Marks and Spencers

Companies like M&S employ 'mystery shoppers' in order to get feed-back about many things but most often on how their staff are performing. You may have been told what you are evaluating or you may not (depending on how the project is set up) but it is very likely that you are required to report on things like waiting time, staff politeness, helpfulness and general performance and, possibly, on the organisation and cleanliness of the store and whether it stocks what you need.

That may be so, of course (and the budget may have been set too low entirely on purpose). Imagine yourself to be a customer with a limited budget (as you are) and a specific need - say you need to buy a present for someone or you need something for an occasion. * Can M&S supply your need? * Are the staff going to be helpful and inventive in satisfying your need (I would give plus points for any sales assistant who admitted that they had nothing in your price range but recommended other stores you could try)? * What is your sales assistant's general attitude toward customers with a limited budget? * What is their attitude toward the price structure and policies of the company they work for? Do they give the impression that the goods they are selling are too expensive, for example? Or are they 'snooty' and unhelpful to customers who have a limited budget? These are all very relevant questions which, if I were a manager, I would very much like to know about my staff! I know that M&S have very good training programs. One of the reasons for using 'mystery shoppers' is to assess the results of training in general (and occasionally with respect to the performance of individual staff - you probably would not be aware of that, if that were so, but if you are asked to give details of who served you, that might be the case).

Right. That's what the assignment is all about- to gauge their employees' conduct during the assignment. But unfortunately, this assignment also requires me to purchase something from that stall and that's where I'm worried. I'm worried that the budget for purchasing in that store may not be enough to buy anything.

Yeah, I've checked their website too but there was no information available. I can actually choose the products that I will buy as long as it is within the "budget" and it should be one of each- one in the food department, one in the clothing department and the other is in the cafe section (if there is). Hopefully, I'll find that is within the allotted price. Thanks!