Becoming A Mystery Shopper
You love to shop. You'd love it more if there was a way to get paid to do it. Is it possible? While the hype is that you can make large amounts of money as a mystery shopper (also referred to as a secret shopper or a shop researcher), the truth is not quite as rosy as some make it out to be. Yes, it is possible to get paid to shop, but you certainly won't get rich doing it.
The reason that shops will pay people to shop is fairly easy to comprehend. With business as competitive as it is today, a superior level of customer service is essential to survive. Dissatisfied customers can quickly put a shop out of business. People who are satisfied with a shop or service will likely tell three acquaintances about the experience. That same person will tell more than 10 people when the shop or service is not up to par. Since this is common knowledge among shops and service providers, making sure customer service is at an appropriate level is of the utmost importance.
The problem is that when employees know that the boss will be in, they are on their best behavior. What management really wants to know is how those employees act when management isn't around and they are interacting with the everyday customers. That's where mystery shoppers come in. As someone unknown to the employees, you act like you are an actual or potential customer for that business while taking mental notes and making observations that the company is paying you to find out. Once you finish the shopping, you submit a report with your observations and get paid.
In most cases, mystery shoppers work as contract employees for an independent research company. The research company is contacted and hired by retail firms, banks, restaurants, apartment complexes, hotels, health clubs, etc to get an objective evaluation of their customer service and other aspects of their business. While each shop will have its own specific objectives, most are looking to find out the level of service their employees are providing to customers.
Becoming a mystery shopper is quite simple. There is no special skill or experience that you need. It is helpful to have some retailing experience, but not essential. You do need to be attentive to detail and have a good memory since you likely won't be able to take notes while you are doing the mystery shopping. It's also helps to have superior record-keeping skills since you will need to keep track of all your out-of-pocket expenses. Your real experience will be your actual mystery shopping assignments. While there are a lot of books and "training manuals" offering you hints (of course, at a price), you don't need to spend a dime on them. You can get all the information you need for free on the Internet.
Secret Shopping Pay & Expenses
You also don't need to pay to sign up with a mystery shopping company. In fact, if a company says that you need to pay upfront money to be considered, chances are you are looking at a scam. The vast majority of legitimate mystery shopping companies don't charge for signing up on their mystery shopper list, so if a company asks for money, you know it's time to move on.
That being said, you will need some money to get started. The companies will reimburse your expenses at later date (usually about a month), but you'll initially be required to fund the expenses associated with each mystery shopping assignment out of your own pocket. For example, if you are mystery shopping a clothing shop, you will have to pay for any item of clothing you purchase. When you fill out your evaluation form, you'll also attached your receipt and get reimbursed for your purchase with your payment (in your assignment you will be told the maximum amount that the company will reimburse for purchased items). Since you are a contract employee, any expenses that aren't reimbursed by the company (travel to and from the store, tolls, parking, etc) can be deducted from your taxes as part of your home business.
For those looking at mystery shopping as an easy and fun full time job, you probably want to think long and hard about your choice. The typical retail mystery shopping assignment only pays around $10. While $10 on the surface may sound great for simply shopping, you need to factor in the other elements involved. There is the time getting to and returning from the assignment as well as the time the paper work takes to fill out and complete. Service establishments such as credit unions, apartments, hotels and car dealerships will usually pay you more (somewhere in the $30 per assignment area), but will also usually require a more detailed (and thus longer) survey to fill out. These assignments are also a lot more competitive to land.
So what good is mystery shopping for the average person? The answer is free entertainment. Most entertainment establishments don't pay money, but will reimburse for expenses paid. That is, if you mystery shop a restaurant, you probably won't get paid any money, but you will get reimbursed for your meal. The same goes with movie theaters, amusement parks and other entertainment establishments. For those on a budget, mystery shopping can be a perfect solution for low cost entertainment and dining fun.
Since all the mystery shopping companies receive different assignments, it's worthwhile signing up with all the companies that you feel will offer assignments that you might enjoy doing. For those looking for inexpensive entertainment, head over to
MysteryShop.org and search their "Restaurant F&B" (casual and fine dining) and "Entertainment" (theater, theme parks) under the "Industry Served By Company" heading to find companies in your local area. For more information about companies and to ask specific questions, head to the
Volition.com forums where full time mystery shoppers gather and are more than willing to pass along advice and answer questions of those just starting out (they also have an extensive list of mystery shopping companies).
Since it won't cost you anything but a little time to give it a try, go for it and see if it is something you enjoy. If it is, you may have found a way to earn a few extra dollars a month while reducing your entertainment expenses which is certainly a great way to cut your expenses.
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