It’s really no mystery! A mystery shopping company is a firm specializing in providing retailers, restaurants and other businesses with secret shoppers – also called mystery shoppers.

The reason? These shoppers get the benefit of experiencing a visit to the firm that an upper level management employee would never see on an official visit. Let’s say that you’re a district manager of a convenience store chain. You visit your stores weekly or maybe every other week. And you have a set day for visiting each store.

You know that the manager – if he values his job – will have every employee on his best behavior that day, the store will be immaculately clean for you and every clerk will smile at every customer, say please, thank you and attempt to up sell. It’s just human nature.

However, a mystery shopper is treated just like every other shopper on any day you – as the district manager – aren’t present. And because of this, these shoppers get the true insight of how the employees in this store are really treating customers day in and day out, how clean the store is and what the placement of products really are.

Mystery shopping has been around for more than 35 years. It’s an effective way to get a true “snapshot” of a store or restaurant.

How can you tell if a mystery shopping company is legitimate, given all the scams that seem to be out there?

Before you even make an initial commitment, discover whether the firm you’re looking at is a member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. To be a member of this organization, a mystery shopping firm must undergo an approval process. And then it must agree to uphold a set of ethical standards.

If you’re in doubt about the status of the company you’re considering working for, go to this organizations web site at http://www.mysteryshop.org/. Here you’ll find a listing of its membership. If the company you’re considering isn’t a member of this association, that doesn’t mean they’re not honest and legitimate.

When you’re considering a job as a mystery shopper, just keep one idea firmly in place: no legitimate firm will ever ask you for money to work for them. And no legitimate company will ever ask you to cash a check for several thousand dollars and mail it off to some unknown address.

Mystery shopping is a great way to get paid doing something you love. But you’ll never become insanely wealthy from it. If you keep those two thoughts in mind, you’ll have a great time as you mystery shop.

And we’ve just taken the mystery out of mystery shopping!

Who wouldn’t love to get paid to shop and to dine out in all sorts of restaurants?

It sounds like the ideal job. And in many ways it can be!…

That is if you’re a mystery shopper or a secret shopper. Yes, there really is a job called mystery shopper and people really do get paid to shop (and then evaluate their experience) and dine out (and yes evaluate their experience).

Perhaps this is the one job in the world that breaks the proverb “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is!”

Today, more than ever, mystery shopping firms – companies that specialize in providing unbiased evaluations of a company’s performance – are in need of mystery shoppers.

A mystery shopper – or secret shopper as some companies refer to them – enters a store, perhaps makes a purchase and then evaluates the total experience. You don’t announce that you’re a mystery shopper. The employees treat you as they would any ordinary person walking into the store.

This gives the store itself an insight that upper level management seldom views. After all, when known managers walk into a store, every employee is on his or her very best behavior.

Normally, a shopper gets paid by the job, not the hour. The pay ranges from $8 or $10 for a simple, straightforward assignment to upwards of even $100 for a more complicated or detailed report. It all depends on the time that is estimated to perform that particular evaluation.

Additionally, if a purchase is made, you get reimbursed for that. Restaurants, though, are willing to pay for not only the purchase of your meal, but also that of your companion. You may be asked to evaluate the services of a hair styling salon. What better way to try a new style than have the cost reimbursed?

You may also be asked to evaluate hotels – which would require the stay in the established – to be reimbursed of course. Some shoppers even get to visit theme parks and theaters!

If you have read this far, I can see that you’re now interested. So how do you get started?

There are many mystery shopping companies that would love to hire you part time. Start by contacting the Mystery Shopping Providers Association at http://www.mysteryshop.org. It’s an organization composed of legitimate mystery shopping service providers. They have a complete list of their membership on line. Contact several of these firms. You’ll find them very approachable and friendly.

Just keep in mind that no legitimate mystery shopping firm will ever ask you to pay a fee up front to work for them. And no firm who is honest will ever ask you to cash a check and send money to some anonymous address. These are scam (or is that scum?) artists who are just trying to make a quick buck or two off of the popularity of this job.

You’ll never retire rich from mystery shopping. But you can have lots of fun in the process

Soon, you too, will be staying in four-star hotels and getting reimbursed for it, eating at great restaurants and even sporting a new hair style from that styling salon across town!