Mystery Shopping Tips

Jacob here.  I want to let you know about some mystery shopping opportunities.  But before I do that, let me tell you about myself.

I’ve been mystery shopping for years.  IN that time I’ve also helped hundreds of people get their start with mystery shopping.  ANd let me tell you, it can be downright frustrating to get started.  There are a lot of scams and traps to navigate in this industry.

Let me clear those up.  So that you can get started with real mystery shopping companies that will actually pay you for real work.

The first thing you want to watch out for is the Money-Gram scam.  This is a big deal.  What happens is the scammers send a large check to unsuspecting mystery shoppers, asking they deposit it and wire a portion of the money back.  If you ever get a check in the mail for hundreds or thousands of dollars as part of a mystery shopping assignment…the check is fake!  Do not cash it!  And definitely do not wire any money as part of a mystery shopping assignment.  Ever.

The second thing to watch out for is fake companies that pose as ‘paid survey companies’ or mystery shopping companies.  These fake companies will ask you to buy products, and complete offers…and in exchange they’ll send you a gift card or a product, such as an i-pod, or a laptop.  These companies are not paid survey companies.  They just want you to buy things.  While this is not a scam, it definitely is not mystery shopping.

The next thing to watch out for is companies that offer to sell you a product to get started with mystery shopping.  This is never necessary.  What they’ll do is sell you a list of companies, or an e-book on how to get started.  You don’t need to pay them.  There are plenty of free ways to get started.  There are legitimate companies that will pay you to mystery shop.

What is mystery shopping?

Mystery shopping is all about giving feedback about a store’s customer service.  This means going to the store, interacting with employees, and then filling out a report detailing your experiences.  Mystery shopping is work.  There are professional standards expected of mystery shoppers.  Fortunately, they are usually explicitly laid out in the assignment instructions.

So, what you need to do to get started, is to sign up with real mystery shopping companies and then apply for assignments with those companies.

First of all…if you have NOT yet pledged to boycott $5 mystery shopping assignments…click here.

Since I asked you to boycott $5 mystery shopping assignments last week, we recieved literally hundreds of pledges.  There are now over 485 responses to my original blog post.

I have also recieved some responses from owners of mystery shopping companies.

One of them was supportive.  His only caveat was that he didn’t think the boycott should stand if you recieve something of substantial value as a reimbursement…such as a free meal.

Another response was from John Swinburn, former Executive Director of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.  Here are his comments:

The company representatives at the MSPA Pittsburgh Conference were not recommending a boycott of $5 shops, nor would I ever do such a thing. They were simply reiterating what they have said all along; if you don’t think the pay for a particular shop is acceptable, then don’t accept the shop. The shopper is in control and each individual shopper should be able to make his or her own decisions. I was in a session at which a very experienced, very professional shopper who is regularly given high-paying shops said he occasionally accepted $3 shops because he knew the scheduler needed help and the shop was convenient for him…so he took it. His reasoning was that the scheduler would remember him for having helped out in a pinch and would reward him with better shops later. While no one is particularly enamored of $5 shops, they are a part of the mystery shopping business. Shoppers can opt to ignore them…that’s fine…or they can take the ones that are convenient, like the shopper I mentioned. I’m opposed to boycotts, in general, because they tend to ignore an individual’s motives and replace them with a group’s collective attitudes. Individually, everyone is free to refuse to take $5 shops, or $10 shops, or $50 shops. But for people for whom the time and energy required is modest and for whom an extra $5 or $10 or $50 is welcomed, I say let them make their own decisions.

I would be very interested to hear what YOUR response is to what he has to say.

Is it EVER OK to accept a $3 shop?  I would say no.

Should $3 or $5 shops be part of the mystery shopping industry?

The reason I started the boycott was because I believe they should NOT be.

What do you think?

I have also contacted some of the companies who appear to be the worst offenders in terms of offering these very low paying assignments.  I have yet to hear a response from them.

Remember: for every $5 assignment they’re not able to fill, they will have to raise the price on it to get it filled.  That’s why it is so important for everybody to boycott very low paying assignments.  In doing so you benefit everyone.