With Mystery Shopping Expert Melanie Jordan
Author of
The Perfect Work-At-Home Job: Mystery Shopping
How To Finally Make Money As A Mystery Shopper
The Quick And Easy Guide To Making Money
As A Merchandiser
Award-Winning Publisher of
Perfect Work-At-Home Job Update E-zine
An Interesting Mystery Shopping Trend
In visiting my parents recently, I observed an interesting trend in the Orlando, Florida market. From my corporate research days, I know that Orlando is a great test market for lots of new products and services, and it seems that there is a strong effort there to get ordinary consumers--I'll call them "amateur mystery shoppers" as opposed to us, the professional mystery shoppers--to provide the kinds of feedback that a mystery shopper might do for a much lower fee.
My Mom, on a trip to her local "pet mega store" saw a sign at the checkout that if she would call a toll-free number and answer a few simple questions about her shopping experience, she would be sent $5. She did, and received her $5 very quickly. The same company also let her indicate her interest in helping them out with future assignments of this type.
When we went out to a major restaurant chain for dinner, the server pointed out to us a survey that the company was conducting, and indicated that if we called the number on our receipt, we would get a code that would get us $3 off each person's dinner on our next visit.
Here in California, my local supermarket chain is printing out a mini-survey on the receipt every time I shop there and asks for specific feedback. In return, I get a chance to win a prize. My local branch of Target is doing the same thing.
My Mom said the two situations we experienced then were becoming commonplace in her area. That plus Target's and my supermarket's survey got me thinking. Sure these are much simpler observations than the typical mystery shopper makes, and it's certainly no substitute for the detailed narrative we provide for a more complex, service-category shop or restaurant shop. Yet, if companies start going directly to consumers for data "on the cheap", you could start to see some cutbacks on the very simple "yes" or "no" fast food and retail shops.
You can prepare yourself by making it a personal goal to gain experience in the more complex shops. Don't be afraid of narratives! Shops that have them pay better, and you'll learn to do them more and more quickly as time goes on. Plus, be sure to diversify your experience--don't just take on one type of shop over and over--get solid experience in all three major mystery shopping categories--retail, restaurant and/or fast food, and service categories (automotive, apartments, banking and gyms, for example). Plus, consider getting into audio and video mystery shopping--these shops pay up to $50 and $100 apiece.
This will show that you can handle all types of observations--quick checklists and lengthy narratives. The greater the range of experience you can show as a mystery shopper, the more jobs you'll get on a steady basis, and your income will show the difference!
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