Story appeared in today's Daily Finance. I tried to link it but the formatting was weird. There's not much new here. But it's still interesting to read what others think about all this.
"What We Learned from Being Mystery Shoppers"
Joanna & Johnny
Aug 8th 2014 11:07AM
We always seem to be looking for ways to make extra money. All the better if we can earn it in ways that fit our schedule and keep us out of another office. One appealing way is mystery shopping -- going to a store or restaurant, oftentimes getting wined and dined for free, and then filling out a survey rating your experience. Seems easy, right?
There's more than meets the eye to this covert work. We know because we tried it out for a couple of months when we were living in New York City. Here are some considerations when it comes to deciding if mystery shopping is for you.
The Perks
Enjoying free food. Yes, sometimes mystery shopping includes delicious, free food -- emphasis on the "free." And more often than not, you can bring a guest to join in on the free dining. For us, the option of going to expensive restaurants that wouldn't normally fit in our budget was really appealing. So if you're on a tight budget and can't usually justify the cost of a sit-down restaurant with your significant other, being a mystery shopper might be the best thing that ever happened to your appetite and wallet.
Getting paid to shop. If you already spend a lot of free time shopping, or if going to a mall feels therapeutic to you (which it does not for yours truly), mystery shopping might be your thing. (Some gigs involve interacting with online businesses or dealing with a company's phone representatives.) That said, the Mystery Shopping Providers Association makes it clear that mystery shopping isn't so much shopping as it is gathering data, and that it takes "time, attention and effort."
Working on your own time. In choosing assignments, you set the terms of when and where you're available. There are usually specific windows of time when you need to complete your on-location assignment, followed by a deadline to submit the review.
The Drawbacks
It's not all fun and games. When all is said and done, you might wish you had just paid for the meal so you could have enjoyed it without having to log your minute-by-minute interactions, dialogue and impressions. All that labor-intensive sleuthing can be quite the buzz-kill at a romantic dinner, so don't invite a first date to an assignment.
Writing a review. Unless you're someone who writes detailed consumer reviews for fun (we know you're out there!), this is the not-so-fun aspect of mystery shopping. For instance, after receiving our first assignment and seeing the level of detail needed to complete our review, the free meal didn't seem as appealing. The length of the required review varies, but your writing and the quality of the details you provide need to be tip-top.
The Pay.
While you might be getting comped meals and shopping excursions, the buck pretty much stops there. Depending on the assignment, you might make $12 to $25 per completed job. And oftentimes, the pay for restaurant mystery shopping is simply the cost of the meal. Depending on your definition of hours worked (is eating free food really work?) and how long it takes to complete a detailed review, you might find that what you earn per hourly on these gigs is well below minimum wage.
So, is mystery shopping for you? Personally, we decided the opportunity cost wasn't worth it. Is a free meal or shopping trip worth your time? That's a question that you'll have to answer yourself.
"What We Learned from Being Mystery Shoppers"
Joanna & Johnny
Aug 8th 2014 11:07AM
We always seem to be looking for ways to make extra money. All the better if we can earn it in ways that fit our schedule and keep us out of another office. One appealing way is mystery shopping -- going to a store or restaurant, oftentimes getting wined and dined for free, and then filling out a survey rating your experience. Seems easy, right?
There's more than meets the eye to this covert work. We know because we tried it out for a couple of months when we were living in New York City. Here are some considerations when it comes to deciding if mystery shopping is for you.
The Perks
Enjoying free food. Yes, sometimes mystery shopping includes delicious, free food -- emphasis on the "free." And more often than not, you can bring a guest to join in on the free dining. For us, the option of going to expensive restaurants that wouldn't normally fit in our budget was really appealing. So if you're on a tight budget and can't usually justify the cost of a sit-down restaurant with your significant other, being a mystery shopper might be the best thing that ever happened to your appetite and wallet.
Getting paid to shop. If you already spend a lot of free time shopping, or if going to a mall feels therapeutic to you (which it does not for yours truly), mystery shopping might be your thing. (Some gigs involve interacting with online businesses or dealing with a company's phone representatives.) That said, the Mystery Shopping Providers Association makes it clear that mystery shopping isn't so much shopping as it is gathering data, and that it takes "time, attention and effort."
Working on your own time. In choosing assignments, you set the terms of when and where you're available. There are usually specific windows of time when you need to complete your on-location assignment, followed by a deadline to submit the review.
The Drawbacks
It's not all fun and games. When all is said and done, you might wish you had just paid for the meal so you could have enjoyed it without having to log your minute-by-minute interactions, dialogue and impressions. All that labor-intensive sleuthing can be quite the buzz-kill at a romantic dinner, so don't invite a first date to an assignment.
Writing a review. Unless you're someone who writes detailed consumer reviews for fun (we know you're out there!), this is the not-so-fun aspect of mystery shopping. For instance, after receiving our first assignment and seeing the level of detail needed to complete our review, the free meal didn't seem as appealing. The length of the required review varies, but your writing and the quality of the details you provide need to be tip-top.
The Pay.
While you might be getting comped meals and shopping excursions, the buck pretty much stops there. Depending on the assignment, you might make $12 to $25 per completed job. And oftentimes, the pay for restaurant mystery shopping is simply the cost of the meal. Depending on your definition of hours worked (is eating free food really work?) and how long it takes to complete a detailed review, you might find that what you earn per hourly on these gigs is well below minimum wage.
So, is mystery shopping for you? Personally, we decided the opportunity cost wasn't worth it. Is a free meal or shopping trip worth your time? That's a question that you'll have to answer yourself.
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