Mystery shoppers anonymous
Scott invited former mystery shoppers to describe what the work actually involved.
The callers were allowed to remain anonymous, with altered names and voice effects where necessary.
The stories showed that mystery shopping could involve much more than checking whether somebody smiled at a supermarket till.
The seven-department supermarket test
One former shopper remembered being assigned to a major supermarket while at university.
He had to visit seven different departments and ask a different question in each.
The cheese counter failed every time.
The assignment paid a small fee and also refunded £10 of food shopping, which made it particularly attractive to a student.
Inventing a £25,000 inheritance
Another task required the shopper to visit a financial adviser and pretend to have inherited £25,000.
That meant creating a convincing personal history and being able to answer follow-up questions without exposing the assignment.
Scott enjoyed how close the work sounded to amateur acting.
The perfect hotel assignment
The most desirable job involved an overnight hotel stay.
The mystery shopper was able to eat, drink, receive a treatment and stay in the room while also being paid a fee.
The only condition was producing a detailed report on every stage of the experience.
A free trip to Paris
The topic had begun when one of Scott’s friends unexpectedly travelled to Paris after remaining on an old mystery-shopping mailing list.
The train journey was covered as part of the assignment, turning an ordinary weekday into a free day in France.
Handover
Scott handed over after warning retail workers that the completely ordinary customer in front of them might be writing a report.
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