In this post, I want to share with you how to become a mystery shopper. Having a mystery shopper job is one way of making an extra $1000 a month for yourself and your family while doing something that benefits you, material-wise.
There are currently millions of people in America who are working as mystery shoppers.
Some of you may, however, be wondering as to who is a mystery shopper or as some call them secret shoppers.
Have you ever wondered how this job has the word mystery or sometimes the word secret shopper is used? I hope that those questions will be cleared in your mind as we discuss this profession.
Table of Contents
Who is a Mystery Shopper?
A mystery shopper is someone who poses as a real customer while in reality he or she is assessing things like customer service provided by that organization.
The job of mystery shopping is not just confined to shopping in groceries or supermarkets. It can also involve the mystery shopper paying a visit to a bank or even staying in a hotel.
As already pointed the purpose is to assess the services provided by the participating company or organization.
The visiting is also not just confined to visiting a physical place as it can involve posting letters, sending emails, phone calls, etc.
How Much Do Mystery Shoppers Make?
This depends on the assignment that you undertake. A mystery shopper gets paid per job or assignment. The more assignments you undertake the more money you make.
On average mystery shoppers are paid at least $10 per assignment. Each assignment is different so you may get different amounts for different jobs.
How do Mystery Shoppers do their work?
Mystery shoppers are given specific instructions on how they are supposed to do their work. This includes among other things:
- Visiting shops when requested by their employ
- Purchasing the service or goods using their own money which is later reimbursed by their employer.
- Interacting with employees e.g. cashiers, shop assistants, salespersons, etc. The focus is on observing their behavior, level of customer service, etc
- Taking notes of their observations during their visit.
- Filling out questionnaires about the visit.
- Taking pictures if required by their employer.
At the end of the day, the mystery shopper is usually required to produce a report of their visit or task.
What Other Opportunities or Jobs Are There For Mystery Shoppers Apart From Visiting Shops?
Mystery shopping is not just about visiting brick and mortar shops. There are other opportunities or jobs available to those who for one reason or the other may not want to visit shops in person.
1. Online or Telephone Shopping
If for example you don’t have access to a vehicle, you can do your shopping online or by phone. The whole idea of mystery shopping if for companies to test their systems and service.
It is therefore possible to find roles where all you do is shop by phone or online. Your role is the same as visiting a brick and mortar shop, only that this time you are doing it online or by phone.
Just like in the case where you visit a shops sometimes you may not be required to buy anything. The company may just want you to assess their customer service
The only drawback with online shopping is that the pay is lower than where you visit in person. This is understandable as you are doing this in the comfort of your home.
Whereas in the other case you are having to travel and also in many cases buy things from the shop.
2. Eating At A Restaurant
Sometimes you may be required to visit a restaurant as opposed to visiting a shop. In this case, you may be given some money to spend in a restaurant.
The company will provide you with tasks you need to carry out while visiting the restaurant.
These may range from evaluating the quality of the food, customer service. It can also include analyzing the time it takes to be served with the ordered meal.
If you love eating quality food then this is an opportunity for you to do that while also getting paid for the trouble.
3. Online Surveys
Sometimes as a mystery shopper, you can help in reviewing new and old products that are sent to you to test.
You can also just be asked to do an online survey about brands that you might have used or heard about.
4. Monitoring Post
Another task that mystery shoppers can do postal monitoring. In this case, you will be sent some postal items and your job will be to report on the time it took to reach you.
You will also report on the condition the items found you. The type of post you receive will vary but mostly it is in the form of brochures and catalogs.
How to become a mystery shopper or Secret Shopper?
Like any profession there some skills and qualifications that are required in order to be recruited. These qualifications on how to become a mystery shopper include:
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. This works involves a lot of communication and writing during the interaction with employees such as Shop Assistants and writing reports. This is, therefore, a very important skill for any aspiring mystery shopper.
- The ability to work without supervision. Due to the nature of their work, mystery shoppers work on their own. Therefore any employer would look for candidates that can work on their own with minimal or no supervision.
- Analytical skills. There is also some analysis of the information they get by observing and interacting with employees at the place they are visiting. This skill is critical in the preparing of their reports.
- Attention to detail. The shopper must be able to observe all the things that they have been told to observe. Therefore need to be people with high attention to detail.
- Time management skills. Some of their visits are time-pressured. This, therefore, requires people who are able to do their assignments with tight deadlines.
- Honest and motivated. Honesty is a must if you are to produce objective reports. You also need to be motivated to carry out tasks that may require a lot of traveling.
Tips To Becoming A Mystery Shopper Who Is Successful
Besides the standard job requirements and qualifications, there are a few things that can help you to become more than an average worker. A worker that will be in demand by various mystery shopping companies. Therefore if you are interested in how to become a mystery shopper that is head and shoulders above others then pay attention to the following:-
Work on Your Memory
The nature of the job of a mystery shopper means that they will be relying on their memory when doing their job.
You don’t the shop Assistants seeing you with a notepad and writing in it when you inquire about things.
Because of this, you need to make sure that your memory is in top form. As many memory experts have shown you don’t have to be a genius to improve your memory.
The brain can be trained to be able to retain most of the things we encounter in life. You, therefore, need to take the time to train it. You can do this by following the advice given, for example, in memory training videos on Youtube and other platforms.
You can even buy a book from your local bookshops or even online on sites such as Amazon.
This will go a long way in making sure that your reports are covering everything that needs to be reported.
Be Punctual
No employer wants to engage someone who is not punctual. You, therefore, need to make sure that you meet your deadlines and timetables.
This will make your employers to start relying on you for important assignments.
If for whatever reason you cannot make your appointment it is important that you inform your supervisor in good time.
Take Good Care of Your Receipts
As you do your job, you will be getting receipts for the purchases you make as part of your assignment.
It is therefore important that you keep these receipts in a safe place as sometimes your employer may want to see them.
Losing receipts may give a wrong impression to your supervisor. They may start seeing you as someone who is not serious about his or her work. That is not an opinion you want them to have of you.
Get Feedback for Your Reports
Another way to improve your craft is to seek feedback from your supervisors. Do not assume that everything is fine as it may not be fine.
You therefore need to make sure that you know exactly how your supervisor thinks of your work.
If there are any weaknesses you can then work towards improving your work in the areas they specify to you.
No one is perfect and we all have room for improvement in everything that we do and mystery shoppers are no exception.
Which mystery shopping companies pay the best? (Best Paid Secret shoppers)
Here are some of the best companies that engage people as mystery shoppers.
1. Market Force
One of the best companies that offer mystery or secret shopper jobs is Market Force. With Market Force, you get paid to eat and shop for free at your favorite brands.
Some of their clients include, fast food establishments, sit down restaurants, supermarkets, gyms, etc.
In return for your service, you get paid and also reimbursed for the purchase you make as part of your job.
One of the good things about Market Force is that they have an app that works for both Android and Apple phones.
You use this app to identify the location of shops near you and also schedule a visit and enter your report and expenses.
2. BestMark
Another place where you can find jobs as a mystery shopper is BestMark. They represent some of the world’s biggest corporations including some Fortune and Global 500 companies.
Their clients include restaurants, retail stores, casinos, financial institutions, hotels, resorts, etc.
BestMark compensates its shoppers in the form of cash payment for shops performed, reimbursement for dollars spent, or a combination of the two.
All these are agreed before the assignment is carried out. The shoppers are paid on average after three to four weeks after the completion of the assignment.
This is done after sign off by BestMark staff. If you fail to adhere to the instructions for each assignment BestMark can withhold all or part of the compensation.
Unfortunately, BestMark does not reimburse mileage. Therefore you are better off concentrating on shops within your own area.
As a BestMark mystery shopper, you can check their website for mystery shops in your area. Once you identify the ones you want to visit you can submit a request online.
All the assessments are online so we must have an internet connection to participate in this program.
3. Clickworker
Another firm that has joined the mystery shopper program is Clickworker. It recruits people in the US, Europe and the Middle East.
As the name suggests Clickworker recruits mystery photographers whose duty is to visit shops and take pictures as instructed for each assignment.
The requirements that they look for include having an observant eye and having a smartphone. You will need as you visit shops and take pictures of your observations.
Ofcourse as usual you have to be someone who enjoys shopping or spending time walking around shops.
Clickworker differs from most companies in that there is no actual shopping involved. You just stroll around carrying out the tasks you have been told to do.
At the end of the day, you will write a report and you will upload it together with the photos on their site.
4. HGEM – Mystery Eating
HGEM is another company that recruits what it calls Mystery Guests.
As a mystery guest, you will visit a restaurant of their choice and write a report based on their experiences.
The purpose is to record experiences of places real everyday guests and because of this HGEM encourages people to visit places they normally frequent.
After each visit, you are required to log into your portal and submit a report.
After the report submission, you may receive a call if the client needs any more details. Once all this is done you will get reimbursed with the agreed expenses 3-4 weeks after your visit.
5. Secret Shopper
Another mystery or secret shopping company is Secret Shopper which has a presence in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.
The company literally has millions of mystery shoppers all over the world.
The requirement for joining them include being a detail-oriented shopper, having exceptional written communication skills.
You also need to have access to a computer and also internet access as you will submit your reports online.
Another must-have is a digital camera or a scanner for use in submitting proof of shop. Prospective employees also need to be at least 18 years of age.
The pay for working for Secret Shopper varies depending on each assignment but the range is between $15 – $25 per assignment.
In some instances such as payment for visiting a restaurant may be to pay you for the cost of a meal for two
Secret Shopper will pay you or to be exact send you a check on the 20th of the following month for shopping done the previous month.
6. Pinnacle Financial Strategies
Pinnacle Financial Strategies is another company that recruits mystery shoppers that measure the sales and service quality for community banks and credit unions.
These financial institutions use the mystery shopper reports to recognize areas where they are doing well and areas they are failing.
They then use this information to create training programs that improve the service delivery of their institutions.
With so many financial institutions around it is important for them to be ahead of the game when it comes to customer satisfaction and retention.
Without this, you can easily lose customers and therefore business. Pinnacle Financial Strategies is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.
>Join Pinnacle Financial Strategies<
7. Quest For Best
Quest For Best is another company that employs mystery or secret shoppers in the United States. It is one of the nation’s most respected customer service research firms in the US and Canada.
It operates in 40 states in the United States but the majority of its mystery shopper programs are in the Midwestern and Southwestern United States.
The qualities that Quest For Best looks for in a prospective mystery shopper is that the shopper should be observant, articulate, and motivated.
As a Quest For Best mystery shopper you can find opportunities to do your work in restaurants, airports, movie theatres and other places of entertainment.
8. Bare International
Bare International is one of the largest mystery shopping companies out there. It has over 30 years experience in evaluating customers’ experiences through their secret shoppers.
Evaluators, as they are called by Bare, can make calls, clicks or visits following predefined scenarios.
After the call or visit the evaluators will record their experiences supported by photos and videos.
On their site are reviews from their satisfied customers who have seen improvement in their service delivery as they have used evaluators reports to improve their services.
The mystery shopper reports also help them to create tailor-made training sessions that meet the real needs identified by the mystery shoppers.
>Join Bare International here<
9. Ath Power Consulting
Another big mystery shopping company that works with various big brands is Ath Power. Ath Power is a member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA)
It currently has over 500,000 mystery shoppers across North America. They perform 10,000 mystery shops every month.
To join Ath Power as a secret shopper you need to be at least 18 years of age and be professional, reliable, and detail-oriented.
Ath Power Consulting specialty is in the financial industry even though they do other types of mystery shopping as well.
They, therefore, require varying degrees of financial industry experiences to conduct assignments. If you have no financial industry experience you have no need to worry as you can do the easier rolls first.
For example, you can go to a bank and find out information about a product. You can also go into a bank and conduct a transaction at the teller counter.
You therefore don’t need to worry if you have no financial industry experience.
Ath Power shoppers are paid twice a month in two cycles. The first cycle is between the 1st and 15th of the month and payment for this cycle is the 1st of the second month following your submission.
The second cycle is between the 16th and 31st of the month and if you make your submissions by the 31st you will be paid on the 15h of the second month following your submission.
You can either be paid by check or by direct deposit into your bank account.
>Join Ath Power Consulting here<
10. Intellishop
Intellishop is another one of the big mystery shopping companies out there that you might consider joining.
It is one of the companies that are rated highly by mystery shoppers. I would imagine that if other mystery shoppers are happy with Intellishop then there is a high probability that you too will enjoy the experience of working for them.
Mystery shoppers working for them are rated and the higher your rating the more assignments you will get.
In order to get a higher rating, they encourage their shoppers to write thorough reports, follow shop guidelines closely, and accepting opportunities where a “Hero Citation is offered.
A Hero citation is a note on a shopper’s record that positively affects the shopper’s overall rating. Shoppers with this note are considered as very dependable and reliable by other coordinators.
It is therefore something that you need to work towards gaining it.
Besides all this to increase your chances of getting shops you also need to make sure you have no Cancel citations where for whatever reason you canceled an assignment.
Having a Gold or Silver MSPA certification will also help.
In order to get paid for your shopping, you need to open a PayPal account as Intellishop only pays through PayPal.
Payments are made approximately 30 days after the last day of the month in which your shops were completed.
Mystery Shopping Scams
As is usually the case with online things there are some scammers out there who want to defraud you. You, therefore, need to keep your eyes open when you receive emails or mail offering you mystery shopper jobs.
Here are some red alerts that you need to keep in mind:
- When a company requires you pay them first before they engage you.
- They ask you to transfer funds to an account as part of a mystery shopping assignment.
- They send you an unsolicited letter telling you that you have been selected to participate in a paid consumer research program. If you have not applied for any role with them, then this could be fraud.
- Require you to pay for training as a mystery shopper. If this happens then investigate it carefully otherwise this could be a scam.
Conclusion
A Mystery shopper job may not necessarily make you rich or replace your day job but it will make you extra money.
It can also be an opportunity to get things for free as you get reimbursed. As one UK supermarket slogan says, every little helps.
You, however, need to be on the lookout for scammers out there. They may defraud you of your precious resources.
I hope you have learned a thing or two on how to become a mystery shopper.
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