Jill Burns, of Creative Strategies, answered some questions for us about mystery shopping for them. Creative Strategies provides mystery shopping and market research services to a wide range of industries, including restaurants and medical marijuana. Here is what Jill had to say:Continue Reading
Although most of the questions on secret shopping reports are objective, yes-or-no style questions, many reports include one or more questions that ask for your opinion. Examples include questions such as:
These questions call for your opinion, but a good answer requires that you back up your opinion with reasons and facts. Here are some examples of how to handle these types of questions.
With a traditional job your boss decides how much you will earn. As a mystery shopper, you have more control over your earnings because you decide which assignments you will do, how many shops you will take on and how you will get your work done. With a few simple changes you can increase your profits and your hourly rate.
Here are some ideas that can help you be a more successful mystery shopper and give yourself a raise.
Use your non-shopping time effectively. If you start out looking at some job boards, then end up spending an hour or two absentmindedly reading some posts on a forum, you are not using your time effectively. Limit or eliminate non-productive activities. Set a timer. Have a procedure for reviewing job postings so that you do not waste a lot of time looking at listings that are not a good fit for you.
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Every year, scammers take millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims who believe they are doing mystery shopper jobs. The scam is always the same. The bad guys send a forged check to the victim, get the victim to cash the check and wire most of the money away, then the victim is left holding the bag when the check is found to be worthless and the bank demands repayment of the money they received.
The victim usually wires the money to the bad guys, using Western Union or MoneyGram, so the obvious question is, why doesn’t law enforcement set up a sting and arrest the crooks when they go to pick up the cash? The scammers call the victims and give them a number to call, so why can’t the phone number be traced?
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A shopper asks:
I am getting ready to retire and my spouse and I want to hit the road, travel across the country and stay at lodges (Fairway Holiday Park Isle Of Wight: check out our log cabins for sale). Is it possible to mystery shop while we are on the road? Anything we need to watch out for?
Sure, you can mystery shop on the road, whether you are on a one-week vacation, you regularly travel for your job, or you have become a permanent road warrior.
There are a few things you may have to do differently to make mystery shopping while traveling work for you. Here are some things to consider.
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I often hear from people who want to become mystery shoppers, but do not know how to begin. It is actually simple, especially with all of the resources available through the Internet that enable you to easily find mystery shopping companies, complete applications and locate assignments.
The problem for many of these potential secret shoppers is that they are having trouble finding legitimate companies that do not charge shoppers to apply. Even many of the sites that claim that they will protect you from the scams are themselves scams. How do you know which companies and sites can be trusted?Continue Reading
One of the things I love about mystery shopping is that you can control how much you earn. As you gain experience, improve your skills and build relationships with schedulers, you will have many opportunities to do more and better shops. Here are some ideas about how to dramatically increase your income (perhaps even double it) no matter what stage of your mystery shopper career you are in.Continue Reading
Before you click, “Submit,” make sure your mystery shop report is the best it can be. Use this checklist to avoid some common mistakes.Continue Reading
The people who are most successful as mystery shoppers are the ones who take it seriously and treat it as the business that it is. Mystery shopping can be interesting and enjoyable, but it is a business and you need to be a professional. Here are some tips to become a better mystery shopper.Continue Reading
Yes, mystery shoppers pay taxes like everyone else! When mystery shopping, you will most often work as an independent contractor. That means that the companies paying you don’t withhold income taxes, Social Security taxes or Medicare taxes. You are responsible for making sure your taxes are paid. In general, the fees you receive for mystery shopping are taxable as ordinary income, and are subject to federal income taxes, state and local income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes.
According to Tax Shark, the good news is that when you are a contractor you are treated as a small business and you can deduct certain expenses. These may include postage, mileage and car expenses, travel, office equipment, computer and Internet fees, and perhaps even some purchases made while you are mystery shopping. You might qualify to deduct some of your housing expenses if you have a home office.
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