The Mystery Shopper’s Manual

Many mystery shopping assignments require that you submit a receipt. The receipt verifies that you were at the location and when you were there, as well as how much you spent.

The mystery shopping company will state in the shop guidelines how they prefer to have receipts submitted to them. These days, most prefer to receive them electronically. They may ask that you upload an image of the receipt when you complete your report, or that you send the image as an email attachment.

Of course, you should always follow any guidelines you are given by the mystery shopping company. If they say to use certain settings when you scan a receipt, or to keep the file size below a specified limit, do so. Also follow their guidelines regarding how they prefer to receive receipts and other documentation. Here are some general guidelines and tips for submitting receipts. …continue reading Submitting Secret Shop Receipts

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Question from a mystery shopper:

I just started mystery shopping, and I have completed two shops this week. Is there an unwritten law about how much you should buy during a shop? My shop fees were $10.00 and $11.50 but there was no given dollar amount for the merchandise I could obtain free from the shops. To be on the safe side I just bought things I could really use in case I was stuck with the bill.

As a brand new shopper who has completed two shops in her first week, you are off to a good start. Here is an explanation of how mystery shoppers get paid. …continue reading How Much Free Merchandise Do I Get on a Mystery Shopper Job?

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As mystery shoppers, we work with a lot of mystery shopping companies. Many shoppers are registered with twenty, fifty or more companies—some secret shoppers are in the data bases of more than 200 different mystery shopping companies!

So why do some companies seem to want to make it harder for us to work with them?

Although there is competition for mystery shopper jobs, there is also competition for great mystery shoppers. Every company wants to attract the best and the brightest shoppers so they can provide their clients with the best possible information. However, many of the things they do are likely to turn off some of the very shoppers they most want to attract.

I am not referring to big things here. Certainly, if you are treated in a way that you believe to be unfair you will not want to work for that company again. In my experience, though, there are little things companies do every day that can alienate secret shoppers. There are lots of other companies out there. Annoy me, and I will be gone in no time. …continue reading How to Lose a Mystery Shopper in Ten Seconds

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Have you received one of those mystery shopper scam bogus checks? In addition to the fake check and the form you are supposed to use for your “mystery shopper assignment,” the package includes a phone number where you can call the “mystery shopping company.”

It may be tempting to call the scammer and give him or her a piece of your mind. However, telling them that they are low-life slime and threatening to call the police on them is not your best course of action. …continue reading Do Not Engage Mystery Shopper Scammers

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