How to Become a Secret Shopper?

You must have received emails or heard from people about being paid to shop, dine, drink and indulge in various other day-to-day activities that you do by paying. Getting paid to do these jobs might sound intriguing and seem more like a scam. However, secret Shopping is more than just a scam. It is a super flexible part-time or full-time job that anyone can take. So, what is secret Shopping, and how to become a secret shopper?    

How to Become a Secret Shopper?

Many big companies hire secret shoppers to make them visit their businesses to maintain specific standards. These secret shoppers get to decide their work hours and complete the assigned task in a given period.

In return, they are paid for the work they do while receiving some freebies in the process. Secret Shopping can be a reliable side hustle or a full-time job that will help you pay your bills. If you are thinking of becoming a secret shopper but aren’t aware of the process, here’s a brief description of how you can become one.

Research

The benefits attached to secret Shopping have pushed many individuals to sign up for secret shopping schemes. Sadly, this created an opportunity for fraudsters to trick people. To avoid being scammed by untrustworthy companies, you must research and shortlist trustworthy companies in this field. 

Sign-up

After shortlisting the legitimate companies, sign-up with the companies on your list, register yourself with as many companies as you can handle under your capacity. Always verify the company you have shortlisted with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to be on the safer side. 

Build Your Own Secret Shopper Profile

You need to fill out an application form while registering with a company. If you are applying for many companies at a time, saving your profile as a word document or email draft will save you a lot of time. Building your profile will also come in handy while choosing the companies to work for.

A typical secret shopping profile must include your writing samples for reference, shopping preferences, and a brief description of your latest shopping experience. 

Check The Company’s Website Regularly

With so many people applying for companies to become secret shoppers, secret Shopping has become just like any other job search. Though the company contacts you to offer a new assignment, this isn’t the case in most scenarios. To not miss out on any opportunity, you need to regularly check the company’s website for new assignments instead of waiting for the company to contact you. 

How Does Secret Shopping Work?

Secret Shopping, Looks pretty good, right? Of course, you get the perks only if you do your job. Now let us learn how it works. Firstly, you are to be briefed about your assignment before you accept the job offer. The assignment typically includes what to buy, what questions to ask, what photographs to take, and things to look out for (hospitality, cleanliness, etc.). Once that is done, you must choose a day within the given time frame to do the assignment. The assignment you receive will come with the details on the process of reimbursement. You will be informed about how much you will get reimbursed for the purchases during the assignments and the fee. 

To make your client satisfactory, make sure to do all the parts of the assignment they asked you to do. To avoid forgetting things, maintain a checklist that you can refer to see if you have met the requirements. Which job comes without reporting? The central part of this job is writing and submitting the report. You need to write a report narrating your experiences during Shopping. You might be asked some specific questions about particular products or services with special emphasis. Once you have submitted your report, you need to wait patiently to receive your paycheck. Depending on the company, you may wait for four weeks or longer to get paid. So before applying, take into consideration that you might be without money for a while.  

Where to Find Secret Shopper Jobs?

While registering with secret shopping companies is one way to find secret shopper jobs, you need to keep track of advertisements published on money-saving websites to lead you to these companies. Often these websites display reviews about secret shopping companies that will assist you in choosing the best one that fits your needs. In addition to this, these advertisements come with available vacancies alongside the reviews. 

You can even find secret shopper jobs from newspaper advertisements, a postcard on the window of your local store, social media posts, and pamphlets. If you find any job appealing, don’t hesitate to contact the advertiser. However, it would help if you were careful enough not to get tricked by fraudsters. 

How to Go About With Your First Secret Shopping Assignment?

The work of a secret shopper is pretty much similar to that of an undercover agent. You need to execute the task without getting caught. Let us discuss how you can manage your first assignment as a secret shopper flawlessly. 

• Understand your assignment- As soon as you receive your work, go through it properly and take your own time to understand it. Every project comes with specific requirements and rules. Going through all the rules and regulations will help you understand the particular rules of the assignment. 

While going through your assignment, look for any specifications of the purchase, names of the employees you need to come in contact with, etc. 

• Dress accordingly- Once you understand your assignment, it is time for you to decide your attire. It is necessary to choose appropriate attire for your task. It would be best if you blend in with other shoppers. So, avoid going in flashy clothing, which might result in your detection. Instead, dress like any other customer who is going there. 
• Once you enter the store, you need to be attentive and pay attention to every detail. However, it would be best if you didn’t let this show on your body language. Please keep track of the employees you contact, their attire, and most importantly, how they interact and serve the customers. Confusing or forgetting the details will result in the companies canceling your assignment. So, avoid messing things up. 
• Act normal and stop thinking of it as an assignment. The execution of your task involves interacting with the employees. Consider it as a fun-filled experience and make the conversations natural and straightforward. 
• Avoid making notes in the middle of an assignment. Doing this might alert the staff over there, spoiling your task. However, if you think that you might forget the details, make notes discreetly. You can even use your mobile to record your conversation in the store. 
• It is always advisable to stick to the given timeline strictly. If the company gives you a specific time to execute a task, you need to work on your schedule to fit that in. 
• As for submitting the report, it is always best to get started on it as soon as you finish visiting the store. Be sure to submit your information well within the deadline, with proper receipts and media. Late submissions might result in the company deleting your account forever. 
• Always reach out to the company in case of any difficulty associated with rescheduling or canceling your assignment. 

How to Write and Send-Off Your Assignment Report?

The tricky part of being a secret shopper is writing and submitting your findings as a report. Though Shopping may not take much time, formulating your experience into an account will eat away a good amount of your time. In addition, you need to submit a well-written report to receive your payment and increase your chances of getting new job opportunities in the future. So, how to write a report?

• While writing a report, you need to keep perfection as your top priority. Often, companies look for secret shoppers with good grammar and writing skills. Additionally, it would be best if you exhibit the ability to express yourself clearly. So, while writing a report, make sure that there are no grammatical errors, wrong spellings, and punctuation. To avoid these kinds of mistakes, you can use various spelling and grammar check tools available online.  
• Before getting started with writing your report, look if there are any specific requirements for writing. Each company has its particular needs. Some companies prefer paraphrased work, while others prefer direct quoting. In the same way, there are specifications regarding the way you narrate your report, the speech it should follow, etc. So, it is always better to check with them before proceeding further. 
• While writing your report, you should make sure that you are presenting an honest review. Companies like to work with individuals who are trustworthy and reliable. Being honest and open with your report will rope in more opportunities for you and push the company to build a lasting relationship. 
• Once done with the shopping part of the assignment, you need to submit the report within 24 hrs. Adhering to the deadline will create a good impression of your work and increase your opportunities. If you think you won’t submit the report on time, make it a point to reach out to the company to convey the same. However, there is no scope for delaying the work in this field. 
• Once done with the submission, you have to await your next assignment and payment to be processed. Generally, you should receive your amount within a couple of weeks. At most, the payment gets delayed until three months. The processing of your paycheck solely depends on the consistency of the work you submit. You can expect your payment within a couple of weeks if you do regular work. 

Different Types of Secret Shopping

• Online Survey 

Online Survey involves writing reviews about a product or filling out surveys about a service related to certain brands.

• Secret Shopping by phone

Secret Shopping by phone involves calling stores of a particular company and assessing how they answer your questions. You might also need to record your conversions.

• Postal Monitoring

Postal Monitoring involves you agreeing to catalogs or other posts sent to your address and noting how long they have taken; they state they have arrived in, etc.

• Tasking apps

Tasking apps mainly involves you getting tasked to do some jobs like going to a supermarket and answering a few questions on what you see around you. 

How to Make Money From Secret Shopping?

There has been a significant change from the past in the money offered by the companies to the secret shoppers. Back in the day, some secret shoppers were able to make $40-50,000 per year. But, of course, it was only after creating a good name in the industry. 

Today, the scenario has shifted to companies offering less money or no money at all. If the company makes the payment, it provides some freebies or lets the shoppers keep what they buy during the secret Shopping, and the company reimburses the money. So be cautious about your spending during the tasks. Buy the things you need the most. For example, some companies offer you hotel stays if you have completed many assignments for them.

Some companies might ask you to return what you have bought, or some offer reimbursement less than what they have asked you to purchase. Look out for those kinds of assignments. On the other hand, some companies offer more money as they find it difficult to hire someone to do their job. In this regard, in cities where more people offer their secret shopping services, the pay might be low. In less populated places, you can earn a good amount of money due to decreased demand for secret shoppers. 

Seeing this, you can say that the perks vary from company to company, the amount of time you spend, and how well you can satisfy the company. So you might not make millions but earn extra money or freebies that might ease your daily life a bit. 

Advantages And Disadvantages of Secret Shopping

Secret Shopping comes with an array of advantages and disadvantages. While some individuals have a great experience, others might never want to look at it again. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of secret Shopping.   

Advantages

• Flexibility in job and limited working hours. 
• You can receive free goodies after the successful completion of your assignment. 
• You have a choice to decide whether to accept a particular project or not. 
• You get to interact with more people.
• You will get paid for performing simple day-to-day activities. 

Disadvantages

• Entering this field without proper research, you might end up getting scammed.
• Due to the growing competition, companies are paying less for shopping assignments.
• Working on the report will be time-consuming. 
• Typically, the company delays the processing of reimbursements for the amount you spend on the job.  
• There will be no consistency in assigning the work. It all depends on your experience and ability to grab an opportunity. 

Dos And Don’ts of Secret Shopping

There is a long list of Dos and Don’ts in secret Shopping. Keeping these in mind will help save you from frauds and make you successful in this niche.

Dos

• Be regular and complete your jobs on time. You need to remember that taking up more assignments at the start will establish you well within the field.
• Before taking up any opportunity, take some time to understand the differences between an independent contractor and an employee. Suppose you wish to be an independent contractor rather than an employee. In that case, worker’s security, filing your taxes will solely be your responsibility. So, it is always better to keep yourself familiarized with the duties attached to independent contractors. 
• If you were good at your memory game, it would bring added benefits to avoid missing out on minute details. Remember, you need to submit an honest and perfect report without confusing the facts. 
• Keep a check on your taxes. It is implausible to earn more from the start of your career. However, if you make a good amount, don’t forget to file your tax. Secret Shopping counts as self-employment and if you end up earning beyond the allowance limit, be sure to declare it.
• As mentioned earlier, jobs in this field are irregular. Registering with more companies will open up several opportunities to you in the otherwise work-scarce area. 
• At the end of every assignment you complete, it is always advisable to hang onto your receipts without throwing them away. In most scenarios, the company might want to look at them before reimbursing your spending. 
• Most important of all, have another source of income at hand. Taking up secret Shopping as a full-time job is okay only when you are experienced in the field. It is not advisable for starters to entirely rely on secret Shopping to earn money. On average, a secret shopper makes somewhere around $8-10 for an assignment that lasts for 15 min to a couple of hours. So, having a substitute income source will always come in handy. 

Don’ts 

• If you are assigned a task and are specified to do it in a particular time frame, adhere to it strictly. Attending the task venue after the stipulated time or submitting a late report will put you in a bad light, barring you from attending other secret shopping assignments. 
• It will help if you keep in mind that no trustworthy company will ask you to pay registration fees. It is the companies that pay you after the successful completion of tasks. So, beware of fraudulent companies in this field. Always verify a company before you start working with them. Never get tricked into paying for registration or any other purposes. 
• Each company has its own set of rules and follows specific protocols to reimburse and pay for the shopper. It is always advisable to check with the companies beforehand to avoid unnecessary expenses from your end. You need to have complete details about the rules and regulations of your work before you sign up with any company.
• Never lie to the company. If you think you won’t make it to the deadline, always reach out to the company and explain your difficulty. Lying to them will be bad for your reputation once the truth comes out. 

Things to Keep in Mind Before Becoming a Secret Shopper

There are certain things that you should be aware of before starting your secret shopping career. 

• Receiving an assignment without you having to look for it is great. However, you shouldn’t expect the work to be in your comfort zone. Not accepting a job just because the place isn’t situated nearby would be next to foolishness. You should accept and make use of every offer that comes your way.
• Before registering yourself as a secret shopper with companies, it is always advisable to get in this niche. Even though the companies don’t ask for any certifications, having one will show your commitment and seriousness towards the job. It will also attract more opportunities for you. 
• You will find yourself investing more time into Shopping and writing reports at the beginning of your secret shopping career. However, you must note that this isn’t permanent. As you gain more and more experience in this field, you will complete the tasks in no time. It is always good to be cautious at the start of your career. 
• You can’t expect to receive handsome payment right from your first assignment. Experience speaks a lot in secret Shopping. You need to move up the charts cautiously to establish yourself in this field. You can expect to receive good payment once you gain experience in the area. Until then, enjoy yourself and gain more experience as it is a matter of a couple of hours. 

Conclusion 

Just like any other job, secret Shopping comes with its own set of benefits and risks. You can be tricked into a fraud easily if you are not cautious enough. So, do your bit of research and be aware of fraudsters.