Mystery Shopping

 You can find adverts for mystery shopping on the internet or through the local paper. The opportunities to make money in this field do exist, although they may not be as lucrative as the mystery shopping companies would have you believe!

The work does literally involve getting paid for eating out in a restaurant or visiting shops. You get paid for visiting the shop or restaurant, not a lot - it could be as low as £6 ($10) up to about £25 ($60) per visit, but you also get paid your expenses - ie. the food and the drink. So mystery shopping is not a way to get rich but could be an interesting sideline.

To obtain this work you need to first register with the mystery shopping companies. You need to be fairly flexible, although you don't have to take all the jobs offered to you, you do need to show you are willing and reliable.

When you visit the shop or restaurant you will be asked to fill in a report on the premises, staff, products etc. The report must be filled in within a certain amount of time after your visit and must be filled in completely in order to get paid.

This can be an ideal job if shopping or eating and drinking out are things you enjoy. However, the pay can be quite low at first, and there can be gaps between jobs.

Below are some useful links for some mystery shopping companies:

High Street Central:  www.highstreetcentral.com

Cinecheck (cinema auditing):  www.cinecheck.com

Field Facts Worldwide: www.fieldfacts.com

 Mystery Shopping Agency:  www.mysteryshopagency.com