With the current financial crisis, it seems that everyone’s losing their jobs or money or both. Unfortunately this debacle has not escaped my circle of friends. This one girl I know who was retrenched a couple of weeks now is doing mystery shopping to make ends meet.

So that got me thinking (though my job is safe),  I really want to know what this mystery shopping is all about. I’ve seen it on news before and they make it seem mystery shoppers have the best job in the world. It seems so glamorised, ie “get paid to shop” or “free shopping”. So now I want to become a secret shopper myself and see if it’s really worth the trouble. Here is my experience:

Basically a mystery shopper is someone who review shops, restaurants,  petrol stations, etc etc that you are assigned to, usually focusing on the shop’s customer service. For each shop you do, you get paid. You may or may not keep the items you shopping for.

How to become a mystery shopper

Step One - Signing up

I went to register my details online with one of several mystery shopping companies.

During the signing up process you are asked your name, age, address, contact details (phone and email) and shopping locations preferences - I chose Melbourne City and suburbs that were close to where I live.

Step Two - Initial Contacts

The next day, I received an email from a representative requesting my phone number and a time where I can chat for 15 minutes. I replied to the e-mail straight away.

I received a phone call the next day and the representative was really friendly. She pretty much outlined what mystery shopping entails and what was expected of me. She did say that the media has glamorised it a little and that I shouldn’t be relying on the income heavily. I must admit she was being very honest. I always thought these type of companies are a little shaddy.

My first assignment
Anyways after that, she asked me whether I am still interested and I said yes. She then continued and started to explain my first mystery shopping job. It was basically to review a popular pawn shop. I had to review both the buying and selling component of the shop. They will pay me AU$15 (US$9.75) for the whole task of visiting the store, filling in and submitting report back to them. This will also include my time and transport costs.

Step Three - First Assignment Conversation

I received the reports which consist of 2 sections (both the buying and selling components). There are a lot of things to fill in and requires attention to details and great observation and memory skills such as:

• what is on the left and right side of the shop
• the number of customers and staffs as I arrive at the shop
• whether the shop assistant’s wearing a name badge or not
• shop assistant’s physical appearance (age, hair colour, tall/short)
• what kind of greetings I get
• any discounts given and what is the exact sentence asked?
• the condition of the stores
• the condition of the product, wheher the product’s visble
• whether the staff handle the item I want to sell with care and respect
• whether they ask any questions to help me with my buying need
• the exact questions to pressure me to buy the item
• whether they offer future service
• and much more…

First Task: My first requirement was to look around the shop and find an item that costs more than AU$200. I had to time how long before I was acknowledged by a retail staff. I then had to see whether I was automatically given the best price for the item or was offered the price that was displayed. In the end, I had to let them know that I will think about it, so basically I didn’t have to purchase anything.

Second Task:  For the second requirement I was required to bring an item to sell. To prevent my item being actually sold I was told to specify a selling price 20% less than  the full price I paid.

Step Four - On Field as a Mystery Shopper

I spent about 1.5 hours (40 minutes return travel time and the rest on actually visiting the store and completing the report).

It was tougher than expected because I had to ‘pretend’ that I wanted to buy/sell and ‘disguised’ my identity as a reviewer (mystery shopper). Also I had to be able to think and respond quickly base on the response of the shop assistant. It was fun in a way as I get to judge the store and it’s staffs. It was as close as I was ever going to get as being an actress :P.

Step Five - Final Contact for Report Results Submission

I received my call to submit my report results. I also gave my bank details and was told that the money will always be deposited on the 15th day of the month. All this time the representative was very professional and courteous.

Conclusion - Is it worth it?

Ok, if you are making this conclusion as a time vs money thing then it’s a big fat NO. In my case, my transport was already $7 and if you factor in the time I spent on the shopping & the report, you really are wasting your time.

However having said that, if you were say, 5 minutes driving distance from your assigned shop and you were doing nothing anyway and just wanted to have some fun, then sure, why not.

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2. Berlin - Shopping
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5. Mai’s Ultimate Melbourne Shopping Guide

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