My first post on my first blog. I should have done this the day I started my unusual occupation. Now I only have my 40+ year old memory to rely on for the missed opportunities. It all started in 2009 after my father's brain injury. I gave up my job to go to Maryland and take care of him while he recovered. When I returned to Florida three months later, I knew I had to make a living, and selling people's secondhand yard sale treasures wasn't cutting it (though it helped). I remembered something I had done almost ten years prior ... mystery shopping! I wondered if that was still an option. I had only done a couple of restaurant and hotel shops back then, but maybe there was more. After all, who wouldn't want to get paid to eat and shop? I did a quick search on the internet, and I was surprised to find that mystery shopping had become a multi-billion dollar industry. I couldn't wait to get started! Like everything else in my life, I dove in head first. I found two great sites - www.mysteryshop.org and www.volition.com. I quickly earned my silver certification and then proceeded to register with about 50 reputable mystery shopping companies. I was smart, focused, and ready, and I knew the job offers were going to start rolling in. I couldn't wait for my first cruise!
That same day, I signed up for my very first shop - with a well known fast food chain. I was going to make $7.50 and eat a free meal. Success! It wasn't exactly a cruise, and it was not going to pay the mortgage, but I had to start somewhere, right? I did a few more searches, signed up for a few more shops, and before I knew it, I had six shops to complete on the same day. I was a route shopper before I knew what route shopping was!
Since this was a business, I knew I would need some supplies. So I made it a point to schedule some office supply store shops during those first few days. I got a free clipboard, some pens, clips, and various other items to make my new job easier. Better yet, it was all deductible! (I did not realize until seven months later that it was also all taxable!)
I have to be honest. During those first few months, I was not getting rich. I was shopping anywhere between five and fifteen locations in a single day and only making between $5 and $15 per shop for most shops. Occasionally, I would find a shop that paid $30 or $40, and I remember thinking I had hit the jackpot! Then when I got home at night, it wasn't over. I spent hours and hours on the computer doing the paperwork for those shops, scanning and uploading receipts, and printing out paperwork for the next day's shops. Sometimes I would work twelve to fourteen straight hours to make $100. But it was a job, it was mine, and overall, I was having fun.
Now, almost two years later, what has changed? Honestly, not much. I still do some of those $5 and $7.50 shops, but today, more people come to me and offer projects that are a bit more lucrative. Just last month I worked on a senior living project that paid almost $500 for about eight hours of work. I've also done some route shopping that netted over $300 a day. But what about the cruise? (I knew you were wondering.) I still have not done a cruise shop, but I was approved for a company who shops cruise lines, so I'm getting there! So, what was the best shop I've done so far? I always enjoy fine dining, so those shops are near the top of my list, and one of my favorite dining shops was in an Orlando theme park and came with tickets to the theme park ... that was nice! But my favorite so far was a weekend at a beachfront resort hotel. Two days, all expenses paid, plus a $50 payment, and the form was so simple, it took less than 20 minutes to complete.
But the best thing that has come out of this? Last year, I was offered a position as editor at one of the companies I shopped for (www.a-closer-look.com). I still shop, but I also edit other shoppers' reports. Between the two, I can definitely pay the mortgage! I still have all the perks of shopping, but when I don't feel like shopping, I can stay home and work in my pajamas.
So, what do I hope to accomplish with this blog? I hope I can use this blog to document my more interesting mystery shopping experiences as they come along, but I also hope to educate and inform anyone who might be interested in mystery shopping and does not know how to get started. I might even toss in some amusing anecdotes from some of the reports I edit. If I mix in some other stuff about "life," so be it, because I've already made up my mind, I am only blogging in one place. This is it. Welcome to my unusual occupation. Welcome to my life.
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