Stories From A Hotel Mystery Shopper My Life As A Road Warrior, Part 1
Stories From A Hotel Mystery Shopper My Life As A Road Warrior
, Part 1
Youve all seen the adsBe A Mystery Shopper and Eat Out For Free! Believe it or not, there really IS a behind the scenes shopping industry. There are mystery shoppers for grocery stores, airlines, banks, hotels, restaurants, rental car agencies, and even cruise line. There are probably even more, I just havent heard about them! Your employer gives you prescribed set of guidelines to follow and you are sent out to see what happens.
Secret shoppers, as they are often called, are used by owners and management to see what kind of experiences their customers have. They are used to determine if policies and procedures are being followed, if the establishment is clean and in good repair, if employees are maximizing profit, and they check to see if employees are honest.
When I was in my 20s, I was a hotel mystery shopper. We did undercover surveys of the hotel industry. We also performed the same service on car rentals agencies, limo companies, banks, and yes, folks, even cruise lines! Most people, when they hear me talk about my job history, say that it must have been the coolest job in the world. You get PAID to travel around the world and stay in hotels?
All that glitters is not gold. Being a road warrior meant that I was seldom home and that I worked grueling hours for very little pay. But I did get to see the world, albeit oftentimes from a hotel room window! The advantages of life as a hotel mystery shopper!
I got started in this business when another hotel mystery shopper committed the cardinal sin of hotel mystery shoppers. He was shopping the resort where I worked as a front desk clerk. And he asked me out. Shame on him. One does not fraternize with the help! (Although, technically, one could argue that since he was paid to be there, he was ALSO the help!) At the time, I did not know he was there shopping my hotel. In fact, I had never heard of such a service. I thought he was just an old (I was 22, he was 30!) business dude with excellent taste in women!
I met up with him, for a quick drink one day after work. It was pleasant, but I didnt really put much stock into that date. I wasnt that into him and was just being polite. He checked out of my hotel shortly thereafter and I didnt think much more about him. Then he started calling me, almost daily, love blossomed and a relationship ensued. I would travel to meet up with him when he was working, so I had begun to grasp some of the fundamental elements of the job. And what a weird job it was!
There came a time when his company was looking for more help. He arranged the interview for me, and I drove up to Marin County to meet with one of the principals in the company. I was expecting your standard job interview. You know, the boilerplate why do you want to work here? and how do you feel your qualifications make you a good candidate for this job?
What I got was a shopping trip. This guy took me downtown to some random (and not very nice, if I recall correctly) restaurant and had me do a report on what we experienced. While I had experienced many of these meals as a guest and a passive participant, I had never had to take the notes and then translate them into a report which would actually be read by someone.
Well, I must have been paying attention at all of those hotel lunches and dinners, because I passed the test and was offered the job. I bought some new luggage, applied for my very first passport, and awaited my schedule. My life as a hotel mystery shopper had begun!
by: Michelle Morrison Warren
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