Mystery Shopping: Interested in a Free Meal or Hotel Room?

 

How would you like to eat at a fancy restaurant or stay at a nice hotel for free?

Well its easier than you may think -- all you need is a computer and some time.

"You get reimbursed for your meal, and you get to try out new experiences," says mystery shopper Alexandra Weil. "And, you get paid for it!"

Paid to eat out? that's right -- its called mystery shopping. And its not just restaurants. You can shop, eat out, or stay at a hotel and its all paid for.

Alexandra Weil has mystery shopped for several years. She started out by doing a favor for a friend and now she's reaping the rewards.

"It's fun," she says. "It's really a no brainer."

If you're going to go eat out anyway who wouldn't want $40 to do it?

Marianne Soucy runs the mystery shopper program for Goodwin and Associates. The company have offices across the east coast.

"Typically it depends on the assignment," Soucy says "But with the hotels, they'll also want the food and beverage evaluated.. Or they'll want the spa evaluated or some of the other hotel amenities. So in addition to an overnight stay, you might get a meal or a spa visit."

So how do you sign up? It's actually pretty easy.

Just log onto the company's website and fill out some simple information.

"It takes 30 seconds," Soucy says. "You just fill in your name and address."

After completing a mystery shop, all that's left is the evaluation that you complete right from your home computer.

We went along with a mystery shopper to a popular downtown Hartford restaurant. Aside from eating your meal you just take mental notes of the restaurant.

Questions on the evaluation range from how you are greeted to how clean the restaurant is -- or how well the food was prepared.

"There's no downside to it," Weil says. "It's so easy, and its fun to do if you have the time to do it."

"The fun ones tend to be nightclubs, cruises, nice restaurants, or a hotel that really does things well," Soucy says. There's almost no ship that isn't fun to do."

But Soucy warns that people should be careful about which companies they sign up to shop for.

"For people who are interested in mystery shopping, the most reputable companies out there will never charge a prospective shopper to be a shopper," Soucy says.

And many companies we found on the Internet do charge -- some as much as $30 -- just to see a listing of shopping jobs.

Most reputable companies are registered with the "Mystery Shopping Providers Association." It has a listing of jobs from all over the country.



Reprinted from http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=2993167
 

Yours in success,

Jennifer Callahan

admin@mysteryshopnow.com

 

 

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