Mystery Shopping - An Easy Part-Time Home-Based Business
What if there was a way to work from home doing a job that was actually fun and didn't require much in the way of specialized skills or start-up costs? Would you be interested in learning more?
Ever considered working as a Mystery Shopper? Not quite sure what Mystery Shopping is? First of all, Mystery Shopping is a very real business. Every day all types of business are visited and evaluated by Mystery Shoppers. Mystery Shoppers look and act like regular customers, but they're more. They've been hired to discretely evaluate the quality of the service they're receiving from employees.
Mystery shoppers check to see whether or not employees are offering special promotions, if the food and drinks they order arrive within certain timeframe's, if they're being greeted in person and on the telephone in a friendly, professional manner, if the restrooms are clean, if the store shelves are properly stocked and whatever other criteria they've been hired to evaluate.
The part of this business that's the mystery is that the employees being evaluated aren't supposed to know which of their customers are performing the evaluations. That way, these employees perform in a more natural manner; they may or may not perform their duties as they have been trained to do.
Mystery Shopper Job Skills
Do you know good service when you see and get it? Are you good at paying attention to details? Do you have a strong memory? Are your communication skills, both written and oral, a bit better than average?
And most importantly, can you keep a secret?
If you're on assignment and you're seen taking notes, or you're overhead talking about your assignment, or you glance around excessively or ask too many questions, you'll blow your cover. And if employees know you're the Mystery Shopper, they'll be on their best behavior. They'll do all they've been trained to do, when otherwise they might not have.
But you're not done yet! In addition to visiting and evaluating the place of business, most shopping assignments require evaluators to complete a detailed report and submit it before payment for the job is authorized.
If the report asks for the name and physical description of the person who assisted you, you better be prepared to provide this information. If the report asks how long after ordering did it take for your appetizers arrive, you better know the correct number of minutes.
Payment
Depends on how aggressive you are. There are definitely enough Mystery Shop assignments to keep you busy. When you see them advertised, you've got to act quickly because they get snapped up fast- especially the plum ones.
Because so many different types of businesses hire Mystery Shoppers, there's no one standard payment policy. It's up to you to check them out before you decide to accept an assignment. Some pay a flat hourly fee; some cover your expenses plus offer a bonus. Some, like at restaurants, allow you a certain amount to spend on your meals and tip and then pay an amount over and above this.
If you want a home-based business that still enables you to interact with other human beings, inquire about becoming a Mystery Shopper!
