Is becoming a Mystery Shopper a viable source of extra income? “Yes,” says the author of forbes.com’s article: How I Made $14,000 A Year Mystery Shopping. However, even this enthusiastic promoter admits to scaling back his Mystery Shopping after the recession.
Is Mystery Shopping for you? If you’re detail oriented and can follow specific written instructions well, you might enjoy this as a means to make some extra money. You have to be observant and discreet. It’s a good idea to wear a watch, since many times you’ll be evaluating how long it takes for specific service to be carried out.
Aside from being paid a fee for completing your Mystery Shopper task, you often get free meals and discounts on items you purchase (that you can later return or keep). You can make money during your lunch break by eating at a restaurant you’re evaluating instead of paying form a meal. Although, if your cover is blown your assignment is null and you’ve wasted your time.
After each assignment you will need to fill out a report, where you will objectively describe your experience. Normally, the deadline for your reports is soon after your shopping experience. So there is a certain amount of discipline involved.
Some companies offer their best Mystery Shoppers training so that they can become auditors. What is an auditor? Gapbuster.com, a leading Mystery Shopper company, answers: “retail auditors announce their arrival and work with site representatives to test, measure and record compliance to company procedures and processes.”
Do you think you might want to give it a try? Here are some sites that recruit Mystery Shoppers: