General queries regarding Mystery Shoppers ...

thing

Hi all,

Thinking about having a go at being a mystery shopper to supplement my income, have a couple of questions ...

1. Can I register with more than one company? Or do they insist their shoppers work for them only?

2. What sort of return can I expect - say on an average assignment. I noticed some of them can be as simple as a 30 minute thing which, I guess, means call in to XYZ store and buy something or ask for help or whatever. That'd earn what? Are expenses billable - travel to the store for instance?

Many thanks in advance!

Greg

Scaredy_Cat_3

Yes, you can join more than one - it's best if you do because the work is not regular and if you only register with one you'll go months between assignments!

Generally, there are no expenses paid. You are expected to cover your costs out of the fee. Some companies (most notably TNS) do include an extra fee to cover mileage, but that's stated up front before you accept the assignment.

Fees, also, are variable. It depends on the job and the company. Some can be as little as £5 (although I believe recently some have been advertised with even lower fees!). Believe me, though, it's not just 30 minutes for a job. You have to do the preparation work, then you have the travel to and from the place, then you will spend a minimum of about 20 minutes in the place, then you go home and write up your report.

Have a good look through the mystery shopping thread - particularly the very first post. That has a lot of useful info.

Hope that helps a little.

thing

Thanks mate, much appreciated. I will look through that thread when I have time (at work right now) but for the moment I thought I'd elicit some basic info from you clever lot

Amber_Sunshine

As SC points out, there's a lot of work involved. I know some people love mystery shopping, but from my own experience I would advise caution. I gave up after having payment reduced or refused for two out of six jobs. It just isn't a worthwhile or profitable use of my time and I wouldn't trust the companies to pay me any more.

Scaredy_Cat_3

Amber_Sunshine wrote: »

As SC points out, there's a lot of work involved. I know some people love mystery shopping, but from my own experience I would advise caution. I gave up after having payment reduced or refused for two out of six jobs. It just isn't a worthwhile or profitable use of my time and I wouldn't trust the companies to pay me any more.

I have to agree, it's not really a good use of time. When I consider the amount of time I have to put in to earn, for example, a tenner, I realise it would be better to get a regular job. However, I'm finding it really difficult to get a job at present, so this is a way of bringing some money in, even though most of the jobs do work out at less than minimum wage. I don't qualify for benefits so I guess this is better than nothing.

thing

My plan is to use that as a third 'arrow' - I'm an artworker (the fella that takes a graphic designer's work and makes it printable) and I'm planning to go back freelancing next year. That's very profitable, but of course can be unreliable.

So I'm looking at extra ways to bring in some money, but with as much flexibility as possible. Second 'arrow' is teaching - the local universities to me have occasional stuff I can help with.

Mystery shopping seemed a possible third. I'll check it out carefully though!

Thanks