As a mystery shopper today, you may mention to other people casually that you are a mystery shopper from time to time. On certain occasions, if you are like so many other mystery shoppers, you come across friends, family, and even mere acquaintances who say that they there were once a mystery shopper, too. You may have also noticed on mystery shopping forums that many mystery shoppers seem to become disillusioned with the job over time. While there are several seasoned mystery shoppers who have been working in the field for ten years or longer, there are far more brand new shoppers as well as mystery shoppers who have tried out a few assignments and have decided this just isn’t for them.
There certainly are many benefits that mystery shopping offers. Consider that this is one of the rare jobs available today that allows you to set your own hours, to choose your assignments, and to enjoy various tax deductions, reimbursements on merchandise, and more. So then why do so many mystery shoppers decide to give up on this job?
It’s Not What They Expected.
One reason is that many people have some preconceived notions about mystery shopping that just simply aren’t true. They enter the job thinking they will be provided with the opportunity to take a cruise for free or travel to an exotic location to mystery shopping at a fancy resort. They believe they can spend hours mystery shopping at any location they want in the mall instead of understanding that they only get paid to shop at certain locations. Once some people get a real taste of what the job is about, they decide that it just simply isn’t for them.
The Pay Isn’t High Enough.
There are few jobs that you can enter into today with no experience and without so much as an application process to contend with (as some mystery shopping providers will take on any mystery shoppers who simply fill out the application form). Add this to the many benefits the job provides, and you may think you’ve found a pretty great gig. However, once people start the job and realize that the pay is rather low, they are turned off by it. Realistically, there are some jobs that can pay you the equivalent of $20 or $30 per hour, but most pay closer to the equivalent of unskilled, part-time labor.
They Take a Break.
Many mystery shoppers take a break for one reason or another and just never come back. Some will take a break after a particularly rough assignment. Others will take a break because of personal reasons, too many commitments at their day job, and so on. While some may have had the intention to come back to mystery shopping, they just never get around to it. The fact is that mystery shopping is a job that does not require a commitment at all. Once you have completed the assignments you signed up to do, you can absolutely walk away forever or you can take a break for three months, six months, or longer if you need to.
Mystery shopping really is an ideal job for many people. However, it is not suitable for everyone. Because it does offer so many benefits, it is worth giving it a try and seeing if it is a good fit for you.