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Mystery Shopping and Children November 24, 2009

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Mystery shoppers come from all walks of life, including moms with young children. One question that is asked frequently is if children are allowed to accompany you on a shop.

In some cases, it is necessary, especially if you’re shopping a children’s clothing store where the fitting room needs to be evaluated, or an amusement park or similar venue.

In other cases, what is the rule? Are kids allowed or not?

Most times mystery shopping companies will specify in the shop posting whether or not children are allowed. If it doesn’t specify, and you are interested in the shop, it is best to ask ahead.

If it is allowed, but not essential for the mystery shop (ie children’s clothing shop), how do you decide whether or not to bring your children? There are a few rules that might help you decide:

1. What type of shop is it? If it is a retail store or fine dining restaurant that is not geared toward children, it is best to keep them home. You want to mirror the company’s typical customer. Keep that in mind and use as a guide when deciding.

2. Your children’s ages – very young children may be distracting while on a shop, which will cause you to not be as focused or attentive to the employee and your surroundings. As kids get older, it can be easier. However, you have to watch out – the last thing you want is for your child to blow your cover by asking, “Mommy, is this a shop?”  You might want to keep the real intent of your shopping visit from your children, especially as they are getting older.

3. Your child’s personality/temperament – you know your child best. If your child is irritable the day of your shop, or especially active, it might be too distracting for your child to accompany you. This is something to consider before taking them along – if they’re having a rough day (or you are!), it might be best to keep them home.

4. Children and babies can change the course of the interaction with staff. If you interact with an employee that especially loves children, your conversation and interaction may be skewed. Also, you may be more memorable to the employee, especially if you have detailed conversation about your children. Remember that you want to mirror the typical customer and have a typical interaction to evaluate.

One benefit of mystery shopping is the flexibility it can allow, and also lets you take your children along. However, the goal is to provide companies with objective, detailed information. If you feel that you cannot truly do that with your children along, it is best to keep them home or schedule shops on days where someone can care for your child while you’re out shopping.

Until next time…happy shopping!

Mystery Shopping Tax Seminar Coming Soon! November 20, 2009

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For the last two years Ann Michaels & Associates has held tax seminars for mystery shoppers. As an Independent Contractor, filing taxes may be a bit different for you, especially if this was your first year as a mystery shopper.

Tax seminars will be held online starting in January and are conducted by a CPA. Each session lasts approximately 45 minutes to one hour – all you need is your computer and speakers or a phone to participate!

We typically offer 1-2 “live” sessions per month and have a recorded session available as well to make it as convenient as possible. If you can attend a”live” session you will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Last year I interviewed Carolyn Eckert, the CPA that conducts these seminars, to learn some basic information. If you’d like to read that post, you can click here.

Dates will be released soon, so check back in early December!

Until next time…happy shopping!

How Has the Economy Affected Mystery Shoppers? November 18, 2009

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Everyone is being affected by the current economic climate, and the mystery shopping industry is no exception.  This impacts everyone invovled, and you may have noticed schedulers and editors that are more picky when reviewing or accepting reports.

Aside from the obvious ways the industry is affected, including clients that have scaled back or cut out mystery shopping completely, there are other challenges that we are facing.

In the last year, companies have needed to become more stringent in their policies and take caution when assigning shops. You may have noticed the screening process ramped up, or more documentation required when submitting shops.

There has definitely been an increase in shoppers who have been falsifying reports, doctoring receipts, and utilizing other means to submit shops they did not complete. It is a sign of the times, as more desperate times may call for some desperate actions that people would not normally do.

99.9% of the mystery shoppers out there are wonderful, but it’s that .1% that causes us the most grief. When losing clients is on the table, companies cannot take any chances. So, if it seems that the mystery shopping companies are more picky and requiring more in the way of documentation, please understand the reasons behind this.

Until next time….happy shopping!

If it Walks Like a Duck and Talks Like a Duck..How to Spot a Mystery Shopping Scam November 15, 2009

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Mystery shopping has always faced its share of scams, from the pay to shop sites to cashier’s check letters.  It seems like there are more than ever out there – it’s difficult to keep up with, so I would like to share some tips and tricks on easily identifying a scam.

1. It’s too good to be true – mystery shopping will not make you rich; that is a fact. If you receive an email or stumble across a site that offers hundreds of dollars per shop to “eat out and shop where you’d like”, that is a clear sign. Realistically, shops will pay anywhere from $5.00 to $25.00 per shop on average.

2. The writer’s grammar is awful – if the writer’s grammar is awful, and there are words in the posting such as “smartness of the employee” (I think that’s my favorite), that’s another sign that it probably isn’t legitimate.

3. Check out the email address of the sender - companies will not use generic email addresses such as mysteryshoppingopportunities@gmail.com . The company name is included in the email address, as is a scheduler’s or editor’s name. If the sender is using a gmail or hotmail address, it is likely a scam.

4. Offers to accept mystery shops when you’re not registered with/have never heard of the company - mystery shopping companies utilize databases where shoppers register to be considered as a shopper. There are also many message boards that schedulers will use to recruit new shoppers. Mystery shop assignments are not emailed to random people who may never have heard of mystery shopping. If you receive what appears to be an invitation to complete a shop, and you’re not a registered shopper and are not participating on message boards, it is likely not a real opportunity.

5. Mystery shops include check cashing, putting out  a lot of money up front, etc – if you are asked to cash a check for the company, or if you are asked to send money somewhere prior to or during a shop, rest assured that you will never see this money again. This is the infamous check cashing scam, or a version of it.

When in doubt, trust your gut. You can also check out Volition’s forums – forum.volition.com – the shoppers who participate on these forums are seasoned veterans in the industry and have seen it all. You can use the search feature to see if the company/situation has been discussed before or post for advice.

It is hard to separate legitimate shopping from scams, especially when you are starting out. Hopefully this will serve as a basic guide to understanding what is legit and what is likely a scam.

Until next time….happy shopping!

Making Money as a New Mystery Shopper November 10, 2009

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Today I’d like to share some advice on cash flow when you’re first starting out as a mystery shopper. If you’ve prepared for your first shops, you would have checked the mystery shopping company’s payment schedule beforehand - each is different, with some paying two weeks after a shop to others where you are paid 30 to 90 days after completing a shop.

To a new mystery shopper, this can seem daunting since you are waiting for payment and spending money on shops as you go along. Below are some tips for the new shopper to manage the initial cash flow (or delayed cash flow):

1. In the beginning, try to take fee only shops. They are out there, mostly in the form of retail shops with no purchase, where you are interacting with an associate to evaluate sales skills, but not required to make a purchase. This will limit out of pocket spending in the first few months.

2. Take purchase and return shops: these typically require a return between 30 minutes and 3 days of making the purchase. While you are putting out money, it will be returned to you quicker than waiting on a reimbursement for a shop.

3. Reimbursement shops - this will take some legwork, and require you to do some homework at first, but registering with many companies may help you keep initial expenses to a minimum. If you can find shops at places you normally shop and spend money, these will help offset the wait for payment. If you are planning on grocery shopping, picking up a shop at the grocery store will help. You plan on spending money anyway, so it’s not as “out of pocket” as another type of shop that you don’t really need to go to.  Also, with the holiday season fast approaching, you can try to schedule shops for places you know you would be holiday shopping anyway.

You can read a past post to learn how to find mystery shops in your area. We’ve also discussed Jobslinger in a recent blog post - you can think of it as a one stop shop to find new companies to work with and increase your workload.

4. Open a free checking account that is dedicated to mystery shopping. Keep a budget on how much you are able to spend in purchases and use that account strictly for shopping. This way you are not overspending and budgeting wisely until you see your first payments.

Once you get into the routine of mystery shopping and are receiving regular payments, the cash flow becomes easier. In the meantime, these tips may help make the initial months easier on your wallet.

Until next time…happy shopping!