subject: Mystery Shopping Jobs - 5 Pitfalls That New Shoppers Must Be Aware Of [print this page] Mystery shoppers, or secret shoppers, visit stores, restaurants, and other businesses that deal with the public, and they provide reports to the owners/managers of those businesses detailing their experiences. This can an enjoyable way to earn extra money while going about your normal routine.
However, there are some possible pitfalls to avoid.
1. Driving 20 miles (40 miles round trip) for a job that pays $5. If your car gets 20 miles to the gallon, you probably would pay $6 for gas.
On the other hand, do consider driving 20 miles for a $100 reimbursable dinner at a 4 star restaurant. That might be worth the gas.
2. Attempting to cash a $4,000 cashier's check that just shows up in the mail. It's a scam, and if you attempt to use that check, it could cost you dearly. Even if the check has a company logo on it, don't fall for this one. No mystery shopping company is going to pay you up front to perform a mystery shop.
3. Performing a second job for a mystery shopping company before you get paid for the first job.
4. Jobs where you are asked to spot for theft. These might include bar shops where you are asked to see if money is correctly put in the drawer. Leave that work to Private Investigators. They know how to handle such situations, particularly if someone is fired based on a report. Legal issues could come into play and PIs are trained to deal with such situations.
5. Paying for mystery shopping jobs. This can come in a couple of different forms.
- Ads in local throwaway papers. There could be some legitimate ads, but most might be "membership" services, where you pay to get jobs.
- Google adwords sites (those to the right of organic listings) boasting you can make a bundle from mystery shopping. You can make some nice extra money, but be leery of outlandish claims.
Two possible exceptions to this are obtaining Mystery Shopping Provider's Association certification, which does come at a cost. There are some (unknown number) mystery shopping companies that place a value on "gold certified" shoppers. This might give those shoppers an advantage when applying for jobs.
Another exception might be shadowshopper. I own a mystery shopping company, and we get most of our shoppers from them. As of this writing, you can sign up for one of their memberships for free, then work up to their higher level, if you choose. That level is still very reasonable.
6. Scrambling to fill out as many mystery shopping company applications as you can in one afternoon. We've received plenty of applications where I could see someone raced through filling it out and did not check for spelling or grammar. From our vantage point, if someone does not fill out the application with care, how would they do with a real world report?
I hope these tips help on your road to getting mystery shopping jobs. After you have several mystery shopping jobs under your belt, you might consider getting your own clients and making a nice steady income.
Mystery Shopping Jobs - 5 Pitfalls That New Shoppers Must Be Aware Of
