After all of the fun and excitement of your first Secret Shopping assignment, now comes the part that gives many people the most difficulty, putting together the report.
It's worth noting that there really is no such thing as a standard report. Each assignment will have been compiled based on the specific requirements of the sponsor company and in collaboration with the Secret Shopping Company a list of questions will have been devised and assembled into a unique questionnaire.
Having mentioned that, there will normally be a basic structure to the questionnaire that will apply to most assignments. This will include:
- First impressions
- Salesperson approach
- Salesperson selling skills
- Closing the sale
- Customer satisfaction
- Overall shopping experience
Many of the questions will require answers in a multiple choice format, Yes / No, Excellent, Very Good, Satisfactory, Poor, Unacceptable etc. and these will be in a 'tick box' or radio button format. These tend to be straightforward and cause little difficulty.
Some questions will then ask for additional information, and this is where most difficulty is experienced. Just remember that all your sponsor is interested in are the facts relating to your experience and not your own opinions. Keep this in mind all the time you are completing your report and so long as you have followed the brief to the letter, the whole process will become much easier.
The following is a sample section summarising the whole shopping experience based on the purchase of a small inexpensive digital camera from a retail branch of a major chain of camera stores. This sample will give you an idea as how to structure your report and can be broken down into the relevant parts depending how your questionnaire has been put together.
"I arrived at the store at 11.00am. There were 6 customers in the store, one of whom was being served at the counter. There were 3 salespersons behind the counter, 1 was serving the customer and the other 2 were having a conversation. Neither of the 2 who were not serving acknowledged me.
There was shelving around 3 sides of the store with a large display of cameras behind a glass frontage along the longest wall. The cameras could be accessed by sliding 1 of several glass doors. All of the doors were closed and had locks although I was not able to check whether all of the doors were locked. I browsed the shelves for a while and after approximately 3 minutes I approached the counter where the 2 salespersons were continuing with their conversation.
As I arrived at the counter they immediately stopped their conversation and a young man, in his early twenties, smiled pleasantly and asked how he could help me. He had a name badge with the name of Tim, in large letters which was easy to read. I could not see the name of the other employee as he turned and went into a room at the back of the store. He appeared older than Tim, I estimate early 30's and was taller at about 6 foot. He had dark curly hair and wore glasses.
I explained to Tim that I was looking for an inexpensive digital camera that I could take with me on holiday. Tim asked me if I had any model in mind and also what my budget was. I told him that I did not know much about digital cameras and that I did not want to spend more than $ 150. Tim was really helpful and went over to the glass cabinet, unlocked one of the sliding doors and picked out 3 cameras. He re-locked the cabinet and brought the cameras over to the counter. He then used one of the cameras, a Sony, and spent about 5 minutes explaining how digital cameras worked, the features of this particular model and the best way to get your photos printed. He also explained that most cameras come with a fairly basic memory card and that it would be a good idea to purchase an additional card with extra memory. He then went on to explain the key differences between the 3 models he had selected and the one which he would recommend, the Sony, which was on offer and was being heavily advertising in the store with posters on the wall and a display in the store window. The Sony was not the most expensive of the 3 but fell in the middle at $ 139.99. Tim seemed very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and answered my somewhat loaded basic questions without appearing bored.
I told Tim that I would like to buy the camera at which point he asked if I would like to purchase an extended guarantee in addition to the one issued by the manufacturer. I asked him what the benefits were and he provided me with a leaflet which he then talked me through. I told him that I did not think the additional cost was worthwhile and he accepted this and did not try to persuade me any further. He then suggested that I should consider a camera case as the Sony did not come with one as part of the package. He showed me 2 cases that the camera would fit and when I chose the cheaper of the 2 at $ 9.99 he said that it would be perfectly adequate for my camera and did not attempt to push the higher priced case.
I paid by credit card which was processed quickly. Tim placed the camera and case in a plastic bag, displaying the store logo and also gave me a voucher for free printing for 30 – 5 "x 7" photographs. He had not mentioned the voucher earlier. He smiled, said he hoped I would enjoy using the camera and if I had any problems to get in touch. By the time I left, the other 2 sales assistants were both helping customers and there were no other customers in the store. "