DO YOU WANT TO GET PAID TO SHOP? (Mystery Shopping in general)

Member Name: junkboxjules

Product:	Mystery Shopping in general
Date:	26/02/03 (3582 review reads)
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Advantages: It's great fun and doesn't take up much time, It is a job you can fit in around children or in many cases you can take children with you

Disadvantages: Gapbuster don't pay as much as some of the other Mystery Shopping Companies but the paperwork is quite and easy to complete where as others can be more complex

Until I got involved with reading and writing opinions I'd heard of Mystery Shoppers but didn't have a clue about how to become a Mystery Shopper or indeed what the role of a Mystery Shopper entailed.

About 7 months ago I read an opinion about Mystery Shopping and being a self confessed shopaholic at the best of times I could think of nothing that I'd like better than to be paid to shop.

Not wishing to jump in feet first, as I'd heard of both good and bad companies, I decided to read a few more opinions about Mystery Shopping Companies and when I'd gathered all the information I wanted to know I set about deciding which Company I felt would best suit my lifestyle and requirements. I whittled the list down to 2/3 Companies and visited their websites to check out what was involved and once I'd read through all the relevant information I decided to apply to Gapbuster.com.

Gapbuster is a well established organisation, as well as employing Mystery Shoppers in the UK and Northern Ireland, they also employ Mystery Shoppers Internationally in over 20 Countries, including Germany, France, Hong Kong and Australia - so don't despair if you don't reside in the UK as you may well still be able to work for Gapbuster in your Country too - you can check out the Gapbuster website for more information.

**WHAT DOES WORKING AS A MYSTERY SHOPPER FOR GAPBUSTER INVOLVE**

Gapbuster employ Mystery Shoppers to visit shops, pubs, restaurants, garage forecourts, etc to carry out research and fulfil a scenario, (as set by Gapbuster and the client).

Before undertaking any assignments Gapbuster will contact you and give you information on the exact scenario, location, date and time and shopper fee for carrying out the assignment. You are under no obligation or pressure to accept an offer of work - you decide whether you would like to undertake the assignment or not. Obviously there is no point in registeri
ng if you are going to turn down 99% of the work offered, but if you genuinely can't fit the assignment in or feel that it is too far away then you can decline without suffering any repercussions.

If you decide to accept the assignment then Gapbuster will arrange to forward the necessary paperwork to you - this is usually sent by post, but if the assignment needs to be carried out within the next few days they will e-mail and post the paperwork to you to ensure that you receive it in plenty of time. The Gapbuster report forms can be downloaded into Word.

Once you have received the paperwork you should read it through carefully, several times, to ensure that you know exactly where and when you are going to carry out the assignment and what you are required to observe.

Prior to carrying out your first assignment you may find it beneficial to visit any store and test yourself by carrying out a dummy shop - when you get home check the assignment to see if there is any information you forgot to obtain.

Initially you will probably find the task quite daunting - I found it very difficult to try to observe the assistant to gain a name, eye colour, etc without making it obvious that I was staring, however, I now try to observe hair colour, length, uniform, beard, etc, when the member of staff is serving others in the queue or when they are taking my money as this way they are too busy carrying out the sale that they don't notice you eyeing them up and down.

If you do find that you can't answer one or more questions, because you have forgotten to observe, next time you visit a shop try a dummy shop again - once you have carried out a couple of assignments you will remember what you have to observe and will do it automatically - if in doubt go back and double check - NEVER GUESS.

**WHAT IS A TYPICAL SCENARIO**

Mr Bloggs of Bloggs ' Co wants to assess his employees knowledge about the products
that Bloggs ' Co sell.

As a Mystery Shopper you will be sent a scenario - lets assume Bloggs ' Co sell computers and computer software - Mr Bloggs wants you to enter your local store, browse for a few minutes, and if not approached by an assistant after 3 minutes you should approach the assistant yourself.

Mr Bloggs wants you to make an enquiry about purchasing a home computer - you are to pretend that you know very little about computers, you would like to make a purchase today but don't really know what package best suits your needs. The assistant should take you to the relevant display area and talk through your needs with you, he/she should attempt to assess what you want the computer for and should be able to advise you of the best computer to suit your requirements. If Bloggs ' Co offer an extended warranty scheme, the assistant should explain this to you. Sometimes you are required to raise an objection - lets assume that the assistant is keep to wrap up the sale and wants you to make the purchase there and then - you could respond by saying that the computer you have been recommended costs more than you wanted to spend - the assistant should attempt to overcome your objection by then advising you of the 3 year interest free credit plan that Bloggs ' Co offer.

You are basically being employed to assess the staff knowledge, customer service and general attitude in order for Mr Bloggs to ensure that Bloggs ' Co is being run/staffed by efficient team members who have pride in themselves and the Company and will leave their clients with a good impression of Bloggs ' Co.

You will not be required to purchase the computer and in order to get out of having to make the purchase you could just say that you would like some time to think about it - or that you need to discuss it with your partner.

You will quite often be asked to make a small purchase up to the value of £5.00 - you can general
ly purchase whatever you like - the idea of this is to enable you to assess the checkout staff. The £5 will be reimbursed to you and you will usually get to keep the item purchased, (remember to keep the receipt and clip it to the paperwork for safekeeping).

As assignment similar to that detailed above is likely to take 10-20 minutes to carry out - for your trouble you will usually receive a shopper fee of approximately £5 for this type of assignment - all fees are subject to the assignment being carried out to Gapbusters satisfaction. Provided you have told the truth, carried out the assignment correctly and telephoned your report through to Gapbuster within the 8 hour time limit, or limit as agreed, then you are not likely to have a problem receiving payment.

Once you have completed the assignment and have left the premises and immediate surrounding areas you should complete the questionnaire whilst your memory is still fresh.

You will usually be required to telephone/e-mail your assignment to Gapbuster within 8 hours of completing the task.

Once you have completed the assignment and submitted your report to Gapbuster you should store your report forms/paperwork away in a safe place for at least 12 months as Gapbuster may need to contact you to verify details at a later date. (I keep all my reports and supporting receipts in a document wallet so that if required later I know exactly where they are).

**COMPLETING THE REPORT FORM**

The Gapbuster forms are very professionally designed and well laid out.

Each assignment is allocated an individual number and this is detailed on the front page of every report form, along with your individual Shopper Code and Gapbusters telephone, fax and e-mail details.

Full details of the assignment are also outlined on the front page of the report form, along with the assignment location, date and time to be carried out and shopper fee.

The rever
se of the front page offers advice on how you must carry out the assignment, for example if you are to visit a fast food outlet you must only order items from the options detailed, you must accept the meal as it comes, (ie you can't order a burger and request no ketchup if ketchup is automatically put inside), you can only order your meal so even if you are dining with others they must order separately - the reason for this is because you are timing the efficiency of the outlet and staff and it would not be fair to base your report on an order that has to be specially cooked to meet your requirements as it would obviously take longer.

The report is laid out in a very clear and easy to follow manner. Most questions require a simple yes/no answer - however, it is important that the answers given are accurate and not made up because you forgot to check. In some instances you may be videoed so it is worth bearing this in mind when you are carrying out the assignment and making sure that you do everything correctly and exactly as requested.

**PAYMENT**

Payments are made monthly, in arrears, in the UK payment is made on the 23rd. All payments are paid directly into your bank account by BACS. I have never had any problems receiving payment and it has always been on time and correct.

**WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES**

Before you all rush to sign up I think that it is only fair that I tell you the downsides too - not that there is anything major - but it may affect your decision on whether or not you feel that Mystery Shopping is for you.

1. Gapbuster do not pay any mileage, parking or public transport costs and therefore it is
worth bearing this in mind - I have occasionally travelled 10/12 miles to carry out an
assignment with a £5 shopper fee - obviously you can decline any assignment offered
to you if you feel that it is not financially viable or otherwise.

One way to make assignments that a
re out of your immediate area more rewarding is to
carry out, where possible, 2/3 assignments in the same area on the same day, this way
your costs are kept to the minimum.

2. Mystery Shopping assignments are only available on an as and when available basis and
you should not rely on Mystery Shopping to provide you with a regular source of
income. Some months I carry out 5/6 assignments and then I may have a month or two
without any. If you are wishing to try and earn a regular small income from Mystery
shopping then I would advise you to register with more than one Company in the hope
that you will be offered work more frequently.

3. You will have to make any relevant purchases up front and will then have to wait for the
next payment date, (approx 4 weeks in arrears), before you are reimbursed. This is
particularly important to note if you are on a tight budget.

4. Gapbuster employ you on a self employed basis and they will therefore not tax you - this
may sound like a plus - however, it is important to remember that if you have to pay tax
you are liable and you should remember to put this money to one side.


**WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS**

1. You can carry out Mystery Shopping even if you have young children, below school age,
as in most cases you can take them with you.

2. Mystery Shopping is easy to fit into your lifestyle as you are usually given several choices
of dates and times when you can carry out the assignments and therefore even if you are
in full time employment you will probably still be able to find time to carry out Mystery
Shopping assignments.

3. You get paid to do something you enjoy - there is nothing I like more than eating out and
shopping - with Mystery Shopping I get to do both and if eating out I get reimbursed for
the pleasure.

**HOW DO I APPLY**

Well, if you have got
this far without skimming you must be keen so you are probably just the kind of person that Gapbuster are looking for.

To apply you will need to visit the Gapbuster website www.gapbuster.com, then select your language from the bottom of the home page. You will then be taken to the relevant information for your Country.

The Gapbuster website contains lots of information about becoming a Mystery Shopper and explains in great detail exactly what is involved, as well as having a FAQ section. PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

If you are happy that you still wish to apply to be a Mystery Shopper click the 'Work For Us' link on the top left hand side and this will take you through the application process.

You will be contacted by Gapbuster whether you have been successful or not.

It is worth noting that I was accepted quite quickly but I had to wait until a vacancy became available in my area - so even though you may be accepted you won't necessarily get work immediately - I think I waited a couple of months before I received my first assignment.

If you are successful you will probably be offered just one assignment in your first month to help you settle in - after that it is really up to you how many assignments you choose to accept.

I hope that you now have all the information you require to enable you to decide if becoming a Mystery Shopper for Gapbuster is for you.

Please remember to give this some thought before you jump straight in as you really must be committed before taking on this kind of work - you will need to be reliable and efficient and will need to be prepared to spend some time reading through all the relevant paperwork to ensure that you fulfil the assignments requirements.

Good luck if you decide to sign up and Happy Shopping.

Thank you for reading.

Julie

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