Mystery shopping is becoming increasingly popular in the Netherlands. High time to tell you more about this job! What exactly is it, what are your activities and what do you earn from it? And which organizations can you contact? You can read it all here. You can also see whether you are suitable for this profession, because we list a few competencies that you need for mystery shopping.
What is mystery shopping?
With mystery shopping you visit a store, restaurant, bank, etc. on behalf of a mystery shopping company. During your visit you are amazed, but you do not let it be known that you are a mystery shopper. You are a regular customer, because the company you visit wants to know what the service of their staff is like, what the store/restaurant looks like and how long the waiting time is at, for example, a bank. They want to know more about customer friendliness, customer focus and customer drive.
Activities
Usually you have been given a list in advance of points that you need to pay attention to. You then go to the store, for example, and you pay close attention to all the things that you have to fill in later on your questionnaire. Sometimes you need to make a small purchase during your visit. This could be a small product in a store, or a small meal in a restaurant, for example. After your visit, complete the mystery shopping company’s questionnaire. There are often many rules for completing the questionnaire. Of course, everything must be written without spelling mistakes, you must explain everything well, and usually your questionnaire must be handed in to the mystery shopping company within a certain time after the visit. They will check the questionnaire and if you have completed everything correctly and clearly, you will receive compensation.
What do you earn with it?
The compensation depends very much on the mystery shopping company and the type of visit you made. For visiting a shop and a restaurant the average fee is around 15 euros, for a bank, a temporary employment agency and other types of companies the fee can be slightly higher. Sometimes you have to make a small purchase, so that will be deducted from it.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of mystery shopping is that you can manage your own time. You will usually be assigned a period in which the visit must take place. So you can choose a day that suits you best. Most people also like the fact that you can make money from shopping. This is of course true, but you will also have to pay attention to many things during your visit. It takes more time than you think. You must read the questionnaire carefully in advance, so that you can complete everything correctly afterwards. Completing the questionnaire also takes a lot of time. There are often a lot of questions, and you have to explain everything clearly. Ultimately, the average time you spend per visit will be approximately 3 hours in total. Some people find a compensation of 15 euros too little, other people enjoy doing mystery shopping as a side job so that they have some extra income. The number of assignments depends on the mystery shopping company and the region where you live. Typically you will receive about 2 assignments per month.
Competences
- You must be reliable, the company must be able to trust that the visit really took place
- You must speak and write Dutch well
- You must have keen observation and perception
- You must have a good memory
- You must be able to observe objectively
Which organizations can you contact?
There are a few mystery shopping companies in the Netherlands. Some organizations are: GAPbuster, MKH Mystery Shoppers, Shopcontrol, Mystery Guest and Multi-Value.