Mystery Shopper

1. Which store/brand/company offers the best customer service in  your country? Who has a reputation for poor service?

2. Is there an established mystery shopping industry in your country? Does it have a positive image?

3. Is being a mystery shopper something that you would consider doing? What aspects of the job appeal to you?

4. What character traits should a successful mystery shopper have? What kind of wardrobe do they need?

5. Who benefits most from these visits - companies or customers? Or is it win-win?

6. Which government agencies can benefit from the use of mystery shoppers? Can you think of any examples?

Read article here: Mystery Shopper Reading

7. Do you think the article gives an accurate portrayal of life as a mystery shopper? Is it really all free lunches and meeting interesting people?

8. Fifty thousand mystery shopping trips are carried out each month in the UK - does this figure surprise you?

9. Is it reasonable to use the information from a mystery shopper to determine staff bonuses?

10. "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is." How can a budding mystery shopper decide on which opportunities are real or fake?

11. Mystery shopping agencies often ask their mystery shoppers to adopt either an 'experienced shopper' profile, or an 'inexperienced shopper profile'. What do these descriptions mean? How would they be manifested in the following situations: a housewife seeking car advice at a garage, someone  from the provinces seeking financial advice at a bank?

12. Could a mystery shopper be used in your line of work? What areas could they provide useful feedback on?

13. Do you think technology will remove the need for mystery shoppers in the future?

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Situation

You are a supervisor at a popular mystery shopping agency. Your new client is a bank that wants to check the quality of advice from its customer advisors. Brief your mystery shopper (your teacher) on what he should do and say.

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Discuss quotes

"A man without a smiling face must not open a shop."

- Chinese proverb

"Thank your customer for complaining and mean it. Most will never bother to complain. They'll just walk away."

- Marylin Suttle

"When the customer comes first, the customer will last."

- Robert Half

"Solve it. Solve it quickly, solve it right or wrong. If you solve it wrong, it will come back and slap you in the face, and then you can solve it right. Lying dead in the water and doing nothing is a comfortable alternative because it is without risk, but it is an absolutely fatal way to manage a business."

- Thomas Watson

Student Handout PDF: Mystery Shopper

Self-Employed

 Read infographic halfway down page: Self-Employed Reading

1. Are there any nationalities that are predisposed to being self-employed? Are there any that are not? Why does the UK have the most self-employed workers in Europe?

2. Which of the eight 'Reasons to become self-employed' from the infographic would be the most important for you?

3. What hardships are there in being an employee?

4. Discuss the following:

a) Employers take care of a million details.

b) Employers provide infrastructure.

c) Employers often provide free training.

d) Many people’s favourite part of  employment is the social aspect.

e) You don't need to be as motivated when you are an employee.

f) To be self-employed, you must be able to develop strategies, and be able to market your business.

g) "At 5 p.m. I go home and don't have to think about work any more."

5. How many people do you know who work in the profession of their choice?

6. Is self-employment something that you would consider for yourself? Would you only accept work that involved your speciality, or would you be happy to work in other sectors?

7. Is it easy to work for yourself in your country?

8. In the UK, some employers see self-employment as a way of shifting risk/responsibility on to their staff. Does this happen in your country?

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Situation

You are the head of HR at a large company.In an effort to reduce costs, your company wants to lay off some staff, and then re-employ them as self-employed contractors. 

Start the process by discussing the proposal with your employee (your teacher), who has been at the company for 10 years.

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Discuss quotes

"England is a nation of shopkeepers."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

"The maxim of the British people is “Business as usual.”

- Winston Churchill

"Being your own boss is great: you get to choose which 18 hours of the day you work."

- Anon

Student Handout PDF: Self-Employed