Practice Assignment: Give Yourself a Test Run Before Your First Shop
A mystery shopping practice assignment is something I tried before I ever accepted a real shop. I recommend this to anyone considering doing mystery shopping as a side hustle. I wanted to see whether remembering a few details was something I would like to do.
At the time, I didn't know exactly what a real mystery shopping report would ask. I figured two things would probably be important: customer service and cleanliness.
That turned out to be a pretty good place to start.
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.
Creating My Own Mystery Shopping Practice Assignment
I thought one of the easiest test runs I could do was at a convenience store. I pumped some gas and walked into the store as a regular customer. This time I paid more attention to cleanliness and service than I normally would.
Was the parking lot clean? Did the store look organized? Were the counters clean? What was the condition of the floor? Did an employee greet me? Was the person behind the register friendly?
I also started looking at nametags. If an employee wasn't wearing one, I tried to remember enough details to describe them later.
That may sound easy, but it's different when you deliberately make yourself remember it.
After leaving, I'd make a couple of notes about what I had seen. I wasn't trying to write a complete mystery shopping report. I couldn't have done that because I hadn't seen one yet. The purpose was simply to test my observation and memory.
I tried the same thing at a grocery store.
A real grocery store mystery shop can be much more involved. You might have to visit several departments, interact with specific employees, ask questions, check displays, observe cleanliness, or evaluate checkout service. I didn't attempt anything that elaborate.
This was a test run, not an actual assignment.
I walked through part of the store and paid attention to what seemed important. I watched how employees interacted with customers. I noticed the general condition of the store and tried to remember employee names or descriptions.
Once I was outside, I wrote down what I remembered.
What My Practice Shops Taught Me
The biggest surprise was how little difficulty I had remembering a few specific items.
Before trying it, I wasn't sure how much I'd remember. Would I walk out the door and immediately forget the employee's name? Would I remember whether I had been greeted? Could I recall several observations without standing inside the store taking suspicious-looking notes?
I discovered that I could.
That's one reason I think a mystery shopping practice assignment can be useful for someone who is curious about this business but hasn't accepted a shop yet. There's no pressure. You're not working for a mystery shopping company, and you're not evaluating the business for anyone. You're simply testing yourself.
Try walking into a business you would normally visit and give yourself four or five things to remember. For example, notice the employee's name, the condition of the floor or counter, whether you were greeted, how long you waited for service, and how the employee ended the transaction.
Don't make it too complicated.
Walk out, wait until you're away from the business, and write down what you remember. You may be surprised by how much information sticks in your mind when you know ahead of time what you're looking for.
The Real Assignments Were More Detailed
When I eventually accepted actual convenience store and grocery store assignments, I discovered there was considerably more involved.
The mystery shopping company provided specific instructions. Instead of deciding for myself what seemed important, I had a list of things the client wanted evaluated. There were questions I hadn't thought about during my practice visits.
That's an important distinction. A homemade mystery shopping practice assignment isn't a substitute for carefully reading the instructions on a real shop. Every client wants something different, and you have to follow the actual assignment requirements.
Still, those test runs helped.
I had already practiced walking through a business while quietly observing what was around me. I had practiced looking for nametags without staring at them. I knew I could remember a handful of details and write them down afterward.
More importantly, I learned that I enjoyed doing it.
Find Out Before You Commit
Mystery shopping sounds interesting to a lot of people, but doing it is different from reading about it. You have to pay attention while still behaving like an ordinary customer. Then you have to remember what happened and document it accurately.
A simple practice run gives you a taste of that process without accepting an assignment.
Pick a convenience store, grocery store, fast-food restaurant, or another business you already planned to visit. Decide beforehand what you want to observe. Don't interfere with employees or create unusual situations. Just be a regular customer who happens to be paying closer attention.
Afterward, see what you remember.
My first practice visits weren't sophisticated. I didn't know enough about mystery shopping yet to make them sophisticated.
They didn't need to be.
I wanted to answer one basic question: Could I actually do this?
After a couple of test runs, I thought I could. Once I began accepting real assignments, there was more to learn, but I was glad I had practiced first.
Sometimes the easiest way to find out whether mystery shopping is for you is to give yourself an assignment that doesn't count.
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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