While this business has been around for over 70 years, it is still widely unknown among many businesses and many consumers. If you are looking to become a mystery shopper, you will find the process relatively simple and easy to get started. The most important thing to take into consideration is to choose the most reputable company that is known for their client service and their overall shopper program.

Every mystery shopper has the same goals - working covertly to increase a company’s sales, reduce risk of liability, making employees more aware of the customer, and improving customer satisfaction. All of this is done using a special process in which the mystery shopper would take on an assignment, go to the business anonymously, and gather all of the required information. Then, the mystery shopper is required to complete a form, submitting it to the company hired by. In turn, this company will perform an analysis of the information, followed by a plan or recommendations to the customer on improving operations and performance.

Although the mystery shopper performs that same type of job, the jobs themselves vary dramatically. For instance, if you were to become a mystery shopper with a number of companies, you could end up performing a restaurant, oil change, apartment, and clothing store shop in a single week. The type of assignment the mystery shopper does is dependent on the industry for which the shop is being completed.

A mystery shopper will be compensated for their time in a variety of ways as well. For example, they may be paid a set figure based on the job, they may receive a reimbursement allotment or they provide both.

The requirements of a mystery shopper include being honest, confidential, and having a high level of integrity. You would also be required to have transportation, speak English unless a bilingual shop is needed, and complete the shop anonymously. Sometimes, a company will ask the mystery shopper to bring a cell phone or digital camera. However, if you do not own one or both of these items, we are now finding several of the larger mystery shopping companies loaning the items to the mystery shopper for the assignment. It is also required in most cases that the mystery shopper be a minimum of 18 or 21 years of age.

Overall you will need to have certain qualities in order to become a mystery shopper. Good communication skills and listening skills are also required. Being a mystery shopper is in a way similar to acting too. You should also be at least 18 years of age usually too.