Mystery Shopping

Today I did five Mystery Shops. I’ve been in this business for four years now, and I first started as a way to have some extra income during my marriage. Now I don’t need the money as much and do it more for the entertainment. I like playing the role of a “customer” and making up stories as to why I want to buy a lawnmower or change my mobile phone provider. I am a people watcher at heart. I could sit for hours in a café and just watch the world go past, making up stories in my head for what might be going on in the lives of the strangers I see walk by. So Mystery Shopping allows me to act out the fantasy of someone who has disposable income.

Today I thought about the products and the people who buy them. My last two Mystery Shops were for items I could never justify buying simply because of the cost. And I wondered, why do people pay such high prices for things they don’t need?

At one store I had to try on a few business suits, pretending I worked in a corporate office. To look the part I wore the only black suit I have which is several years old (from when I was a Tupperware manager). I was a bit embarrassed to see how out-dated my attire was, but it made for a good cover story.

I tried on a couple suits and was pleasantly surprised that I fit a size 8 slack (for my American readers that is equivalent to a size 2, I believe). The odd thing was the size 10 (US4) jacket was rather tight around my shoulders. I always thought the hips got bigger after having children, not the shoulders! Unfortunately the first outfit I liked didn’t look as nice on me as it did on the headless manikin.

Before I tried the clothes on I instinctively looked at the price tag. I knew I wasn’t going to buy anything so price didn’t matter, but old habits die hard. I was amazed that the cheapest pants cost $100 and the jackets were $150 and upwards. Now to some people that may sound reasonable for a business suit, but I don’t think I spend that much on clothes in a year! I know there are people who spend thousands of dollars on designer suits, but I just don’t get it. Does a $2,000 suit fit any better than a $200 one or even a $50 suit in the same style? I know it all comes down to how it feels – not the way the suit feels on but the way the suit makes you feel about yourself. I did like the way one of the suits looked on me and the style was very flattering, but I would feel guilty every time I wore it if I had paid that much.

I know I am probably in the minority of shoppers to think those prices are outrageous. However even if I had the money to spend I don’t think I could do it. Material things just aren’t that important to me. It’s all about the packaging, not just products but the way people package themselves. I’ve never liked overly and ambiguously packaged products and I feel the same about people. It is what’s inside the package that ultimately counts. That’s what you will be dealing with, be it a product or a person.

The next shop I went to was a pharmacy. I had to pretend to be interested in a Christian Dior product. I felt a bit foolish as I wasn’t sure what a Christian Dior product was . . . okay you can stop laughing at me now! So I casually walked around the shop to try and spot something with the CD name on it. I saw a photo of Sharon Stone’s face and the name Christian Dior splattered across the bottom. There was no product on the picture, but it was in front of a display of bottles.

I curiously picked up one container and turned it all around to try and figure out what it was. There was a brand name on it along with some subtitle, as it were, but I still didn’t know what it was. I assumed from the photo of Sharon Stone that it must be some sort of face cream or cleanser. Fortunately the saleslady saw me and came over to help – my Mystery Shop had begun. She told me a bit about the product and that it would make my fine lines and blemished ultimately disappear. Sounded good to me! It’s supposed to make me look at least 20 years younger. But then my package wouldn’t reflect the 41 year old inside! Is that what women want? To display themselves as different from whom they really are? Does it really matter how we look? I wondered if women buy this product because they want it or because their partner thinks they should look younger or better.

After I politely listened to the explanation about the product and even let the saleslady put a sample on the back of my hand so I could “feel how soft it was” (I wouldn’t expect a liquid to feel hard, but I was there to observe not to criticise), I asked the price. I knew it would be expensive as there were no prices on any of the boxes or on the display. A sure sign that the product costs far more than most people are willing to pay. I think the motivation behind not displaying a price is that the salesperson gets people to try a sample and convince them of the value for money before they shock them with the cost. And shocked I was, although for the purposes of the Mystery Shop I had to pretend that I would pay that outrageous price.

How much was it, you say? Well I was told 228 for the one product. I noticed the saleslady conveniently left out the word “dollars” when quoting the price. Of course I would also need a night-time cream which was about the same price. Then there was the eye cream which I had not sampled that cost over $100. All up it would cost over $500 for this face treatment. And the good news was the bottles of product would last about five months!

After I left the store and regained my composure, I got to thinking why someone would spend over $1,000 a year for some facial cream. What ingredient is in this stuff that justifies charging so much money? Are people simply paying for a brand name? I then had a look at the little information page which came in the free samples I was given. Yes, I accepted free samples. I think I will save them for a time when I want to look extra special. Although I don’t know how long a 3 ml tube with last or if it will be enough to make a difference?

Anyway, the information sheet (which was written in 9 languages) had three large paragraphs explaining, I think, what the product was. Although I am not too convinced that a statement like “This revitalizing botanical extract has the capacity to reinforce the effectiveness of the corrective ingredients with which it is combined” means anything. There were large, scientific (and made-up I believe) words used throughout the sheet.

I then discovered how they can justify the high price. It seems that the vital ingredient in this product is “a rare plant extract from a primitive plant called Longoza, which grows only in Madagascar.” Now that is what the salesperson should have said to explain why it is so expensive. Destroying a plant in Madagascar is certainly worth my $500! I would think that in this day and age a man-made ingredient could be used, or even better, create the ideal growing conditions for the plant in the factory. That way the rainforests are saved and the price could be reduced. Because, surely, if this product does everything they say it can then all the women of the world would be lining up to buy it. Or would we?