The cost-effective wonders of mystery shopping

WTF is Mystery Shopping?

Mystery shoppers are any people, just like you or me, who get paid to assess the company for things like food quality, cleanliness, and friendliness of staff. The awesome thing? You as a mystery shopper get paid to do this!

Mystery shopping helps fast food joints, restaurants, gas stations, and many other companies to regularly evaluate their customer service experience.

How it works

First, sign up for a mystery shopping agency, which connects mystery shopping opportunities to mystery shoppers. I personally use Market Force, which has let me eat for free at places like Panda Express, Arby’s, Smashburger, and more.

After joining their site, you can view a large selection of shops to complete. When you sign up for a shop, you schedule a date and approximate time window that you’ll complete the mystery shopping assignment.

At the actual store, you’ll need to record some simple things like the number of people in line, the time it takes to get your food, if the cashier is wearing a name tag, and some pictures of your purchase. Afterwards, you can fill out a form online which enters all the information, including a picture of your receipt for reimbursement (and you often get a “shopper fee” on top of your reimbursement).

How to join

It’s dead simple! Sign up for any mystery shopping agency! The largest, and most recommended one is Market Force (apply here). Feel free to comment or message me if you have any questions!

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