Mystery Cruising

Searching the realm of mystery shopping for the elusive and highly coveted luxury cruise assignment has been educational and provided some interesting insights. Numerous mystery shopping companies claim to provide these particular assignments for those secret shoppers enlisted to work through them. Often the price of enlistment ranges from $19.99 to $99.99. However, reputable companies offer free registration.

Mystery shopping started sometime in the 1940s as a way to measure or determine employee honesty and integrity. Today, the mystery shopping industry has an estimated value of nearly $600 million in the United States and has developed into the practice of using trained shoppers to anonymously evaluate customer service, operations, employee integrity, merchandising, and product quality among other things. Mystery shopping is used by many kinds of businesses, including retail outlets, restaurants, theaters, resorts, and banks just to name a few.

Self-styled industry guru Dave Taylor recently posed the question, “Do cruise lines use mystery shoppers, and how can you get a free cruise?” He contends, amidst the media rhetoric and hype, that there are very few (if any) cruise shops available. Reputed mystery shopping expert Cathy Stucker, author of The Mystery Shopper’s Manual, was quoted as saying, “cruise shops are like Bigfoot: Lots of people have heard tales of them, but no one has actually seen one themselves.”

Foremost, it’s sensible to assume that, a two-week all expense paid cruise will not be the first job any mystery shopper will get. Although, cruise shops do exist these assignments are given to highly experienced mystery shoppers that generally live within or relatively close to the area of departure. It would suffice to say only competent, well established, and reliable shoppers get assignments like these. There is simply too much at stake to entrust a high-end assignment to a relatively unknown shopper without a proven track record. Which means companies will choose a shopper who has frequently worked for them, always done their assignments on time, followed all shop guidelines, and posses the necessary writing skills required for detailed narratives.

A few major luxury cruise lines utilize mystery shopping as a way to evaluate and improve their customers' overall experience onboard. For instance, on one particular cruise, a seasoned mystery shopper discovered

• Poor hygiene among the food service staff,

• Unsafe and cluttered passageways,

• A very lax atmosphere among the crew during fire drills,

• And, unsympathetic customer service personnel.

Thus, mystery shopping provides a relatively inexpensive means for the cruise line industry to identify and avoid costly problems rather than acting after the fact or waiting until someone is hurt or injured. The cost to have a mystery shopper onboard is less than $1,000 in most instances. The mystery shopper receives complementary passage and a few hundred dollars for out-of-pocket expenses.

If your thinking you’d like to shop a cruise, because it would be a great vacation for you and or your family, think again. Cruises are one of the most detailed shops there are. They may pay well, but they require a lot. You won't be relaxing and enjoying yourself, you'll be working. We’re not talking about a cursory evaluation either, but some real work, 50 or 60 pages of checklists, requirements and expectations. Never schedule a shop like this as a vacation, because it’s simply not doable. This is a job and not a free vacation. It's critical that you approach these assignments seriously. These cruise assignments require completion of an evaluation of the overall cruise, which can require hours of work each day, while you’re on the cruise. The evaluations are generally due within 24 to 72 hours of the end of the cruise. You are responsible for your transportation to the departure port and will not be reimbursed for this expense. You are also responsible for alcohol, extra services, and port tours. Often companies do not pay cash for the actual assignment because the cruise itself is the payoff

Another thing, don’t be swayed by pretentious testimonials. For example:

“I was very skeptical of the cruise assignment offered. It seemed too good to be true but I applied anyway. I was overwhelmed with joy when I found out I was chosen. I couldn't believe how easy the whole process was. The instructions for my assignment were simple to follow and clearly laid out. I enjoyed every minute of my cruise and would recommend Xcompany.com to everyone looking for better secret shopper assignments.”

The bottom line is that you should not get into mystery shopping for the advertised cruises because the likelihood of receiving one in your first couple of years is pretty slim. Unless you have a hospitality industry background or degree, or have demonstrated numerous times that you consistently perform above the grade, these shops will continue to go to those who do. Take the other shops and consider these an unexpected bonus should it ever happen.