I have been a mystery shopper for over three years and find it a very satisfying career. The money is not all that great but if you need a great deal of flexibility in your schedule it should work very well for you.
What a mystery shopper does is shop at an assigned location and make note of certain things having to do with customer service and then report your observations to your schedulers. To be successful at this you need to be an organized person and have a good eye for detail.
Does anyone else in mylot work as a mystery shopper? Would you like to be?
[question posted by savak03]
responses and comments:
Is it necessary to live and work in a very large town for this to be a possibility? [rocketj1]
No I live in a small town and drive to locations in a 50 mile radius from my home. That is just my personal choice. You can actually do shops anywhere you can schedule them. You would have to choose for yourself if it would be worth it to go the extra distance. [savak03]
I would love to be a mystery shopper, but everything I looked at in reference to it was either a scam, you had to pay for it, or it just didn't work...not worth it. If you actually found one that really works I would be thrilled to know more! [LilyoftheThorns]
Yeah, as soon as I see that a site wants to charge me ot become a mystery shopper I X right out lol. So as soon as you do get your blog up I would love to take a look at it! Thanks! [LilyoftheThorns]
Getting paid to SHOP? Are you kidding??? I'd LOVE to get paid to shop! WOW! What a career! I've often thought that, if I could get paid to talk, that would be the ideal job for me. MyLot has satisfied that desire very well, I must say. But, getting paid to do what I LOVE to do, okay, ALMOST as much as I love talking... shopping! What a great job! Yes! I'd LOVE to do that. What is involved in getting started? How did you get started? Where to I sign up? lol [mentalward]
savak will you post some info here too? [Aliceinwebland]
I would like to be but I think it's not really feasible for my area. I live in a rural area and it's about 1 hr to the nearest large city. I have a single older neighbor that is interested, though, what would you recommend for her? [Irishfrndly65]
I live in a rural area, too. You would be surprised at how much work you could find in that setting. I am finally going to take the plunge and write a blog since I've gotten such a good response here. I've been working on it ever since I started this discussion and will put it up in a couple of days. When I do I will let everyone know how to find it. [savak03]
I have thought of doing it but every web site that I have checked tells me that I need to give them money and I am not going to do that.. I don't know these people and I don't give money away that freely.. I met a couple who did this at a local restaurant, I knew them at the time, that is why I was told about it, but I never got any information from them.. I would love to give my thoughts and opinions on different restaurants, it would save us a fortune because we eat out a lot.. Great discussion, have a great evening.. [DonnaLawson]
Never never give anyone money for the right to work as a mystery shopper. It is not necessary. Several of my friends and others here have shown an interest. I am going to work up something that will help everyone learn how to get started and will let you know. [savak03]
I've thought about it because we travel so much I would be in a different place every three months and that would give me access to places and stores I might not ever see. I've been leaning towards it more and more, care to give me some more details? [gitfiddleplayer]
There is a lot of information that I would like to share but doing it via a discussion would be too difficult. I am going to post a blog in the next couple of days, (that's something I've been wanting to do any way.) When I do I will let everyone know where to find it. [savak03]
I tried this but the site I used you had to read like 20 pages and take a test it was crazy hard!It was for each store So I never did it! [HUNTERSMOM]
They are not all that bad. In fact most of them are much easier. I am working up some more information for those who are considering it and will come back to this discussion to let everyone know where to find it. [savak03]
I have often wondered about doing this. One thing that has always puzzled me how do you hang around in a shop without being noticed then watching whats going on ,don't you get spotted.What happens when you get recognised by a friend.I don't think I could carry it off. [suzzy3]
You are not really in the store long enough to raise any suspicion. And you are usually making a small purchase as well. If you have a friend that works at the store you are assigned you are supposed to not accept it. I have done shops in stores where I was well known but they never knew I was a mystery shopper. I am going to start a blog to guide anyone that would like to try it or just like to know more about it. When I get it set up I am going to put a link in my profile and come back to this discussion to let everyone know that it is there. [savak03]
Hi...can you please tell me how to be a mystery shopper and how to apply Pls. email me at ditch_devil2002@yahoo.com or pls just text me at +639278830342 Thank you very much. God bless. [aileenramirez]
You must not post personal info in discussions. I sent you a friend request. When you approve it I will try to help you. [savak03]
hiya savak This was something I looked at some time ago, but it was made to sound like a very high earning job (I guess most careers will advertize or claim to do that) but I never followed it through. I would love to just spend my days shopping, but wouldn't like to be designated or limited to just one store. I do have a good eye for deatil, I had to be in my last paid job, where I was indexing files and quality checking the scans. I have good people skills too, so would be able to ask questions and take note of what they were saying, observation I guess. Do you get to eat out etc.? I mean do they pay for your lunch? lol Alice happy [Aliceinwebland]
lol very true.. that's the trouble most authorative figures haven't got a clue! just look at MP's lol [Aliceinwebland]
I got accepted for this a couple of years ago, however due to work commitments for my full time job, I didn't follow it up as I thought it would take up to much of my time. [Eskimo]
You can do it as much or as little as you want. You are never required to take a certain number of shops or any for that matter. You can pick and choose and leave the ones you don't like or don't have time for. It's very flexible. I work at it pretty steady as it's my only 'job'. I like working at my own pace and this puts me in control of my schedule and my paycheck. [savak03]