Monday, June 20, 2011

A Peek Into the World of Video Mystery Shopping

Slowly but surely, a new specialty is gaining momentum in the mystery shopping industry—video mystery shopping.


What is video mystery shopping? It’s the same as any other mystery shopping assignment except the mystery shopper carries hidden miniature video equipment—the old Candid Camera show meets mystery shopping. The employers then use this tape to provide further training to their employees. It can also be included in their performance evaluation. Of course this makes both the shopper and the client highly accountable.


During a video mystery shop the shopper will do many of the same types of things you do in a regular mystery shop. They will ask questions of employees, engage them in conversations and record their responses. They may even record images of the sales floor and service areas.
An advantage of video over written reports is that the client can see exactly what happened, and not have to rely on the written impressions of the mystery shopper. The employee who was shopped can view the tape and see exactly how they come across to customers.


The video equipment is easily hidden. The camcorder and battery pack are usually worn on a belt or carried in a purse. The camera itself it so small that it can be hidden in a button or a piece of jewelry.


Audio taping of mystery shops has been around for awhile, but video mystery shopping is just now starting to come into its own and for your benefit, Instant Replays specializes in video mystery shopping. The client is able to see cleanliness, body language, hear voice inflection amongst other important communication aspects that the recorders are able to capture.


http://www.idealady.com/article/vidshop/

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