Hi I'm new at this and have yet to begin. How will I begin the process of being a secret shopper?

You found the right part of the forum. Welcome! Start with the threads that are 'sticky' so they stay at the top of this section. It should give you a pretty good idea of how this works, where to start and getting you organized.

I think the forums are great for information. Especially helpful reading about others mistakes that can help you avoid them as well. But, honestly I feel the best way to get started is to just find an easy assignment you feel comfortable with, study your assignment directions thouroughly, gather your nerves, be courageous,do exactly as you are instructed, have confidence n faith in your abilities and just do it. Think of the good service you will be doing to provide a more rewarding shopping experience for other cusumers. So, I always tell myself the best way to begin is to begin...hope this helps.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2011 04:05PM by Bevel.

Of course the only reasonable way to begin is to begin! But some folks really need to know how deep the water is before they dive in headfirst. I know of shoppers who began with their first shop as a restaurant evaluation. They survived but were not sure whether they ever wanted to do that again! A forum lets you know what some of the easier shops are for beginners that have good instructions and available help. There are some skills that need to be developed, and while they're not terribly complex, they are not necessarily what we automatically do as regular customers.

This forum is AWESOME! So search, search, search! May I suggest: Check out the Volition forums as well. I recently signed up over there. I find that if I search some topics here, and can't find an answer, chances are I will find a discussion there. And not finding it here just might be because I don't know how to look. lol So I also suggest, just ask. Some very knowledgeable people here, I promise!

I begin by using voliton.com and other websites that I found via google.com, however to up and coming mystery shoppers, I'd recommend going to the mspa website (mysteryshopper.org) to find shops that are specifically currently going on in your area.

Hello I am a new member and am looking to begin but not sure where to find local companies that are simplier to begin with?

It really does not matter whether the companies are local or not. Most companies deal with chains with multiple locations around the country. So to assure there are jobs in your area, get your feet wet with Market Force (blue portal), Bare International, Corporate Research International and Maritz. These companies have gas stations, fast food and shipping services that are located everywhere. Eventually you may want to look for boutique shops with local to you companies, but for just getting started I would suggest you sign up with these four. They are companies that tend to pay quickly, work with new shoppers frequently and have detailed enough instructions that you can't go far wrong. Later you will sign up with other companies if you find that mystery shopping is for you, and many of those companies assume certain amount of experience and competence as a shopper aleady.

Bevel - Great post!

Flash - Some of the best information on the board, as always.

I'm glad Bevel talked about courage. It does take courage to learn to do this. When you first start out mystery shopping, you're going to be doing a lot of "new to you" shops, and it may be a little bit scary. I believe it was Flash in another post who suggested not doing more than one "new to you" shop in a day, and that's certainly wise.

Of course, I know you are going to read instructions carefully when you print them out, and again on site before you go in. It also helped me to walk myself through a "rehearsal" at home, complete with the process of timing. I would do this until the scary edge went away. Then when I arrived on site and after I looked over the instructions again, I would walk myself through that "rehearsal" one more time before I went in.

Learned the hard way: Also read the report ahead of time. I've found questions in the report that weren't in the instructions. Surprise, Surprise!

Chances are good you're going to make some mistakes. Be kind to yourself. It's not like you fell off the edge of the earth if you make a mistake on a shop. The MSPs know you have to learn.

As you do more shops, you'll get more comfortable. You'll establish a routine of your own and this will get easier and easier. It's going to be interesting and sometimes it's going to be fun. Not right away, but eventually.

I want to ad to the great info. above, even as an experienced shopper, there are always new things to learn. I am doing my first spa and still learning, so, always be open, especially when jobs get boring, try new things, the business out there is endless and for begining, just jump in, but not with difficult jobs, start with easy stuff, get comfortable, the rest will come.

ok, I"m confused, I found this company and I applied for some jobs only one sent me an interested but no phone call so where do I go from there is this a rip off and can you really make noney?

These are not jobs in the ordinary sense as you are not an employee. These are independent contractor work. You sign up with the companies who offer the jobs, you go to their website and see what jobs are available, you self assign or request the jobs you are willing to perform. If self assigned or subsequently assigned to you, you closely follow the job instructions for that particular job, you report it and if the work is acceptable, you subsequently will get paid. If the work is not acceptable, they may contact you to clarify items so they can accept it or they may just reject your shop and notify you. Payment for your work will be between 2 weeks and 3 months, depending on the pay policy for the particular company. And no, if you sign up with legitimate companies it is not a rip off. You won't make big bucks. Right below the "Your Reply" box on any thread is an "Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies". Companies listed there are a good place to get started.