If you are looking for an exciting job, mystery shopping might be the one for you! Being a mystery shopper is one of the coolest jobs available today. You can earn a minimum of $15.00 and a maximum of $50.00 (sometimes, even higher!) for every shop. A large number of shops often give away food items, consumer goods, gasoline, etc. as additional compensation. To be hired as a mystery shopper, you need to be detail-oriented, write well, and preferably have a car. Who knows? You might land a job as a mystery shopper for several bigwig shops.
1. What exactly does a Mystery Shopper do?
Mystery shoppers, or secret shoppers, assist businesses in reviewing the specific features of their customer relations. A lot of companies and businesses seek mystery shoppers. You can be hired by a supermarket, electronics shop, apartment or condominium, bank, food place, optical shop, oil change shop, and many others. Mystery shoppers visit the shop and do things that a typical shopper or customer does. But afterwards, they also prepare a comprehensive report describing the look of the shop, the employees who attended to them, the demeanor and language that the employees used with the customer, and so on.
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2. What characteristics are required in a mystery shopper
Businesses that hire mystery shoppers choose people who remember minute details easily (they can’t bring the reports with them as they survey the place), act well (just like a typical customer), and excellent writing skills. Businesses also prefer mystery shoppers who have worked in the customer service, commerce, or hospitality fields.
3. How much do mystery shoppers earn?
Mystery shopping is a project-based or contractual work. Hence, the more shops you do, the more you can earn. Mystery shoppers for a food business typically get reimbursement for their meal and sometimes, an extra $5. For oil shops, they get reimbursement for the oil service or item that they availed of or bought. Some shops ask their mystery shopper to give back the item they bought, and afterwards pay $20 for the finished report of purchase as well as return info.
You have a higher chance of finding more shops that need mystery shoppers if you live in a busy, urban city. It is best to put forward your services to as many businesses as you can, so that you’ll have a higher chance of getting many stores to review. As we said earlier, mystery shopping is a contractual job that can help you earn a couple more bucks every now and then. So don’t expect it to replace your full-time job.
4. What will happen if you can’t be a mystery shopper for a shop that asked you to?
The majority of businesses don’t fine mystery shopper who don’t take on a job. If they are expecting you to review their shop and you find out that you could not perform the task, tell them as early as possible so they could find another mystery shopper. Respect for time is very important in a mystery shopping job. Most businesses need the report on a specific schedule, so take the necessary steps to meet their deadline. Always keep the contact numbers of the shop so you can inform them of changes in your schedule as well as clarify things before or during the mystery shopping experience.
5. Will being a mystery shopper change your taxes?
As we said earlier, mystery shoppers are considered under the classification of “independent contractor” (instead of employee status). Because of this, you automatically assume responsibility for paying income tax to the government. To help you prepare for tax season, it’s best to keep your check stubs, and to prepare a spreadsheet listing all your earnings. If you are lucky enough to be hired by many stores, or if you drive a couple of miles to reach the stores, you should list your personal and business miles to decrease your mileage costs. You might even receive an auto mileage log at some office supply shops (they go for around $1). If you earn an annual accumulated salary of $600 from a single business, they would give you form 1099, which indicates your earnings from them for that entire work year. You might feel that this is redundant, but this would come handy if you need to verify money matters in the future.
6. Are you allowed to bring along your relatives or friends while mystery shopping?
Unless the shop specifically told you not to, you are free to bring people along with you. However, if you need to take note of a lot of information, it would be better if you just leave your children at home. If you think that bringing someone along can make your mystery shopping experience easier, go ahead and bring them–just make sure they act as inconspicuous as you! I personally had brought my baby to retail stores, bistros, and oil change stores. I suggest you bring a friend along when you review a restaurant, because there’s just too much info to take note of!
7. How can you deliver the report to the business?
Most shops will ask you to send the complete report through post or fax. Nowadays, a growing number of companies will allow you to send ten your report through their website or e-mail.
8. What can I do to recall so much information about the shop for the report?
Prior to surveying the shop, go over the list of questions first. There are some data about the place and the employees that will stick in your mind without effort. However, there are simply some things that need more concentration. Examples of the latter are the names of the staff and their physical characteristics). Mystery shopping companies want mystery shoppers who give comprehensive and detailed reports. It’s your goal to learn the tricks in recalling details vividly and precisely. Personally, bringing a notepad with me that has simple reminders on the details I need to note have helped me a lot. I also recommend that you record details as soon as possible while you still remember them. You can write them right after leaving the store or even as you use the washroom.
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a “mystery shopper”?
If you want to have different free stuff: say, an all-expense dinner at a fancy restaurant or a couple of free liters while the gasoline’s price is on its all-time high, then mystery shopping might be for you. Also, if you’re a stickler for top-rate customer care, you might find fulfillment knowing that you play a part in making shops more aware of what happens at the front lines. The income may be just a couple of bucks, but if you enjoy doing it, that’s often enough. Most people consider mystery shopping a fascinating and unique job. You probably won’t run out of fun stories to share. Now what are the disadvantages? First, don’t expect a lot of money in this job. As this is contractual, you shouldn’t rely on mystery shopping to provide continuous means of living for your family. Another disadvantage is this: You may need to rearrange your schedules at the last minute whenever a business needs you urgently. You may also find it annoying to combine a meal or shopping with taking notes and recall details.
10. I want to be a mystery shopper. How do I get started with this career immediately?
I suggest that you send in your application documents to the resources that you are interested in based on our list at the bottom of this page. Before applying, try surveying the applications to give you an idea of what to say. To help you in your application, open your word processing software, type your answers to typical job interview questions, and save it. Afterwards, you may simply copy (press on CTRL + C) and paste (press on CTRL + V) the texts into the respective spaces in the online application form. Here are some of the frequently asked job application questions: “Have you experienced doing mystery shopping? If you haven’t done mystery shopping, tell us why you think we should hire you?”, “Tell us about your customer service experiences and what you think about them.” “Define ‘good customer service’ in your own words.”
We also recommend joining Mystery Shopping Directory
If you review these queries, you would notice that they want to hire someone who is detail-oriented, just and inconspicuous, familiar with good customer service, and can relay ideas in a cohesive and understandable manner. There would be several companies that would get in touch with you right away, while some might take longer (or never reply at all). I recommend that you relay your interest to every opportunity that you encounter. Very rarely will you get so many shops to review that you’ll need to decline any! So review the frequently asked questions above and prepare the best answers you could think of. Send your application documents in as early as possible. The links usually direct automatically to the application form for a mystery shopping job. It would help you too if you look over the website to know the location of the shops that they cater to, the industry in which most of the shops are in, and other info.
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