Mystery shopping is an excellent way to earn a living for those who envy unconventional employment.  What is mystery shopping?  Companies are concerned with customer satisfaction.  So many businesses seek ways to make sure that they maintain a loyal customer base.  The best way to do this is to have someone evaluate day-to-day  business operations while remaining anonymous.  Enter the mystery shopper.  The job of the mystery shopper is to objectively observe the operations and surroundings of a particular establishment, and report the findings back to the company. 

There are so many businesses that use mystery shoppers today.  Bowling alleys, movie theaters, clothing stores, and gas stations are just a few.  These businesses are willing to pay to have someone anonymously shop their establishments on a daily basis.  Businesses turn to mystery shopping companies for help with this. 

So how can you make a career out of mystery shopping?  Well first, you have to find reputable mystery shopping companies to sign up with.  This is very easy to do.  You can sign up and research mystery shopping employers at www.volition.com.   This a large forum site that provides all the information you would ever need to make wise choices in regards to which companies pay on time, have the best assignments, and the best overall reputation.  Also stay tuned to my future postings as I will be arranging a summary list of the best mystery shopping companies to sign up with.

Secondly, each company you sign up with will have a database of mystery shopping assignments.  You must opt in to receive emails from whatever company you choose.  This is how you will be notified of available assignments in your chosen areas, but some companies may require you to login to their website every day to check for mystery shopping assignments.  Either way, you must review the available assignments  and choose which ones you want to sign up for.  I will discuss the details of the best assignments in future blogs. 

Your third step is to complete whatever assignments you sign up for.  This is very important because mystery shopping companies are sticklers about dependability when it comes to the mystery shoppers that work for them.  If you start accepting assignments that you don’t follow through on, then you will be  removed from a companies’ shopper database.  This means that you will no longer receive any assignments from that company.

Your last step is to submit your online reports and wait for your check.  Compensation varies according to each assignment.  I will discuss the earning potential for mystery shoppers in tomorrow’s blog post.