Ok, by now you must be thinking, “how much money can I really make mystery shopping?” That is a great question and that really depends on a few factors. Here are some of the factors that will help you make more by mystery shopping than others and also some factors that may prevent you from making the amount you desire. I heard someone say once that a person could make $50,000 to $100,000 a year if they were motivated and mystery shopped on a daily basis. Also, in addition to mystery shopping, opportunities with the mystery shopping companies themselves open from time to time.
Key Factor #1- Sign up with multiple shops
The first factor or secret that will help you maximize the amount of money you will make mystery shopping is directly related to how many mystery shopping companies you work with. There are well over 100 mystery shopping companies and the key to success is to sign up with as many as you want to increase the opportunities that are available to you. I personally have only signed up with 10 and that has kept me busy. In fact, right now as I right this, within the 10 companies I have signed up with there are about 7 opportunities available to me within 10 miles of where I live and about 40 available within the state I live in. If I were to sign up with another 10 companies I would have many more opportunities available to me! Keep signing up with mystery shopping companies until you are as busy as you want to be.
Key Factor #2- Have access to email 24/7
I am able to receive email on my smart phone and am alerted any time I receive an email. Most mystery shopping opportunities are received by either logging into the mystery shopping companies website or by reading the email alert notifying you than a mystery shop has opened up. You want to be able to see those emails as soon as you are able instead of having to check every website of every mystery shopping company you work with. I have been able to complete some really good mystery shops simply by being the first to grab them as they were released.
Key Factor #3- Don’t be a flake
As you receive offers to complete mystery shops, make sure you read the brief description of the shop and when it is due. If you are not able to complete the shop when it is due, DO NOT sign up for the shop! The worst way to make mystery shopping is to not complete assignments that you have been scheduled. Now, certainly emergencies happen that will prevent you from completing a shop, but if an emergency happens, be sure to email the mystery shopping company ASAP letting them know y0u will be unable to complete an assignment.
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Key Factor #4- Pay attention to detail
It may seem that mystery shopping is a real easy way to enter a store, buy something, answer a few questions, and make money. This can be the case for some shops, but most shops have an extensive list of items they want you to evaluate. Be sure to read and re-read the evaluation BEFORE you complete the shop. I usually take a printed copy of the evaluation with me and leave in the car, but before entering the store I read it again to make sure I know what I am supposed to do. Also, make sure you check the times and dates that a shop can be completed. I once signed up for a call center mystery shop and botched it because I called at the wrong time. I did not receive a good rating for that shop!
Key Factor #5- Fill out the evaluation on time and in a professional manner
All mystery shops have a date that the mystery shop must be completed by and some also require that the evaluation be filled out within a certain time from when the shop was completed. I try to perform the shop and while the details are still fresh in my mind fill out the online evaluation. This has helped me remember key details of what happened. You may even decide to record the mystery shop on your smart phone so you can remember what happened. There is a lot to remember and pay attention to.
Also, when filling out the evaluation I have learned that the mystery shopping companies want an unbiased, fact based description of what transpired. Unfortunately unless asked, they do not want your opinion! That seems very contradictory to what you are doing since an evaluation is an opinion, but there is a difference in giving an evaluation of facts and giving an evaluation of opinion. Let me demonstrate. Say that you needed to evaluate the appearance of a worker at a store. She is dressed sloppy and you need to reflect that in your evaluation. If you were giving your opinion you would say, “The girl was dressed like a slob!”. In a fact based evaluation you instead say, “The girl’s shirt was untucked, wrinkled, and looked dirty.”
My experience
As you begin your mystery shopping adventure you will undoubtedly make some mistakes along the way and learn what is best and what not to do. I am hopeful that by reading this you won’t have to make some of the same mistakes I made and right out of the gate you can be a super star mystery shopper!
UP NEXT…WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO BE A MYSTERY SHOPPER?
