Large and small companies need average shoppers to secret shop their casual dining, retail outlets, apartment communities or vacation/travel presentations to gather customer service opinions. How consumers are treated as they shop will result in repeat successful business or failure. Hundreds of retired seniors, wheel chair bound folks, mothers with their children, teens, home owners, or apartment tenants perform secret shopping for cash and free services. Every customer is wanted.



As a mystery shopper or secret shopper, you accept an assignment to be a regular customer and write a report. The company hiring you will specify any special requests or roles that you are to perform. For example, if you secret shop a high-end clothing store which specializes in footwear and handbags, you might be asked to tell the clerk that you are purchasing a handbag as a gift. The company will want to know what questions the employee asked you and how he/she handled the purchase and cash register. The shopper might also be asked to return the purchase a few days later and evaluate that visit, or the company will reimburse for the cost of the item with the shopper keeping the merchandise.

Your assignment might be to evaluate an eating establishment. If so, the shopper reports on how long it took to be seated, how clean the establishment was, how much time passed before the order was taken (the company may have certain menu items to be ordered), and how quickly did the food arrive? Was the entree attractive or the wrong temperature? Was the restroom clean and well stocked? Evaluator compensation might be the price of the meal for two. If the mystery shopper is to be seated in the bar, drink costs are included.

Secret shoppers, unlike other business owners, don't have start-up costs and only need a credit or debit card to pay for the service. The evaluator faxes receipts for repayment. Sometimes no purchase is made with the shopper filing a report on the customer service for a cash payment. (Example, the mystery shopper poses as a potential apartment resident, takes a tour of the grounds, writes the report and receives payment for $25.) The compensation varies and is usually not large, but the shopper can benefit substantially, if the consumer only accepts assignments in their community or secret shops for products they would usually buy. Some shops specify photos of the business or the product, so make sure what the assignment requires.

It is not necessary to buy a list of companies to find secret shopper jobs. A Google search for "mystery shopper" or "secret shopper" will tell you about available companies. Just go to their websites, complete the applications, and check for assignments. Sometimes a new shopper needs to wait for the employer to e-mail or call, but frequently a log-in is provided for immediate access to the available evaluations. The assigning company trains you at no charge. Mystery shopping companies have strict guidelines and rules which must be followed. Reports must be done on time and correctly to be paid. Late reports, missed shopping dates, or forgotten details are not allowed, so only take the job if you are available. Perform due diligence on the secret shopper industry. Libraries, bookstores and the Internet can help you in your assignment quest. Once you have proven yourself trustworthy, job schedulers will give you as many assignments as you can handle for years to come.

Don't go out of your way to mystery shop. Plan to do jobs in groups, and then let an assignment treat you to lunch. Remember to write your evaluations up and get them turned in on time. With efficient planning, a secret shop to a grocery nets you dinner, too! A florist evaluation gives you a nice centerpiece or bouquet!

Secret shopping can earn a bonus for the sales person who gives truly good service. Those staffers who provide somewhat less service will also be recognized. Management wants to know about the male clerk who advised one secret customer to send in her spouse to select the items, since his product was just too complex for her to understand. (Which way did that employee go?) Shop America for fun and profit!