Mystery shopping assignments at banks can be exciting and lucrative, but they can also be a headache if you don’t know what you’re in for before you accept the challenge. If you’ve never tried mystery shopping at a bank, here’s what you need to know:
Get Ready. In many cases, a bank assignment will start as soon as you receive the notification that you’ve been awarded the assignment. Many bank assignments will require you interact with a specific bank representative inside the bank. So first, you will need to call and schedule your appointment.
You may be asked to open a bank account, apply for a credit card, or even apply for a home loan. Each of these tasks requires some additional commitment on your part as well. For instance, to open a bank account, you usually need to make a deposit into your new account to establish it, so you should be prepared to transfer those funds from your other accounts. For credit cards and home loans, be ready to permit your credit report to be pulled and also provide income verification if necessary. You will want to bring some of these items with you to the site visit, so there is quite a bit of prep work required.
A Long Visit. In many cases, your site visit at the bank will be fairly lengthy. Your bank rep will ask you a large number of questions to fill out your credit application, home loan application, or to open your bank account. So be prepared to answer personal questions for at least twenty to thirty minutes, if not longer.
A Return Visit. In some cases, your requirements will ask that you return to the bank anywhere from a few days to a week later. The reason for this may be to sign additional paperwork to activate your new account, or perhaps for you to ask the rep follow up questions. With the prep work before the site visit, and then one to two site visits, the amount of time you are committed to a bank mystery shopping assignment is fairly hefty.
No Smiles At Report Time. Mystery shopping reports for bank assignments are no laughing matter. In most cases, they are longer than average. However, if you took good notes throughout your experience, the reporting should fly by.
A Happy Trip Back To The Bank. When you make your final trip back to the bank to cash that big, fat paycheck, you will be all smiles. Bank assignments typically pay very nicely. For a more simple site visit, such as opening a savings account, you may expect to receive $30-40. For applying for a home loan, you can typically expect to receive upwards of $150. So while your time commitment to the assignment may be significant, your time is well-compensated.
There are other less-involved bank assignments, such as checking the quality of service at a teller drive-thru window. But these higher-paying assignments are typically the assignments that catch the eye of mystery shoppers scanning the job boards. If you’re interested in doing one of these assignments, request the assignment early, because they tend to go fast!