The first rule of mystery shopping is Don’t Pay to Shop. But is that rule ever bent?
I’ll pass on the fondue restaurant that reimburses you only about half your evening. “But you’re getting a great deal!” No thanks, I’d rather go to Restaurant.com, pay for a coupon, and enjoy the meal without worrying about a report.
Paying part of a hotel stay doesn’t make any sense to me either. Using Priceline.com and BiddingForTravel.com together to get the best price will often net you the same price a certain mystery company charges you to stay there. And, again, you can enjoy your stay rather than making observations and filling out forms.
There is one shop I’ve been happy to pay for. It’s for an amusement park company. You have to pay a portion of the ticket. Typically, the fee is less than the price of one ticket and you receive four in return. In this case, I’m working so that my family can enjoy themselves at a discount. We probably wouldn’t go very often otherwise. There’s a way to make this even better, though. At the beginning of the season, purchase an annual pass and use that for entry. Now that same fee is netting you FOUR tickets. Sometimes I’ve just taken one child as a special treat, and given the other tickets away as presents. (This works when you can either shop the same venue several times, or when you can shop a series of amusement parks owned by the same company.)
I suppose the company could not charge a fee and just give the shopper one ticket. The four tickets benefit everyone. The amusement park gets a more accurate view of a ‘typical experience’ (how many normal people do you know that go there alone?), and I get to bring my family on a frugal outing! It’s win-win.
Maybe I’d better amend that first rule to “Don’t Ever Pay to Shop – Unless there’s a roller coaster involved”!
Related Blogs:
Mystery Shopping: Picking up the Orphans
Mystery Shopping: How to Get the Highest Pay
Mystery Shopping: Make Millions of Dollars!
How to Get Started in Mystery Shopping
The Best Mystery Shopping Companies