Mystery Shoppers Get Paid to Snoop
No 2 jobs are alike as business 'spy' takes careful note of service
for clients.
Anita Brakus looks at her watch again. She has
been waiting for her burger and fries for more than 3 minutes and 45
seconds now. While she waits, she notices everything. Whether the store
is clean, the condiments counter has been replenished and the trays
have been cleared from the tables.
Anita is a mystery shopper. Her assignments have included fast-food
restaurants and banks, petrol stations and retail outlets.
"I usually make mental notes inside a store and wait until I'm
back in my vehicle to jot down my observations. I park far enough away
so that I won't get noticed as I get it all down. You have to be discreet,"
she says.
There is a certain allure to being a mystery shopper. 'How many women
would turn down the opportunity to be paid to shop?' says Anita.
What is mystery shopping?
Mystery shoppers go to specified stores, restaurants, banks and petrol
stations and pose as customers while making observations. They then
submit these observations, often using online forms that have been custom-designed
for the mystery shopping company's clients.
Mystery shoppers serve as the eyes and ears for those clients as part
of their efforts to enhance the quality of the customer's experience.
Common details they look for include; how long it takes to be greeted,
whether or not the greeting is friendly, types of product shown, cleanliness
of the store and the speed of service.
The information collected during mystery shopping programs is used by
companies to find out what customers really think of their business,
to identify strengths and weaknesses and to motivate staff to deliver
outstanding service through improved training.
How much does it pay?
It may sound too good to be true, but mystery shoppers really do get
paid to shop! Depending on the assignment, the shopper might receive
free meals and petrol, discounts and savings on merchandise, or other
such benefits.
The fees a mystery shopper may earn from a specific assignment vary
according to the assignment, but often a shopper can expect between
$12 (approx £6.00) and $20 (approx £10.00) for a typical
shopping scenario.
How do I sign up to be a mystery shopper?
The best way to sign up is to follow the links found on this website.
Follow the steps to find the registration form for UK, USA or Canada
and fill out the application. It may take a little while to be contacted
about doing an assignment, but once you start, you can expect to be
contacted again periodically as long as you do a good job and are dependable.
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About the author:
Sheetal Shah is an Online Marketing Specialist. She has been working
within the Mystery Shopping industry for many years now, and armed with
a Masters in Communications, aims to spread the benefits of improving
customerservice through mystery shopping to companies and shoppers alike.
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