You can be calm, cool, and collected one minute, coasting through your site visit without a problem. But one slightly odd look from a salesperson can lead you to feel extremely nervous and anxious. Perhaps the look was a little longer than it should have been or there was a slight raise of the salesperson’s eyebrows. For whatever reason, your mystery shopper radar has been put on high alert, and you feel as though your cover is about to be blown!
Whether you’ve done a hundred mystery shopping assignments or just a few, mystery shopping paranoia can strike at any time. Whether your feelings are founded on fact or emotion, there are a few steps you can take when the paranoia settles in.
Take A Deep Breath. First and foremost, you absolutely should remain calm. If you feel nervous and anxious, the staff will likely pick up on your feelings. If you aren’t suspicious to them before, you certainly will be if you start darting your eyes around the store and making too much eye contact with them. Even if the thought never entered their mind that you are a mystery shopper, your strange behavior may cause them to keep a close eye on your. As a former retail worker myself, suspicious behavior was watched more closely for the person being a potential shoplifter rather than a mystery shopper. But you can rest assured that any behavior out of the normal will certainly be watched more closely. So take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand – blending in!
Get Back In Your Role. Whether your role was to shop for a birthday present for little Sally or try on a new pair of shoes to match those pants you just bought, keep your task in mind. Commit yourself to playing out that part. Chances are, if the salesperson caught your eye, they will head over and ask if you need help (or additional help). Take the opportunity to solidify your reason for being in the store, such as asking if a toy is appropriate for a five year old girl, or if a pair of shoes comes in a size 7. There may have been a moment of tension or awkwardness, but you can recover from it by re-focusing your attention.
Take A Mind Break. There are a number of “safety zones”, so to speak, in almost every public place. Whether it’s a bathroom or a fitting room, you can retreat to a safety zone and collect yourself. If you find yourself in one of the few venues that don’t have a safety zone, simply grab your cell phone and look at it as though you received a vibration signally a text message. Step outside or to the side of the store for just a quick moment to collect yourself before continuing on with your site visit. Often, a minute or two of time spent gathering your thoughts is all that you need to calm yourself and to think through the events that led to your mystery shopping paranoia. You will have time to rationally think through the events to determine the best course of action.
Any time you walk into a mystery shopping venue with a secret agenda, the simple fact that you are on a covert assignment can cause any little movement, look, or gesture from a salesperson to make you feel a little paranoid. So just re-collect yourself on-site if you can, or take a little breather if necessary before you complete the rest of the assignment.
Do shoppers really get THAT nervous? That is compelling to me.
I have been a mystery shopper for over five years and I must say, I do not get nervous at all. I think the first few assignments I ever did, I felt a little nervous but now, I am so natural at it.
If a person is not comfortable doing an assignment, they did not do it;;that is a dead give away as a mystery shopper.
I have to admit that even after three years, I still get nervous at times. Just the other day I flubbed a question at a platform shop and almost bolted! But it’s true, even if you’re stuck in a seat in front of your (persnickety) target, you can still collect yourself and get back in the game, it’s do-able!
My experience has been that when I am alone to do shops, that is no one is waiting for me in the car or waiting for me to pick them up later, etc., I do not get flustered. Life has taught me that when it may seem that I could be nervous about something, it is the other person who is usually more nervous. The target of your attention is probably more nervous than you. Thinking of that and being less self absorbed, keeps me cool even in hot situations. Once a store staff deduced that I was ‘the mystery shopper’; as she excitedly expressed what she was thinking, she asked me if someone else should serve me because she knew who I was. It took her a couple of minutes of self dialog, and observing my ignorance, totally playing dumb, not knowing what she was talking about, my not responding to her remarks, until she calmed down enough to continue processing the purchase. This store is in a very small town where there is not a lot of traffic and every customer would stand out and this was my second shop there. However she was more excited than I was. I had determined to do personal shopping there so they would get used to seeing me. Part of the key to keeping cool, I believe is not having too much to say. An elaborate story is not necessary. Slow deep breathing is calming. When I take to the safe zone of a dressing room or washroom, I also check for hidden cameras….they can be anywhere. KISS is the motto….Keep It Safe Simple! Sometimes I have used my digital recorder as a feigned cell phone, which is a nice diversion. In this case my real cell phone ringer muted before doing the shop. So planning is another key. Have in mind all the options and back up routes afore time. Of course within this planning is becoming very familiar with the shop requirements. This will instill confidence which in turn will give one poise.