Mystery shopping companies pay shoppers an average of $10 to $30 for
completing an assignment. Sometimes they are reimbursed for services,
such as oil changes or meals at restaurants. It's a good opportunity for
stay-at-home moms like Roberts; her children are 11, 8 and 3 years old
with the youngest at 22 months old. Many assignments allow you to bring
your children in tow. After all, the average customer has children too.
Shoppers need to use caution when applying to mystery shopping
companies. "One rule of thumb is never give money to a website that says
you need to pay in order to get the names of mystery shopping companies
because they are only out to steal from you," Roberts says. "If you
stick with companies that belong to the Mystery Shopping Providers
Association, you are in good hands as they will not allow a mystery
shopping company to be a member if they are not up to their standard."
When Roberts started out, she says the internet was her best friend
when searching for information on mystery shopping. She did a Google
search for "work from home" opportunities and stumbled across mystery
shopping. "I was one of the lucky ones who found legitimate sites for
mystery shopping for free," she adds. The more companies a shopper signs
up with, the more likely they are to get regular assignments.
"There is no real 'investment' needed at first," Roberts says, "other
than to have a computer with online access and a printer." However, you
do usually start out using your own money for the mystery shop
assignments themselves. Roberts explains you either request or get an
assignment with a company you are signed up with. For example, there are
clothing shops where you're required to make a purchase and you receive
a reimbursement, but you won't get reimbursed for at least one month
later. Your payment for the assignment and reimbursements can take
anywhere from one to three months, depending on the mystery shopping
company for whom the work was performed. Roberts' time is divided
between working in the field and filling out reports that have to be
submitted before the company she has completed the assignment for will
pay her.
After the visit, the mystery shopper goes online to transmit the
report to the mystery shopping company, who then edits the report and
verifies it for authenticity. Once the editors give the report the final
review, results are available online to the managers. Reports are often
delivered to the company within 24 hours of the evaluation. Since
everything is web-based, businesses are able to view all their reports
in one place.
As a stay-at-home mom, Roberts gets paid up to $1,000 a month while
she works part-time. She quickly discovered that networking with others
in her business and perfecting observational skills is a must if you
want to be good at your craft.
This article was excerpted from Weekend Entrepreneur: 101 Great Ways to Earn Extra Cash, available from Entrepreneur Press.
If
you're considering implementing a mystery shopper program for your
company, or would like to join us as a mystery shopper, we'd love to
have you join us!
Learn more here by clicking HERE!