Great Job As Mystery Shopper

What does it mean to be a mystery shopper? It is quite simple - a person is paid to visit local stores and evaluate the kind of service they get. They enter the store and acts like an ordinary customer, just to keep the identity of mystery shopper a secret. A mystery shopper evaluates different aspects of the service while they are in the store.

Mystery shoppers provide businesses with more information through the use of questionnaires and detailed narratives. These questi...

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mystery shopper,mystery shopper job,become a mystery shopper,mystery shopper company

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What does it mean to be a mystery shopper? It is quite simple - a person is paid to visit local stores and evaluate the kind of service they get. They enter the store and acts like an ordinary customer, just to keep the identity of mystery shopper a secret. A mystery shopper evaluates different aspects of the service while they are in the store.

Mystery shoppers provide businesses with more information through the use of questionnaires and detailed narratives. These questionnaires provide businesses with an unbiased opinion of how they are perceived by the customer.

Mystery shoppers relieve the owner of this added responsibility. Business owners who are presently using these kind of services are now getting a more realistic picture of how their customers perceive their company.

The mystery shopper company work with their clients to establish mechanisms to measure and improve the levels of service. The information from a mystery shopper is reported to the management of the clients and they use it to evaluate and improve their customer service. Ultimately the purpose of mystery shoppers is to help businesses increase sales.

If you work as a mystery shopper you will be paid to shop. That is right, a mystery shopper is paid to evaluate different types of customer experiences.

You can be paid to:

- Fill up your car with gas
- Have dinner on a local restaurant
- Shop in your local hardware store
- Request information about a computer
- Sometimes you will be paid for working from home. Some tasks can and should be performed by a phone call.

The list can be very long because the number of businesses using this method to collect information is very long. And it is increasing for every day.

The best thing about being a mystery shopper is that you are paid for everything you purchase. If you have lunch or dinner – your expenses are paid for. If you watch a movie you will be paid for the ticket and the job you do. This is really an opportunity for many.

Why do big companies use mystery shoppers?
How many times have you left a store dissatisfied with the service you got? How many times will you go back to that store again? It is not surprising to find that many organizations are very interested in making a good impression, the impression they make on you, the customer, is vital for their company.

So feedback from mystery shoppers are often a key factor for those companies in their efforts to improve the standards for customer service. Persons that think they have something to add to the ongoing improvement of customer service are suitable for a job as a mystery shopper. If you like to shop and get paid for it, you can have the perfect job.

So what is the catch?

There is no catch! It is free to become a mystery shopper. You will be trained to collect the information the companies want and need. If you have the time you have nothing to loose but a lot to win.

Finally, there is an organisation, MSPA, which is the largest professional trade association dedicated to improving service quality using anonymous resources. MSPA have over 150 member companies worldwide and they have a diverse membership including marketing research and merchandising companies, private investigation firms, training organizations and companies that specialize in providing mystery shopping services.

Have You Ever Wanted to Mystery Shop?

If you have heard of Mystery Shopping, chances are you thought it was a scam. In reality, Mystery Shopping is real and you can get started applying for actual jobs today. Three industry book reviews from the Shop Logs October 2005 newsletter reveal the information that could launch your next career.

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"mystery shop" "how to start" "home based business"

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Mystery Shopping Book Reviews
Which is Worth the Read?

Cathy Stucker is the Mystery Shopping Providers Association's (MSPA)instructor for Gold Certification workshops. Cathy also offers a wide variety of lists on other home-based start up businesses through Amazon. She authors the Idea Lady web page that spans many industries offering major tips to all. The Mystery Shopper’s Manual received the National Center for Professional Mystery SHoppers (NCPMS) 2003 Industry Book of the Year.

The Mystery Shopper's Manual (6th edition)
by Cathy Stucker
4/5 stars

Beginning with a forward by Lorri Kern, MSPA Shopper Services Committee Chairperson, this book drops names that you might expect an instructor with the MSPA to have access.

Cathy does not invoke a get-rich-quick profession here and notes the possible infrequency of assignments. "Full time mystery shopping is not realistic for the vast majority of mystery shoppers" Cathy tells her readers (p.49)

This book is filled with lists of: shopper traits, equipment required, business card tips, types of shops, Mystery Shopping (MS) company pet peeves, email tips and other opportunities outside shopping. The chapters on shopping specific industries, writing reports, MS technologies are especially interesting and very current. However, the strongest section of this book is the Writing Reports chapter. Especially noteworthy are the example comments/narratives.

The MSPA is the only certification service listed. In fact the book is a good representation of the MSPA Gold Certification workshop. The MSPA Gold Shopper Workbook is more abbreviated, but the course content is very similar to what Cathy outlines in this book. There is no mention of NCPMS certification at all, even though this book received the NCPMS 2003 Book of the Year Award.

The book is well written and does not need to be read in sequential order. This book is more current than Poynter’s or Newhouse’s books. This is probably the result of Cathy being an integral part of the MSPA Gold Certification process.

The Manual includes 254 pages, 37 of which are URLS or company addresses. Appendices include: MS Companies, Internet Resources and FAQs. This book has had several updates as it is currently in its sixth edition.

The Mystery Shopper's Manual (6th edition) is sold at the MSPA's website and MSPA Gold Workshops.



As Jim Poynter at the Learning Annex, James Poynter offers online "How to be a Mystery Shopper" classes. Classes can be provided in audio or video formats, $9.99 and $14.99 respectively.

Mystery Shopping Get Paid to Shop (4th Edition)
by James Poynter
4/5 stars

Jim Poynter advances the Dollar per Minute Rule that is very appropriate in this age of high cost of business and a constant influx of newbies. This theory states that when the earnings from a shop are considered they should be paid an average of one dollar for each minute worked. This would include time reporting, driving as well as shopping. He suggests that shoppers not take jobs that provide less than $1/minute.

Poynter has an important suggestion to those wanting to illustrate a serious commitment to continuing education. He recommends listing professional readings in the education section of mystery shopping company applications. This suggestion is applied other industries, such as education, readers should list not only the bibliographical information, but the (approximate) date of the reading.

Mr. Poynter goes into specific details about: negotiating fees without gouging and how to ask for more assignments. He expresses meaningful lessons through interesting vignettes. His writing is easy to read and offers specific details on shopping, reporting and earning the most money possible.

Jim Poynter’s 2002 edition lists some companies that are out of business, or have merged with other providers, like The Genesis Group. Some technology updating could make this book more credible. Tools of the trade include a typewriter? The recommendation of purchasing a typewriter to fill out mystery shopping applications seems nonsensical. If companies are expecting something other than computer generated papers the companies are more than likely open to legible handwriting.

This book makes application online sound like the exception instead of the rule; encouraging readers to still send letters of interest to MSPs even if you apply online seems redundant. Jim quotes Judith Rappold that while she likes the letter of interest, does not like that shoppers follow the “form” provided, it does not illustrate a shopper’s ability to compose and construct a report like a free lanced letter would.

Poynter sells many affiliated products at the end of this book: Start-up MS Company Consulting, a quarterly newsletter, top 77 Mystery SHopping Providers (MSPs) list, audio/video instructional programs, and various combinations of these products in packages.

Jim Poynter’s fourth edition includes 191 pages, 19 of which are URLS or company addresses. Chapter Ten contains The Ten Step Process for Making Top Money and sums up the main points of this easy mystery shopping how-to book.




Mystery Shopping Made Simple
by Dr. Ilisha Newhouse
3/5 stars

Mystery Shopping Made Simple is sold at the NCPMS's website.

Mystery Shopping Made Simple also includes a forward by Niccole Rogers of the NCPMS. This book refers heavily to the NCPMS and its web-based resources. The MSPA is consistently named behind the NCPMS. Newhouse’s rationale seems to be “The MSPA …is an organization of mystery shopping companies for mystery shopping companies” which she contrasts to “[NCPMS] is an organization of shoppers for shoppers.” Dr. Newhouse further explains “The two organizations sponsor different programs and have different agendas pertaining to their populations.”

Dr. Newhouse offers “I have heard a rumor that the MSPA plans to have all it’s members hire only shoppers who have taken this program” referring to the MSPA Gold certification. “Although this may be the MSPA’s future intention…this organization has only over 100 members … and there are over 750 mystery shopping companies.”

While it does mention Kern Scheduling Service (KSS) at another point in the book, KSS is glaringly omitted under Scheduling Services. Just coincidence since Lori Kern a strong advocate for the MSPA?

Her writing contains numerous testimonials and poses and answers and questions all in letter form. Sometimes the letters are cumbersome, but lend credibility to Newhouse’s information.

Dr. Newhouse provides the NCPMS’s data collection on Independent Contractors including demographics, but does not disclose the sample size or population. The statistics are intriguing, but without the information on the gathering process it is not compelling.

Several things make this book standout:
The book includes a section on the KASST test (NCPMS certification test) and a Study Guide. The certification process is sold in a more convincing way than even the NCPMS website does.
This book makes mention that once $400 is earned an independent contractor needs to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.
Dr. Newhouse does endorse Select A Shopper; the only pay-for-leads company to receive any endorsement in these books.
Dr. Newhouse highlights the ease and cost effectiveness of Internet application, but still advocates sending the LOIS and does in fact list 100 companies that work offline.

The “LOIS” is the Dr. Newhouse equivalent as Mr. Poynter’s “Letter Requesting Employment” she however includes a list of MSPs that will work with you offline.

Dr. Newhouse’s book includes 217 pages, 49 of which are URLS or company addresses.