Are you familiar with a new marketing tactic which everybody calls “mystery shopping”? Yes, it’s a marketing stratagem that was developed by someone who is into business and would like to know whether his products or his services are sufficient enough for his customers and to determine whether or not his employees are giving 100% satisfaction to his customers. So, what are the benefits that, say, a store owner, can get if he hires somebody to be his mystery shopper? How does mystery shopping go? Most importantly, what would be the benefits that you, dear reader, can get if you can learn how to be a mystery shopper and be hired by this store owner to go shopping in his establishment? There are many things that you can get from becoming a mystery shopper. Why not read this personal experience of mine and see how enjoyable it is to be shop ”secretly”?

It all started two years ago. I was minding my own business in a lazy Wednesday afternoon sitting at a log lying just at the back of my sedan. There were still 5 hours left just before the dismissal of my children’s classes in their school. A woman came near me and told me if I can give her some of my time for a survey. Well, I’m not sure what it is but because I have nothing to do and besides, I’m getting drowsy and I needed someone to talk to. So, I agreed and she started to sit down beside me and took some papers from her bag. She introduced herself to me and told me she’s working as a sort of “surveyor” for an international company doing surveys for many different companies like shopping centers, restaurants, oil companies, automobile companies and cafes and hotels. At that point in time, she asked me if I wanted to know how to become a secret shopper and I just stared at her. She then proceeded to give me some papers which I will answer to the best of my ability truthfully. Questions like a rough estimate of me and my wife’s combined income for a year, how long have I owned that sedan parked right in front of us, what brand of fuel I’m buying and how many liters or gallons a day my vehicle can consume. To cut the long story short, she was actually trying to see what kind of fuel that I prefer to buy and we went back to the subject about mystery shopping.

She invited me to become one and here was the deal: She will hire me to use my vehicle to buy fuel at several branches of gas stations of the oil company she is now representing and of course, she will provide the money and then, I would proceed to buy some items from the that gas station’s convenience store with $10 worth of fuel. Well, not bad, right? I get free gasoline everyday, then, I buy some food and drinks from that station’s convenience store for free. And to top all that, here’s the juiciest part of them all: I get paid for what I did ($10 in one day) and in turn, all I need to do is to write a report on how the transaction went, whether or not the employees of that establishment had served with utmost courtesy and with a smile, whether or not they proceeded to offer me some other “goodies” and some other extra services like checking the air of the tires, checking the radiator for water and checking the engine for oil and other stuff like that. So, in conclusion, when I learned how to be a secret shopper, I earned money from it, bought lots of things for free (or get reimbursed) and keep those items for myself. So, on that afternoon, after a few hours of driving around, buying fuel for free, my kids were surprised that I’ve brought with me some afternoon snacks for them to enjoy and those things came from mystery shopping. Now, what about the oil company who hired that woman to hire me to become a secret shopper? Well, their services improved and their profits went up fast, high and mighty. Now, you know why mystery shopping is a marketing strategy for them and now, you know why becoming a mystery buyer yourself can be lucrative for. How about you, would you like to become a secret shopper? You can apply online, you know. Next week, I’ll be eating at an expensive restaurant…for free and then…you guessed it right, will be getting paid for doing so. One more thing, there are even other mystery shoppers who get paid $100 in one day just for this. Lucky souls.