Mystery shopping is a pretty easy job to get started in. You sign up with a few providers, and then search the job boards for an assignment you want to complete. It’s really as simple as that. But as easy as it is to get started in mystery shopping, there are a lot of places where you can get in over your head if you’re not careful. Here are some tips for the beginner mystery shopper:
Find A Few Providers. Likely you have already found a few providers. You may want to jump into the deep end and sign up with as many mystery shopping providers as you can. But before you spend all this time and effort, consider the reasons to work with just a few providers initially.
When you work with just a handful of providers, you can learn more easily and quickly what that provider’s preferences are on reporting style. Each provider differs slightly on how they prefer answers to be worded or how questions should be addressed. It seems like a fairly simple concept that you can tackle with many providers all at once, and perhaps you can. But you will have a much simpler time learning the ropes of mystery shopping by learning the ins and outs of just a couple of companies at a time. Also, keep in mind that if you have issues on reports, a scheduler can reduce or even completely cut your pay on an assignment. So you can save yourself some hard-earned cash by adding just a few providers at a time to your line-up.
You can also get a good idea of how many assignments each of these providers can throw your way and gauge how many other providers you realistically need to sign up for to hit the income level you’re looking for.
Start Slow. Initially, select an assignment or two to complete. Walk through these assignments as learning experiences, trying to figure out where you need to learn some tricks of the trade. For instances, if you have trouble doing timing on one assignment, you can easily hit the mystery shopping forums and ask for help before you head off to your next assignment. Then your next assignment will be easier for you to complete.
You will also want to wait a few days between your first several assignments so you can get feedback from your schedulers on your work. If you have some issues with your initial reports, you can learn from these before you start kicking things into high gear by completing more assignments.
Get A Variety Of Experiences. When you’re just starting out as a mystery shopper, you will want to try out a lot of different types of assignments. If one assignment at a retail store turns you off, try another couple of retail store assignments before you write off that kind of assignment completely. Be sure to try assignment types you may think initially you won’t like. You may surprise yourself by branching out and trying new things.
Then, once you’ve determined how to complete reports, some of the tricks of the trade, and which types of assignments you enjoy working on, you can start knocking out assignments left and right without many hang-ups.
I have learned from experience that the suggestions above a right on! My first shop was an apartment and management evaluation. I loved it and the pay was good! The companies with which I have signed up have very different styles of paperwork, questions and report requirements. A variety is the spice of life. There is no room for monotony in mystery shopping. Plus there are many occasions to seek challenges, to learn and grow. It is best to make up your own mind about what is a good shop and what is not. Some have made expressions about what is a waste of time, what is a good shop. These comments may color your impression. I have found it best to take some and leave some. You decide what works for you; so initially I think it best to try all kinds of types of shops, read all kinds of blogs, and keep an open mind. To get water out of a well it must be primed with water; likewise to get substantial rewards from mystery shopping, it takes a little bit of putting yourself into it, your time and money, travel, and sometimes even effort to study companies’ madates, rules, and guidelines, some of which may more challenging to understand than others. Any job worth doing is worth doing well, especially if it is one to which your name and reputaion are attached. Speed may come in time, but at the outset, accuracy, total compliance to the the agreed terms, self development, focusing on good communication, are more important to build a strong foundation.
I agree. I started MS 3 yrs ago. Start slow and decide how much of income you are looking for. I do this strictly parttime. It is fun work and easy depending on the types of shops. I do mainly banks, retail and manage to make about $200 to 350 per month without being overly aggressive about getting shops.
Interested in becoming a mystery shopper.P;ease send informantion.
or 53 weeks rd. douglas ga 31533
I’m interested in becoming a mystery shopper.