This is a great opportunity to eat out at restaurants, go shopping at your favourite stores, or try out different things while making money. If you’re reliable, well-written, and have an eye-for-detail, this might be the gig for you!
How mystery shopping works
You sign up with a mystery shopping company that is accepting applications for shoppers. Generally, they might ask you to read a manual and take a test to ensure you understand what your responsibilities are for the “job”. From there, you apply for “assignments” where you will go to the business, evaluate your experience, and then fill out the survey according to the instructions.
Sometimes, the assignments can be quite involved and require you to do things like make phone calls before you visit; time certain interactions; or describe what the person said to you. However, many of these tasks become a lot easier if you have a smart phone with a stopwatch feature (most do) and/or a voice recorder app. You might also need a computer and a printer as well.
A warning about mystery shopping
If you see an advertisement for mystery shopping that requires up-front money or promises that you’ll be able to make thousands of dollars a month, this is probably too good to be true and shouldn’t be trusted. Performalogics ( a mystery shopping company) has a great summary of what to look for when you’re evaluating a potential company to apply too. Read more here.
MSPA (Mystery Shopper Providers Association) North America is a great reference website to find out more about what’s involved and to search out mystery shopper companies. They do offer certification for mystery shoppers but this is not required to be a mystery shopper.
See here for another great tip to save money.
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