How a Mystery Shopping Editor Works

In the mystery shopping industry, there are a lot of people who work to make sure the clients get the best possible information from their mystery shoppers.

We all know the basic process of mystery shopping: the shopper visits the client’s business, writes the report, and sends it off to the agency. But a lot of people don’t realize what happens after that.

Barbara Wray is a mystery shopping editor for Measure CP in Louisville, KY.

Just like any other written piece of information, it needs to be edited and polished so it’s concise, easy to understand, and error free. Plus, the editor needs to make sure the shopper has followed all the instructions, and met the deadline for submitting their report.

The editor is also knowledgeable about mystery shopping, so they know what to look for when they read a shopping report.

Let’s say a shopper is conducting a shop on a bar. She could be asked to see how long before the bartender brought her drink, brought her check, whether he was friendly, and even check on the cleanliness of the bathrooms.

The editor will then take the report, check it over for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, making any necessary changes. He or she will then look for supportive narrative, to make sure there is enough information to support the actual shop. The editor will also make sure that all the requirements for the shop have been met. Maybe the shopper forgot to check the bathrooms, or maybe she was supposed to order food with her drink. The editor will then either reject the shop or send it back to the shopper for clarification.

But if the shopper has provided all the necessary information, once the edits are made, the mystery shopping editor will pass it on to the client, along with all the other shopping reports and quantitative data.

The mystery shopping editor has an important job, because their work ensures the client is satisfied with the agency’s work. They make sure the mystery shopping reports are easy to understand and that they contain all the information needed for a complete report.