Retailing To The Max (retail-maxim.co.uk)

Member Name: t4mof

Product:	retail-maxim.co.uk
Date:	03/12/04 (1453 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Paid to shop

Disadvantages: Have to know your own schedule and work out if you can fit jobs in quickly

After reading review upon review about mystery shopping I decided to take the plunge and apply to a few companies myself. I always wondered whether I’d be convincing enough as a mystery shopper – I’m not very good at lying and thought I’d go bright red and get flustered. But it appears I’m a better liar than I thought and mystery shopping is my new, paid hobby.

I enquired and applied to 8 companies but Retail Maxim stand head and shoulders above the competition for me. Since I was accepted in August I’ve had 10 jobs sent my way which I am very impressed with. At the moment I’m in almost weekly contact with them.

~ ~ ~ Applying ~ ~ ~

From the very beginning Retail Maxim struck me as being a professional outfit. The first stage of the application process is straightforward and can be done online at www.retail-maxim.co.uk. The Enquiry Form is easy enough and asks all the usual information. It is quite detailed and does require some details about why you think you would make a good mystery shopper.

You are asked to give times when you would be available for work and preference is given to those who can offer daytime hours, so it is a perfect money making opportunity for people who work part-time, from home or unsociable hours or for stay at home parents.

~ ~ ~ Trial Visit ~ ~ ~

Once Retail Maxim have approved your online application, they will email details about what mystery shopping entails and provide you with a questionnaire so you can carry out a trial visit. For me this took 3 days. I was a little apprehensive about the visit having never done this kind of work before but it is a good way of seeing if mystery shopping is for you.

The trial visit gives you a good indication of the kinds of questions you would be asked in a real situation and makes you aware of the kinds of observation skills that are required.

Once you have carried out your visit and returned the questionnaire, a further application form which asks for bank details and National Insurance number and a passport sized photo, you will soon hear whether you have been accepted as a mystery shopper. I actually received my first job before the email confirming that they had taken me on.

~ ~ ~ Job Offers ~ ~ ~

Jobs are usually phoned through to you so it is important that Retail Maxim can get in touch easily so you don’t miss out. I like the fact that they make contact by phone because it means you’re not in competition with other shoppers to snap up the jobs as can happen when jobs are posted on a website. They have even texted me to inform me of possible work.

There is no obligation to accept any job that is offered. If you don’t like the sound of it or you have other plans on the day they are wanting you to carry out the visit, it is easy to decline.

When an agent phones they will run through the job briefly and usually give you a selection of days and times so you can choose the time that is best for you. You really do have to have a clear idea of your own free time because often you are put on the spot to give a day on which you can do the work. And once you have accepted a job it is important that you complete the assignment on the specified date and time.

Flexibility is a must as sometimes you are given a choice of day and time, on other jobs you are given a specific day and others have tight time deadlines. I’ve just been offered 3 jobs to complete between 11.30am-2pm. Work can also be offered at very short notice. I have had an instance where a job was to be carried out “today or tomorrow” so you might not have long to prepare for a visit. I would also recommend being able to drive just for the convenience of being able to visit the shops and the time saving aspect of this.

Once you have accepted an assignment, paperwork is emailed to you. Again, this is thorough and professional. The date and time of the job is confirmed as well as a full postal address of the shop. I find this useful as I can enter the postcode into multimap.com and see whereabouts I’m going to be heading. All work I’ve been offered so far has been relatively local ranging from my local town to going into Nottingham city centre and other surrounding towns.

The enquiry brief on the email is set out clearly including any “cover story” you must use if necessary and what purchase you are expected to make. All purchases I have bought so far have been relatively inexpensive and a spend limit is provided showing what Retail Maxim are prepared to reimburse.

A questionnaire is also emailed and it is necessary to study this carefully before undertaking the work as this will detail different things to look out for. Retail Maxim demand quite a lot of detail, including exactly how you worded your questions and the exact response of the shop assistants. You may also have to observe mannerisms of shop assistants, see if certain products are available and memorise names of people who helped with your enquiry.

~ ~ ~ Submitting Reports ~ ~ ~

I have submitted reports in 2 ways – by phone or online, although I think occasionally it may also be done by post. When the agent arranges the assignment, they will inform you whether it is a phone or web report. If it is to be done by phone a callback time will also be arranged. This is usually an hour slot where you must be available to give your results. They also only phone landlines for reports so you must have access to a landline number.

Phone reports take on average around 7 minutes per job to complete. The agent will say a question number and you reply with your answer. This is often “yes” or “no”. Any negative answers have to be backed up by a fuller explanation and more in-depth responses are sometimes required at several points throughout the questionnaire. If you’ve done more than one job, all reports will be taken together.

Web reports are also very straightforward and are expected within a tight time frame, often no later than 8 hours after your visit. If the report is to be submitted online, a username and password is included with your enquiry brief. Then you just login to the Retail Maxim site using those details and up pops the form that needs to be filled in. It doesn’t usually take longer than 10 or 15 minutes depending on how fast you can type your fuller answers. Again if you’ve done more than one job, there is the option at the end of the first questionnaire to access another online form.

~ ~ ~ Pay and Expenses ~ ~ ~

I have been impressed with the pay rate of the jobs offered. Retail Maxim pay a set fee for each job completed and this is dependent on the complexity of the assignment. The more work you are expected to do, the higher the pay rate. I’ve been paid between £7-£9 per assignment so far but their website does say that some assignments will pay up to £20. I’ve also been offered more than one job to do at the same time so this amount can be doubled or tripled.

Expenses are paid in 3 categories – purchases, miscellaneous and mileage. You are reimbursed for any purchase you are asked to make up to a specified spend limit and of course, you get to keep the product so it’s a double bonus. Miscellaneous expenses include things such as parking fees or road tolls and receipts for these often have to be provided. Mileage for your car is paid at 22p a mile and any mileage you claim for is checked against a computerised system.

Retail Maxim pay you direct into your current account via BACS and sort out the tax and National Insurance. The pay date is usually one month in arrears, includes your expenses and you receive a payslip through the post showing all earnings and deductions. The monthly pay is for all jobs carried out between the 15th of one month and the 14th of the next and is credited to your bank account at the end of the month. Expenses are not taxed, you are only taxed on the fee you have been paid for completing the job.

~ ~ ~ Would I recommend? ~ ~ ~

Yes. As this is my first venture into the world of mystery shopping I have found Retail Maxim to be professional and trustworthy. They pay on time, their jobs are interesting to carry out and there’s a lot of variety in the kinds of things you are asked to do.

And at the moment, there seems to be so much work heading my way that I’m struggling to fit it all in. Of course this may not continue and regular work is not guaranteed, although anyone living in a major city stands a good chance of being offered assignments frequently.

So if you’re interested in this kind of work to supplement your income then log on to Retail Maxim and you won’t go far wrong.

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