This is the curiosity we are looking for. This goes hand-in-hand with curiosity. The extra time will allow you to notice things you may have missed and do a more thorough job. Objective evaluation skills are needed at every assignment, no matter how big or small. Memory skills are also key here! Sometimes you have to elaborate, sometimes you have to be succinct.
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ABC Everyday. Print content Print with images and other media. Print text only. Print Cancel. Can you earn a living as a mystery shopper? I just had a very bad experience with GFK, I applied and they had me pay for a drug test and back ground check that cost me 30 bucks, I would get it back after doing 2 audits. I was to be paid It ended up taking me The scheduler didn't tell me to use Google Chrome and so I was kicked out of the report online and had to "next" through to where I was kicked out, I was ready to quit, it was so frustrating, but the scheduler begged me to finish, offering me a 75 dollar bonus, so I did.
I then was sent an email that said they are refusing to pay me because I stayed in the store a couple of hours longer than I was suppossed to, even though the store manager told me it was fine with him. There are places in their briefing notes saying that if you do such and such you wont be paid, but it never said I wouldnt be paid for staying longer, if that is the case you should be warned. I think this is just an excuse not to pay me.
The company has completely cut me off from contacting them through email, but I plan on telling my story on every blog there is and by taking them to small claims court, I spent almost 3 days on that job, paid for the gas to go out there twice and they just cut me off.
I am also going to write to Best Buy and let them know what kind of company they are using to do their audits! I would not recommend that anyone work for GFK, it is way too much work for the money and there is no gaurantee that you will be paid. I've been mystery shopping for over a year, and I've found that the best shops are the ones that I roll right into my normal life, as Linsey mentioned in her April comment.
I shop the stores and restaurants that I normally shop, or ones that are within a twenty-mile radius of my home. Spending an extra twenty minutes at the grocery store, and another half hour to report the shop, is worth twelve dollars, in my opinion. Another strategy that I use is to look for shops whenever we're traveling. Last summer we traveled around miles each way several weekends. Since we mystery shopped while we were there, the mileage was a tax write-off, plus we saved money on meals we would have had to buy anyway.
Bestmark is also a scam. They've changed their policies so much it's almost impossible to get full compensation. The most you can hope for is reimbursement when you have to front the money. I shopped for them for years with no problem but they've gotten greedy over the last year.
Many of my mystery shopping friends have had issues with them as well. They started out with good intentions. I have shopped for Bestmark for 2 years now. I think they're great! I've never had a problem and the schedulers are as nice as could be. They pay promptly and often. I wish they had more shops in my area. Professional and kind employees to talk to, they always put a smile on my face A lot of their shops are just evaluations so no money even comes out of my pocket. Any of them that do require you to pay for a meal you are always reimbursed for :.
I have also been mystery shopping for a number of years as a job on the side- mostly for fun, I could never make a living out of it. BARE International is another one for shoppers to look out for- in one recent shop they were extremely nit-picky and negative about my shop log I covered everything, checked spelling and grammar and was truthful ; claiming a receipt jpg was the wrong size or cut off and not able to be read and not allowing a resubmission it had looked fine to me and was within the posted guidelines ; or asking me to redo a shop for free when the CSR failed the shop so I assume that they can give the results their customer wants to see and then claiming they never asked me to redo the shop even though I have the email!
I am very highly rated with every other company I have done shops for, so all this has come as a big surprise to me.
Once- maybe a fluke. Twice- new guy? But three and four times? Not cool and probably a scam. It varies so unpredictably.
Depends on your area rural vs. Their policy is review deadlines are at 10 am, I submitted mine at am. Two minutes? You are going to haggle about two minutes. The customer service personnel at Bestmark then berated me when I told them I thought this was bad for business and fostering an unpleasant working relationship.
I will not be working for a company that squabbles over 2 minutes, I don't care what their policy is. My policy is work for people you respect, and I don't respect nickel and dimers, and neither should companies looking to hire them to mystery shop for them.
Oh, I know, get this. BestMark berated me for turning in my first shop report in caps. The guy completely talked down to me, whined that he had to retype "the entire report," threatened to deduct my pay next time, etc. The whiny ahole. BestMark has 1 strike in my "2 Strikes Allowed" book. We don't get paid nearly enough to be treated like that. I know this is an old post but come on Did not follow the rules!!
Wow, 2 mins. Follow the rules next time and you will see what happens Linsey It sounds like you have some pretty good knowledge of shopping, Do you have any names of legitimate mystery shopping companys? I totally agree with this especially no. It is such an effort to pay attention to details without getting obvious. But it takes more experience and you'll really get the hang of it.
Thank you for all the great information about Mystery Shopping. I had been looking for a legit company for awhile so I had a good reason to get out and shop and also make some extra money while doing it. An individual would have to be desperate to do this work. BestMark will give you 1 hour of pre-shop study material all their specifications as to just what and how you must do everything, including a test I did not do the 1st shop requested because of this negative financial impact.
I am currently looking for companies based in vienna and prague.. I looked into mystery shopping with Maritz. They want your social security number and to sign a W9. Is this standard for all of the mystery shopping companies.? I've been a mystery shopper for 8 years and recently they require it for tax - reporting purposes. This site PDFfiller also has some tutorials on how to fill it out and a few related tax forms.
I don't want to doubt anyones word, because I don't know to much about this type of job, but i just signed on as a new mystery shopper.
I believe that this is what you are speaking of, giving the fact that you received a check prior to even completing work AND the check was of such a large amount. This is consistent with the shopping scams that have victimized many good people trying to earn a few extra dollars doing this work. If you haven't cashed the check -- DON'T! Contact your local authorities if you don't know what to do.
Oh Boy! That one sounds like a Nigerian Scam. First thing to understand is to never subect your personal checking account information to opportunities where it can be used against you.
By cashing a check, you leave a paper trail to be copied again and used to drain your funds from that account. So, if a Bank has a sign up stating such disclosure is manditory "Under The Patriot Act," then ask to see what part that bank employee is referring to. Ask them nicely to have their attorney contact you. Banks are required to match up ALL information including Identifying Numbers before processing a transaction that involves changing any of that info over to the ID Thief's info.
If the Company says they "Called the IRS" and was told over the phone what the policies are, then ask for the Tax Law they are referring to. The answer should start with a Title Number, Chapter number, Section number followed by entries down to the sub-paragraph level. Then go to the Public Library and locate that law to properly comply with it. Back to the SCAM If you are hurting for money, you are best to stay away from mystery shopping because you will be too easily tempted by anything that screams "Easy Money.
The Devil put priority on infilterating the Church. Know your laws! Abide by them. Ignorance is no excuse, and if you think it is - you'll subject yourself to being made a "Ward Of The Court" and Heaven help you if it goes beyond to being made a "Ward of the state!
Do the Nigerian scammers care about that? They know they are outside of our jurisdiction and feel they are hurting no one because they cannot put a face to the Victims of their Scams. To make a long story shorter, start re-reading the article from the beginning and soak it all in. Read it again. If you are not taking notes, then walk away from this whole thing. You are NOT Learning!!!!! Very good advice. Mystery shopping has been glamorized in the media as this super high-paying gig.
While it's very enjoyable especially if you're shopping with high-end companies , it doesn't always pay well. It's a nice way to make some extra cash, but don't quit your day job.
I have completed some mystery shops and while I don't think I will ever quit my job to become a mystery shopper it has allowed me to perform some shops and get paid a little here and there. I work mainly with Bare International, but have signed up for a total of ten companies and I could keep pretty busy with all of them.
I just do it in my spare time to earn a little extra money and have some fun. This site has a huge list of reputable mystery shopping companies.
Good luck to all and happy shopping! Hi, I have been mystery shopping for about a year now, I like doing the work but it takes so long to get paid.
I like Market Force the best because I got a check with in two weeks. Also I am signed up for Jobslinger plus which helps, if you organize yourself you can do simple shops and get paid. Happy Shopping!!! I just started mystery shopping 6 months ago and I have to honestly say, I love it! I love to shop so why not get paid for it.
I wish I could've started out with this years back. I do it part time and my day job full time. It really helps me out a lot to supplement my income. Of course you have to be reliable, responsible and you must have an excellent memory.
I hope mystery shopping will be around for a while that I can do it for the next 10, 20 or 30 years. Net result doing their quality control evaluation for free. Nice little earner. About Contact Advertise. Credit Cards Personal Finance. By Linsey Knerl on 1 November comments.
Wise Bread Picks. Tagged: Extra Income , income , money insights , side jobs. Related and Popular. Average: 5 1 vote. Kate 1. Guest 2. Hello- Thanks for all the great info, but I have 2 questions about Mystery Shopping.
Thank you!! Carrie Kirby 3. Mom of 6 4. Beatriz 5. Guest 6. Natasha Summers 7. Linsey Knerl 8. Barbara Wilbur 9. Guest Another Guest Linsey Knerl Angel Myscha Theriault Lee Carrie Better customer service, higher quality products, and improved customer experiences are beneficial to everybody that spends money in America.
Mystery Shopping helps you become a part of this beneficial process because companies look to mystery shoppers to improve these areas. Mystery shoppers give valuable data and feedback to some of the biggest brands in America, which will then be analyzed to refine store designs, employee training, and products. In short, by becoming a mystery shopper, you can help make the world a better place. To us, mystery shoppers are like the credit card-wielding superheroes of the customer service world.
Getting through the monotony of everyday life can be a struggle. We all have errands that need to be accomplished everyday, at various different retail stores and locations.
Becoming a Mystery Shopper can turn these everyday, normally trivial, experiences into exciting and exhilarating parts of your day.
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