How to avoid mystery shopping scams
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 5:12 am
Unfortunately, not all mystery shopping companies are reputable. To avoid falling for a scam, you should avoid any company that:
Requires you to pay a fee: You shouldn't have to pay anything to get tasks.
Advertise for buyers in the help sections of clinical nurse specialist email list newspapers or through unsolicited emails.
Requires you to pay and earn a buyer certification.
It guarantees you a set of income.
For even more protection against scams, look for companies that belong to the Mystery Shopper Suppliers Association.
What a typical Mystery Shopping company includes is what we tell you below:
Each Mystery Shopper assignment is a little different, but most tasks will require them to complete a store on a specific day and time.
It will also require you to listen to certain services being offered: to ask specific questions and remember the answers you receive to those questions and to note details of your environment (everything from the cleanliness of the bathrooms to whether signage is posted properly).
You may even be required to try out specific services (such as a spa service), take photos of the location, or record conversations you have with employees.
[Tweet “What is it like to work for a mystery shopping company?”]
Working in a Mystery Shopping Company
If you are interested in joining a mystery shopping company and becoming a secret shopper, there are certain things to keep in mind.
When starting a new mystery shopping business, there are several things you should do to ensure that the relationship is a good one. This includes:
Make sure the company has a track record.
Wait to receive payment from the first store you visit, before going to additional stores
Evaluate whether you are being compensated for your time. $20 may sound like fair pay until you find out you are spending five hours at each store.
Evaluate the site's reliability. If the tools are difficult to use, you may find that the gains are not worth the trouble.
Benefits of Mystery Shoppers
mystery-shopper-benefits
Having a secret shopper can bring great advantages to a business; taking advantage of what has been evaluated can be really positive to improve the shopping experience.
Requires you to pay a fee: You shouldn't have to pay anything to get tasks.
Advertise for buyers in the help sections of clinical nurse specialist email list newspapers or through unsolicited emails.
Requires you to pay and earn a buyer certification.
It guarantees you a set of income.
For even more protection against scams, look for companies that belong to the Mystery Shopper Suppliers Association.
What a typical Mystery Shopping company includes is what we tell you below:
Each Mystery Shopper assignment is a little different, but most tasks will require them to complete a store on a specific day and time.
It will also require you to listen to certain services being offered: to ask specific questions and remember the answers you receive to those questions and to note details of your environment (everything from the cleanliness of the bathrooms to whether signage is posted properly).
You may even be required to try out specific services (such as a spa service), take photos of the location, or record conversations you have with employees.
[Tweet “What is it like to work for a mystery shopping company?”]
Working in a Mystery Shopping Company
If you are interested in joining a mystery shopping company and becoming a secret shopper, there are certain things to keep in mind.
When starting a new mystery shopping business, there are several things you should do to ensure that the relationship is a good one. This includes:
Make sure the company has a track record.
Wait to receive payment from the first store you visit, before going to additional stores
Evaluate whether you are being compensated for your time. $20 may sound like fair pay until you find out you are spending five hours at each store.
Evaluate the site's reliability. If the tools are difficult to use, you may find that the gains are not worth the trouble.
Benefits of Mystery Shoppers
mystery-shopper-benefits
Having a secret shopper can bring great advantages to a business; taking advantage of what has been evaluated can be really positive to improve the shopping experience.