When you think about the skills you need to be a mystery shopper, you may think about skills and qualities like being detail-oriented, being able to write reports fast and without errors, having a great memory, and even being a people-person who likes to get out there and interact with the various employees and managers you deal with at site visits. One of the qualities you probably do not think…
What Mystery Shoppers Need to Know About Identity Theft
If you are new to mystery shopping, you may be a bit timid about jumping head first into this job because of all of the rumors and stories circulating about identity theft. Identity theft is a real threat, and it has cost millions of people money, time, and grief in recent years. This goes for mystery shoppers and non-mystery shoppers alike. As mystery shoppers, however, our work is conducted over…
Are Those Low-Dollar Mystery Shopping Assignments Really So Bad?
When you get two or more mystery shoppers together, whether in person or online, the topic inevitably will turn to the low pay of the assignments in general. Mystery shoppers just love to gripe about the poor pay they get for their efforts. With assignments that can often take over an hour to complete with travel, site visit, and report time included, and with some of these assignments paying $10…
What Does the New Year Hold for Mystery Shoppers?
Many mystery shoppers have really been struggling over the last few years. The economic crash in the summer of 2008 has certainly had some far-reaching effects. Over the last few years, many mystery shoppers saw other sources of income from part-time and full-time jobs eliminated or significantly decreased, increasing the need to pick up more mystery shopping assignments. Other mystery shoppers who have been more fortunate with other sources of…
How Mystery Shoppers Can Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season
The very nature of your job as a mystery shopper has you out and about in the midst of crowds at stores, restaurants, and more during cold and flu season. Many mystery shoppers have found themselves out of commission for days with cold and flu symptoms in previous years, and this means lost income for mystery shoppers. Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take as a mystery shopper…
Why Is Your Mystery Shopper Rating Important?
Every mystery shopping provider has a different way to rate your performance as a mystery shopper on the past assignments you have completed for that company. There are quite a few mystery shopping providers that use a shopper rating system to rate your performance. While the rating system for most of these providers is the same, each provider uses the system in a slightly different way. When you do your…
Why Your Job as a Mystery Shopper Is Important to Society
Most mystery shoppers get into the business as a means to earn some extra cash in a way that is convenient for their busy schedules. Earning some money with a flexible job scheduler certainly is a major benefit, and this is a benefit that many other jobs simply cannot offer. However, there is another important benefit that many mystery shoppers don’t recognize regularly. As a mystery shopper, you are actually…
Are you too old to be a mystery shoppper?
Mystery shopping is the ideal job for many people, including retirees. With many jobs suited for retirees, but most require that you work a set number of hours each week and commit yourself to being available to work on a regular basis. As a retiree, however, you want the freedom and flexibility to work when you need or want to, rather than have someone else tell you when you must…
Can’t Get Paid? Here’s What You Can Do About It
Mystery shoppers love getting paid. There’s no denying how great it feels to get emails from PayPal saying you have received funds from a provider, or opening up your mailbox to find several checks waiting for you. Unfortunately, some mystery shopping providers are just plain slow in paying for your hard work and valuable time. In same cases, payment for completed assignments exceeds slow and borders on ridiculous. If you…
Hot Tips To Save Your Hide During Site Visits
Mystery shopping is a fun job in part because there is always some new aspect of the job to enjoy. Assignment requirements between various jobs are fairly similar in many cases, but with new job site locations and new people to interact with at each location, mystery shopping is anything but dull. Most mystery shoppers will agree that this is an exciting job, but at times it can even get…