Ever
fancied going out to dinner or shopping and getting paid for
it? Then you might consider becoming a mystery shopper.
What
is mystery shopping?
A vast amount of companies are interested
in knowing what their customers/clients think of their services
and/or products. This is to help them right what may be wrong
and improve customer service and productivity. To obtain this
crucial data from a non biased viewpoint they hire Mystery Shopping
agencies, who are trained market researchers, to gather the
information on their behalf, which they do using mystery shoppers.
And this is where you come in. As a Mystery Shopper you will
pose as a regular customer but will actually be collecting essential
data set by the client and briefed to you via a questionnaire.
Mystery Shopping companies are always on the lookout for trustworthy
and reliable people to carry out assignments for them. Assignments
vary from restaurants to shops, banks to fitness centres, electrical
shops to supermarkets, pubs to hairdressers - the list is endless.
Sounds
like fun? It is but it's no joke, Mystery shopping is a serious
business and your reports are vital material, so you've got
to be commited and be able to complete each job as specified
on your worksheet by your agency.
What
qualifications or skills do I need?
You
don't need any particular qualifications to become a mystery
shopper, basically anyone can do it, any age, any background.
However, you must be reliable, observant, have a good memory
and be able to give an accurate, unbiased view of your findings.
The job also requires discretion as in effect you are akin to
an undercover reporter, therefore at no time must you reveal
that you are a mystery shopper during an assignment or share
any of the information that you collect with a third-party.
How
much money can I earn?
Mystery
shopping companies pay between £4.00 - £20.00 per
job, averaging at around £7.00. Some jobs pay more, some
a little less. Costs incurred during a visit, i.e. buying food,
drink or shopping will be reimbursed and some companies pay
traveling expenses too. You won't get rich from mystery shopping
but you will earn some extra cash and a host of freebies in
the process including food, cold drinks, hot drinks, sandwiches,
groceries, magazines, petrol, hotel accommodation, fitness lessons,
small electrical items, software,cd's, dvd's and much, much
more! Payment is made either monthly or fortnightly via bank
transfer.
back
to top
What
is involved in a mystery shopping job?
The first step is to register with some agencies.
Once accepted you will be given an assessor number that you
must quote in order to enter the shopper page on an agents website,
or quote via e-mail or telephone if need be. All agencies have
their own system of distributing assignments but most of them
offer jobs via their website. Assignments are on an ad/hoc basis
and although some agencies notify you by e-mail when jobs become
available, it is strongly advisable to check in on a regular
basis to ensure you don't miss out on all the best assignments.
Once released jobs disappear quickly! You will be notified if
you have been accepted to carry out an assignment and will receive
a brief detailing what is required of you together with a questionnaire
- everything is explained in detail including times, dates,
job description and what you need to look out for. Jobs usually
take about an hour to an hour and a half to complete including
travelling. If for any reason you accept a job then find that
you can not complete it then you must notify the agency as soon
as possible in order to give them sufficient time to reallocate
it to someone else. It is best not to accept an assignment if
you are unsure about whether or not you will be able to complete
it. Once you build a good rapport with an agency and prove that
you are a reliable assessor you will be offered more evaluations.
back
to top
What
to do after an assignment is completed?
After
completing an assignment you are usually required to fill out
an online questionnaire within a set timeframe, this is usually
between 8 - 24 hours of job completion. The best thing to do
is to enter your results onto the system as soon as you can
while the details are still fresh in your mind. Some questionnaires
are longer than others but should take no longer than fifteen
minutes to complete.
Agencies
to join:
|
Retail
Rapport urgently
requires Mystery Shoppers in the following areas:
Andover
Ashford
Bath
Belfast
Bicester
Blackpool
Bridgend
Dublin
Edinburgh
Gloucester
Kildare
Livingston
Mansfield
Peterborough
Portsmouth
Solihull
St Andrews
Street
Swindon
York
Retail Rapport
has been operating since 1995 and carries out assignments
for well known household-name companies. Their assignments
range from retail outlets to hair and beauty salons -
car dealerships to restaurants, garden centres, DIY stores
and more. As well as receiving payment for carrying out
an assignment, this agency also pay a generous mileage
allowance.
TO APPLY: If
you are interested in applying then please cut and paste
(or copy) the following text:
"I've
just visited homeworking4me and understand that you need
shoppers in my area. Could you please send me details
and an application form".
and send to:
giving your name, full address, telephone number and brief
employment details. Providing these details will speed
up the registration process, which means that you will
be registered as a shopper straightaway!
When applying, please ensure that 'Application
via Homeworking4me' appears in the 'subject line' of your
email, otherwise your message may not be read.
IMPORTANT - Please read before applying:
Please do not apply if you do not live
or work within a 20 mile radius of the areas listed above
as you will not be accepted at this time. As shopper areas
will change each month you could bookmark this page and
check-in once a month to see if your area has been listed,
or join our Free Newsletter List for instant update notifications.
|
A
Word Of Warning
You
may come across some sites that ask you for money,
either to join their agency or for a list of Mystery
Shopping Companies. NEVER
sign-up with a mystery shopping agency that asks you
for money - becoming a shopper is always FREE.
And
please do not pay for a list of agencies, a comprehensive
search on a major search engine will give you the
same results. We will be adding new agencies on this
site periodically. You can either join our Newsletter
group or bookmark this site for updates.
Click here to read our article: Scams And How
To Avoid Them.
SUMMARY
Pros
Flexible work
Choose your hours
Shape the future of
shopping and services
Imporove customer services
Give your opinion on
consumer matters
Enjoyable assignments
Exciting projects
Freebies
Cons
Not guranteed work
Not a regular income
Not very highly paid
Adhock work, which
means you sometimes won't have any assignments to
complete
