One thing that you need to remember when mystery shopping is that most companies are not going to pay you up front or send you a gift card, etc. You have to pay for your own meal and wait for reimbursement after you’ve answered all of the appropriate questions. Oftentimes the company will reimburse you for the cost of your meal, so it is imperative that you save all your receipts to send in with your paperwork, and most companies will also pay you a small fee for actually completing the shop. If there is only a day or two remaining for certain shops and they haven’t yet been assigned, many companies will pay extra bonuses as well. After the receipts and paperwork have been received, then your check will be sent out, and you can choose your next shop.

Another important aspect of mystery shopping is that you must remain anonymous at all times. If the instructions state that you are not to take children with you on the shop, then you shouldn’t. Your responsibility (besides eating) will be to report how clean the restaurants’ premises were, including the rest room. You must visit the rest room even if you don’t have to use it, if your instructions state that you must. You’ll also be responsible for describing what your customer service was like, such as how you were greeted, how long it took for you to be seated, and how long it took to receive your food. You also shouldn’t bring attention to yourself by asking unusual questions, staring at employees, or otherwise causing yourself to appear suspicious. Be as discreet as possible and act as you would if you were not completing a mystery shop.

By now you’re probably wondering where you can find a legitimate company that hires mystery shoppers. One great place to start is: volition.com/mysteryUSA1.html. This comprehensive site provides a free A – Z list of popular and reputable mystery shopping companies. The site even gives you a small amount of information about each company, so you can decide whether or not you want to visit the site to apply or not. You should be able to find more than enough mystery shopping companies on this site, in case you want to work for several, but if you don’t you also have the option of visiting money-making forums, chat rooms and newsgroups. These sources will give you information about even more mystery shopping opportunities.

There are numerous legitimate mystery shopping companies looking for people to complete shops for them on a regular basis. Now while you certainly won’t get rich by mystery shopping, you can certainly earn some free meals, make a small amount of money, and have some fun while doing so. If you don’t like the restaurant shops that are offered, because many have numerous fast foods restaurant shops available, there are often other shops available to numerous different businesses in your community, from retail stores to auto supply shops. All you have to do is check the mystery shopping sites of your choice and you’ll be well on your way to having some free entertainment in your community.