A wonderful way to work from home, while getting paid to shop, is known as mystery shopping. The concept of mystery shopping, also known as secret shopping, is fairly simple. You accept an assignment to visit a place of business, make a purchase or use a service, and you then fill out a form evaluating the customer service, the quality of your purchased goods, and other details about your shopping experience.
Common ordinary people act as secret shoppers and provide valuable feedback to a company about aspects of their shop. There are many reasons why companies will hire a mystery shopper. Some wish to investigate how qualified their employees are. Others still, would like to find out how effectively their locations are stocking items. There is a host of other reasons which prompt a company to use the services of a mystery shopper.
Although some companies may hire their mystery shoppers directly, the majority of your WAHM assignments will come through a company that specializes in this service. In your capacity as a mystery shopper, you'll be asked to visit a wide range of stores and businesses in your own area. For instance, some times you will be required to buy an item of clothing from a store in your local mall. You may also, at times, be asked to visit a coffee shop, even a jewelry store, and rate how cordial the staff is. Once you have some experience as a shopper, you will be asked to eat at restaurants and stay overnight at hotels.
As a mystery shopper, not only will you get the chance to try out products and services for free, but you will be getting paid to do so. Depending on the mystery shopping company you work for, there are several different ways you will get paid. It may happen that you'll get a flat fee for the assignment, or sometimes you pay will be in the form of the product or service. For obvious reasons, those jobs paying a flat fee are more competitive; but, when starting out, you may have no choice but to accept the other types of jobs.
Most companies will pay you in the form of a check, on a monthly or biweekly basis. Unless you complete the necessary paperwork required for your assignment, you will not receive pay. Normally, in this and age, your paperwork can be submitted electronically; unfortunately, there are still some companies, although these are few and far between, requiring that you mail in your reviews; this can make for a slower payment process.
The burning question I expect is, how to get started? First, you will have to find a mystery shopping company to hire you. You need to tread with care, as many companies offering mystery shopping are frauds. Their Modus Operandi is usually to ask for payment from you for a list of assignments. There is never, ever, any reason for you to pay for being hired; this golden rule is no different here. All reputable mystery shopping companies offer their assignments for free.
At first, you'll be asked to pay out of your own pocket for the products and services that you will be reviewing. This may sound like a bad deal, but the mystery shopping company will reimburse you for your expenses. The specific reason for this is that, the mystery shopping company doesn't want to chance paying for the product themselves, and having you not submit your evaluation; you're an independent contractor, thus, this is the safest way for them to conduct their business.
Even though, for the most part, mystery shopping can be rewarding, it isn't something that can provide a consistent income. As a mystery shopper, you will never make enough money to pay all your bills each month. More than likely, as a mystery shopper you will earn enough to pay some household expenses, like your utility bill or cell phone bill, but it will never make you rich. Still, an extra source of income like this can change things around for many folks.