Sun 20th Jul 2008 01:03AM
The student needed extra money to decorate her apartment. She looks at several options, everything from a part time waitress job to working at the local mall. But with her odd schedule of classes she needs something that can be done in her free time and on her own schedule. She decides she would like to be a secret shopper . She applies to several companies she found online, being careful to avoid sights that asked for a fee to apply. These are often scams.
There are many benefits to a shopper job. The job is enjoyable. Most shoppers enjoy shopping. The shopper who is paid to visit stores evaluates services and products like food, drinks, spas and sales staff. They purchase specific products to be evaluated and are often reimbursed for the purchase and their time. Shoppers provide a valuable service to the business by providing a real view of how the customer is treated at their store.
Another benefit is the shopper is attracted to acting. Since the students major is in drama, being a secret shopper was a good fit for her. The shopper gets to perform in front of the hidden cameras pretending to purchase items or complain to the staff about a grievance.
Shoppers can do the assignment at a convenient time for them. The student can take assignments that are convenient for her schedule. The shopper can be any age or gender, retired, students or a homemaker as well as employed persons looking to make extra cash. You can register for several companies in many industries or a few that specialize in a certain niche such as cruises or restaurants.
The pay can be good for the amount of time spent shopping. The amount of pay depends on the difficulty and type of assignment. For example, a simple task of evaluating a bank might pay eight dollars while a more difficult assignment may pay twenty five dollars or more. Taking on assignments back to back in a day can yield up to a hundred dollars. A professional shopper can earn hundreds a month with hard work and many assignments.
Another benefit is the tasks are often simple to complete. It can be as simple as assessing the bank teller at the drive through. The shoppers often carry a timer or stopwatch to evaluate the time it takes staff to wait on them. They evaluate the service received by sales staff, the friendliness of their waitress or how clean a business is. The client normally provides a specific set of questions and observations they would like evaluated for the secret shopper before they begin their shop.
The future looks good for the shopper. As more and more companies turn to these shoppers to help them provide better service, research their market and products, the industry is expected to grow. Some companies are even beginning to hire shoppers to evaluate shopping on their website.
The student has signed up for several companies to begin her assignments. She has been able to purchase some decorative items for her apartment and been reimbursed for them She enjoys being a secret shopper since it fits her schedule, allows her to purchase products and put her skills to use. She even thinks it has helped her improve her acting skills for her drama classes.
Tron Jordheim , director of operation at PhoneSmart ( a subsidiary of StorageMart ) will be interviewed by Syndicated News on 7/23/2008 6:00 PM. The topics of discussion will include Self Storage , Secret Shopping , property management , Self Storage Advertising and Self Storage Marketing .
The original article is located at: Students Act In Secret Shopping