Written By Just for You (An Anonymous Mystery Shopper)
I started off mystery shopping when my children were younger and at home. I had 3 children and did not want to work a full time job but wanted to supplement my income. As they grew older I had a job and wanted to supplement that job when time permitted.
I took the easy jobs that were low paying to learn the system since I had no one to rely on to guide or direct me other than schedulers along the way.
Even when I was not focusing on mystery shopping I never stopped the emails from being sent to my mystery shopping exclusive email address. I would delete a batch at at time when I was not actively pursing mystery shopping.
I really didn’t believe I could make more than $200-$300 per month when I first started, if even that much. I focused on doing just the occasional job, never traveling over 20 miles from home.
I organized myself so I could spend the least amount of time tracking the jobs. I do not work for companies that take longer than 60 days to pay. I refuse to work for companies that take 90 days to pay. It still amazes me today when a scheduler ask if I can do a job because a mystery shopper flaked on a job. I expect the companies I work with and for to be reliable and dependable and they in turn can expect that from me.
I currently perform video shopping gigs when they are in my area and phone shops when the weather is bad and I want to stay home.
I actually stay away from dining shops because to me that is spending money not making money. I don’t want to spend my time timing all the details required of the shops. I like to enjoy my meals, instead of working during them.
I seldom perform shops that reimburse as the primary payment, unless it is something that I really want to purchase. I like grocery shops, health audit shops, phone shops, video shops for apartments, written apartments, some retails stores that I pick and choose.
I have a company that has me blocked out for the same shops every month which pay approximately $300 each month. Today, I do not take a shop for less than $15 a shop unless I just want to perform the shop.
Be organized, create a template for repeat phone shops that you can use over and over and record the phone info.
You can take the templates with you that you have handwritten the basic information. Work for companies that pay well and on time, use a spread sheet to track upcoming jobs, use color coding to indicate which shops are up next for performing, different color code when the shop has been paid, notes indicating when and how will be paid, flag “never work for again” shops.
My average is $1,200 a month with approximately 56 shops a month. At times I do several shops in a week and at times I take the majority of the week off if I have grandmother duties to perform. That is what is the best about being a mystery shopper.
To learn even more about how to earn more money as a mystery shopper, download The Concise Guide to Mystery Shopping.