By: Cathy Stucker

What is mystery shopping?

Mystery shoppers go into businesses as customers. They interact with employees, make a purchase and possibly a return, then fill out an evaluation form describing what happened during the visit. Mystery shoppers get paid for providing this service.

What kinds of businesses use mystery shoppers?

Any business that deals with the public may use mystery shoppers: stores, restaurants, banks, hotels, salons, home builders, apartment complexes, gas stations, casinos, auto dealers, auto service centers, movie theaters, health clubs, pet stores, amusement parks, optical providers and more. You can get paid to get your hair cut or your eyes examined, have dinner, go to the bank, have your car worked on or fill up the gas tank, watch a movie, get your dog groomed, and lots of other things you like to (or have to) do.

How much will I earn?

Fees for a mystery shop (including purchase reimbursement when a purchase is required) may range from about $10 or $20 on up to $50, $100 or more. Fees will depend on the time required, difficulty, etc. The time required to complete a shop and fill out the form may be a few minutes to an hour or longer.

Many shoppers do this in their spare time, and earn a few hundred dollars per month. Some consistently earn more—often a lot more. It is not unusual for a part time shopper to make $500 to $1000 or more per month.

There are some mystery shoppers who shop full time and earn a living this way. It's not easy, though, to be a full time shopper. You will have to juggle lots of assignments with different requirements, due dates and report formats, so you must be very organized and disciplined.

What are the requirements to be a mystery shopper?

You can be any (adult) age, male or female. You need to be observant and able to follow directions. You must be reliable. You don't have to have a degree or any special training, but good writing skills are important.

The Certifications offered by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, are helpful but are not required.

Mystery shopping companies use the Internet to recruit shoppers, make assignments, and complete reports. Internet access is becoming a necessity to work with most mystery shopping companies.

How do I become a mystery shopper?

Apply to as many mystery shopping companies as you can. Legitimate mystery shopping companies will not charge you to apply, so do not pay to sign up with a company that says they will get you mystery shopping jobs.

When you get your first assignments, do them on time and do a great job. That will make you a successful professional shopper.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. Cathy Stucker has been a professional mystery shopper since 1995. She is the author of The Mystery Shopper's Manual, the only book endorsed by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Sign up for Cathy's free online mystery shopping course at http://mystery-shopper.idealady.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert=Cathy_Stucker

Mystery Shoppers (also known as Secret Shoppers) are individuals who are trained or provided with instructions, who visit various retail establishments and who evaluate the establishment on a given set of criteria. Visits are conducted anonymously, with the shopper posing as a regular customer, often making a purchase, and then evaluating the customer service, store appearance, and other important criteria. The Mystery Shopper then reports these results, most often through the Internet.

As a Mystery Shopper, you will be paid for each visit, and in addition, you will also often receive free products or services when it is necessary to make a purchase during the course of the Mystery Shop. Typical places shopped include restaurants, gas stations, banks, and all types of retail stores. Most of these places are probably the same as where you already shop.

In general, you may be required to do a taste test at a fast food restaurant or asked to evaluate the performance of an attendant at a full-service gasoline station. Likewise, you may be asked to rate the quality of service given at a convenience store or super market, or may even be asked to verify that coffee is fresh and hot for a breakfast promotion. Professional market research firms have numerous projects going on constantly and each differs based on the client and its specific objective for that project and period of time.

Let me tell you about a recent mystery shopping assignment with a personal example. One of the biggest restaurant chains in the nation has a mystery-dining program. Their program is simple: a “mystery diner” visits every restaurant every week.

Every manager knows that the next customer could be a mystery diner. Every waiter and waitress knows that the next table could be the weekly mystery diner. Nobody knows what day or time the restaurant will be reviewed. And, the manager knows that more than 20% of their bonus is based on a compilation of the weekly mystery diner reviews. Every waiter and waitress knows they can get a bonus for a good mystery diner review.

The result: This chain is one of the most successful in the country. One has to believe that their quest for perfection with weekly restaurant reviews is a big part of their success.

My spouse and I were "mystery diners" for this chain a few years ago. We received training (over lunch of course) with a group of about 50. The chain demanded that we fill out a detailed 10 - 15 page questionnaire after every visit. Some typical questions:
· Describe the host/hostess
· How long before the waiter/waitress greeted you after you were seated
· Were the rest rooms clean and tidy
· How was the apple pie special
· Was the main entree served at the correct temperature
· Did the waiter/waitress check back promptly after the meal was served

As you can see, the work is straightforward, not too difficult, and it can be a lot of fun. We actually reviewed a different restaurant for them weekly for about 4 months. A nice assignment!