The Job of a Secret Shopper

For most searchers it can take months and even years before they find a legitimate secret shopper job. A quick look at a few search engine results is likely to bring up websites that are willing to tell you how and where to look for secret shopper job openings but of course they expect a small fee in return. The lists that these people sell are usually outdated and in the end it is all a scam. Go to a few work at home mom forums and you will find that almost everyone can point you in the right direction.

The next problem on the search to become a secret shopper is the myths. A lot of people think that this is a job in the sense of a schedule and they will simply go shopping and get paid for it. The truth is often much different and much more boring.

After finding a good site and signing up to become a secret shopper for a company, depending on the website there will be a list of places to visit or you will get an email when some shows up in the areas you are willing to drive to.

A secret shopper goes to the designated area and they take a pen and notepad to try to get notes while they are shopping. They will need to evaluate the cleanliness of the store or restaurant and many other tasks. When dealing with employees, a secret shopper will determine the friendliness and greeting from an employee and see if they were helped as much as possible.

If a secret shopper is in a restaurant, they will order something from the menu and also evaluate the employees there. They also have to check the table and see if it and the chairs or bench wobbles or has any other defects. The food is tested by the temperature, looks and taste in most cases.

A secret shopper is not the glamour job that most websites who charge for a list will lead you to believe. They make claims of $20 to over $100 an hour and that is a very false statement. Secret shoppers go to the different places and pay the bill they are charged while they are secretly taking notes. Afterwards they have to go online and through an email or online form, fill in information that is required to send back to the secret shopper companies. They must also in most cases fax, scan or mail a copy of the receipt and they will be reimbursed but in most cases there is a limit to how much they can get back so spending hundreds of dollars because you will get it back is not going to happen. The fee for the secret shopping that was done is usually listed when a shopper first accepts the assignment. While some will go up to $50 or more, generally a secret shopper is paid $10 to $30 for different accepted and completed assignments.

Secret shopping is not meant to be a job but it is something fun that can be done in someone's spare time. While a stay at home mom is usually the target, it is hard to do this task when there are children with you because you have to pay attention to different details.