What You Need to Know About Secret Shopping Jobs

I have been a secret shopper for over six years, and I am repeatedly asked, "How do I get started?" Well, quite frankly, there are no secrets to getting started, no investments, no fees to pay to work for companies or search databases. All it really takes to get started is time and patience.

What's it all about?

Secret shopping is the title for the industry as a whole, and the title most recognizable to the general public. It also makes-up the majority of the assignments for the industry. However, in addition to secret shopping, there are other types of work that fall under this umbrella. The various types of work available include: auditing, merchandising, digital work, reveal shopping, tele-shopping (not to be confused with tele-marketing), scheduling, editing, exit interviewing and more.

Secret Shopping is as the title implies. It is shopping incognito to evaluate the daily activities of a shop from a customer's point of view.
Each and every assignment is assigned certain criteria, and the shop's score is based upon how well the shop meets the assigned criteria.

Secret shopping is NOT all about the negative

Dozens of times, I have been told by people what a good shopper they would make because they received bad service at store XYZ down the street and they could write a report on it. On the contrary, no one has ever told me they would make a good shopper because they received excellent service from store XYZ down the street and could write a report on it. Secret shopping is not about looking for "bad" or to "catch" an employee in a wrongful act. It is more about verifying that the employees and the location are meeting company standards.

Getting Started
The three most important needs to get started are patience, patience, and patience. A full-time career in secret shopping will not happen over night. Secret shopping is self-employment, and, as with any new business, it takes time to build it. Once built, there are so many benefits that can't be matched in any other industry:

Flexibility
I can think of no other industry that can remotely compare to it. A shopper truly sets there own schedule, working one day a week, seven days a week, work two weeks out of the month, work 6 months, take 6 months off. Shoppers really own their time.

Income
All things considered, the compensation for secret shopping is very fair. On average, a shopper shoud be able to make betwen $25.00 to $30.00 an hour. I have heard, from reliable sources, of shoppers that have made six-figure annual incomes.

The Freebees
This can not be ignored. A full-time shopper could conceivably receive thousands of dollars in free products each year. The following is just a few items among hundreds of items a shopper can received for free: Gas, groceries, movie tickets, hotel stays, food (both fast food and fine dining), clothes, and much more.

Mobility
Secret shopping can be conducted in any state in the United States. There are some specific guidelines for the state of Nevada. The state of Nevada requires a Private Investigator's license to secret shop in the state.

Starting the Application Process
Like most jobs, potential shoppers start by submitting applications to secret shopping companies. To submit an application, potential shoppers need to know where to find the secret shopping companies.

I found volition to be one of the most reputable directories there are for the industry. Here are directions for finding their directory.

2.) Click on "Get Paid."
3.) Click on "Get Paid for Shopping"
4.) Click on A-G, H-P,Q-Z, or International Companies.

These letters represent volition's directory of secret shopping companies in alphabetical order.
In addition to the directory, there are other valuable tools and information available on their website including the "jobs and forum section" and a section of "tools" for self employed individuals which includes printable assignment log as well as tax guides for self-employed individuals.

Submitting the first application
In addition to the name of each company, Volition provides additional information including brief descriptions of what types of assignments the company offers whenever possible. Once a company of interest is found, click on their link. Search the home page for their application, fill it out, and submit it. That's it!!! In most cases, there are no interviews to attend or phone calls to make. Nearly every aspect of secret shopping is conducted via the internet. Applications will vary company to company, and applications do need to be submitted to each company with which a shopper wants to work.

Tips about the application process:

Locating Applications on the Home Page
This should be relatively easy. Most applications are in plain sight. Some specific words to look for are, 'Become a New Shopper," "Shopper Application," "New Shoppers," or some similar words.

Pace the application process
Filling out 200-300 applications is a time-consuming process and should be spread over time. There are companies that will submit applications for a fee. I don't know the integrity of any of these companies or their names, so I can not provide any further information about them.

Each Company is Different
Some companies instantly issue passwords and shopper numbers while others take one day to two weeks to receive this information.
A few companies require applications to be faxed or mailed to them.
A few companies require emailing them for an application.
Several companies will require a paragraph or two of writing to answer a series of questions. This is to evaluate potential shopper's spelling, punctuation and grammar abilities.

Tip for Writing Paragraphs
Write an answer for each new question asked on an application using a word processor. Edit the writing until you are confident it is accurate. Then, save the work. In subsequent applications, the answer can now be copied and pasted with minimal or no re-typing for questions of the like.

Also,
Prepare a list of zip codes, area codes, and cities for areas of interest for work. This too can be done in a word processor, then copied and pasted. One, two or all three of these will be asked on most applications.

Payments

Questions about payment such as: how much do shoppers make, when do shopper's get paid, how do they get paid, and when do shopper's get reimbursed, are the most frequently asked questions about the industry.
In regards to payments, there is good news and bad news.

The bad news
For as many secret shopping companies as there are, there are that many payment schedules. Each company has their own. Here is a list of the most common used pay schedules:

Weekly
There are very few, off-hand I can think of two companies, that pay this quickly. The work is done in one week, and payment due is paid in the next week.

Bi-Monthly
There are a few companies that pay twice a month on pre-determined days such as the 1st and the 15th.

Monthly
Checks issued once a month are the most common payment schedule. What day of the month will vary between companies. Here is an example of how checks might be issued monthly based on a monthly payment schedule:
Assume work was completed in the month of May. Based on work being completed in May, checks for May might be issued as early as early June to as late as the first of July. Again, it varies with each company. Terms of payment for each company is usually consistent. In other words, if a company's payment schedule is the 15th of the following month, that shouldn't change midstream to the 30th without prior notification.

Other Payment Schedules
Though not the norm, there are assignments that can take longer to receive payment, sometimes up to 90 days.

How payments are issued also vary company to company. The three most common are:

Direct Deposit into a Checking or Savings account
This form of payment, fortunately for shoppers, is evolving into the more popular form of payment. The shopper supplies the routing and account number for a specific account to the shopping company and payments are sent directly to this account based on the company's pay schedule.

By Check
Though Direct Deposit is becoming the more popular form of payment, issuing checks are still the more common way of payment.

Paypal
Though several applications ask if one is willing to accept Paypal payments, realistically only a few companies use Paypal for issuing payments. A key point to remember if willing to accept Paypal payments is if the shopper's Paypal account is a premier or other business account where they are charged for receiving money, Paypal charges could be deducted from payment. Setting up a personal Paypal account specifically for secret shopping could avoid these charges.

Reimbursements for purchases
Assigned shops, in essence are contracts with any conditional terms. When a purchase is required, the instructions should state the guidelines for the purchase. In most cases, the guideline is a maximum reimbursement amount. For instance, a restaurant shop might have a $50.00 maximum reimbursement. If the shopper spends $60.00, the reimbursement amount the shopper will receive is $50.00. If the shopper spends $40.00, the reimbursement amount will be $40.00 based on these terms. There are exceptions, but this is the general rule.
In most cases, the shopper is expected to pay for purchases out of pocket and then receive reimbursement with whatever payment schedule the company uses. If checks are issued 60 days after completion of a shop, it can quickly get expensive while waiting for icome to start coming to the shopper. However, and very importantly noteworthy, not all assignments require purchases thus eliminating upfront costs.

The Good News about Payments

Steady work equals steady pay
Most people, when they start a new job, work for a designated amount of time, most likely one to two weeks, before they receive their first paycheck. Then, assuming they work steadily, paychecks become regular. Secret shopping is no different. If a shopper works steadily, within a few months, payments also become steady.

Each Shop's Pay
How much a shop pays and/or reimburses also varies, but a general rule is, "all things are considered," and payment for each shop is based on these considerations. Considerations include: Time it takes to conduct the assignment and the report, reimbursement, etc.

The life-style of a Secret Shopper
In addition to the good pay of the industry, this is what makes secret shopping most attractive to me, and I believe anyone wanting this way of life can achieve it.

No Living by the Clock
Secret Shoppers plan their own days and accept assignments based on what they want to do for the day and what hours they want to work. I have no clocks in my house aside from my microwave which has to be on to use the microwave. Sounds crazy, I know. And, I get teased about it all the time ( I think it's envy.) But, I don't live by a clock. I leave for work when I am ready to leave and I come home from work when I am ready to come home.

Free Entertainment
Most work I do is for income; however, there are times I use secret shopping to pay for entertainment and not for the income. Some of the free entertainment shops that have come available, most of which I have taken advantage of include: movie passes, bowling, golf, minature golfing, fine dining, fast food dining, coffee shop dining, entry fees to theme parks, hotel accommodations, gambling, and much more. I've even received boat fair and parking fees for a trip to Catalina Island off the coast of California to conduct one shop that took me all of ten minutes for which I was paid. The rest of the day on Catalina was mine to do whatever I wanted.

Free Services
Other freebies available through secret shopping could include: hair cuts, eyeglass examinations, carpet cleaning, oil changes, tire rotations, printing, and much more.

Traveling
Traveling goes back to shoppers owning their time and being able to conduct work wherever they want.

As with anything and everything in life, there are trade-offs, and each person chooses their trade-offs. Some trade-offs with this industry are: job security and a company retirement fund (both of which, I believe are headed for extinction), company paid benefits such as medical and dental insurance. For me, secret shopping has been the right choice. Only you can decide if it is the right choice for you.

I hope you have enjoyed this article,

-proshopper