Disguises: Proper Use

There is much debate among veteran shoppers I've spoken with about the use of disguises. The majority seem to use them, even if it is just occasionally. Now, I don't mean your typical wig and trench coat type disguise. That's where people are mistaken about what we do. If I were in a department store and saw a person walking along in a trench coat with a wig and big sunglasses, I'd notice them. Well, so will the employees.

The goal is to look like the average shopper. If you are shopping a children's store you would want to take a child or at least know your fictitious child's size and clothing style. If you are shopping a car dealership do a little research on similar cars by other makers so you look like a person who may buy a car.

I do not usually suggest wearing a disguise per se. I do suggest tailoring your clothing and mannerisms to reflect the assignment you are doing. When you are doing multiple assignments in a given area try taking along a basket of goodies. In your basket put a pair of sunglasses, a hat or hair band for the ladies, a sweatshirt, a purse (wallet or briefcase for the gents), a book, a jacket, a mini tape recorder if you have one, and a watch.

Let's say you have a circuit to do that includes three fast food places, two banks, and a video store. You would go into the first fast food place dressed as you came out for your day. Upon completion of that shop, you drive a bit away stopping to takes detailed notes into the tape recorder about the things you needed to get for your evaluation, then you pull your hair up into a ponytail or put on a hat, put a jacket on and off you go to the next assignment. You can interchange these items about yourself and you are not really disguising yourself. You are simply making yourself more anonymous.

In my opinion, most shops do not require this much time and effort in planning. I do have certain sets of shops that I've completed in a large grouping where I've done this type of thing to blend in a bit better with the neighborhood I am visiting or the store I am shopping, but overall, I just go as me. What I have also found is that slightly changing my appearance works best for those times I am doing several of a particular type of shop. If I am doing fifteen auto repair store shops in a day, I will take my basket of goodies with me. Sometimes I will take a second person. That way, if I run into an employee who was at a previous location, I can blend in better and allow that second person to take up any slack for me. This has worked especially well at banks and car dealerships where the employee customer ratio is closer to one on one.

I also do not think that you need to come up with complex stories to fit in with a shop. There are occasions when lying is required. However, you want to keep the lie as close to the truth as you possibly can. I try to keep to the facts that fit my situation as much as possible. Mostly because I am a terrible liar and I've found that I can usually tell when someone else is lying.