As a mystery shopper, we are all periodically reminded about the reasons not to talk openly about mystery shopping to friends and family. Unfortunately, these times that remind us not to blab about mystery shopping typically occur after we have already opened our mouths. If you have been considering telling a friend or family member about mystery shopping, here are a few good reasons why you may want to reconsider:
Do You Want More Competition? In many parts of the country, mystery shoppers have a difficult time getting the assignments they truly want, and this is largely for one reason – competition. The truth is that in many areas, there are too many mystery shoppers competing for assignments already. The result is that many great mystery shoppers are forced to work on less than desirable assignments if they want to find work to do. When you tell other people about mystery shopping, inevitably one of two things will happen. First, the people you tell may want to try mystery shopping for themselves. Second, they may pass along the word to some of their friends and family members. You may think you are only adding one new mystery shopper to work in your neck of the words, but you can’t control who that person talks to. So you may end up adding several more mystery shoppers. This only creates more competition for you in getting jobs.
Get A Real Job. Every mystery shopper knows that mystery shopping is definitely a real job. Sure, we don’t sit at a desk all day staring at a computer screen and heading to big corporate meetings in a conference room. However, there is real work that gets done, real issues that arise during our day to complicate our jobs, and real money to be earned. However, in many people’s eyes, mystery shopping just isn’t a “real job.” There are a few people that you may choose to tell about your job that may simply roll their eyes at your job.
Watch Your Cover. The world is an incredibly small place. Think about how many times in the last month or two that you have bumped into a neighbor, a friend, or even a long lost buddy from your high school or college days at the store, a restaurant, or even out at the park. The world keeps getting bigger, and yet it remains incredibly small, too. What’s more, people love to talk about interesting things, and mystery shopping is certainly an interesting topic. When you tell a few friends or family members about your job, you never know who they will tell about your gig. If you aren’t careful about telling people about your job, you may just find that your cousin Joan’s best friend’s son, who you met at a holiday party a few years ago and recognizes your face, is the checkout clerk on the grocery store you are mystery shopping at and heard that you are a mystery shopper straight from Joan. It sounds like a stretch, but the fact is that you bump into people all of the time in places you never expected to see them, and you never known who they’ve been talking to or what they’ve been saying!
Certainly there are some rare times when you will want to tell a friend or family member about your job. Perhaps your neighbor is having trouble making ends meet and can’t seem to find a job anywhere. Your compassion in sharing your source of income with your neighbor will certainly be appreciated. However, there are definitely so many reasons why you shouldn’t share info about your mystery shopping job with any and every one.
Ladies, Joan is really correct. Case in point is a dear friend was trying to get me to meet a “friend” of hers. It just so happens that the “friend” worked in a retail store where I had done a shop. Stupid me told both of them that I did a mystery shop there. Now I cannot do that store anymore for risk that the “friend” may be working that day.
We live and learn. I keep my mouth shut now!
I have shared mystery shopping with friends – out of my territory! lol I am learning to keep my mouth shut around home because I don’t need my jobs flying off the job boards when they are at tiny prices. I learned to be patient and wait for the fees to go up but new shoppers take them right away for the “experience”. I don’t want to fill my gas tank by doing 10 shops if I can do it in 3-4. I also talked myself out of some shops by telling a few people at church what I do only to find out that one of them works in a retail location I was going to shop. I had to cancel it. That taught me a valuable lesson!
Being a recently retired and living in a small community, mystery shopping fits right in with my new lifestyle. I do have to travel outside my home area, but its worth it. However, everyone wants to know just why it is that I am so busy. I can’t tell them what I really do, mystery shopping up a storm, so I just tell them that its true: retired people are busier now than when they worked full time. Yikes, I hope they believe me.
That advice is all well and good. And yet nearly every Mystery Shopping Company wants us to refer potential shoppers to them. Seems to me saturation is inevitable anyway, so where there is demand it’s going to be filled. And when you boil it down , after all, lack of competition breeds mediocrity. Furthermore, if MS Co.’s want to pay less than minimum wages and people willingly work, so be it. My sights keep getting higher.
Bring ’em on, I’m better. And I should be because I have the experience.
Caution is the word. In fact I do not use the term ‘mystery shop’ at all. Since I do merchandising for a few companies, when people ask me what I do, that is what I say. Occasionally, if the circumstances warrant, I may also include ‘audits’ or allude to, ‘all kinds of things.’ People may conclude what they wish. I have banned ‘mystery shopping’ from my vocabulary, to prevent a slip up even with family members who live in my household. 🙁 My husband would definitely blow my cover! I rarely refer anyone. I can think of better ways to earn an extra dollar. There are not that many shops in my area. I plan to free up the last week of the month for last minutes shops with bonuses. I agree with Jo, it takes patience to wait for the fees to go up. It works. Shopping always takes strategy and organization.
I am ready to start
I have gotten both my father and pastor into mystery shopping. Granted, we all have our own territories. My rule is that if they live in my town, I tell them I’m a freelance writer, which is true, I do both, but for out of town friends and family, I boast about my job with great perks and think nothing of it. I’ve never been “caught.”