Mystery Shopping Companies Categories
Choose From One of The Categories Below to View Companies in that Category.
- General - Companies in this section offer shops for a variety of different venues.
- Apartment - Companies will ask you to tour apartments or rental housing and evaluate the person who shows you the property.
- Entertainment - Evaluate Movie Theatres, Concerts, Amusement Parks and anything else that has to do with the entertainment industry.
- Finance - Evaluate Banks, Loan Offices and other financial venues.
- Hospitality - Do you love to go to hotels. These companies are for you!
- Retail - Get paid to Shop! Target, Walmart, K-Mart, you'll shop for them with these companies.
- Restaurant - Love to Dine Out? You'll be able to do a lot of it with these companies.
- Shops Available Online - These Companies List their current jobs online so it allow you to check back often and choose your assignments.
Do You Want To Be A Mystery Shopper?
What is a Mystery Shopper?
Mystery Shoppers complete assignments for companies that will give them a true customer's perspective of an average day at their business. These reports are a vital tool for a business to help them evaluate how their employees are maintaining their business and treating their customers on a day to day basis. As a mystery shopper, you will visit a business and submit reports to be reviewed based upon your findings. These reports will be used as a tool to help companies improve their business. Mystery Shopping is the most common name, but when looking for companies you may also find them under these search terms: Secret Shopping, Mystery Customers, Spotters, Anonymous Audits, Virtual Customers, Employee Evaluations, Performance Audits, Telephone Checks, Ghost Shopper. (Never pay to join a Mystery Shopping Company! You are working as an independent contractor for them)
What are the Benefits?
There are a lot of benefits to being a Mystery Shopper. It can provide lots of rewards like free products, free dinners, free hotel stays, and good old cash. You will usually average around $10.00 per hour for most companies in addition to the reimbursement for your purchase if a purchase is required.
What You Should Know
When you apply to any of the mystery shopping companies there are some things you should know. Most if not all will ask you for your social security number. Don't be alarmed. The reason that they do this is to report your income to Uncle Sam. They are required to report any payment that they give you. You will also need to claim your income at the end of the year as an Independent Contractor. So make sure you set up a file for your paystubs and receipts. A lot of companies may also ask you for specific details about yourself such as height, weight, hair color, length, etc. The reason for this is that companies requesting the shop may require a specific profile in order to have the mystery shopper blend in. Each company will have a privacy policy that you will be able to view to ensure that your details will be kept confidential.
How Does It Work?
You will receive shops in one of two ways: they will notify you by e-mail, or you will have a login at their website to check for current jobs. You may even receive a phone call once in awhile if you provide them with your phone number. Usually you will only receive a phone call if they are trying to complete an assignment for a company that is due immediately. Once you have been assigned the job, you will receive all the specifics. Typically you need to pay for your product, dinner, or whatever you're required to purchase up front. (Unless it's a large purchase) Once you have completed the shop, you submit your report either online, fax or mail. A lot of companies are making the move to handling their assignments online. They amount you will be reimbursed is usually included with the pay for the shop. You will receive payments from most companies within two weeks, however you will want to review each companies individual policies for specifics.
Training
Some companies may ask you to complete a training program for them. This is there way of ensuring that you are familiar with the job. The Mystery Shopper Provider Association (MSPA) http://www.mysteryshop.org/ also provides certification courses for you that are acknowledged at virtually every Mystery Shop Company. These certifications will provide valuable training for you, and can help you to be accepted as a shopper for some companies, but you can start Mystery Shopping without them. If you start doing a lot of shops for companies and think that you will do it for the long haul, you might want to consider taking these certification courses.
