Is the secret mystery shopper thing a scan?

Question

Does anyone know anyone who has done this?
Do you have to pay anything?
Do you really get to keep what you buy?

Answer 1

There are some very good companies that offer this. It does not cost to join the company in need of the shoppers. I found this site a while back and proceeded on. I am thrilled with the outcome

Answer 2

I do know someone who works as a mystery shopper part-time. I was thinking about getting into in since she seems to do pretty well, but at the time I already had a second job and it was too hard to fit into my schedule. You do have to be very observant and be able to write detailed reports on a deadline. Anyplace that tells you that you have to pay to sign up is probably a scam but there are legitimate companies out there too. You usually do however have to pay up front for whatever you purchase and submit your receipts for reimbursement - it would be a tipoff after all if you paid with a credit card in the name of "Mystery Shoppers Inc." or whatever, and they're not going to risk sending you an advance check and have you go spend it on something else. You are assigned to go to a specific store/restaurant etc on a specific date and time and given instructions about the type of product/service you are supposed to purchase. You do usually have to work your way up to more desirable assignments, and if you take assignments and either don't go or submit your materials late or incomplete you'll get fewer, less desirable, or no assignments from that company in the future. In other words, it can be a fun way to get free stuff and maybe make some extra cash (you may or may not get compensation for your time in addition to reimbursement for your purchase, depending on the company) but you do have to treat it like a real job as well. And you may end up getting a lot of oil changes or seeing cheesy movies before they send you to a swank boutique or classy restaurant!

If you'd like more info, http://www.volition.com/mystery.html has links to lots of mystery shopping sites so you can see which ones don't charge a fee to sign up, as well as boards where you can talk to other mystery shoppers who can help you get started.

Answer 3

I don't know for sure about the particular ad you are responding to, but I do know when I used to work for a restaurant that the corporation hired secret "shoppers" to come in and secretly rate us. They had to rate the cleanliness of the bathroom, the restaurant, the quality of the food and service, and write down the server and hostess' names. With this particular restaurant we had "10 Steps" that we had to follow and the first one was to say "Hi, Welcome to ___, my name is ___. I'll be your server." So the secret shopper had to write down what we said to make sure it matched up with the 10 steps. They didn't write down stuff while they were at the restaurant b/c we might figure out who they are, but they would fill out a form provided to them by the corporation after they ate at our restaurant. I think it would be neat to be a secret shopper, or in your case a "mystery shopper." I don't think you get paid much to do these types of jobs though, probably reimbursed for gas and meal expenses and a small compensation for your time.

Answer 4

I got accepted once, but never did any of the jobs, because I do not live in a highly populated area where there were many businesses doing this. Also, stuff is very detailed. For example, a job might include to visit a fast food place and order food. You are required to note the exact time you were greeted, ordered, paid, received food, thanked, etc ... but at the same time paying attention to all kinds of other things like did they offer you to super size, did they offer dessert, did they offer napkins, ketchup, blah, blah, blah. But, your not allowed to let them see you writing down anything or looking as if you are auditing, so not good unless you have an excellent memory or hidden stopwatch w/memory.

Answer 5

Mystery/Secret shopping is a method adopted by the management of a shop or company to evaluate their own performance by sending hired byres with out the knowledge of the working staff. You have to apply to become a mystery shopper at the websites of these market research companies. They will then contact you if they have any assignment in your area. List of companies where you can apply free and links to relevant websites available at http://tinyurl.com/n474j You can get all information required by you in this link...!

Answer 6

yes, you keep it and they pay you whatever you paid for it.
They will pay for gas if driving long distances,
and pay a small amount for filling out the paper work.
if checking out some place like McDonalds, they will pay you for whatever you ate. it's not a scam. but you don't make a lot of money at it.

Answer 7

yes it's a scam, the stores them selves supply those people, or a bonded security company does

Answer 8

I don't know about a "scan" but it is a "scam".