B1 Listening worksheet 5 (plus)

The Mystery Shopper

1 Look at the products in the table. Would you
prefer to buy them online or ‘in store’ (i.e. in a Tip
physical shop)? Tick (✓) your choice for each The information you need appears in
product. the same order in the exercise and the
online in store
recording.

shoes for everyday life

5 Use your notes from Exercise 4 to write a short
clothes for a special occasion summary of what Susie says. Begin like this:
a new smartphone
Susie is a mystery shopper. She buys things in
a book shops that want feedback and then …
groceries

2 Think about the times when you prefer to

go a physical shop. Why don’t you buy the
products online? What are the ‘extras’ that the
physical shop gives you? Discuss in groups.

3   Listen to an interview with a ‘mystery

shopper’ called Susie and tick (✓) the things
she mentions.
layout product range
prices changing rooms
shop assistants discounts

4   Listen to the interview again. What does

Susie say about the following things? Make
notes.
1 What she does after she’s been to a shop as a 6 Would you like to work as a mystery shopper?
mystery shopper Why / Why not? Discuss in small groups.

2 Training for mystery shoppers

3 Payment in her company

4 Why some people do a job like hers without
payment

5 Why her job is still important when so many
people shop online

6 Why feedback from online reviews is not enough
for shops

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B1 Listening worksheet 5 (plus)
Teacher’s notes
This worksheet pushes students towards B2
by asking them to listen to a conversation
of about 690 words – approximately 270
words longer than the maximum they will
encounter at B1. It introduces some B2
vocabulary, most of which is pre-taught.
Students will probably also encounter some
unknown words while listening.
There are higher-level structures,
particularly complex sentences with
modals, including might + perfect infinitive.
Students have to listen for detail and
identify specific information – a skill
needed in Part 2 of the B2 First / B2 First
for Schools exam. They also need to
identify attitude and stated opinion (B2
First / B2 First for Schools Parts 1, 2 and 4).
1 Exercise 1
Ask the students if they enjoy shopping. Tell
them the lesson will be about shops and
hand out the worksheet. Ask them to look
at Exercise 1 and tick the relevant boxes for
themselves. Some younger students may do
very little of this kind of shopping alone, but
they can think about how the family shops.
Answers
Students’ own answers
2 Exercise 2
Ask students to form small groups and
discuss their answers to Exercise 1, talking
about what ‘extras’ a physical shop offers. If
they are stuck for ideas, give prompts, e.g.
helpful staff, ability to touch/try on/try out
the products, or the satisfaction of taking a
bought item home immediately.
3 Exercise 3
  This listening task doubles as pre-
listening vocabulary input, so check meaning
as you go through the list. Then play the
interview a first time. Let students compare
their answers and then check the answers
with the whole class.
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Answers
She mentions: layout, shop assistants, product
range and changing rooms.
06
Presenter: Good morning and welcome to
Shoparound. Today Bill is talking to
Susie Cole, who works undercover … in
shops! Interesting! Let’s hear more.
Bill: Good morning, Susie and thanks for
talking to us. You’re a mystery shopper.
Can you explain for us what exactly that is?
Susie: Morning, Bill. Yes. Basically, I’m sent to
various shops to look at things from a
customer’s point of view and then write
a report about what the shop could be
doing better.
Bill: What sort of things do you look at?
Susie: It could be whether the shop has a nice
layout and arrangement, if there are
enough good changing rooms in a clothes
shop, whether things move quickly at
the checkout or if the shop assistants
are friendly and helpful … all kinds of
things. I usually have some kind of brief.
I mean, there’s something that the shop
particularly wants me to look at.
Bill: And then you give your feedback in
a report?
Susie: Yes. So the job is not actually as easy as
many people think. Not everybody is
able to write a clear and useful report,
for example.
Bill: Have you had training?
Susie: Well, I have, as I work for a really good
mystery shopping organisation. I’ve
had training and I’m well paid, but
unfortunately there are some really
bad, so-called ‘mystery shopping
organisations’ out there, so shops
should really be careful who they
work with. Some people think mystery
shopping must be a lot of fun, and they
do it for very little money or just to get
free products at shops. That’s really bad
for our profession.
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B1 Listening worksheet 5 (plus)
Teacher’s notes
Bill: Yes, of course. But is it fun? And do you get
those free products?
Susie: I do enjoy it most of the time. And I get a
certain amount of money to buy products
which I then keep, yes, but it’s not a lot of
money. Sometimes I have to go to shops where
the product range doesn’t interest me at all,
but I still have to buy something. And quite
honestly, when I’m on my way home from
work and I have to stop at the supermarket
to get something for dinner, I think, ‘Oh
please, not more shopping!’ For myself, I buy
everything I can online these days.
Bill: Interesting point. People do more and more
shopping online, so isn’t your job actually
needed less and less?
Susie: Well, no, actually. Not everyone shops online,
but the fact that it’s often possible means that
many ‘real’ or ‘physical’ shops need to make
an extra effort to attract people. If someone
who could get something online chooses to
go to a physical shop instead, they must want
something that the internet can’t provide.
Comfortable changing rooms for example.
Have you noticed how these have become nicer
in many shops in recent years? And you might
have seen extra services on offer, like personal
shoppers who help you to find clothes that suit
you, or to select the ideal present for someone.
Many shops on the high street understand
that they have to offer a pleasant shopping
experience if they want to survive.
Bill: Interesting! But there’s one more thing I don’t
understand. Customers write reviews of shops
online these days. So shops get feedback for
free. Why would they still pay you?
Susie: Ah … because they just can’t rely on online
reviews. Somebody might have been having
a bad day, for example, and then have gone
to a shop and felt ignored by a shop assistant.
And then they might immediately have written
a furious review with no stars, but that really
doesn’t reflect the usual customer experience
in that shop. When people get what they want
in a shop with no problems, that’s fine and
they’ll probably use the shop again, but they’re
not going to write a review about it. Reviews
can help though. If a shop gets bad reviews
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about one aspect of its service or product
range, then it might get a mystery shopper in to
look at that one thing. And that can really help
shops to improve what they offer.
Bill: Do you see shops improve after you’ve given
your feedback?
Susie: Yes, I do! And I find that very satisfying.
4 Exercise 4
  Play the interview again. The students
should take notes as they listen, then
give them a minute or so after listening to
complete their notes. They compare answers
in small groups, then check as a whole class.
Possible answers
1 writes a report/review for the shop
2 She has been trained but some mystery
shoppers aren’t.
3 She is well paid.
4 Some people do it for fun and free products.
5 Physical shops need to be good if people can
use online shops instead.
6 People often write them when something
unusual has happened.
5 Exercise 5
Students should write their summaries
alone, with plenty of time to formulate them.
Suggest they write around 120 to 150 words.
Go around the room helping, and then ask one
strong student to read out his/her summary.
Sample answer
Susie is a mystery shopper. She buys things
in shops that want feedback and then writes
reports to help them improve. She has been
trained to do her job well but some mystery
shoppers don’t get training. Susie is well paid by
the organisation she works for. However, not all
mystery shoppers are well paid. Some people
do the job for fun and because they get free
products. Susie is unhappy about that.
Many people today do their shopping online
but mystery shoppers are still needed. If people
don’t have to go to shops because they can get
things online, physical shops have to be good to
stay open. Online reviews don’t give them
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B1 Listening worksheet 5 (plus)
Teacher’s notes
enough feedback, as many people only write
reviews when they are angry or something
unusual has happened in the shop. That’s why
mystery shoppers like Susie are still needed.

6 Exercise 6
This should be a free discussion, with students
talking in their small groups or as a whole
class, depending on what will work best in
your context.

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