5+ Legit Ways to Get Paid To Be A Mystery Shopper 

Becoming a mystery shopper is a great way to make extra money and an excellent side career for most people.

This job is perfect for those that have good customer skills.

Mystery shoppers play a key role in the success of most businesses as they act as customers posing to buy items and describing their genuine experiences to business owners.

If you think you would love to do this job, knowing the brands that offer this nature of jobs can enable you to discover ideal roles for your skillset.

This post will discuss what a mystery shopper does, the top companies where you can get paid to be a mystery shopper, and tips for succeeding in this role.

Who is a Mystery Shopper?

A mystery shopper is a market analyst who monitors, develops, and reports findings of their customer service experiences at retail stores to their respective owners, management, or boards.

Their findings enable companies to take steps that will boost customer service experiences.

Mystery shoppers act as customers and do their job by looking for certain products, returning products, making complaints, or asking puzzling inquiries.

In a few circumstances, they can further monitor how a business is being run and give owners tips on enhancing customer experiences.

Most businesses employ mystery shoppers on a part-time basis.

Is Becoming a Mystery Shopper Worth it?

Working as a mystery shopper is a great idea.

This job allows you to make more money, work at your own pace, and work with many businesses simultaneously.

Working as a mystery shopper for a long time will improve your business, customer service, and observation skills.

While the last two skills are valuable in any professional role, learning how businesses are run can help you succeed as an entrepreneur.

Benefits of Being a Mystery Shopper

1. Free Stuff and Reimbursements:

As a mystery shopper, you’re often given a budget to make purchases as part of your assignment.

In many cases, you’re allowed to keep what you buy.

For instance, your meal might be paid for if you’re evaluating a restaurant. If you’re reviewing a retail store, you might get to keep the item you purchase.

2. Earning Potential:

Beyond reimbursements for purchases, mystery shoppers are usually paid for each assignment they complete.

While it might not replace a full-time income for most, it can be a decent way to earn extra money.

3. Flexible Schedule:

Mystery shopping can be done on your own time.

While there might be deadlines or specific times you need to visit a business, there’s often flexibility, making it easier to fit into busy schedules.

4. Variety and Fun:

Being a mystery shopper can be like an undercover mission.

It adds an element of excitement and variety to shopping, making the experience more engaging than regular shopping.

Over time, you might evaluate different types of businesses, from theaters to hotels to supermarkets, keeping the job fresh and exciting.

5. Skill Development:

Mystery shopping can enhance various skills. Observational skills are vital as you’ll need to pay attention to details.

Your reporting and communication skills will improve as you provide feedback about your experiences.

Over time, you become more perceptive about customer service standards and business operations.

6. Contribute to Improving Service Standards:

Businesses use mystery shoppers to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Your evaluations can lead to better training, improved customer service, and overall enhanced shopping experiences for other customers.

7. Learning Consumer Trends:

Over time, you’ll become knowledgeable about best practices in various industries.

This can be particularly beneficial if you’re considering a career in retail, hospitality, or any customer-facing role.

Top Ways to Get Paid To Be a Mystery Shopper

Here are ten authentic companies that will pay you to be a mystery shopper:

1. ishopFor Ipsos:

iShopFor Ipsos is undoubtedly one of the leading mystery shopper companies. They are primarily a UK company.

Although it takes this company a long time to analyze the reports of the mystery shoppers working for them, their attractive salary makes them a dream company for any mystery shopper.

To work for iShopFor Ipsos as a mystery shopper, you have to create an account on their app.

As one of the ways to get paid to be a mystery shopper, iShopFor Ipsos offers incentives too.

2. ESA Retail:

Very few mystery shopper companies in the world match the class of ESA Retail. This brand provides ways to get paid to be a mystery shopper.

Although finding a job on their site is tough, no matter the skills you possess, the fact that they offer attractive compensation makes the stress worthwhile.

ESA Retail has excellent customer service that is always on standby to answer any questions and assist you in completing your tasks effectively.

You can earn as much as £40 on a single trip for ESA Retail.

3. Assosia:

Assosia is another company that offers you an opportunity to get paid to be a mystery shopper.

They offer more than £10 compensation for their mystery shopper employees.

Their jobs are exciting, and you would learn a lot from them.

However, working as a mystery shopper for this firm differs from others as you are expected to inform the company’s staff of who you are once you turn up at any retail outlet, complicating the job.

4. Clickworker:

Clickworker offers some of the best mystery shopper opportunities in the world at the moment. In fact, to get paid to be a mystery shopper, I would suggest Clickworker.

Even though they make their payments in only Euros, a limitation to those in locations such as the US, their income of about $10 and mouthwatering bonuses make it one of the most attractive companies for any mystery shopper.

Clickworker is a very organized brand that offers tasks that are not stressful.

Mystery shoppers working for this brand are expected to visit the shop where they are posted only to take photos of the product shelves.

Clickworker also allows mystery shoppers to choose their preferred outlets. They are active across the US, the Middle East, and Europe.

5. NielsenIQ Scanning Panel:

NielsenIQ Scanning Panel offers opportunities to pay you as a mystery shopper.

Unlike most brands on this list, they offer a different route of compensating you for any items you scan.

You don’t need to pay a dime to register as a mystery shopper for the NielsenIQ Scanning Panel.

Despite all that, this company is not very attractive to mystery shoppers because it takes time to gather the points needed to make money.

6. Tern:

Tern is a great brand for any mystery shopper.

Their payment of about £22 for each task is very impressive for a mystery shopping company, even though they reportedly have unstable customer care support.

Tern differs from several options on this list because they provide video mystery shopping job opportunities that attract higher payment.

It is another excellent option on this list.

7. Market Force:

Mystery shoppers working for Market Force earn an average of $8 on any task that they complete.

 While this is unattractive, they offer many job opportunities, making it a great option for any mystery shopper.

Market Force covers many cities within the UK, which is evident in its large membership base.

Their mystery shopping app is one of the best, allowing you to make money quickly.

8. Serve Legal:

Serve Legal is an excellent addition to this list of mystery shopper companies.

This company pays mystery shoppers between £4 and £40 for any task.

In addition to the attractive income, the company would refund all expenses you spent to get to any location.

However, the fact that you can only work for the company for two years makes it an unappealing choice for those who want to embrace mystery shopping as a long-term career.

To work for Serve Legal, you must be 18 years and above, which is understandable as most of their mystery shoppers are contracted to provide feedback from bars and pubs.

9. Grassroots:

Grassroots is one of the companies that can pay you to be a mystery shopper. It is one of the brands that pays to be a mystery shopper.

You can earn between £5 and £10 on each job you complete for this company.

Grassroots pays very fast, even though they only offer job opportunities for those in major cities within the United Kingdom.

This company is an excellent choice for mystery shoppers who do not want to use email messaging service platforms that are tasking.

10. redwigwam:

redwigwam is a working firm that also provides job opportunities for mystery shoppers.

Their payments are tax-free even though landing a job with them is quite difficult.

However, the company will inform you of job opportunities anytime they arise in your vicinity.

redwigwam offers a large variety of jobs.

Tips for Succeeding as a Mystery Shopper

Here are some of the tips that will enable you to carry out your duties effectively as a mystery shopper:

1. Plan early:

Before you embark on any task as a mystery shopper, make time to strategize on your visit.

Go through the guidelines and ensure that you adequately understand what is expected of you.

Identify those things you need to do well and ensure they are available before proceeding.

Using a mobile planner to document all the items you need would prevent you from forgetting any required items.

2. Be attentive:

Ensure that you observe everything while on the job.

Monitor how the company’s employees perform, how tidy their work environment is, the quality of the items they sell, and anything else that would assist you in completing a worthy assessment.

3. Keep your identity a secret:

Ensure that your identity remains a secret at all times. This will help you perform the task you were hired to do.

Please don’t use your mobile device to openly jot down details as it could raise suspicions from the staff.

Rather, ensure that you do everything in secret as the staff would surely act up if they knew your purpose in the outlet.

4. Don’t bend the rules:

Ensure that you strictly adhere to every piece of directive meted out to you by your company.

If you don’t follow the directives, you won’t be able to do a good job.

5. Make inquiries:

Ask as many questions as possible on unclear instructions before proceeding to your target.

Turning up confused at the location can raise eyebrows and blow your cover.

Get every detail that will enable you to comprehend the business operations effectively.

Nevertheless, avoid being over-inquisitive as it could send the wrong message that you are not good enough for the job.

6. Act up at all times:

You must pretend to be a real customer to do your job effectively.

Discuss with the staff like a normal customer, make important inquiries, and place necessary orders.

Just be free in your interactions, and don’t be too serious so you don’t give an undeserving assessment.

7. Give an impartial judgment:

Ensure that your assessment is a perfect reflection of the experience you had.

Do all you can to ensure that personal issues such as detest for a company don’t affect your verdict so someone does not get fired because of poor judgment.  

8. Provide an actionable review:

Ensure you provide recommendations in your review on the steps the company can take to improve.

You can use examples to explain your suggestions to enable the company to understand what you drive.

9. Keep to time:

Make sure that you send in your assessment review early.

It goes a long way in determining how well the company can entrust future jobs into your hands and how fast you will be paid for any job you do.

10. Be open to learning:

Always take some steps to improve your mystery shopper skills.

Subscribe to relevant publications and participate in training sessions to boost your knowledge of this job.

The deeper your knowledge of the work, the better you will be at it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Get Paid to Be a Mystery Shopper

Conclusion

Becoming a mystery shopper is an excellent way to earn money. It is a brilliant job option for those that have good customer skills.

Mystery shoppers help businesses provide quality services to clients by identifying outlets where staff are not performing their duties well.

To excel in this job, apply the tips listed above.

Awesome one; I hope this article answers your question.

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