Here's the trick - you should sign up with as many of these scheduling sites
as you can....maybe doing one or two per day if the task seems too large for
one sitting. Once you are signed up with them, they will start e-mailing you
regularly with jobs you may qualify for and want to perform....and they
won't ask you for money to see the available work! Just be aware that not
all companies have shops at any one given time, and that you must be able to
shop on THEIR schedule - not yours!
Just to put your mind at ease - this information is being provided by BLT Marketing as a service to our customers. We do NOT charge for this information in any way nor do we endorse any particular Mystery Shopping site or program. All we ask is that you let others know about our website www.bltmarketing.com Thanks!
***Scam Alert***
There are legitimate
mystery shopper jobs. So how do you tell if the one
you are looking at is real or a scam? The Attorney
General's Office advises that you should be
skeptical of any secret shopper, mystery shopper, or
investigative shopper companies that:
Advertise jobs
for shoppers on the radio, in a newspaper's
classified or "help wanted" section or through
unsolicited email. Legitimate secret shopper
companies generally do not advertise for jobs in
this manner.
"Guarantee" a job
as a mystery, secret, or investigative shopper.
Charge a fee just
for applying or charge a fee for access to
secret shopping job opportunities. You should
not pay any fee to apply or to obtain job
information.
Appear to be
located in places outside the country, such as
Canada. If the company does not have an
established office nearby that you can visit in
person, be very cautious.
It is always a
good idea to check with the Better Business
Bureau and investigate any business offering
this sort of employment.
Fake cashiers check
scams come in many forms. Generally,
Do not depend on
the funds from a cashier's check from a source
you do not know.
There is usually
no legitimate reason for someone who is giving
you money to ask for money to be wired back or
wired to a third party. Don't do it.
Do not rely on
the fact that the check was accepted for deposit
by their financial institution as evidence of
the check's authenticity. It can take up to a
week or much longer for a financial institution
to determine whether a check is good, especially
if the check is from an institution located
outside the United States.
Consumers are
responsible for the deposited fake check, even
if it was a cashier's check. When the check
bounces, the bank deducts from the consumer's
account the amount that was credited with the
fake check--often with charges added. The bank
will not take the loss.
A mystery shopper is like an undercover agent. You might receive assignments to evaluate restaurants, grocery stores, automobile dealers, retail stores, or amusement parks. Just about any type of business you can think of could benefit from the services of a mystery shopper.
You receive a specific assignment for your shop. For example, you may be asked to describe the cleanliness, friendliness of the staff, and your total wait time at a restaurant, among other items.
Your job is not to spy on employees, or try to find things wrong or right. Your job is simply to follow the script that comes with your assignment and provide an impartial evaluation.
You are the link that keeps the owners of these firms informed. For a business to be successful, it must maintain customer satisfaction. Businesses can better please their customers if they understand how the customer is really being treated and if their product is being sold as they intended it to be.
You will be able to work around your schedule, which can be beneficial for a housewife, mother or part time worker. Some places may want you to go to their establishment only during certain hours, i.e. happy hour, early bird specials, moonlight madness sales, etc. You may be able to request certain hours of the day that are best for you, such as early mornings for mom’s with small children in preschool or late afternoons-early evenings for those who already hold down a part time job.
Mystery shopping is big business, so don't limit yourself by applying only to companies that are physically located near you. Remember, most mystery shopping companies are nationwide. Their clients and stores are nationwide. Just because a company has its offices in New York does not mean you can not work for them because you live in Texas. These Mystery Shopping companies contract with retail and restaurant chains all over the country.
Never feel pressured into a job. It will not be held against you if you are unable or unwilling to take a particular assignment. Just don't accept one and then not complete it!
_______________________
Should I pay for mystery shopping information?
Mystery shopping jobs offer short hours, and a fun and interesting work environment. The work usually consists of visiting a store, restaurant or other facility, making predetermined purchases, and evaluating the customer service received. You normally then fill out a report on this information, usually online.
Beware though - You are likely to find hundreds of websites claiming to help you get daily work ...... but they want to charge you for this information. Many of these websites have only one intention - making money for themselves by taking your hard-earned cash. Be aware of what you are getting for your money, and ask questions if you don't know!
There are plenty of legitimate companies who don't want to TAKE your money - they will PAY you money instead!
We've assembled a list of some of these companies on this page. Please peruse them and sign up with the ones you find most appealing. Be aware that some of these companies are area-specific, so please check before you apply.
Mystery Shopping - What it Actually Is!
by Patricia Skinner
Love the Unusual and Unexpected?
If the unusual and unexpected has always appealed to you, a mystery shopping job could be just up your street. Going under cover, you will act like any ordinary shopper while assessing customer service, value and quality for your employers. There can be wonderful perks to a mystery shopping job, but perhaps the best thing of all that no two assignments are alike.
You'll always be able to look forward to something fresh and unexpected every time you leave home. If you love shopping (as most of us do), imagine actually getting paid to do what you have always loved best. A mystery shopping job is a dream come true for many of us.
You may hear a mystery shopping job described in different terms. You could be a mystery shopper, a secret shopper, a virtual customer or even a customer service evaluator. Whatever name your company uses to describe the job, the work is basically the same; acting like any average customer to evaluate all aspects of service.
There are many things you can-and should-research to make the likelihood of being accepted for your mystery shopping job greater. To begin with, identify experience that you already have that will qualify you for work of this type. Imagine, being a shopaholic is actually a plus here! List important skills that will give you an advantage over other applicants. You can even get certified as a mystery shopper to give you a permanent advantage in getting hired for a mystery shopping job.
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Top 10 Tips for Mystery Shoppers
1. Maintain Anonymity.
You should remain anonymous at all times during a mystery shop. Do not take any forms or papers with you (especially reports you need to fill out for the company!). Try not to take notes or do anything that would identify you as a mystery shopper. Pretend that you are an ordinary shopper, just as you would if you were actually shopping or dining for yourself.
2. Read your instructions.
Read all of the instructions AND the report form that you will fill out later. Know ahead of time exactly where you are going and what kinds of things to keep an eye out for.
3. Fill out ALL paper work in a timely manner.
Complete and return any reports, audits or forms within 24 hours of performing the mystery shop. This way things are fresh in your mind. Also many companies do have a time limit for shoppers to fill out their reports.
4. Details, details, details...
As a mystery shopper you should try to remember and relate as many details and facts of the shop as you can. Being observant is very important.
Names of managers and employees are also especially important. Look at badges, sales receipts, etc. for names of employees. If you cannot get a name try to provide a good physical description such as sex, age, height, weight, and hair / eye color. For example: "we were served by a young man in his 20's with bright red hair and wearing glasses."
5. Report, don't comment.
Your job as a mystery shopper is to report facts and details, not offer suggestions on fixing or improving company policies. Companies will use your reports to examine their own internal policies and work systems. It's very important to let them draw their own conclusions on such.
6. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Try to give balance observations. You should try to approach every mystery shop with a sense of neutrality. Try to offer your observations not your opinions. Providing an excessively negative or positive report may imply that you did not carefully observe everything during your mystery shopping experience. Although this does not mean that you should not report a very positive or negative report, rather that your report should not be completely positive or completely negative.
7. Neatness counts.
Always try to neatly print or type your reports so that they are legible. Be sure to read the instructions as some mystery shops may REQUIRE that you attach a typed sheet to the report.
8. Be committed.
Remember when you accept an assignment to mystery shop you are committing yourself to the job. Do not miss your shop date or perform it late. Fill out your report as soon as possible after the mystery shop.
9. Enjoy yourself.
Remember it may be work, but it can be fun too! Try to pretend that you are doing your mystery shop just as you would had you walked into the establishment to shop or dine for yourself.
10. Shop 'till you drop!
Mystery shopping can be a great way to make a second income or just provide a little extra spending cash. Have fun with it. Perform as many mystery shops as you can to make the most of this exciting job field!
Mystery Shopping
Mystery shopping is an excellent way to make extra money. In fact, some people make a full time living doing it. There are many mystery shopping companies that will pay you to shop, eat at restaurants and take part in focus groups.
A mystery shop consists of getting paid to go into a business without the employee's knowledge and reporting back to the mystery shopping company.
A focus group is when you get paid to sit down with other people who are also getting paid and discuss new products or services.
Mystery shopping jobs and focus groups are easier to find if you live in or near a large metropolitan area.
After you do a mystery shop you answer some questions and file your report with the mystery shopping company. These reports are usually set up as a series of questions and often can be completed quickly.
The reason they have mystery shops and focus groups is so that companies can get feedback on their employees, products and services. That way they can see where there might be problems and make the necessary changes to improve things.
A few years ago I had some free time and I wanted to make some extra money. I took a course, How to Become a Mystery Shopper, at a local community college. After completing the course I registered with a few mystery shopping companies online.
You can do a search on Google for "mystery shopping." Bypass the mystery shopping websites that are trying to sell something. You want to find the mystery shopping websites for the actual mystery shopping companies. These mystery shopping companies will never charge you any type of fee to register or to do mystery shops or focus groups.
Be sure to read all the free mystery shopping information you come across. There is an art to being a good mystery shopper. Basically you are like a reporter. You will never add your feelings or what you think to a mystery shopping report. Your job is to just answer the questions, report the facts and describe what actually happened during your shop.
You never want to give your own recommendations. That is not why you are hired. If the mystery shopping company wants a consultant, they will hire one. All they want you to do is to answer questions with just the facts of your mystery shopping assignment.
Once you find a few mystery shopping companies you can then register with them. They'll contact you by email whenever they have a mystery shopping job in your area. You'll only respond to the emails when you want to do the shop. Otherwise you can just delete the email. You get to pick and choose the shops you want to do.
A couple of years ago I did some apartment shops for the Jancyn Evaluation Company that took me about half an hour to complete. Since they paid $25, I was basically being paid $50 an hour.
You can register with the Jancyn Evaluation Shops Company. They may pay more than $25 today for apartment shops since it has been about two years since I've done an apartment shop for them.
Jancyn also does a lot of shops and surveys for the Ross Dress for Less retail stores. I'm not sure if Jancyn still has a business relationship with Ross, but I once handed out survey forms in one of the local Ross stores here in the Seattle area and made $500 for about 30 hours of work.
Here's the URL for Jancyn if you'd like to register with them to do some shops. http://www.jancyn.com/
Another mystery shopping company that I get a lot of email requests for shops for is the Secret Shopper Company. They seem to specialize in shops for Veterinary Clinics. They pay $15 plus up to $100 payment NOT including tip + $10. The only catch is that you have to own a cat or dog, which I don't, but maybe you do. Here's their URL http://www.secretshopper.com
OK, I've saved the best for last. Fieldwork specializes in setting up focus groups for some of the biggest companies in the US. They pay $50 to $75 for a focus group meeting that usually lasts about an hour.
The last one I did with them was for some research for eBay. They were trying to come up with a name for a new category on their website.
Fieldwork is located throughout the US in major metropolitan areas. You'll have to visit their website to see if they are located near where you live.
It's great if you have children since Fieldwork does a lot of focus groups involving children. Perhaps you can talk your kids into splitting the fee with you. Again, the pay usually works out to be about $50 to $75 an hour.
Unfortunately I have no children, but the next time I get an email for a focus group for children I'll borrow a couple of my neighbor's children.
Now you have a basic idea of how the mystery shopping and focus groups work. Start searching for more mystery shopping websites and get paid to shop, eat and taking part in focus groups. It's easy money!
Barry Stein is the owner of aWebBiz.com where he offers cutting-edge tips on all aspects of business. To find more advice, tools and resources to help you succeed in your business, visit: http://www.aWebBiz.com.
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