Many people start their mystery shopping career off with high hopes and aspirations. If you are like most mystery shoppers, you first started out your career believing the job would allow you to earn a fabulous income with relatively little effort required. You dreamed of earning big paychecks, getting tons of free merchandise, and spending leisurely time shopping in all of your favorite stores. With time, however, you get more experience working as a mystery shopper, and you start to see what this job is really all about. There are several key milestones you may reach which will indicate that you are no longer a newbie mystery shopper.
You Look Beyond the Base Pay For Compensation
Many new mystery shoppers pick assignments off the job boards based solely on the base pay compensation. They scan the job boards for the highest level of compensation and choose those assignments over others. Experienced mystery shoppers, however, understand that mystery shopping compensation comes in a variety of formats. Base pay is one type of compensation, but compensation is also provided through purchase reimbursements, bonus pay, travel reimbursements and more. Further, the amount of mileage that can be deductible is an additional perk worth considering as well.
You Learn Which Assignments to Avoid
After completing numerous mystery shopping assignments, most mystery shoppers develop a preference for certain specific assignments as well as certain types of assignments in general. For instance, some mystery shoppers may decide that they just don’t care for any restaurant assignments at all. Others may decide that fast food assignments should be avoided, but that sit down restaurant assignments are worthwhile. Each mystery shopper has their preferences, and once you determine what your own preferences are based on experience, you know that you are no longer a newbie.
You Commiserate With Your Fellow Mystery Shoppers
While mystery shopping is a very unique job that is unlike any other job you may choose to work at, the bottom line is that it still is a job. No job is perfect, and most workers can find plenty of things to complain about when it comes to their jobs. As a mystery shopper, with experience working on various assignments, your list of things to complain about will grow. Eventually, you may find that you can commiserate with those who really understand what you are going through when you visit mystery shopping forums online. You know you are no longer a newbie mystery shopper when you read other people’s posts on the forums and completely understand what those mystery shoppers are complaining about. You are truly a seasoned mystery shopper when you not only understand what they are complaining about, but when you have great tips and advice to share with other mystery shoppers
You may be a seasoned mystery shopper now, or you may realize that you still have a lot to learn about mystery shopping assignments. If are still a newbie, keep working hard at your assignments, and one day you will realize that you have become a skilled, experienced mystery shopper like so many others.