Secret Shopper or Mystery Shopper programs as they are sometimes called, have been used for decades by some of the world's largest corporations and franchises and shoppers can earn a good part-time income of anything from $10 to $40 per hour. Some even manage to work on a full-time basis and can potentially earn up to $50,000 or more per year.

A Secret Shopper is someone who acts as a regular customer in a designated establishment like department store, restaurant, amusement park or movie theatre. They are hired by an independent company to honestly and anonymously evaluate the quality of customer service they receive.

It is extremely important that during your assignment, you remain totally objective as you will be required to present both the good and bad elements of your shopping experience. Once you have completed your shop, you will be required to submit a detailed report concerning your experience. These can range from the very basic to extremely detailed depending on the complexity of the assignment. The need for a more detailed report will normally mean that the assignment will pay better.

Becoming a secret shopper is often a simple matter of registering with a legitimate agency and waiting for assignments. Pay can range from say $8-$10 for a simple assignment, up to $20, $50, $100 or more for larger or more complex assignments. As a shopper, you work as an independent contractor and will take work from many different companies.

You will need to develop the skill of being able to write up a detailed account relating to your shopping experience. You will also need to be objective and pay particular attention to the specific questions that your agency will have requested you to answer. If you work hard on this particular aspect of the job it will pay great dividends in the long term as you will find you are offered more interesting and better paying assignments in the future. Building yourself a good repuatation is extremely important if you want to earn a good and regular income form your shopping activities.

I am often asked if any special tools are required to become a secret shopper?, and the simple answer is No. The only thing that you will really need is access to the internet and I guess that as you are reading this report online then you already have this. There are a few items however, that you may already have that can be a great help. A digital camera for example can be very useful, but don't get caught taking photos or your cover will be blown!. Also, a small tape recorder could be very useful, particularly if you use it to record your thoughts as soon as you leave the store. The more tools you have at your disposal, the easier and more effective your shopping assignment will be.

More and more companies are beginning to see the value in experience measurement techniques such as secret shopping, and as such larger organizations such as Hotels, Retail Chains, and even Airlines have engaged companies for these purposes.

Secret shopping is not a 'Get Rich Quick' scheme. It is however a rewarding and enjoyable way to make money, particularly if you are like many people in this world who actually enjoy the shopping experience. It is of course even better if you are able to do it at someone elses expense. Many people have proved that it is possible to make a full time income from secret shopping and even if you only want to work on a part time basis, you can still earn enough to pay for that extra special holiday or pay the car loan off and you even get to have fun while doing it!.