Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Butterfly123 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:05 PM

Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Theres a website where you can sign up to be a secret shopper. Has anyone heard of this? Do you know anyone who does it?

TommysWife08 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:05 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Posted by Songstress

Theres a website where you can sign up to be a secret shopper. Has anyone heard of this? Do you know anyone who does it?

whats a secret shopper?????

TommysWife08 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:09 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

or is that what you are wondering too? lol

MikeandJess Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:18 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

I don't know any websites but I used to work at Express and we used to get secret shoppers. It was someone who would come in posing as a customer but they were secretly working for a company and graded you on how you performed. If we did well we used to get a free pair of pants and stuff like that

ChristineAaron08 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:20 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

you are hired by company to check up on customer service at a store.

My DH used to work in a restaurant where they KNEW this one guy was one so of course they were always nice to him.

DH looked into being a mystery shopper too. You basically get reinbursed for things like going out to dinner. Not bad!!

Butterfly123 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:23 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Thanks girls. I was wondering if it would be worth it to sign up. I know there were some scams before too so Im not sure.

TommysWife08 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:29 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Posted by MikeandJess

I don't know any websites but I used to work at Express and we used to get secret shoppers. It was someone who would come in posing as a customer but they were secretly working for a company and graded you on how you performed. If we did well we used to get a free pair of pants and stuff like that

OHHHHHH yeahhhh - when i worked @ pathmark we used to have 'secret shoppers' grade us as well.... i was totally confused when i read your first post and my mind didnt go directly to that at all lol

Butterfly123 Posted: Jan 25, 2009 06:38 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Posted by TM2008

Posted by MikeandJess

I don't know any websites but I used to work at Express and we used to get secret shoppers. It was someone who would come in posing as a customer but they were secretly working for a company and graded you on how you performed. If we did well we used to get a free pair of pants and stuff like that

OHHHHHH yeahhhh - when i worked @ pathmark we used to have 'secret shoppers' grade us as well.... i was totally confused when i read your first post and my mind didnt go directly to that at all lol

lol yeah I wasnt too sure what it was. Im trying to figure out if they get paid other than just getting reimbursed. I got fired from a job because of secret 'spotters' (thats what theyre called at bars/restaurants) They caught me sampling the liquor

Soon2beAlberti Posted: Jan 25, 2009 07:57 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

yep...you purchase an item at a store and then you must fill out a questionaire or survey that the company or owner of the store creates answering questions about your transaction. That store then gets graded on the visit you made and it sometimes factors into their bonuses etc.

one of the stores I managed had this secret shopper program and we would get 4 a quarter and if we got a certain score we got bonuses.

our secret shoppers had to return the items too and score us on the return portion as well to make sure we were being just as pleasant and helpful when they were returning merchandise as when they were buying it.

ETA: it's often run by an agency and they provide you with listings in your area. you get paid and in some cases you get to have free meals or keep the merchandise.

Mici n KC Posted: Jan 26, 2009 08:47 AM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

There are agencies that charge you to join which I think is a crock of sh*t. It's not just retail stores you can be grading though, you rate restaurants too!

TrueLoveIn2008 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 08:50 AM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Lea, I used to do this for secretshopnet. website could have been secretshop.net ... not 100% sure. I got paid $7 an hour plus mileage I think - I never made a lot of money and I only did it for a few months - not really worth it. There could be companies that pay more ... i went to staples and dunkin donuts mostly because those jobs were easy and very abundant. If you want more info FM me.

Jenn04 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 10:09 AM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

I used to be a on a list to 'shop' restaurants.

It was never worth the time or money. You have to fill out really detailed reports of your experience. Like what the waiter is wearing, if they said their name, etc. It was like way too much and how could I really sit through a meal and be taking notes the whole time?? I never did it.

TrueLoveIn2008 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 11:01 AM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Posted by Jenn04

I used to be a on a list to 'shop' restaurants.

It was never worth the time or money. You have to fill out really detailed reports of your experience. Like what the waiter is wearing, if they said their name, etc. It was like way too much and how could I really sit through a meal and be taking notes the whole time?? I never did it.

Yeah, that was sort of like what the ones I did were like. You needed to look at if the people working there had the right shirt on, was it tucked in and neat, what was his name, was the outside of the store clean, etc. It was a lot to keep track of and kinda annoying, for like $10. I gave it up.

curiousgeorge Posted: Jan 26, 2009 02:29 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Be aware! Go to snopes.com and type in mystery shopper or secret shopper. Usually 90% of the time its a scam. Be careful ladies my dh has warned me that there are alot more scams roaming the internet because of the bad economy. Just double/triple check, and call the bbb. Good luck

jtgarsik Posted: Jan 26, 2009 02:41 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

like the o.p's said; i think it's worth it if u are with a reputable company. We get secret shopped at Bare Escentuals once a month...u usually get paid an hourly rate, and the fun part is that u get to keep the product that u 'shop' for..so for instance, our shoppers - aside from their hourly rate are also given the money to buy makeup & keep it I'm off this week, but come the weekend i will look at what company we use..we just switched to a new one & i know they've been around for years..

Jenn04 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 02:44 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Also banks have secret shoppers but I am not sure what agency they use to hire them!

lucky1010 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 03:03 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

Yes I have. I signed up for it once and was going to do it, but backed out cause i had to pay for the things up front and I didn't like that.

jtgarsik Posted: Jan 26, 2009 03:09 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

another really great way to earn extra dough - especially if u are in the city - are Focus groups. Basically u go in and talk about a new product..ie: getting feedback for brands. My friend used to do them all the time & would get paid like $600 for some..infact, i dont know why i dont do them??? lol. i'm actually gonna look into it this week!

Espo22 Posted: Jan 26, 2009 03:09 PM

Re: Anyone heard of secret shopping?

ive heard of it, and there are companies that do this. Just bc when searching online bc alot of them are scams. There was an article on this online that usually comes up when you search secret shoppers and tells you what to look for to know whether its a scam or not. Just know you wont pay for anything so stay away from things that ask for money. I forgot but there was one site that they said was legit.