All different types of businesses hire mystery shopping companies like us.

We all shop, and many of us enjoy shopping. But very rarely does opportunity present itself to do what we enjoy doing and getting paid for doing it. Imagine earning extra income just for going shopping and filling out a questionnaire!

Mystery shopping is basically a form of market research. You are asked to gather information, from a customer's perspective. Often times, this is done without the knowledge of the personnel where the shop is taking place. As a mystery shopper, you may therefore be asked to do some acting. This is not to deceive anyone but rather to assure that the information being gathered is representative.

The first thing to remember is that we are on the side of the client. You are not hired to catch anyone "in the act" or trap the employee. Rather, it is your job to answer specific questions in an unbiased and constructive way.

Confidentiality is also very important. In most cases, the establishment is not to know that a mystery shop is taking place. Additionally, the questionnaires may be protected by copyrights. Often, the employee evaluated will be informed of the results of your evaluation later and may even be allowed to read your comments. But this is for management to determine.

The information most often requested by management concerns employee to customer relations, employee performance, product quality or presentation of the establishment including cleanliness and convenience. This information helps management to identify areas of strength and weakness so they can take steps to correct the problem or potential problems before business is lost. The information can also allow management to monitor the success of a program designed to improve certain areas of concern. This can be a very advantageous tool to management in the extremely competitive business environment of today. Some companies will even inform employees that mystery shoppers will be visiting them but the employees will not know who or when the shop will take place. It may be considered a kind of report card and, as you can imagine, this can be a very effective motivational tool.

As a mystery shopper, you may receive assignments in a variety of establishments in your area. Most of them will be customer oriented retail establishments, which include chain stores, specialty stores and restaurants. Normally, it is the larger companies with many outlets and a central management office that use mystery shoppers. Statistics show that by far, the most important factor in competitiveness is customer service. Therefore, most of the information you will be asked to gather will concern customer service.

Obviously, mystery shoppers should appear to be a typical customer to the establishment. The mystery shoppers that consistently get new assignments, however, are those who are punctual and reliable. Mystery shopping companies want shoppers who also pay attention to detail and work well with others and have an appreciation of good service. You will be given specific questions to ask and perhaps specific products to shop for and/or purchase. You will be expected to promptly complete the questionnaire, neatly and concisely, and return it based on the instructions provided to you. Your job is not to be a problem shopper for the establishment but to gather specific and representative information.

Most of the time the compensation for the assignment is established in advance and paid after the questionnaire is returned. As a mystery shopper, you are not an employee of the company that provides you an assignment--but rather an independent contractor. As such, there are no employee benefits and no taxes will be withheld from your pay. You are responsible for reporting your own income. However, you may want to consult your tax advisor as some tax breaks may apply.