ALT-4 Is being a Mystery Shopper Profitable
The Real Truth About Mystery Shopping: What the Companies "Forget" To Tell You
You've seen the ads all over the Internet. Shop for free. Get free products. Pop up ads promising complimentary dinners. All you have to do is become a mystery shopper. So, you are thinking, wow I can get paid just to do such easy tasks as shopping or going out to eat. Who can beat that? How can I sign up? And many of you have probably even considered it seriously and maybe have even tried to do some research to find out how to get started. Chances are you never followed through with it because you either had trouble finding the right information and companies to register with or you came to the smart realization that mystery shopping is very often a lot more time and effort than it is really worth.
Now let's be clear. I am an avid mystery shopper and have been for about eleven years now. I've been on restaurant shops, hotel shops, I've shopped retail stores, malls; you name it. And to me, it is always a blast. The thrill of sneaking around incognito taking silent notes in your head about the various things the waitress or clothing store manager is or is not doing is quite exciting. You feel like a spy. And yes, the free merchandise and meals that come along with the job are certainly a plus. But I feel I have a responsibility as marketing professional as well as a promoter of the mystery shopping practice in general to set the record straight regarding this seemingly simple and fun part time job. It is not that it isn't a good time. It can really be a lot of fun. But one who is thinking about going into mystery shopping as a way to supplement their income should be fully aware of the ultimate truths about the job. And I do not mean the truth as it is promised to you on those pop up advertisements or by the companies trying to get you to work for them. I mean the reality behind mystery shopping in general, told straight from a seasoned secret shopper who has nothing to gain or lose for telling you how it really is.
The first warning I should give anyone interested in taking up the hobby of mystery shopping is the fact that it entails a lot more work than people make it out to require. Furthermore, for this large amount of work, the payout is very often so measly that it might just barely pay for the gas mileage you used to get to the shop location. All of the websites that want you to sign up with them to get mystery shopping information and resources will claim left and right that this hobby is an excellent way to make a supplemental income, but this is hardly true at all. The only way you could sufficiently supplement your income, much less hold your own using it as a part time or full time job, would be if you committed to like three assignments a day every day of the week. Some shops of course pay more than others. But I am not exaggerating when I say that it is not uncommon to see an assignment worth $5-$7 and that is all. For some of the more complicated shops you may be able to get $20 and for the real time consuming ones, or times where there are bonuses, $40 or so, but this is quite rare. Most of the companies, it seems, feel that most of the mystery shopper's compensation comes from the simple opportunity to perform the assignment for free. In many cases, too, that is completely justified and understandable. Eating at a restaurant, staying overnight at a hotel, getting a free eye exam and if you are lucky enough to find the right companies at the right time you might even have the opportunity to visit an amusement park free of charge or a ski slope. However, these really good locations are somewhat hard to find and even harder to score.
Usually to find a mystery shop to apply for you have to be very attentive and patient. You must check message boards regularly and be ready to reply to a request ASAP in order to snatch up a job before another shopper does. Some companies offer email lists in which they send out mass alerts to all of their opt in shoppers regarding job openings as they come up and they pretty much fill the positions on a first come first serve basis. And one beginning the career of secret shopping as a moneymaking hobby might be inclined to feel optimistic when seeing the numerous assignments out there that are listed on message boards. But I really must stress that it looks a lot easier than it is. That is not to say that if you apply to ten jobs you are unlikely to get one of them. It is to say though that the chances of you getting more than one are slim and on top of that it seems for many of us that luck will have it that if we do happen to get more than one assignment, the chances of them all being in the same day or time frame are more likely than not, leaving us with a very hectic schedule on that particular day and span of time. Another pain about applying for mystery shopping assignments is that there is usually a waiting period. The scheduler will put the assignment out for grabs, the secret shopper will request it for him or herself and then there is a lapse of time during which he or she must wait to hear a confirmation. Which means he or she has to devote the next few hours, sometimes days, depending on the date of the shop, to checking email on a very regular basis. I really don't mean to discourage because yes, there will be many times that this process goes smoothly and you as a new mystery shopper might have great luck. But in all honestly, there will be days or weeks where you feel like you are applying and applying and making huge dedicated patient efforts to secure a few mystery shopping jobs that you know you'd not only love to do but you'd be absolutely perfect for and when each request you make goes completely unanswered, and the shop obviously given to someone else, it gets frustrating and it starts to feel like you've wasted too much time.
Another drawback in the mystery-shopping gig is the report. After you perform any shop, the mystery shopper is required to fill out a questionnaire, usually online through the marketing company's website. The survey is essentially detailed questions about the shop you performed, the various behaviors you observed, etc. You are required to record names of everyone you interacted with and very very specific details. When I say details I don't mean easy details that you might be able to make up or just remember later without even noticing at the time. I'm referring to details that require you to really really pay significant attention to every little part of your surroundings in any type of shop you perform. Possibly, you must pay so much attention that in some cases you can't even fully enjoy your experience as a regular customer would. Obviously, that is somewhat of the point; after all you are there primarily to perform an assignment, as a contractor. But everyone naturally wants to experience the perks along with mystery shopping that occasionally allow you to enjoy yourself at the same time. That is what the companies advertise will happen right? I'm not trying to imply that you can't have fun on the assignment. Longer assignments especially, like dinners or lunches, are especially fun because you do have a while to make your observances and there is some down time when you don't have to interact with the employees the entire time. But even in this type of shop, so much attentiveness is required that it is often difficult to concentrate or relax and have a leisurely time. This is even more stressful when you convince a partner to go with you for a "free meal" and then you can't really entertain them because the whole time you are busy scouring the dining room for someone who resembles a manager, or staring at your watch trying to memorize the time it took to bring the appetizers, etc. These restaurant shops especially can be really fun. I just really feel the need to stress to any potential new mystery shoppers that it is not all fun and games. It really does require work.
Speaking of work, it also should be mentioned that the filling out of the questionnaire, as easy as it seems, can weigh heavily on your future as a mystery shopper. In other words, various companies have specific ways in which they like their forms to be filled out, usually as dictated by the clients and you must read the extensive guidelines before performing the shop so that you know what to look for and then, how to write it up. For example, some places want you to write as if you are performing a review as a regular customer. Others want a straight to the point, very objective and very brief summary of your visit at their particular establishment. There are many rules regarding descriptions of employees and the language you use to describe your experiences. Grammar and spelling are checked meticulously and many companies will be sure to let you know if you provided unsatisfactory work. In fact, many mystery-shopping groups will rate you as a shopper each time you turn in an assignment, the rating based on timeliness of submitting the report, quality of the report, accuracy, etc. This grade can go up or down depending on your future performances but either way, it very often is the deciding factor of whether or not certain shops you request are assigned to you.
Then there is the payment. I already mentioned that it is quite low, typically, for mystery shopping jobs, but it should also be noted that it takes quite awhile to even be processed and handed over to you. Most companies have particular days, often only once a month that they pay their shoppers and if you take an assignment you are agreeing to wait until then to be paid for your work. This is probably okay for people just looking for a little extra cash; people that aren't depending on secret shopping for their sole income. But some people run into a problem because it is not only the shopper's payment or bonus you must wait for, but it is also any sort of reimbursement that is delayed. And in the majority of mystery shopping assignments, with very few exceptions, the shopper must shell out his or her own money to pay for the meal, or the product at the retail store, or whatever it is that must be purchased, and then wait for the money back in sometimes several weeks to a month, depending on the company's policy. This is okay for people who have a lot of money to throw around but for those who cant really afford to even temporarily drain their bank account, this gets a little tricky. And obviously the more mystery shopping assignments you try to pick up at once, the more money you have to put out up front.
Finally, the mystery shopper must be extremely responsible and thorough. If he or she forgets any major details of the shopping experience, the shop may not be counted and therefore, the shopper gets no reimbursement or shop payment. If you follow the instructions on the form or website/email as you received them with the assignment it shouldn't be that hard to fulfill your duties. But the shopping companies are fairly strict. The shopper also has the responsibility to somehow submit his or her receipt to the company. This can usually be done by scanner and email or fax, but it, as well as the sometimes lengthy questionnaire usually has to be sent within 24 hours from when the shop was completed. This can put a lot of pressure on someone to write up the report and then find a way to send it, especially if he or she has no access to a scanner or fax machine. One might be required to take a drive to a copy place or office supply and services store to fax the items and this, too, can cause further frustrations and potential stress.
There are just so many complications that come along with mystery shopping and it's really unfortunate for everyone involved that the companies in charge to not just find a more honest way to market the practice. Take me for instance. I am a prime example of someone who knows all of the complications and the downfalls of mystery shopping but for various reasons I find it to be a really fun past time and a great way to try out new experiences. It is just a shame that these companies feel the need to sugar coat the position and make it sound like any given person's dream come true. What happens, then, is that any average person signs up for the job not knowing what to expect and either ends up most of the time backing out on jobs in the middle of them because they didn't realize they'd be anything but a leisurely time shopping or eating, or performing a job to a bare minimum just to get it over with and thereby leaving the company with a less than satisfactory report to give to their client. It's really no new mystery shopper's fault, as these companies really make it out to be awesome. And yes, for some people, like me it serves as a great way to pass the time and make a very little extra bit of money here and there on the side. But as someone who knows about this business practically inside and out from every angle, it really has been bothering me to see it misrepresented all over the web in various advertisements in attempt to trick people into paying money for more information or whatever these sites' individual motives are. And I really just wanted to take the time to present a different side of the mystery-shopping story from someone who knows the truth.
