How a ‘quick read’ still impacts mystery shopper 20 years later

LOS ANGELES - Oct. 1, 2015 - PRLog -- The one-paragraph business brief appeared 20 years ago, near the back of SmartMoney Magazine. Rich Bradley, who at the time was a senior vice president and general manager of FOX Sports Florida, read the item during a flight from West Palm Beach to Orlando, Florida.

   That one paragraph eventually led to a life-changing endeavor for Bradley, now president of MSPA North America, the trade association representing the customer experience management and measurement industry.

   Bradley will play an instrumental role in two of the nation’s premier mystery shopping conferences in Los Angeles and Anaheim, California, held in October.

·         The Customer Experience Conference (CXE3), “Playing the Leading Role in Customer Experience,” will be held October 13-15 at the Hilton Universal City in Los Angeles. CXE3 attendees include executives from mystery shopping firms, marketing research and merchandising companies, surveyors, field audit firms, loss prevention firms and others.

·         The MSPA ShopperFest 2015 will be held October 16-18 at Embassy Suites Hotel Anaheim – North in Anaheim. Mystery shoppers, the media and general public are invited to participate in an educational networking event including a free Q&A entitled Mystery Shopping 101 on October 16.

    Bradley, who currently works at Todd Persons Communications in Orlando, explained how a quick read eventually led to his role as MSPA-NA president 20 years later.

     “I would fly to FOX Sports Florida each Monday and return home on Fridays,” Bradley recalled. “On one Friday flying from West Palm Beach back to Orlando, I picked up a copy of SmartMoney Magazine at the airport to read on the flight home. In the back of the magazine was a one paragraph blurb on mystery shopping.”

    Intrigued, Bradley became a mystery shopper. Initially, he viewed the new venture as a way to generate some extra revenue while helping businesses become more efficient.

    “When I got home I showed it to my wife, and we signed up to shop for a dozen companies,” Bradley said. “Mystery shopping funded our date nights. We typically booked a dinner shop and a theater trailer check each Saturday. The money from the shops paid for the babysitter, and we had a nice night out.

    “We became more curious about other businesses and industries and started doing other shops,” he continued. “We were pretty active shoppers for a number of years.”

    In 2011, Bradley joined the MSPA-NA board, initially serving as chair of the Legislative Committee, then as treasurer, before becoming president of the association in 2014.

    “It’s gone full cycle in 20 years,” Bradley said, “from a role as a beginning shopper in 1995 to serving as the association president today. This all was instigated by a one paragraph blurb tucked in the back of SmartMoney Magazine.”

    Events such as CXE3 and ShopperFest are important tools for MSPA-NA and its members.

    “Enhancing customer experience by providing actionable information and data is the core mission of our industry,” Bradley said. “I look forward to collaborating with and welcoming my colleagues to Los Angeles for CXE3, and the shoppers, media and general public who will participate in ShopperFest in Anaheim.”