Mystery Shopping
By:  Rebecca White

     Hi, let me do a little intro duction of myself so you know a little more about me.  I have been mystery shopping for about 10 years now.  I mainly started to mystery shop because as a military wife with 2 small children and only 1 car it was hard to find a job outside of the home to fit around military life, and I did not want to send my children to daycare.  I started out only working for a couple companies and I now work with over 20 companies, but in the beginning it took a couple months to get my name out there as a reliable mystery shopper.  All that hard work has paid off and I receive high paying assignments now from several different companies.

Do I need to pay to work as a mystery shopper?

I have been asked if you need to pay for a booklet that lists companies you can work for. The answer is NO! There are so many resources on the internet for you to find companies to work for.  Look for mom related sites that have a list of companies that other shoppers have worked with, I would check those sites out first to see who are the top companies and start out with those.  Sometimes you may not fit into the demographics that a certain company is looking for, so it is best if you apply to several companies.  They do however keep your name on file in case you do fit into a profile later on.

What type of stores hire mystery shoppers?

There are many different types out there. There are retail, restaurants, theatres, cell phone, banks, jewelry stores, anywhere a person can eat out or buy products you can bet they have a mystery shopper who checks everything out.

Can I take my kids with me when I do an assignment?

I take my family with me when I do those that allow children to go. You need to make sure that you are allowed to take someone else with you.  I have done some assignments where I had to go by myself.

What are the qualifications to be a mystery shopper?

You need to be reliable!  Companies that hire you have deadlines to meet, so you must be sure you can meet the deadlines they provide to you.

Companies rely on secret shoppers/mystery shoppers to evaluate their customer service so that they can make improvements to help their business be more successful.

If you take on an assignment from a company PLEASE make sure you can do it. Some companies after signing up will email you assignments look them over. Look at your calendar, can you do it within the allotted time frame. Don't reschedule an assignment unless it is something you can't prevent. 

You need to be able to notice small details. I have a small trick that I do for remembering details.  I will take a "shopping list" with items I am to look for so I can make little notes next to each item.  I have also gone to use the restroom to jot down a few notes halfway into the assignment then finish the rest and finish it in the car off of the stores lot.

When you get back home report your outcome right away.  Mystery shopping companies will give you anywhere from 12-36 hours to report your results, take it from me if you don't do it right away there is a chance that you will forget to report it.   Mail in your receipts as soon as you are done with the report.  If you were asked to purchase a product for an assignment you will not get paid for your time or reimbursed for your purchase without a receipt.

Keep all paperwork for each assignment for up to 3 months in case the client has a question you can refer back to your paperwork.  This is very important if you are working with several different companies.

What do you do as a mystery shopper?

You will be evaluating customer service, cleanliness, atmosphere, were the flyers correct, etc. Basically things you would notice on any normal shopping trip.

How do I keep track of assignments for taxes?

              Record keeping is important for an independent contractor. I do a simple spreadsheet to keep track of what I assignment I did, the mileage (tax deductible), if I had to purchase something, and how much the job was paid.

              You are responsible for the taxes. Just taking a few minutes to file all reports, receipts, and mileage will save you a headache come tax time.

What is the pay for mystery shopping?

            Payment for your time depends on the company.  Some will only reimburse you for a meal or product that you bought, but you get to keep it, others will reimburse you plus pay you a small fee for doing the report.  I have done assignments for as little as $8 to as much as $50.  It depends on the assignment, the company and how reliable you are.

            One last hint: even if an assignment is $8 and you feel it is not worth your time you need to remember they save the higher more difficult assignments for the experienced mystery shoppers.  You have to start somewhere so don't be too picky when you first start out. There are people out there that can support their families on mystery shopping, they are the ones who do it full time by that I mean they have 4 more assignments a day 5 to 6 days a week, but most shoppers do it for the extra income.

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Rebecca White is a WAHM.  She has 3 wonderful sons and has been married for 13 years.  Recently started a home-based business with Ameriplan USA ® helping others save money on health benefits. 

For more information on the benefits please visit: http://luvmyhours.onesimplecard.com/mysart

For more information on becoming a broker and helping others with their benefits please visit:  http://luvmyhours.simpleasabc.com/mysart