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
in order to right what may be wrong and help them to 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. 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, the list is endless.
Sounds
like fun? It is but it's no joke, 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Agencies
to join:
|
Mystery
Shopping
Agency
urgently requires Shoppers in the following areas:
Abingdon
Bridgend
Bicester
Dublin
Glenrothes
Hatfield
Livingston
Swindon
'Street' - Somerset
This agency 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 for mileage expenses, at 30p per mile, or
travel expenses.
To apply:
If you are interested in applying then please forward your name,
location and contact number to us at info@homeworking4me.co.uk,
as registration is currently by invitation only.
Important:
Please do not apply if you do not live or work in the areas listed
above as you will not be accepted at this time. Instead bookmark
this page and check-in once a month to see if your area has been
listed as shopper areas will change every month.
|
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.
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