I love mystery shopping. Some days I can't believe I actually get paid to eat out, shop and have fun. I really enjoy my assignments and I even love writing the reports. My experience isn't typical. I have spent endless hours researching job boards and applying to companies. I have proved myself to schedulers and they call me with the best assignments. If someone bails on an assignment, I get called to reshop a location.

One of the biggest misconceptions about mystery shopping is that it is a free ride. It isn't. When a company contracts an assignment to a mystery shopper, there is a responsibility to get the report submitted within 24 hours. Some assignments may require a report within 12 hours. The shopper needs to fax or mail a receipt and write a decent report about the assignment.

Mystery shopping isn't for everyone. Some people are too critical for objective feedback. I once edited a report from a shopper that said, "I couldn't find anything wrong during the meal." The shopper did not have a complete understanding about mystery shopping. There isn't an expectation from the client for a bad or good report. The client wants feedback about a meal or shopping experience that includes whatever happened during that interaction. The service may have been extraordinary or there may have been some details missed. There isn't a right or a wrong. The only responsibility of the shopper is to report on anything that happened without a lot of subjective comments. Clients prefer having the facts reported without any guesses or personal commentary.

If an entrée is served late, the shopper can't presume that the server doesn't care about providing great customer service. Maybe the cook was running behind or the staff was missing 2 servers that day. The shopper would submit a better report it only the facts are reported. "The entrée was served in 28 minutes." My server checked on my satisfaction 5 minutes after the entrees were served. The client can take the details of a report and decide how to handle the situation. It isn't the shopper's responsibility to guess at circumstances when all the facts aren't known.

Potential shoppers who think that they will start making hundreds of dollars a week are going to be disappointed. Most new shoppers will be lucky to make $100/week. That includes reimbursement and fees. Many shoppers might only make $50/week or less when first starting out. The success of the shopper will be determined by the shopper. Each time a shopper contacts a scheduler, the correspondence needs to be professional. Shoppers will be dealing with people who don't know them and are not familiar with their work history. If an email is not well written or proofed, that will give the impression that the shopper will submit a report the same way.

Shoppers may not realize that many factors have to be considered with any assignment. It takes time to drive or take public transportation to get to a location. It takes time to write and submit a report. The amount of time invested with each assignment isn't limited to just having a meal or going shopping. An hour meal may cost the shopper 3 hours of total time invested in the assignment.

Shoppers who expect to start their shopping experience with hotels or find dining assignments will be disappointed. It takes time to apply to companies and it takes time to be accepted as a shopper.

With approximately 700 mystery shopping companies in business, only signing up with a handful of companies isn't enough of an investment. I love being paid to eat out and buy items. Most of my groceries are covered each month since I accept 10 - 20 grocery store shops. I eat out as often as I want and have the luxury of saying no to a scheduler since I have so many contacts. My vacations are supplemented by mystery shopping. I don't take any assignment for granted.

Mystery shopping takes organization and effort by any potential shopper. The success of the shopper is only limited by the amount of time invested in looking for and accomplishing assignments.