You’ve seen them, the enticing ads, with words like Get Paid to Shop and similar phrases. Many of them are scams, luring people to pay them to get lists of companies that might pay them to be a secret shopper. A few are legit. I actually signed on with a legitimate company whose name will remain anonymous in this article. Why? Because I’m going to be honest about both the pros and cons of my shopping experience. Very honest.
First, the situation. I was asked to eat at a restaurant at lunch, given a twenty five dollar amount to spend and had to take along a friend. So far, so good. I knew the restaurant and had eaten there before. The amount sounded reasonable and it’d be a free lunch, even if I wasn’t paid extra. I was game.
Then came the conditions. First, I had to go to the company website, print out pages of forms, take a test to make sure I knew the rules and more. It took time, plenty of it. Those forms were detailed. Still, I was intrigued, up for an adventure. I even felt a bit like a private eye, out on a mission. I was going to make this restaurant better for future diners, or so I thought. Then I looked at the forms again, all seven pages of them, asking for information that I needed to note and memorize. I wouldn’t be allowed to take the papers into the restaurant because how secret is a Mystery Shopper who is taking notes pages with clearly marked questions labeled Server Appearance and Performance? Not very.
Next day, I had to call the restaurant and note the response of the person even before visiting the restaurant. Miss this step and I wouldn’t get paid. I was to notice if the person who answered my phone call actually gave her first name, suggest specials and answer my questions. She did, passing with flying colors. Then my friend and I met for lunch. Things started out smoothly, with our server telling us her name, a requirement according to my form. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to bring any of my paperwork into the restaurant, as that would be a sure tip-off. So I’d crammed the night before, recalling each step. It was like studying for an exam and as I sat there in the restaurant I tried to remember each part.
This is when things started to go downhill. For one thing, I was so busy paying attention to the decor, the noise level, the music, the server’s appearance and more that I could barely focus on what my friend was saying. Luckily, she was into the whole experience and actually added helpful info. She noticed that our waitress brought extra lemon slices for her iced tea without being asked, a real rarity in my friend’s experience. For my part, I thought the food came quickly and the place looked clean. The music,however, was so loud that we practically had to shout to hear each other. That was a major turn-off.
One requirement was visiting the restroom. This is where things got really bad. The lock on the bathroom stall was broken, requiring me to hold the door shut with my foot, not the easiest of things. One sink had nonworking faucets and there were dirty towels and water everywhere. The bathroom door was so grimy and spotted that I actually took a paper towel to open it, even though I’m not generally squeamish about these things.
According to my paperwork, the manager was supposed to introduce himself at some point. I never really liked it when this happened when I was off the job but now I was actually hoping he’d appear. He never did so I had to make some excuse to have him come over, an excuse that would sound legit but also not appear like I was dissatisfied with our meal. Somehow I pulled that off and the manager appeared. Then I had to figure out his name, another requirement, even though he didn’t have the name tag he was supposed to be wearing. Eventually, I succeeded.
After that, our server appeared to vanish, although she did appear long enough for us to ask for drink refills. She didn’t return so we waved her over after waiting for awhile and asked again for those refills. They finally came,about twenty minutes later. Then she gave us the bill, a major shocker. The lunch was thirty nine dollars and I was getting paid twenty five. In short, I was paying fourteen dollars to help out some company evaluate this restaurant. Huh?!
Needless to say, I won’t be eager to do this again. Yes, this was a legitimate company and we kept track of the cost of our entrees but no one told us those drink refills weren’t free. To be fair, we did order an appetizer, not required, but I doubt we would have been under twenty five dollars even if we’d avoided that. Mystery shopping? I think I’ll pass next time.
