Phone Mystery Shopping
for Beginners
If you're interested in mystery shopping but a little nervous about walking into a business for your first assignment, consider starting with a phone shop.
Phone mystery shopping for beginners can be a good introduction to the business because you can perform the assignment from home. You don't have to drive anywhere, make a purchase, or worry about someone watching you take mental notes.
You're simply making a phone call and evaluating what happens.
If you're new to the business, visit my Mystery Shopping for Beginners section for an overview of how mystery shopping works.
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.
What Is Phone Mystery Shopping?
Phone mystery shopping is market research conducted over the telephone. A company wants to know how its employees handle calls from customers or prospective customers.
You might call a restaurant, apartment complex, hotel, medical office, retail business, senior living facility, or another type of business.
The mystery shopping company will give you instructions explaining what to ask and what information you need to remember.
You might be evaluating how quickly the phone is answered, whether the employee gives a proper greeting, how knowledgeable the person is, whether certain information is offered, and how the employee ends the call.
Afterward, you'll complete a report describing what happened.
Follow Your Scenario
Don't simply pick up the phone and start asking random questions.
Most phone shops give you a scenario to follow. You may be instructed to pretend you're interested in a particular service or need information about something the company sells.
Read the instructions before calling and know what you're supposed to ask.
You want the conversation to sound natural. Reading every question word-for-word can make you sound like you're conducting a survey instead of being a potential customer.
Listen to the employee's answers as well. They may answer your next question before you have a chance to ask it.
Phone Mystery Shopping for Beginners Can Be Good Practice
One advantage for phone mystery shopping for beginners is that it teaches you to listen.
When you're performing an in-person mystery shop, you're paying attention to employees, merchandise, cleanliness, names, times, and everything happening around you.
A phone assignment eliminates many of those distractions.
You're concentrating primarily on the conversation.
Did the employee sound interested in helping you? Did they answer your questions? Did they attempt to sell you something? Did they offer additional information without being asked?
Those details may become part of your report.
Some Phone Assignments I've Done
I've performed several different types of phone assignments over the years.
One involved calling a restaurant and ordering a pizza. The client wanted to know whether the employee would attempt an upsell during the order.
I went through the ordering process and listened to see if the employee offered the additional items the client wanted evaluated. My instructions required me to cancel the order before hanging up.
I've also made calls involving Medicare-related questions.
Another assignment was completely different. I conducted customer-satisfaction surveys involving people who had visited a medical clinic. I was paid $2 for every completed survey and $1 when someone hung up.
I could usually make between $50 and $60 during about two hours of calling, and occasionally I made more.
That's one thing you'll discover about mystery shopping: assignments can be completely different even though they're all considered market research.
Pay Attention During the Call
Before making the call, know exactly what the client wants evaluated.
Depending on the assignment, that could include the number of rings before someone answers, the employee's greeting, whether they identify themselves, the questions they ask, information they provide, and whether they attempt to close a sale.
You may also need the employee's name.
Don't become so focused on remembering your next question that you stop listening to the answer you're receiving. A good mystery shopper listens to the entire conversation.
As soon as the call is finished, write down anything you might forget.
The Report Still Matters
A phone shop may take only a few minutes, but you're not finished when you hang up.
You still have to complete the report.
Some reports consist mainly of multiple-choice questions with a short narrative. Others require more detailed explanations of the conversation.
Stick with what actually happened. Don't assume what an employee meant or criticize someone simply because you didn't like their personality. The client needs an accurate account of the interaction.
You can read How Mystery Shopping Reports Work for more information about completing reports.
Is Phone Mystery Shopping Worth It?
That depends on the assignment.
One advantage is that you don't have transportation expenses. If you can complete several calls from home, even relatively small payments can add up.
Phone mystery shopping for beginners can work well for college students, retirees, stay-at-home parents, or anyone looking for flexible side income.
But look at the entire assignment before accepting it. A $5 phone shop with a two-page report may not be worth your time. Another $5 assignment that takes ten minutes from beginning to end might be.
That's a decision every mystery shopper eventually learns to make.
For someone who's never performed a mystery shop, a telephone assignment can be a comfortable way to get started. Read the instructions, know your scenario, listen carefully, and report exactly what happened.
Once you've done a few, you may be ready to take what you've learned on the phone and try your first in-person assignment.
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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