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Become a mystery shopper and get FREE meals in restaurants, FREE stays in hotels and FREE drinks in bars.
Many mystery shopping companies will provide you with different assignments depending on who their clients are. We show you here how to get mystery shopping jobs and bag lots of freebies as a mystery shopper.
The Market Research Society has created a code of conduct, and standards are maintained by trade bodies such as the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.Good part-time work
Mystery shopping is very flexible and not usually suitable as a full-time job, but it can be good to fit around other jobs in your life.
And remember that mystery shoppers count as self-employed, so you’ll need to declare your earnings to HMRC. Find out here about paying tax when you make extra money.
Want to get a FREE MoneyMagpie eBook about how to be a mystery shopper? Download it HERE…
Check out our bumper article on freebies and bag yourself even more free stuff.
Action Fraud. Be careful only to use the mystery shopping agencies we mention on MoneyMagpie so that you’re not scammed.Email mystery shopping
You’ll be sending specific enquiries to websites and monitoring the speed and content of the response. Depending on your personality, writing emails is potentially much easier than talking to businesses in person or on the phone!
Again, you’ll need to assess and then pass on your findings.
giving your opinion online
It’s not mystery shopping as such, but giving your opinions about products or services through online survey companies is the same type of thing.
It’s another easy and quick way of making some extra cash in your spare time.
You have to be careful which online survey companies you join though. These are the ones that we like:
Make sure you set up a separate email address before you sign up to any of these. Give this separate email address to them when they ask for contact details so that your usual inbox isn’t flooded with offers and ads (that’s one of the ways they make their money).
Find out more about online surveys and how to make the most money from them here.
mystery shopping eBook (which is absolutely free!)
Some specialise in specific industries, others are more general. You could try investigating the major department stores – Selfridges for example has its own mystery shopping panel.
Be sure to check out…
This list contains some of the better mystery shopping agencies in the UK. We have the complete list in our Mystery Shopping eBook.
Most of the agencies will get you to take a test before they’ll let you in. These can be quite tricky so you might have to do them a few times before getting them right. Don’t be put off though – persist!
If you want to find a company on your own…
- Make sure they’re based in the UK with a UK phone number and address.
- Don’t just put ‘mystery shopping’ into your search engine. All sorts of dodgy companies could come up.
- If you see a company you haven’t heard of before, put their name into the search bar and see what websites like ours say about them. Check the forums too as people who have had experience of them will say what they think.
- Make sure you keep an eye out for the small ads too. Local papers and recruitment agencies often carry mystery shopping adverts.
- You should be looking for the ones you’ll get the most out of, whether that’s the pay you receive for the jobs you do, or the freebies you get from the places you inspect.
- It should never cost you to join a company – they should be paying you for the work you do.
Step 2: Go out in the field
Once the agency accepts you, you can begin looking for jobs on their website.
You need to go and shop – or eat – or enjoy a show – but the main objective is to follow the guidelines exactly, without having the instructions in front of you.
You’ll need to report on products and services, which can include anything from aspects of the decor, cleanliness, atmosphere, how the staff deal with other customers, how many staff there are and what they’re all doing.
Most mystery shopping agencies ask that you don’t write notes or make what you’re doing obvious while you’re ‘on the job’, as it can affect the way you’re treated by the staff. The company’s main objective is to get an impartial experience.
Note that at time of writing, the UK is on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and you should only be doing minimal shopping trips for essential groceries right now. You can however make a note of the in-person mystery shopping opportunities available and apply for them when life returns to normal!
Step 3: Report on your mystery shopping experience.
This will usually involve filling in an online questionnaire with short or longer answers about your experience as a customer.
You’ll receive payment/reimbursement after you’ve reported on your job, which you’ll ideally do within 24 hours of completing the task.
Pay rates differ from company to company and depend on the complexity of the work.
Generally, you can expect to earn £5 – £25 per task plus expenses (but as little as £1 – £5 for phone work).
10 easy ways to make quick cash – featuring the very best money makers around including mystery shopping!
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