The steps to becoming a mystery shopper

Mystery shopping can be a great way to earn some extra money and hat your hands on free goods. Once you've been accepted by a mystery shopping company then you can start earning. But you need to know where to start.

If you are interested in becoming a mystery shopper then you'll need to know how to go about it. This is my quick guide to becoming a mystery shopper-

Find a mystery shopping company

You will need to do a little research to find a mystery shopping company that's right for you. I've already blogged on my tips for the best UK mystery shopping companies but you will want to make up your own mind. Each company has a slightly different set of customers for you to go out and visit. Start with one mystery shopping company and take it from there.

Fill out the application

All mystery shopping companies want to know about you. They will ask for all the basic details at first but also want to know your experience and your work history. You can't mystery shop somewhere that you work now or have worked before so let the mystery ship company know so they can keep a record. Once you've filled out this information then they can start to assess your application.

Send information and documentation

Most mystery shopping companies will need to see some form of identification from you, although this is now usually done electronically. They will also need to know your bank account or Paypal details so they can pay you when you've completed an assignment for them. Getting all the right info through to the mystery shopping company is going to speed up your application.

The questionnaire

The next step will usually be a questionnaire to assess whether you'd be a good fit as a mystery shopper. They want to know what you would be like and they are looking for certain skills and behaviours. The questionnaire can take one of three forms-

Yes/No

This is as you would expect. They will ask questions and you need to answer yes or no. It is to see how you would respond in a mystery shopping situation.

Sample question - Are you able to be objective when mystery shopping?

Multiple Choice

This is a little different and will give a scenario and three or four options for you to choose. They are testing your response to a given situation. Would you be able to act in the way they require? Your answers will give them an idea of how you would perform.

Sample question - If your food order was brought to your table and was wrong would you-

A - Say nothing

B - Tell them you are a mystery shopper they had better put it right

C - Politely let then know and give them a chance to put it right

Q&A

Some mystery shopping companies want to hear what you have to say. They will ask a question and then let you type away your response. It gives you more scope to give great answers (but also more scope to give bad ones) in your application. You need to think carefully about your answers here.

Sample question - Tell me what qualities you can bring to us as a mystery shopper.

If you are considering becoming a mystery shopper then I can wholeheartedly recommend it. My book is filled with advice like this on how to become a mystery shopper. Get it now!

The 5 top mystery shopping companies to sign up for if you want to free meals out

There are many benefits to mystery shopping. You can earn money, get your hands on free good or you can go out for something to eat and drink. These free meals (I thought there was no such thing?!) are my favourite things about mystery shopping. It allows me to grab something as I am passing through, for me and my wife to get a meal out or to take the kids out for something to eat. Free meals out can be had if you apply for the right assignments, follow all the right instructions and have a little time to give when completing your report. There are some great opportunities out there for the mystery shopper. Here is my guide to the 5 top mystery shopping companies to sign up for if you want to free meals out-

5 - ABA-i

Although they don't have a massive amount of places to eat as part of their mystery shopping programme, the ones that ABA-i have are real quality. You get the chance to test shop the restaurants of top High Street department stores to see the quality that they have to offer. All the meals are freshly cooked and the service is very good too in my experience. Try them out for a great free meal when you go out shopping.

4 - GBW

These are also known as GapBuster Worldwide and have cornered the market on fast food offerings when it comes to mystery shopping. Once you are established with these guys then you can regularly get free meals at fast food places to feed you on the go or to take the kids to every now and again. GapBuster and their clients are sticklers for detail so make sure that you have your timings and description spot on.

3 - Retail Active

Another that does not have masses of assignment for a free meal but have some that come in really handy. You can often get meals in themes parks or museums with Retail Active so check it out before you plan a day out. It can help to make the day out go smoothly and take a little financial strain away.

2 - Marketforce

These are the kings of mystery shopping in the UK in my eyes but are just pipped to the post when it comes to finding free meals -  you will understand why when you see number one. Marketforce have a great selection of places to get a free meal from breakfast to lunch and then on to dinner. They have great national pub chains and organisations on their books so there is almost always a free meal just around the corner if you sign up with them.

1 - The Mystery Dining Company

My number one on the list of the 5 top mystery shopping companies to sign up for if you want to free meals out is The Mystery Dining Company. This is all they do. You can only find free meals on their website so this is the pace to go if that is your main aim when starting out to be a mystery shopper. They have a superb range of different restaurants, bars and other catering facilities. This is the place to go for the best choice of UK food mystery shops.

If you want to become a mystery shopper then my book is available now to help you become a mystery shopper and then be successful at it. Check it out now-

The 5 areas of The Daily Mail mystery shopping article that I disagree with

There has been an article written in the Daily Mail today about mystery shopping -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/bills/article-3772158/Drink-free-beer-buy-sausage-roll-bet-Leicester-City-really-make-thousands-secret-shopper.html

It is supposed to be an expose about mystery shopping and really ends on quite a negative tone. Although there are some facts contained in the article I really do take issue with some parts of it. Here are the 5 main parts of the article that I disagree with-

You earn £1.57 per hour

This does kind of depend on a few things. Firstly (and lastly as we shall see later) I don't think you could ever become rich being a mystery shopper. There are good weeks where you can maybe do 30 to 40 mystery shopping jobs and make good money but the Summer holidays, Easter and Christmas are when mystery shopping pretty much switches off and you will have long periods of time when you son't make much if anything at all. The best way to make good money in mystery shopping is to find a location and set up several mystery shops there. It minimses the travel costs and maximises your earnings. To do this you have to be a more established mystery shopper and sign up with more than one mystery shopping company but the potential is there. My best day was with 12 mystery shops in one large town and nearly £200 of goods and pay.

Once you are more familiar with mystery shopping and get better at filling out the reports then this becomes easier too.

That it is tedious

Let's be honest, not every job out there in the country is going to stimulate your brain for the full 8 hours per day. Factory work, many retail jobs and working in food outlets can be monotonous and do destroy the soul a little. Mystery shopping to me is a contrast to this. Yes, there may be elements of it that are boring such as checking where certain items are but the better mystery shop assignments are much more varied and interesting than this.

The rewards are non-existent

This can really depend on your lifestyle and income. For many people, a free meal or some extra groceries can make a difference to their life. I personally use it to take the kids out for something to eat or for extras for their Christmas stockings.I can't live off the money from mystery shopping but it does make a difference to my life. The kids get free trainers or clothes every now and again, I get to have a bet with someone else's money and we all get to have a free coffee or meal every few weeks. It allows me to live a life that I probably couldn't afford any other way.

I can only carry out one mystery shop per day

With some mystery shopping companies this is true to begin with, They want to know what you are like as a mystery shopper before they set you loose with a lot of their customers all at once. But this restriction doesn't last long and soon enough you can carry out a lot of assignments on the same day. As pointed out earlier, this means that you can go from earning the odd free meal to being able to plan a full day out and getting the most from mystery shopping.

A full-time mystery shopper can earn £40,000 per year

This simply is not true. I think that someone who lives in or near a big city with lots of shops and restaurants to visit might be able to get their hands on about half of this amount but I have never seen any mystery shopping company make claims of this amount. It is a lifestyle job and can be used to get extra items when you are already visiting or passing somewhere but for me it doesn't seem like it could ever be a full-time job.

If you are thinking of becoming a mystery shopper then you will want to do it right. My book is full of great ideas and advice on how to become a mystery shopper. Find it now on the Amazon Kindle Store.