So You Want To Be A Mystery Shopper

A lot of different types of businesses benefit from having a mystery shopper. That is why there are a multitude of opportunities for anyone wanting to become a mystery shopper.

A person wanting to become a mystery shopper must first do a little research. Be sure to ask around. A lot can be learned from anyone having a previous experience as a mystery shopper. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the business there is a lot of fraud and scams within the mystery shopper industry. The old adage, If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is, really is accurate.

When working for a company as a mystery shopper, give them as little personal information as possible.  Never give them any banking or credit card information.  A legitimate business will pay a mystery shopper with a company check or through a money clearinghouse such as an online payment service. 

There are different types of fraud within the mystery shopper industry.  One is simply not paying a mystery shopper for whatever reason.  The company might claim the shop was not completed correctly or in a timely fashion or that the questionnaire was improperly filled out.  There are thousands of reasons a fraudulent mystery shopper company can come up with not to pay their shoppers. Another type of fraud is the company will ask for cash up front from a mystery shopper.  The naive mystery shopper only comes away with egg on their face and a hole in their wallet.

A new scam in the mystery shopper industry is that the company will send a large cashiers check to the mystery shopper. The company will tell the mystery shopper to cash the check, keep a portion of it for their payment, and return the rest to the company. Of course the check does not clear the bank and the mystery shopper is held accountable. Not only does the mystery shopper have to pay back the entire amount of the cashiers check, but they oftentimes have to sheepishly explain to law enforcement why they are trying to cash a bad check. 

Fortunately, there are many legitimate businesses looking to hire a mystery shopper.  Sometimes it is a small local business that hires a few people to secretly shop its employees.  These businesses usually put an advertisement in the newspaper or on a bulletin board or an online bulletin board. They are contracted by other businesses to take care of the entire secret shopping process for them.  Most of these companies can be found on the Internet. 

Even the genuine companies pay a mystery shopper in different ways.  Some put the name of all of the shoppers in a hat and draw one winner.  Other companies pay the mystery shopper by giving the person whatever they were shopping.  For example the mystery shopper does not have to pay for the meal at the restaurant he was shopping, or she does not have to pay for her dry cleaning.  Other companies will pay a mystery shopper anywhere from five to twenty-five dollars per shop, depending on the difficulty and the amount of time that it takes.

Extra money can be made as a mystery shopper for someone looking for a part time job.  But extra care needs to first be put into looking for a good company to be a mystery shopper with!

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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