How to Start a Mystery Shopper Business
Becoming a mystery shopper is a great business for people who love to shop, dine out at restaurants and visit malls and shopping centers. Companies pay you to tell them exactly what happened when you shopped at their business. They value your opinion on their employees, wait time, and overall experience. It's easy to look for these jobs on the Internet, and an individual can work either part- or full-time. It's important to know how to avoid mystery shopping frauds, however.
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Instructions
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Browse through some legitimate work-at-home websites and forums. Look to sites like Work Place like Home and the Rat Race Rebellion for information on mystery shopping jobs. They have sections on their websites that will direct you to legitimate jobs and give you advice on how to get started. The Mystery Shopping Providers Association is also a very good resource. Just click on North America on their website's map. It will display instructions for how to become a certified mystery shopper.
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Guard your money. Never pay to become a mystery shopper. You should also never pay for information on how to become a mystery shopper, according to the scambusters.org website. The mystery shopper businesses will pay you to review restaurants, store employees and the products they sell. If a company asks you to pay them, they are not legitimate.
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Prepare yourself to keep a tight schedule if you want to make a living as a mystery shopper. Learn to schedule shopping events at the same mall or in the same area of town to enable you to save on gas and time spent doing the jobs.
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Sites will select you for the job and give you all the tools you need to complete the task. You will have to familiarize yourself with their guidelines and carry them out exactly as they ask. Organize your schedule so that you can follow through with all necessary steps to complete your mystery shopping task. Immediately afterwards, you will have to fill out the requisite paperwork either online or via fax or snail mail. The company will require you to complete the job within a specified time range. If you tend not to be very well organized or have a very busy schedule, it may not be worth your time to attempt the job. Remember, you will not be paid if all the steps are not completed.
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Tips & Warnings
Realize that some jobs will not pay you with money. Rather, your payment will be a free meal, gas, or other products. Some jobs may not even require you to enter the business. They may want you to evaluate their customer service via a phone call. Mystery shopping can be a great way to supplement your income, while trying new products and helping the public by identifying problems in customer service.
