Mystery shopping is an exciting way to make money by providing valuable customer service information to a business. In today’s highly competitive business world, the demand for mystery shoppers is increasing tremendously. Mystery shoppers are usually hired by large restaurants, hotels, hospitals, movie theatres and financial institutions to evaluate the level of customer service and to motivate the business.

Providing customer service that exceeds customer expectations is the key factor to succeed in any business. To stay in front of major competitors, most of the large hotel chains hire hotel mystery shoppers that specialize in measuring the performance of hotels. Hotel mystery shoppers are independent contractors who make an anonymous visit to a hotel so as to give a comprehensive evaluation of customer experience and service. Different hotel mystery shoppers may make a number of visits over a period of weeks or months.

Hotel mystery shoppers work with hotels for the purpose of assessing customer service, product quality, guest satisfaction, guest loyalty, profit margin and other specific details requested by clients. They also evaluate the front desk staff, hotel restaurants, catering services, hotel bars, cafes, gift shops and reservations for clients to enable the client to gain advantage over competitors.

Once the evaluation is completed, hotel mystery shoppers generate a narrative report based on the data gathered during mystery shopping. Reports generated by the shoppers help their clients to improve the training programs and recruitment process. Hotel mystery shoppers are paid for submitting the reports on time. Depending on the type of property and report, the fee of a shopper ranges from $100 to $300 per night.

A and M Business Services, AboutFace, A Top Shop, Bare Associates International (BAI), Beyond Marketing Group, Check-Up Marketing, Count on Us, Hotel Shopping Network, Satisfaction Services Inc. and Coyle Hospitality Group are some of the leading firms that offer mystery shopping services for upscale hotels.

Paco Underhill published his book “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping” in 1999. Today it remains a modern classic for understanding the psychology of consumer purchasing behavior.

Here is a summary and critique the book’s main points:

1. Purchasing behaviors can be studied: Underhill and his team opened the eyes of CEO and retail managers everywhere with their unique approach of meticulously observing people as they shopped. They brought techniques from anthropology and merged them with economics to create a new science.

2. Retailers still have much to learn about why people buy: Most CEOs that Underhill spoke with knew a whole lot about how store revenues but very little about what actually made customer purchase. For example, one CEO he spoke with believed that about 99% of people who visited their stores made purchase. When Underhill revealed that the correct statistic was only 48%, the CEO was needless to say enthralled with the possibilities.

3. Sellers can benefit from understanding buyer behavior: Buyers have a certain way of walking through a store. A specific way of using their hands, looking at signs, taking breaks while shopping. Sellers who understand these behaviors can gain a huge competitive advantage.

4. You can always sell more: Your best customers are your current customers. Find ways to upsell. Entice them to the back of the store. Keep them in the store longer.

5. Women and men shop differently: For example, men tend to go into a store, look at a large shelf of items, pick one, and quickly leave. Meanwhile, women are actually more information-intensive, reading the label for each possibility before making a purchase.

6. People use all five senses to decide on a purchase: The more of the five senses to which a seller can appeal, the better. People want verification with their whole body before buying a product.

7. Shopping on the Internet is different: Okay, this one is a “well, duhhh, Mr. Underhill” today, but remember this book was written in the late 1990s. Underhill does list some truisms about the advantages of shopping on the Internet which are helpful reminders.

Underhill’s book certainly opened my eyes to what retailers know and do not know about what makes people buy. My only problem with his book is the writing format. Underhill’s writing is actually pretty good, but it lacks periodic summaries of main points to really drive home the reader’s understanding.

By reading “Why We Buy,” you will get an informative, if sometimes wandering, read through the psychology of buying.

The Dubai Mall:

Imagine a shopping mall that covers a staggering 12 million square feet of land, for many people in the world it will be a far-fetched idea. However, for a city like Dubai it is kind of regular news now. Dubai mall was inaugurated in the end of 2008, covering 12 million square feet of land in total and having space for 1200 shops, this mall is the world’s biggest shopping mall (in terms of land it covers). Situated right in the neighborhood of world’s tallest tower (which is not yet completed), Burj Dubai. Main attractions are the Gold market (Gold Souk) with 220 jewelry shops, a huge aquarium that has made its way into the Guinness book of world records and an underwater zoo, Sega republic, a splendid ice rink and The famous Dubai fountain. Visitors will also find a huge luxury hotel within this mall, as well as Dubai’s biggest Cineplex.

Golden Resources Mall:

People’s Republic of China has got some of the biggest shopping malls in the world, and why not? China as a region has the largest population in the world. Unfortunately though, the biggest super markets (Golden Resources Mall & South China Mall) are nowhere near to be called successful, as the number of occupied shops and the shoppers is extremely low, mainly because of the location. Golden Resources Mall has got shops in excess of 1000, though most of them are still vacant. Irrespective of its success business wise, Golden Resources is still the world’s second largest shopping mall.

West Edmonton Mall:

Moving from Asia to the North America (and skipping two or three other biggies in the Asian region), we have West Edmonton Mall of Canada on our list of biggest shopping malls, which offers a combination of shopping extravaganza and recreational facilities. It was accredited as the world’s largest mall for many years until some developing Asian countries came up with one massive super market after another, now it ranks on no 5th in the list. However, if we compare these malls in terms of visitors, West Edmonton Mall will probably rank above other contenders. In addition to 800 shopping stores, there is a huge amusement park known as Galaxyland, world’s largest waterpark, Luxurious Hotel, Recreation center, huge ice rink, and many other tourist attractions.

SM Mall of Asia:

The Fourth largest shopping mall of the world, SM mall covers 407,000 square meters and is described as a tourist destination instead of just being a super market. The entertainment section offers a whole range of cinemas and movie theaters including one of the world’s biggest IMEX screens, skating rink, huge bowling Alley, music hall and a very unique Science discovery center. Philippine’s largest convention center is also a part of SM Mall of Asia with a capacity of 6000 people. Almost all famous brands have got an outlet in the Mall; shoppers can find fashion garments, home and furnishing products, jewelry shops, Art, hypermarkets, Travel and financial services. Many world class events were also hosted at this place in the past three years.

In recent years, the mystery shopping industry has become popular and is growing steadily as an additional source of income for many. As it is fairly easy to earn money doing mystery shopping, there is a lot of competition for these jobs. The past few years have seen a tremendous increase in the registration process for legitimate mystery shopper jobs.

By applying directly to mystery shopping companies, one can get mystery shopper jobs without paying any application fee. To qualify for a mystery shopper job, applicants should possess good communication and socializing skills. Male or female, senior citizens, employed, self employed, homemakers or retired persons can apply for mystery shopper jobs. Previous experience, special training or a bachelor’s degree are not required for legitimate mystery shopper jobs.

Companies that offer legitimate mystery shopper jobs do not charge an application fee. The majority of these companies provide a simple online form that takes only a few minutes to complete. The employer may ask for the applicant’s age, race, marital status and other personal details. Shopping companies can reject incomplete applications. This means that online forms must be carefully handled.

Once an applicant is registered, the hiring company will inform him about hundreds of mystery shopping job opportunities through email. Applicants are served on first come first serve basis. Those who are registered for mystery shopper jobs are provided with free training and shopping opportunities.

There are part time as well as full time mystery shopper job opportunities. Finding legitimate mystery shopper jobs on the Internet is just a click away. The majority of these mystery shopping companies are members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA).

The MSPA web site, http://www.mysteryshop.org, is the ideal place to find legitimate mystery shopper jobs. It provides a list of available jobs along with additional information on the mystery shopping industry. Online mystery shopping message boards and forums are other sources of potential opportunities.

With all of the choices on the market, it can definitely be overwhelming choosing a digital camcorder. There are several things to consider when shopping. A lot of brands can now record in high definition, but, there are some limitations to having an HD camcorder, such as incompatible video editing software.

The amount of zoom should also be taken into account, but, not the digital zoom. The higher the digital zoom, the more the resolution is decreased, making for blurry, pixelated pictures.

The optical zoom, however, will actually let you zoom in on your subject without sacrificing the picture quality. The optical zoom and the digital zoom are often not differentiated clearly on the manufacturer’s information. Keeping this in mind, paying close attention to the specs, and not being ‘fooled’ by a high digital zoom number on the camera box, will help to make sure you wind up with clearer zoomed pictures and videos.

Another thing to consider is the size of the viewing, or LCD, screen. The LCD screen is both the viewfinder and the playback screen, so having a large one would be beneficial. The cost will go up as the size of the screen goes up, however. On the subject of size, the size of the camcorder itself, along with the weight, are important things to consider. Most electronics for sale today boast of their tiny size. This has not always proven to be a good thing. If the camera is too small for you to properly hold onto, or operate the different functions, then you will want to think about getting a larger one.

A very important feature of a digital camcorder is the microphone. If you can hear more of the activity around the person filming than the subject, then this is definitely a good thing. One way to help alleviate this issue is to make sure you get a camcorder with a front-mounted microphone, as opposed to a top-mounted microphone. Some camcorders even come with audio zoom for the microphone, that zooms the audio when the picture is zoomed.

There are lots of different features to check out when buying a camcorder, like what kind of battery is needed and how long it will last. Doing some research online and asking lots of questions at the store will help you make an informed decision.