Mystery Shopping: Freedom in Choosing A Side Hustle
Oct 03, 2022
I am the queen of side gigs. My regular job, one that I have been at for thirty-five years, is the Assistant Director of the Writing Center at a local community college where I help students with their writing difficulties, homework, or computer problems. Despite a dependable paycheck and regular working hours, I still needed, or at least wanted, extra cash, so through the years, I have supplemented my income with any type of side job I could find. This is nothing new for me, for even at a young age, I had side jobs. In high school, I had a full-time job as a lifeguard, but mowed lawns and cleaned houses on the side. In college, I actually got fired (on my day off) from Kentucky Fried Chicken because the owner was short-handed and tried to call me in, but I was waitressing at the restaurant across the street. Back then, working at another job was considered moonlighting and frowned upon. Today, however, society understands that some people must work more than one job. Now I am sixty, and after years of side gigs, I finally found a side gig that offers me the opportunity to choose when I want to work, what I am willing to get paid, and what type of jobs I am willing to do: MYSTERY SHOPPING.
What Is a Mystery Shopper?
When I tell people that I am a mystery shopper, most people just look confused because they have no idea what a mystery shopper is. However, I have always known. I encountered mystery shopping through my various jobs in fast food, testing centers, and retail where we were always on our best behavior for fear of having a negative report written about whether we were following the company’s protocols. Mystery shoppers are the people who offer an unbiased opinion to help businesses improve their products and customer service. Unless the job requires shoppers to reveal themselves, a business’ employees will not recognize mystery shoppers from any of their other clientele. What I didn’t know about mystery shopping is how vast the opportunities are for potential shoppers.
What Types of Businesses Use Mystery Shoppers?
Mystery shopping is most often performed in franchise businesses (where a business buys a license and uses that company’s trademark for business). This allows company owners a chance to ensure that the franchise is maintaining its integrity in both customer service and its products. However, franchise businesses are not the only ones who use mystery shopping. Mystery shopping can take place in many of the following establishments: government agencies, daycare centers, movie theaters, theme parks, banks, salons, casinos, hotels, gas stations, and even in colleges and testing centers. While I, myself, have barely tapped into the mystery shopping experience, I know the list of businesses far exceeds what I have listed.
Why Do Businesses Hire Mystery Shoppers?
Mystery shopping has many benefits for a company. Bob Phibbs, a man who is considered the World’s Leading Expert on Brick-and-Mortar Retailers, lists the following eleven benefits mystery shopping can provide companies:
- Monitor[s] and measure[s] service performance
- Improves customer retention
- Makes employees aware of what is important in serving customers
- Monitors facility conditions
- Ensures product/service delivery quality
- Supports promotional programs
- Allows for competitive analyses between locations
- Identifies training needs and sales opportunities
- Ensures positive customer relationships on the front line
- Enforces employee integrity and knowledge
- Supports hustle by employees to meet customers
Benefits of Mystery Shopping
While mystery shopping gives a business valuable insight into its goods and services, what can it offer the mystery shopper? The answer is extra income and personal freedom. Most of my side gigs require that I dedicate a set number of hours to their business. With Mystery Shopping, I get to choose if I want to work, when I want to work, and how much I want to work. In other words, if I need a month away from mystery shopping, I am not going to get fired for not showing up or for moonlighting at another job. I can choose to complete five shops a week or twenty, or if I am low on motivation, none. I have a choice.
Not only do I get to choose when to work, but I can also choose jobs based on their type: secret shopping, revealed shops, compliance shops, audits, restocking, and general merchandising. I also have the luxury of choosing whether I want to do shops via the phone, online, or in-person.
If I am going on a trip and need to make some money along the way, mystery shopping travels with me. I can even conduct mystery shops abroad. From big cities to small towns, mystery shopping is available. To find places, I just change the location on my shopping apps to find sites in the local area. I am located in a small town in Indiana and my husband works near Detroit, so when I visit him, I often pick up a few shops along the way.
Professionalism is Required
Once I agree to do a job for a company, I must show up. Businesses also have rules and guidelines that must be followed. I have been asked to dress in casual business attire for some shops while other shops require a reflective safety vest. However, most places just ask that I not dress in a way that makes me stand out. Mystery shoppers are graded on their performance, and if I bail on a company, I could receive a negative review which may make it hard to find future work in the Mystery Shopping industry.
Filling out reports and writing narratives are also a part of the business. Shoppers are expected to write without spelling and grammatical errors. Some companies require precertification of some type, usually in the form of a short quiz over the directions. Some reports take an hour or more to complete while others take a mere ten minutes. Most companies require shoppers to use a high-quality phone such as the most recent iPhone or Android phone since most shops require photos.
Is Mystery Shopping Worth It?
Mystery shopping isn’t for everyone. My own sister knows that she will never be a mystery shopper. She doesn’t like to write, nor does she want to fill out the report that is required for each mystery shop. Mystery shopping requires attention to detail, and the ability to remember things in chronological time order. Therefore, if you are not detail-oriented, and don’t like writing or filling out reports, this probably isn’t the job for you. However, if you want the freedom to choose when and how you want to make extra money and are willing to put forth a little effort, then you, too, can be a mystery shopper.
Work Cited:
Phibbs, Bob. “11 Benefits of Mystery Shops for Retailers.” BobPhibbs, the retail doctor, https://www.retaildoc.com/mystery-shop-retail. Accessed 25 Aug. 2022/
Kathy Barbush
I am a person who probably works too much. I am an educator who teaches English Composition and Business Writing, but I always have one or two side hustles. I have two wonderful adult sons and a wonderful husband who works and lives seven hours from me. Although I already have a degree and certifications in Elementary Education, Library Science, Computer Maintenance, and English, I have taken classes in almost everything: education, computer programming, computer networking, sign language, business, photography, homeland security, etc. I used to say that when I grow up, I want to be a professional student, and with about seventy-five credit hours beyond my master’s degree, I guess I have accomplished that goal. I hope to retire in the next year so that I can spend more time with my husband. Once retired, I plan to be more aggressive in my mystery shopping business because how much I make depends on me.
