Working as a Mystery Shopper

Get Paid to Shop, Eat out, Stay in Hotels, & Test Drive Cars!

Dec 31, 2008

Mystery shoppers are employed by companies to test their sales techniques. It is an interesting part time job, rarely well paid, but with a lot of perks.

Many people would love to be paid to go shopping, eat in restaurants, stay in good hotels, and buy luxury items. It is possible to do all this, by becoming a mystery shopper.

What is a Mystery Shopper?

Many companies want to know how well their sales people are performing. They do this by employing people to masquerade as normal shoppers, who will then rate the salesperson on their performance. Such individuals are known as ‘mystery shoppers’.

What Does Mystery Shopping Involve?

The mystery shopper will be told exactly what to do for each project. She may have to pretend to be a certain type of person, or to want a specific item. To take an example, she might be told to look at a certain car, and tell the salesperson she needs a model suitable for taking her kids too and from school. She may or may not be asked to test drive this car. To take another example, she might test a branch of an optician by saying she is looking for a new pair of glasses, and wants something more fashionable than what she already has.

Once the shopper leaves the store, she then has to fill in a form, which will have certain questions about the salesperson’s performance. She may also have to rate the store for cleanliness, what sort of welcome she received, and other aspects. Questionaires may be filled in online, and some companies use mystery shopping video recording; this usually requires special training.

How Much Work is Available?

Mystery shopping is usually intermittent and ad hoc. Mystery shoppers generally do it as a fun part time job and for pin money, rather than as a career. However, there are exceptions to this. The author knew of one company which employed full-time mystery shoppers who tested garages and cars, video-recording the interviews, and travelling all over the country. This could be a growing trend, but it is not common as yet.

Pay, Perks, and Prospects

Pay is usually low, although this is quite variable, depending on the company and the particular job. Perks are excellent; mystery shoppers may get to stay in luxury hotels, or receive free meals or consumer items. Prospects for advancement are usually poor, but again, this may vary. Mystery shoppers are generally treated as self-employed for tax purposes.

Mystery shopping companies can be found in the local and national papers, or by looking on the internet. There are a large variety of them, so it is worth doing some research before beginning. But it can be a fun and enjoyable part time job.

The copyright of the article Working as a Mystery Shopper in Working Solo is owned by Helen Krasner. Permission to republish Working as a Mystery Shopper in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.