Mystery shoppers always want to know if they are getting paid adequately for their time and efforts. With each assignment varying in the time commitment involved, the efforts required at the job site, and the complexity of the report, it is not always easy to determine if an assignment is paying a reasonable fee. There are some easy steps you can make to help take the guesswork out of this…
Make Plans To Relax With A Regular Break From Mystery Shopping
With almost every type of job, you work a few days and take a few days off. Occasionally you may have to work over a weekend to complete a project at the office, but for the vast majority of workers, a constant seven day work week is simply unthinkable. With the breaks you get from working, you can complete tasks around the house, run personal errands, and spend time with…
Add Some Luxury To Your Life With Mystery Shopping
Much has been said about the benefits of mystery shopping in the current economic downturn. Mystery shoppers have been able to use mystery shopping to make ends meet, from buying the basics like groceries and gas, to helping to purchase clothing and shoes for the whole family. Many families have cut out luxuries from their household budgets during the recession, but you can use mystery shopping to make enjoying some…
The Value Of Mystery Shopping: It’s More Than A Paycheck!
Mystery shopping is about more than just making a paycheck. If you started your career as a mystery shopper with the dreams of making big bucks, you will likely be sorely disappointed. Mystery shopping is a great way to put some extra cash in your pocket, but very few people make even enough money as a mystery shopper to make this a full-time job. Instead, most mystery shoppers are happy…
Why You Should Build Your Own Database of Mystery Shopping Providers
If you have spent any time on the on-line mystery shopping forums, you know that a popular question mystery shoppers ask is if anyone knows which provider handles a certain retailer, restaurant, or so forth. Typically, the first response to those types of questions will remind fellow mystery shoppers that our agreements with the providers forbid us from revealing which clients a provider works with. Yet some mystery shoppers will…
What To Do When You Don’t Get Paid
One of the most common complaints mystery shoppers have about their providers is that they don’t pay fast enough. For some providers, this complaint has turned into a full dilemma when the paycheck doesn’t arrive after weeks of waiting. Before you go into panic mode about your missing paycheck, take a deep breath and think about your options. Check The Calendar. Before you call up your provider with an angry…
How To Get The Most Out of Online Mystery Shopping Forums
As a mystery shopping, your job is both fairly isolating and also interactive. Most mystery shoppers work on their own, selecting their assignments in the privacy of their own home without the interaction of co-workers or a boss. Yet there is also plenty of interaction with the workers and customers at the job sites. In a traditional job, interaction with co-workers and supervisors can offer guidance, direction, and support. Without…
How To AVOID Being Revealed As A Mystery Shopper
Having your identity as a mystery shopper revealed during a site visit can be a nightmare. This worst-case scenario happens rarely, but it CAN happen to you. There are a number of things that you may do that can cause you to unknowingly reveal your true identity to the store’s staff or management. Keep It Cool. When you walk into a store posing as a regular shopping but carrying with…
How To Handle Being Revealed As A Mystery Shopper
There are a large number of mystery shopping assignments that require you to reveal yourself to the store staff and manager as a mystery shopper during your site visit. However, more assignments require you to keep your identity hidden. In most mystery shopping assignments, you will walk through your entire assignment without revealing your true intentions, objectives, and identity. However, even in these masked assignments, your identity can still become…
How To Tell If A Mystery Shopping Provider Is Legit
There are literally hundreds of mystery shopping providers all offering legitimate work opportunities for mystery shoppers in need for additional assignments. However, mixed in with some of these legitimate mystery shopping providers are a few duds. Often these duds turn out to be scam artists in search of easy prey to turn a quick profit. If you’re looking at adding a few new mystery shopping providers to your work list,…