Birth Sampler
Birth Sampler
My Not-So-Fabulous Mystery Shopping Career
When I first became a stay-at-home mom with the birth of my son, I did something that maybe all of us do. I began to look for something I could do at home to make extra money. I scoured the internet looking for little nuggets of possibility, being a product sampler person at a grocery store, medical transcription, Live Ops, anything and everything was a possibility.
That’s when I learned about “mystery shopping.” Hmm. I like to shop. Most of the ads said something to the effect of “Get paid to shop!” And there’s always a picture of 2 jovial girlfriends, looking fabulous, walking out of a fabulous store with loaded shopping bags. Ooooo! I really like that!
So I signed up with a service that would notify me of available “shops” in my area.Given that I live in a big city, I thought there would probably be many. And there were.
There were all kinds of shops: party stores, car dealerships, gas stations, grocery stores, and lots of restaurants. The scenario went something like this:
1) Register with a particular mystery shopping company (there are many).
2) Read all contracts, watch training videos, take tests (to prove you read and listened to all the material). For some companies this was no small task.
3) Request to do an available shop. Wait to be confirmed.
4) Go perform the shop and submit a report exactly as stated in the directions. Basically become an undercover agent, sneak nonchalantly around the store as if you’re a real customer but you’re actually taking secret notes about the store appearance, customer service, etc. And whatever you do, you cannot reveal your true identity or the mission will be compromised and you will not be paid!
5) Eventually get paid. Sometimes it’s 30 days or more to be paid and reimbursed for your purchase.
Seems simple enough. But for me, there was one small problem. It wasn’t that there weren’t enough shop-portunities (haha, I just made that up..) It wasn’t that I couldn’t pass those oh-so-challenging tests. It was the pay. Most of the jobs paid between $3 – $8.
“Wait so you’re telling me you go to ALL that trouble only to be paid maybe 5 bucks….a month or two later??!” You got it, sister.
I have only performed two shops in my somewhat short mystery shopping career. I called an insurance company for a quote. That was super easy and worth the $5. The other one, however, was not so easy. Let me tell you about it.
I registered with a company whose clients were high-end restaurants. There were frequent shops available at Wildfire ( a GREAT restaurant by the way. I can still taste that creamy seafood bisque when I think about it! So. Good.) Anyway, I signed up to do a lunch shop and recruited my girlfriend to be my partner in crime. This shop set up seemed pretty decent. A reimbursed lunch for two (1 appetizer, 2 entrees, dessert and beverage) at this nice restaurant.
I had to take detailed, and I mean DETAILED, notes…exactly what time I ordered and what time each item was served on the table. Notes about taste, temperature, cleanliness, service, on and on. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so challenging had I not brought my very active 7 month old son. Bad idea. This was a restaurant filled with business people. This was not McDonalds. Needless to say, it’s hard to subtly jot down any top secret mystery shopper notes when your baby thinks the booth is a jungle gym. Many frayed nerves later, lesson learned.
When I returned home I had exactly 24 hours to complete the online survey (or it would self-destruct) and submit a meticulous review that ended up being about FIVE pages long. Yeah, you read that right. Five pages…about LUNCH. I think my brain was bleeding when finally finished it a 1AM. I mean how many descriptive words like “tasty” are there in the English language?
About two months later I was reimbursed for the $82 lunch. And that my friends, was the end of my mystery shopping career. That’s when I threw in the towel. Hung up my spy sunglasses and trench coat. Thanks, but no thanks. See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya! :O) And I’m feeling pretty fabulous about that.
I hope this article was helpful to you and if so, please pass it along to a friend! I’m curious, have you ever mystery shopped? What was your experience? Share your thoughts on my blog! And if you’re looking for a work at home opportunity, check out my Resources page for more info.
About the Author
Sherri Groo is a stay-at-home, work-at-home mom and lives in Georgia with her husband, children and two cats. She enjoys writing articles to encourage and inspire other moms in what she considers to be one of the highest callings in life! To read more and connect go to http://sherrigroo.com/blog/.
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