Online Mystery Shopper Jobs

D id you know that Web sites       Internet users. More experienced   get mystery shopped? I          computer users are able to "work   interviewed Tema Frank,         around" problems that might stop   president of Web Mystery Shoppers     less-experienced customers from    to learn more about how online        buying.                            mystery shopping works.                                                                                        You will be asked about your       Web Mystery Shoppers looks for        computer system and whether you    some of the same shopper              use dial up or broadband Internet  qualities as other mystery            access. Do not assume that you     shopping companies. Of course,        must have the "latest and          shoppers have to be reliable and      greatest" computer set up.         complete assignments by the           Customers come in various          deadline. They want people who        configurations of operating        have a critical eye and who can       systems and browsers, so online    express themselves in writing.        mystery shoppers must, too.                                                                                 Most of their shoppers are in the     As with other mystery shopping     United States and Canada, but Web     jobs, you should not expect a      Mystery Shoppers sometimes uses       steady income from online mystery  shoppers from other                   shopping. Payment is typically     English-speaking countries,           made by check within two or three  including the United Kingdom and      weeks. Overseas shoppers who do    Australia.                            not want to receive a check in                                           U.S. or Canadian dollars are       Tema Frank says, "We need people      sometimes paid via other means,    of all backgrounds, all ages, all     such as Amazon.com gift            levels of computer experience."       certificates.                      In fact, they are actively                                               looking for relatively new            After you apply, you will be       asked to complete an unpaid           shorter than a paid assignment.    training assignment. According to     Expect to spend 30 to 40 minutes   Tema, "We give you a scenario and     on the training assignment, and    send you to the Web site. You         about an hour on a paid            alternate between two screens-the     assignment. Paid assignments may   client Web site and the               include testing the site's search  questions. As you go through the      function and evaluating customer   site you fill out a questionnaire     service by sending an email        answering questions about what        inquiry or making a telephone      you are experiencing, how what        call.                              you are getting differs from what                                        you expected, and whether you         Online shops typically do not      would still be on the site if you     require that the shopper actually  weren't being paid to be there."      complete a purchase. If entry of                                         a credit card number is required,  The scenario might be something       the client may provide a dummy     such as looking for a gift for        number so that the shopper does    your mother or your 10-year-old       not have to use his or her own     nephew, selecting items for your      credit card.                       home, or other typical customer                                          situations. A "budget" will also      Although most mystery shopping     be specified, such as, "You are       companies edit shopper reports to  shopping for a gift for your          eliminate spelling and grammar     10-year-old nephew. Your budget,      errors, Web Mystery Shoppers does  including shipping and taxes, is      not. They learned early on that    $25." You will not actually           there can be value in errors such  purchase the item, but that is        as misspellings. In reports for a  what you are to shop for.             banking client, many shoppers                                            spelled "mortgages" as             The training assignment is            "morgages." This showed the        client that they needed to            in Web site usability testing.     optimize for the spelling error,                                         so that people who search for         So what does Tema Frank see as     information on "morgages" would       the future direction of mystery    find their site.                      shopping? She anticipates that                                           companies will want "360 degree    Web Mystery Shoppers clients          mystery shopping, shopping all     include banks, retail, florists,      channels through which the         travel, B2B, non-profit, and          company operates" to make sure     government agencies. According to     that the customer experience is    Tema, "The usual clients I have       consistent whether the customer    are typically not the same ones       is dealing with a brick and        that hire the store-based mystery     mortar store, Web site, catalog,   shoppers." She deals with             call center, or other outlet.      marketing departments interested       About the Author: Copyright Cathy Stucker. Cathy Stucker has been a professional mystery shopper since 1995. She is the author of The Mystery Shopper's Manual, the only book endorsed by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Learn more about mystery shopping and getting mystery shopper jobs at Cathy's mystery shopper blog at http://www.MysteryShoppersManual.com Source: www.isnare.com