Mystery Shopper Gets Paid to Snoop
No 2 jobs are alike as business 'spy' takes careful note of service, head counts for clients.
 
By Heidi Prescott
South Bend Tribune
July 29, 2001  

GRANGER, Ind. -- Her job is to blend in and look like a normal shopper, but Ahnie Costin notices everything.

Impressions of the parking lot. Fingerprints on the glass. How long it takes to be greeted. Whether employees are courteous. Sometimes she carries a notebook that would pass for a shopping list if anyone asked her what she was doing.

But Costin usually makes mental notes inside a store and waits until she's back in her vehicle to jot down what happened.

"I try to park far enough away so I can sit there for five minutes without being noticed as I get it all down. You have to be discreet," she says.

There is a certain allure to being a mystery shopper. How many women would turn down the opportunity to be paid to bum around the mall, go to a movie or get their hair done?

Costin's assignments have included fast-food restaurants and banks, furniture stores and auto body shops, travel agencies and hair salons.

Confidentiality prevents Costin from naming specific businesses that have hired her to shop their stores. "This is something a lot of women like to do anyway. My husband says I have always been good at talking on the phone and shopping. Nine days out of 10, it's a ball," she says.

What Costin does on the job really depends on the type of business that hires her. She counted movie-goers from noon until almost midnight a few weeks ago as they entered one theater to see Cats and Dogs.

When she compares a box office summary to her head count, the theater can tell how many people sneaked in for free.

At casual-dining restaurants, she times how long it takes from the moment she's seated for a server to ask whether she would like something to drink.

When she eats fast food, she looks for employees to up-sell, or ask whether she'd like fries to go with her hamburger. "Some people are not comfortable with what they're selling," she says, and that is not always good for business.

"One time I was shopping large appliances, and an employee quoted me a price," she said. "Then he apologized that it was a lot of money."

One of the best and worst jobs can be visiting hair salon chains. In one month, Costin had to visit six locations to see whether they swept the floor between customers, how long they kept her waiting and whether she got the cut or style she wanted.

Imagine having to get six haircuts in one month. "Sometimes I took one of my kids with me, or I asked for a really little trim," she said with a laugh.

There are a couple of misconceptions about the profession. For one, Costin is not out to catch an employee doing something wrong. Instead, her role is to observe, experience and report on visiting a business.

"The concept is to use it as a training tool. What are we doing that we could do better? That kind of thing. It also helps identify good employees, someone doing something you might not even know about," she says.

Another misconception is that she is paid to buy merchandise from the stores she visits. "Most companies require that you make a purchase, but they never give you more than five bucks as a reimbursement," Costin says. "You can't buy a pack of gum at a home improvement store. For the most part it's fun, but it's very difficult to get rich doing this job."

Being a mystery shopper takes some of the thrill out of going shopping on her own time, though Costin has the opportunity to see stores she otherwise would never visit.