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LESSON 4A READING AND VOCABULARY

Before reading 

Shopping terms

Word

Meaning

Changing Rooms

 

Private spaces in a store where customers can try on clothes before buying them.

Checkout

The area where customers pay for their items, often involving a cashier or self-service.

Customer

A person who purchases goods or services from a store or business.

Discount

A reduction in the regular price of a product or service is often used to encourage sales.

Queue

A line of people waiting for their turn to enter a store, pay at checkout, or receive service.

Service

Assistance provided to customers in a store, which may include help with products or processing transactions.

Shop Assistant

An employee in a store who helps customers find items answers questions, and processes sales.

 


Type of Shop

Meaning

Chain Store

a large building with lots of different shops

 

Shopping mall

A large building with lots of different shops

 

Department Store

A large shop with different parts that sell different types of things

 


While reading 

It seems that most of us enjoy shopping these days. For young people in the UK, shopping is the fourth most popular free-time activity, after watching TV, meeting friends and listening to music. So just imagine somebody paid you to go shopping! Sounds great, doesn’t it?

1 I’m Mustafa Madi and I’m a mystery shopper. Companies pay me to visit shops and pretend to be an ordinary customer. Afterward, I report on what I saw. Was the shop tidy? Did the shop assistants smile? Could they answer my difficult questions? Were the changing rooms
clean? Was there a long queue for the checkout?

2 I started when I was a student. I wanted to work part-time but I didn’t want a normal job because some weeks I was too busy with my studies at college. Mystery shopping was ideal because I could choose to work during quieter weeks.

3 Usually my work takes me to chain stores, shopping malls and department stores. But sometimes my job is to visit a cinema or a restaurant. Once I had to stay the night in a hotel (in the most boring town in England!) My favourite job was when I flew to Berlin for a travel agency. It was a lot of fun.

4 Being a mystery shopper is harder than some people think. You need a good memory and good writing skills (you have just twenty-four hours to write a 1,600- word report). The most important thing is to be discreet – you have to act ‘normally’ at all times, even when you’re secretly watching people!

5 What do I like about my job? Well, the money isn’t bad. I also enjoy the variety of being a mystery shopper – it’s not always as enjoyable as the trip to Berlin but it’s never boring. And finally, I sometimes go back to a shop I visited before. It’s always great to see the service is better because then I know that my job is making a difference.

6 The job isn’t perfect, of course. Some companies don’t pay you (you just get a discount on something you ‘bought’). And sometimes there is no work for many weeks. Mystery shopping is a good way to earn extra money but it’s not enough to live on.

 

After reading 

1. Why do companies pay to Mustafa? 

to visit shops and pretend to be an ordinary customer

2. What does he do after visiting those companies? 

After visiting the companies, Mustafa wrote a report on what he observed. report on what he saw. Was the shop tidy? Did the shop assistants smile? Could they answer my difficult questions? Were the changing rooms clean? Was there a long queue for the checkout?

3. What is his job?

Mystery shopper

4. When did he start his shop? 

when he was a student

5. Why was this job ideal for him? 

This job was ideal for Mustafa because it allowed him to work part-time and fit around his college studies, letting him choose to work during quieter weeks.

6. Mention the stores which his job takes him to them? 

chain stores, shopping malls and department stores.

7. When was his favourite job?

when he flew to Berlin for a travel agency. It was a lot of fun.

8. Why is the mystery shopper harder than any work? 

You need a good memory and good writing skills (you have just twenty-four hours to write a 1,600-word report).

9. How many words does the mystery shopper write in 24 hours? 

a 1,600- word report 

10. What is the most important thing in this job? 

The most important thing in this job is to be discreet, acting normally while observing the staff and customer service.

11. Mustafa Said “ Mystery shopping is a good way to earn extra money but it’s not enough to live on”. Justify why from the text. 

some companies don’t pay you (you just get a discount on something you ‘bought’). And sometimes there is no work for many weeks.