How to Become a Successful Mystery Shopper
For entrepreneurs and business owners, the idea of mystery shopping is appealing. You get to explore your company from the perspective of a customer, able to report back on whether or not you like what you see. It's a cost-effective way to find out how well your product or service is perceived. Inevitably, mystery shoppers will leave you with an unfavorable impression and need further improvement — but fear not! We're here to offer some very unique insights into how you can become a successful mystery shopper!
One key aspect of being a successful mystery shopper is maintaining credibility. One way that can happen is by joining sites like Amazon Mospies that connect spair companies with vetted shoppers who are looking for work. We take the privacy of mystery shoppers seriously, and our site allows consumers to browse and apply to companies that do not require personal information. We also provide details on the types of products you will typically be asked to test.
We make it possible for you to see the product you're testing or surveying, as well as being asked to test any additional products during a shopping session. Companies can set up a profile on our website, then submit details about their product or service — from name, price and quantity, down to testing requirements such as product type (apparel or household) and expected customer demographics (age, gender).
The next step is selecting applicants who are available for testing among those who applied. Companies can choose to send an invitation or notify them by email of the next steps. This is where the real challenge begins — and can help you stay out of the penalty zone when conducting a survey or exercise. According to Mary Treseler, lead shopper for Mysurvey by Mary, "easy surveys are sometimes more time-consuming than hard surveys." She adds that mystery shopping isn't just about completing surveys; it's about providing companies with actionable information in order to improve their business practices.
"Companies sometimes think that mystery shoppers are just cheap, low-quality surveys," says Treseler. "But the fact is that we enjoy our job, and are paying for it by receiving a discount on our purchases or services."
Receiving a discount through shopping with us is one of the best ways to maintain credibility. If you're assigned to a product or service, you will receive your shopping session within 24 hours of making the payment. Payment may happen through PayPal, Chase Visa Platinum Card (credit card) or by eCheck. Make sure you have a backup payment method in case PayPal doesn't work for you.
Not only are our shoppers treated to discounts, but we also provide them with a tablet (if needed) and an email account (if needed). These tools can be used to capture photos of samples before and after testing, which is the most common type of mystery shopping assignment. If you need further training on sample usage or how to take pictures, check out our comprehensive FAQs.
In addition to helping shoppers capture photos of samples, we can also offer great tips on how to test food items. In fact, we have a whole section dedicated to this topic: Mystery Shopping – Food & Beverage . Our tips are meant to help mystery shoppers test and report back on sample items without modifying them in any way. We've provided a step-by-step guide for testing of each food product that includes an explanation of each step. We also provide companies with information such as how many products are required, how much they cost per unit and the approximate size of the samples to be tested.
We want to keep you on track during your shopping session, so we include helpful reminders like: Don't leave your shopping cart at home; make sure you have enough free time; remember that it can take up to 24 hours for us to process the payment.
You may not even need to read these reminders, since they're all part of the "Chat with Spair" feature that we provide on our website. Here, you can chat in real time with one of our support staff for a personalized shopping experience. We can also help you set up a profile and provide additional tips on how to become a successful mystery shopper.
The only thing left for you to do is complete your shopping session! If you discover any product defects, we ask that you please contact the company directly and report it in accordance with the company's own guidelines or procedures.
After receiving your shopping session, you can expect to receive an email confirmation with details about your shopping experience. All survey information will be shared through a private link on our website. This allows shoppers to view the information in a secure environment, free from prying eyes. Once you submit your completed survey, it will be available for viewing by the company and staff members who can take the appropriate action based on your feedback.
Sending surveys or reports directly to companies isn't always possible, as some of them have their own procedures for receiving customer service and feedback via email or phone. In these cases, shoppers may be asked to send their completed surveys or reports to a company email address; or it may be submitted manually, by phone or fax.
Sometimes, companies will provide feedback forms you can fill out and submit directly after your shopping session. Other times, they provide a code number or confirmation number so that we can track your session in our system and match it with the corresponding records stored by the company.
We ask that shoppers still follow the steps they've been given by the company regarding how to submit completed surveys or reports. If you're not sure what to do, contact us and we'll provide instructions on what needs to be done before your upcoming shopping experience.
Surveys and reports are your way to make a difference. They'll help companies design new products, set pricing strategy, improve customer service and increase their bottom line. The information you provide can even prevent businesses from losing serious amounts of money due to product tampering or poor performance — information that's worth its weight in gold.
Successful completion of surveys and reports will help you keep your track record of mystery shopping flawless. You'll receive more requests for assignments and retain your status as a trusted shopper, which is crucial if you want to work with big brands like Microsoft, Walmart, Toys 'R Us or Target.
Survey and report processing times vary from company to company, depending on their schedules. Some may ask for your shopping report as soon as you finish your session, while others may ask for it within a week or so. If you're assigned a product or service that is a bit more challenging to test, please be patient. You'll most likely receive your survey or report at some point after we receive it from the company.
When you receive your shopping session, don't forget to check out the "Live Chat" feature on our website. This allows you to chat online with one of our support staff members in real time if you have any questions about completing surveys and reports.
Conclusion
At Spair, we are well aware that different funding options may be more appealing for some shoppers. We offer a convenient way to make money online and have think about our shopping services as a "complement" to these other methods.
We believe that the best way to support yourself is by working freelance while you earn passive income. This way, you will not only earn money but also build your own career and help small businesses grow by providing feedback on their products/services.
Although we do not offer direct cash payment, our shopping service offers shoppers a lot of benefits in addition to making them more financially stable.