Mystery shopping is moving into the future with an exciting opportunity for people to sign up with their iPhones and get mystery shopping jobs pushed at them wherever they are. This makes the entire secret shopping process much easier, as people can take assignments on the spot as they are shopping. The app, called Field Agent, launched this week in Canada, with the aim of speeding up quick market research, whilst paying mystery shoppers between $3 and $8 per task. It has already been introduced into the UK and Australia with amazing results. In Canada, over 3600 people have already signed up.

“It’s mystery shopper 2.0,” says the general manger for Canada, Jeff Doucette. “It’s much more cost effective for the client. And they get information really fast.”

The agents sign up for free via their iPhone and are then sent jobs according to their location which can be specified to an area code, or GPS vicinity. Aside from being an ideal marketing tool, this app has also been created to conduct corporate intelligence. For example, a job might be collecting the price of a certain product at a number of stores in the same mall. Otherwise mystery shoppers must check displays and comment on service from stores and eateries.

“If you’re a restaurant chain, franchises want consistency,” said Doucette. “We can do an audit of Subway, make sure the right signage is in the window. Field agents can do that quickly. A 200-store audit would maybe take a day and a half to get done.”

This app is being accepted with much enthusiasm in the market research and mystery shopping industry. Wendy Morelli was one of those eager shoppers who signed up right away. “We all have to shop. If you’re already there . . . who doesn’t want to get paid? It’s easy, and if I make a couple of dollars to pay for my milk or a loaf of bread, why not.”

The assistant marketing professor, Debi Andrus, at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, said, “This will be useful long-term if the quality is there, and if the people don’t get tired it.” In particular, Andrus noted its effectiveness for on the spot marketing where instant feedback is required, for example, where a promotional product is not doing well and needs to be moved.

Doucette agreed, “As a client, within a couple of hours you start to see results. If you know something’s not right, you can get it fixed today.” The payments are made securely through PayPal about an hour after the assignment has been submitted.

To find out more about mystery shopping, join Mystery Shopper Job Finder today!

Mystery shopping has become one of the ideal forms of employment for those who have been laid off during the past few years and because of the high unemployment rates, scammers are taking advantage of this fact to lure mystery shoppers into a false job which ends up costing them. Secret shopping scams are not new and in fact there are plenty of case studies to work from, the majority of which include the scammer requesting the mystery shopper to cash a check (which is forged) and then wiring the money to an account (the scammers) by way of online payment system (Western Union most commonly).

Recently the Better Business Bureau has noted an increase in mystery shopping and work from home scams. Some of these involve the mystery shopper paying an admin fee in exchange for getting the job. The BBB warns that people should not be fooled by these scams. No legitimate company will ever ask you for a fee or any upfront money to work for them, or even to do a background check or credit check.

Most people are spending time online nowadays looking for job opportunities and this is where most scam artists are focusing their attention. They send unsolicited emails to you with supposedly unbelievable offers, and they also create website that you can upload your resume to, which will unbeknownst to you take all your personal information like your social security number.

The BBB reiterates that people should not click on any links that they are sent in an email, no matter who the email claims to be from. Mystery shopper jobs that are advertised through emails will expect the recipient to click on the link which then infects your computer with spyware so that scammers can track your internet history and gain access to your bank account and other important personal information such as user names and passwords.

It may be tempting for those who are struggling financially and who have no work, to go for these mystery shopping scams that are emerging, and it is hard to tell which are real and which are not, but the most important thing to remember is that legitimate mystery shopping opportunities can always be corroborated by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association and by contacting the Better Business Bureau to find out of there is a scam similar to an opportunity you have discovered.

To learn more about how to find the legitimate mystery shopper careers you should visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder today and become a member to learn about all the current opportunities.

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to make money, then mystery shopping jobs might seem like the obvious choice, however, you would be mistaken. Mystery shopping is not simply about going shopping and getting paid to buy stuff, it is rather about being an analyst. You need to be alert and have the ability to pick apart a store to find its weaknesses and give constructive criticism. When you are a mystery shopper you are working for the headquarters of a franchise or branch and typically you will receive assignments that will test the store’s and employees’ abilities.

This feedback is very important for the heads of the store to see what is working and what isn’t. They will have firsthand knowledge provided by you about whether the store’s problems are its design, cleanliness, staff members, management, position, and how other customers enjoy shopping at the store.

Aside from a store, secret shopping jobs can also be done at movie theatres and restaurants, where you will get to rate the quality of service you received and provide feedback about the overall experience. The goal of this is to find out if the branch is doing well and gives the owners an insight into what could be improved.

The truth about mystery shopping jobs is that they are not just a matter of rating a store or service, but in fact providing details about the experience and offering a comprehensive, well rounded feedback to the client. This requires more work on your part in terms of keeping your eyes and ears open whilst on assignment, taking in everything around you. You also have to remain calm and not give away who you are. Acting normal is the key to success here.

You also need to have a good memory. If you walked around making notes of everything, it would give you away, so the best thing to do is to write everything down as soon as you get home. Making detailed notes about your experience is the most important aspect of mystery shopping, as is following the assignment to a tee.

You might be required to ask specific questions or order certain items. You might be required to purchase something one day and then bring it back the next day for exchange to see how this is handled. Whatever your tasks, you must be sure to describe exactly what happened and how the store reacted and treated you throughout. Any small issue should be mentioned, and excellent service you received should also be highlighted, although a subjective approach should be used at all times.

If you provide an excellent, well written, detailed account of each assignment, you will be chosen for many more secret shopping and market research jobs. This is a great way to boost your income and although it will take a huge effort to make this into a full time career, it could be the start of a brand new career path where you are self employed and have the freedom to work from home.

If this sounds like a job that you could do well, then you should check out Mystery Shopper Job Finder. Here you will gain access to 150 pages of information pertaining to secret shopping and discover the best mystery shopping companies to join. You will also learn about the many scams that come with a mystery shopping career and find out how to avoid them.  There is also a job board that you can check every day for any new mystery shopper jobs that are listed.

Mystery shopping is a profitable and viable source of income if you know where to look for legitimate mystery shopping job offers and how to avoid the various mystery shopper job scams out there. Firstly, when you are searching for a quick and easy way to make money, scammers know that these people are vulnerable and perhaps a little desperate. Anxious for a secret shopper job where they can get paid to do their every day shopping, many fall for these scams.

Just recently, this happened to 87,400 people in the United States from 2001 to 2004. A California man, Steven Todorovic, has been sentenced to 6 years in federal prison after it was discovered that his mystery shopping job opportunity was a fake and that he had scammed people out of $71 each. The total amount that was discovered due to the mystery shopper scam, was $6.2 million.

Aside from the false mystery shopping career he promised, he also conned consumers and bartenders, by offering certification training programs from the Consumer Response Group and the American Bartending Institute as well as job referrals on the completion of the program. He advertised these training courses and job opportunities in local newspapers, online and wherever else he could to get a huge response, which was inevitable. Of course the certifications were bogus and there were no jobs to offer, but he had set up overseas accounts for the training course fees to go into.

This is just an example of one mystery shopping job scam that people could have avoided had they known the signs. The number one rule when looking for a legitimate mystery shopping job is that you never need to pay for it. The job opportunity works like any other, where you apply for the job, get interviewed, get selected, and get paid to do the work – no money required from you. If any company asks for upfront payment for any reason, even if it is for “admin” purposes or “to secure your place”, be aware that they’re probably lying, so don’t fall for it.

There is an easy way to find mystery shopper work, and that is if you look on the Mystery Shopping Provider’s Association website at their list of approved companies that are legitimate. You can also learn more about what it takes to work as a secret shopper, how much you can earn, working hours and working conditions, as well as where to begin searching for mystery shopping jobs, visit the Mystery Shopper Job Finder website.

With access to over 180 pages of information regarding secret shopping and a Job Board with various recent mystery shopper assignments that you can apply for, this is the ideal place to come if you want to get into the mystery shopping and market research industry.

According to the Better Business Bureau, the top 10 scams of the year are not only those that have affected people in 2010, but also those that are likely to continue in 2011 in full force. The top 10 scams include mystery shopping and work from home job ads coming in at number 7 on the list. The main way this works is that the mystery shopper is sent a check which is in actual fact a fake check.

Without realizing this, the mystery shopper is told to deposit this check and wire the money to a certain account. They are told that the project is to evaluate and report on a wire transfer service. Meanwhile the money wired comes directly out of the mystery shopper’s account and the check that was used does not clear and bounces.

Other common mystery shopping job scams include those where you are asked to pay an upfront fee for the information or to join a mystery shopping group. These are fake, as you should never have to pay to become a mystery shopper. It is like applying for any other job.

This is not to say that all mystery shopping jobs are scams. On the contrary, mystery shopping makes a very good career option for someone who wants to have flexible hours, and who wants to make money whilst they are going about their ordinary day to day activities. Usually secret shopping suits stay at home parents and the elderly who are retired and have the time to perform these assignments.

The one thing that you have to make sure of is that when you take on any assignments for mystery shopping companies that you have a clear indication about what you are going to be doing and that the company you are working for is legitimate. To find out what legitimate mystery shopping jobs there are you should contact the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. They have a list of all the accredited mystery shopper groups and these will be safe to work for.

This is the best way of finding mystery shopping jobs that pay well and that will give you regular assignments. When you start out with any secret shopping company you will have to provide them with detailed information. This is not to be nosy or to use your information in a harmful way, but as most tasks require a specific type of person, they need to know everything about you. Some details might include how tall you are, if you are married or single, if you are a parent, what your demographic is, if you have any illnesses, how old you are and more.

If you want to learn more about the legit mystery shopping jobs and how to avoid scams, then all you need to do is visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder and become a member.

Welcome to 2011! With the start of a brand new year, we all have resolutions, and as such, you might have started thinking about a brand new job. Maybe you want to start looking for your first full time job if you have recently graduated. Well you have come to the right place! We are the employment experts offering all you need to know when searching for any kind of job.

Over the past few days we have been looking at some of the best jobs that 2011 has to offer in terms of job prospects and salary. Those featured were multimedia video game artists, sports or athletic trainers, commercial pilots, and optometrists, but there are so many other top jobs that you can choose from, so here is an overview of the 50 Best Jobs for 2011. The results have been based on statistics released by the US Department of Labor looking at the increase in certain jobs over the next 7 years and the median salaries for them. They are broken up into 5 categories as follows:

Business Jobs

• Accountant
• Actuary
• Financial adviser
• Financial analyst
• Logistician
• Meeting planner
• Public relations specialist
• Sales manager
• Training specialist

Creative and Service Jobs

• Commercial pilot
• Curator
• Film and video editor
• Gaming manager
• Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration technician
• Interpreter/Translator
• Multimedia artist
• Technical writer

Healthcare Jobs

• Athletic trainer
• Dental hygienist
• Lab technician
• Massage therapist
• Occupational therapist
• Optometrist
• Physician assistant
• Physical therapist
• Physical therapist assistant
• Radiologic technologist
• Registered nurse
• School psychologist
• Veterinarian

Social Service Jobs

• Clergy
• Court reporter
• Education administrator
• Emergency management specialist
• Firefighter
• Marriage and family therapist
• Mediator
• Medical and public health social worker
• Special-education teacher
• Urban planner

Technology Jobs

• Biomedical engineer
• Civil engineer
• Computer software engineer
• Computer support specialist
• Computer systems analyst
• Environmental engineering technician
• Environmental science technician
• Hydrologist
• Meteorologist
• Network architect

With some interesting jobs making the list like a heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration technician, you can see that there are high paying jobs for just about anyone whether you have a degree or not. The Job Finder Sites will always be on hand to offer you the best advice and info regarding all the jobs you want to know about, and give you a heads-up when it comes to job openings. The main websites you can join are Cruise Job Finder, Airline Job Finder, Sports Career Finder, Oil Job Finder, and Alaska Job Finder, but you can also find great sources of information on these websites: Internship Finder, Mystery Shopper Job Finder, Summer Job Finder, 100K Job Finder, and Video Game Job Finder.

The aim is to offer you the best, most accurate information possible to help you find your dream job, whether you want to work at Disney Resorts for the summer, or land a permanent tan as a bar tender with a cruise ship job. We have the ideal career solutions for you, with real-life industry professionals giving you their insight, and lists of all the top colleges and universities that offer the degrees and courses that you require. These sites also give you practical tips for writing your resume, filling out applications, and they offer suggestions for when you go for that all important job interview.

Each site has a job board that you can access once you are a member which is the most effective way of finding a job in the New Year in just about any industry you prefer. It is simple to join and manage your account, but if you need any assistance, then just check out the Job Finder account management section on the Job Finder Sites website.

With the New Year being the official end of the recession, we can once again start looking at jobs increasing and salaries improving in all employment sectors, as the world’s economies recover, albeit slowly.

Subscribe to our blog to get all the latest news and developments about various jobs, and make sure you join the appropriate Job Finder (if you haven’t already) to get updates on the most recent job openings in your field of expertise.

We look forward to helping you find your dream job in 2011!

Thanks to US market research company, Industrial Info Resources, 50 new market research jobs will be created in Galway, Ireland. These jobs will be largely in the sales and administration fields as well as research for the heavy manufacture, industrial processing, and energy industries around the world.

The President of Industrial Info Resources, Ed Lewis, commented, “Galway is an ideal location to grow our operations to better service our customers throughout Europe. We are confident that the skills we require are readily available in Ireland for the long-term success of our European operations.”

According to the Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe, the investment is just what Galway has needed. “IIR’s investment in Galway reinforces the western region’s growing reputation as a location for high-end business services operations.”

Market research is something that will never lose business and as long as people demand quality of service, in any sector, then market research companies will always have work and make money. Companies are determined to find out what makes people tick, and how they can improve on their services, customer satisfaction, and filling a niche. This is the kind of thing that market research companies do.

When you work for a market research firm, you can become a private mystery shopper, but for industrial purposes there will obviously be different kinds of market research being done. You can find yourself heading up various departments, working directly on the research, doing analysis, and much more.

The main aim of market research is to find out what the target audience is for a company. This is not just a once of thing either. New research will have to be done continuously to account for any trend changes, company changes, product changes and more. You might find that a store decides to get a modern new look and this can suddenly appeal to a different group of people than it did before.

These various changes will have to be picked up on with market research with the market research companies offering statistics along with advice for marketing and even packaging. Sometimes a company will want to make a change of sorts, but would first like to find out from the public how it will be received or get ideas on how to make the changes. A market research panel will be assembled to discuss these ideas, and usually individual mystery shopper or freelance market researchers will be called in to assist, giving their impressions.

Market research can go a long way towards helping a company to achieve its goals and provide the platform for an effective ad campaign based on the results found. If you think you have what it takes to be involved in market research and you want to learn more about available market research jobs like the ones in Galway, you should join Mystery Shopper Job Finder. Here you will have access to insider information about the jobs and what the best companies to work for are, as well as find out how to avoid scams. Market research jobs can be applied for directly from the Job Board.

As part of International Fraud Awareness Week which ran from the 7th to the 13th November, business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as employees were made aware of various scams. The anti fraud awareness is aimed at reducing the amount of fraud including that of mystery shopping jobs.  The education during this period included a weekday Fight Fraud Taskforce broadcast, highlighting the top 5 scams that are currently plaguing society, and giving consumers tips on how to protect themselves from these scams including mystery shopping job scams.

Mystery shopping jobs or secret shopping jobs, as they are sometimes called, can be ideal for many people as a part time job and with the holidays just around the corner, scammers are taking chances with the high increase in interest for these jobs.  One of the first tips given, was that you should not have to pay any upfront fees for any mystery shopping job. These are nearly always scams.

The next tip was to be aware of bogus checks and to never accept a deposit from someone you don’t know. Most mystery shopping scams involve the scammer sending you a check that you are supposed to deposit and then wire the money to another account. These are fake checks that will see you losing a lot of money.

The prevention of fraud is the key to any business awareness as well as the education of the public. According to Mr Kendrick Christie, a certified fraud examiner, he expects many new scams and con artists to appear this holiday season, due to the effects of the recession and the slow economic recovery.

If you want to learn more about the different kinds of mystery shopping scams out there and get first hand advice about what to look for and how to avoid being taken for a ride, you should visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder and become a member. Aside from learning about the mystery shopper scams that are out there, you will also gain a host of valuable information about what great mystery shopping jobs there are and what certified, legitimate companies will offer.

Mystery shopping can be a great way to make extra money and get free products too. Most assignments are simple tasks and involve plenty of attention to detail. You have to have the ability to analyze and provide assessments on a particular establishment.  Businesses require these to make sure that their branches are running smoothly and according to their standards, which they could not accurately assess if they told each branch that they were coming.

The idea is to find out exactly how customers are being treated and served from the perspective of a typical customer. Needless to say, that if you are a secret shopper or mystery shopper, you have to appear as a normal customer and not give away that you are a mystery shopper.

The best way to find legitimate mystery shopping jobs is to get hold of a company that is affiliated to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. This is the first step to ensuring that you are not falling for a mystery shopping job scam.

If you have looked into secret shopping or mystery shopping jobs as a great way to make some extra cash, then you are on the right track. What many people fail to understand, however, is that even though you don’t require any previous experience or high level of training, it is beneficial that you get some training before taking on any mystery shopping assignments. Being a secret shopper or mystery shopper is delicate work and you have to be quite particular.

After all, companies are relying on you to provide an accurate and detailed account of your shopping experience and they base many of their top decisions on your report. If you want to start working as a mystery shopper, then you will have to find out more about what you need to do in terms of training. While there are no specific degrees that you have to possess, most secret shopping organizations and market research companies will offer courses that you can take to make you a better secret shopper.

These will teach you how to be observant and what to look for when on any secret shopping assignment. They will also teach you how to methodically fill out the report when you get home to complete your evaluation.

The training is also about what steps you need to take to become a mystery shopper who is reliable and this in turn will ensure that you get continued work. This involves always letting the company know promptly that you have accepted an assignment, returning your report on time, and giving the most detailed information possible that is objective.

The training you receive will also prepare you for being discreet, because that of course is the entire point of being a secret shopper. You will need to shop as normal and ask your questions as casually as you would if you were shopping for real. The store or restaurant being evaluated cannot know that they are, otherwise it will not be an accurate or fair representation.

This can be hard for some people to do, which is where the training you receive will come in handy. It is always best to choose to complete the training given so that the companies can see you are dedicated and interested in making your secret shopping a regular job. Being observant is probably the most important skill that a secret shopper should have, and if you are not particularly observant you might not get a lot of work.

The training programs will teach you how to be more observant, giving you advice about what to look for when you are on an assignment. You will learn a step by step method that helps you cover everything you need to when assessing a store.

One of the main aspects to being a successful secret shopper is the ability to write down your report effectively. You can take an online writing course to help you with this. It will truly give you the edge when you want to apply as a mystery shopper, because many companies ask for a writing sample.

You can also get mystery shopping certification which will show people that you are doing this as a career choice and not just as a hobby. The Mystery Shoppers Providers Association has a Silver and a Gold online course that you can do for a small fee. This will entail doing a short course and writing an online test to get your certification.

For more details on how to become a mystery shopper and where to find work, then visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder today.

Mystery shopping is a career choice that many find strange. They don’t understand the concept of getting paid to simply shop like you normally do. Well, here is a little more information about mystery shopping and details about the kinds of mystery shopping jobs you can get, which should help to clear things up a bit.

The first thing to remember is that mystery shopping is not easy and straight forward. It is not simply an ordinary shopping trip and you will have to put some work into each assignment. Depending on the mystery shopping company you are with, some tasks can be quite simple and others are more complicated. This is also dependant on the store that is being reviewed. For example a restaurant mystery shop will probably have more tasks to complete as opposed to a retail store secret shop.

When you become a mystery shopper or secret shopper, it basically means that you are undercover. You have to act like you would when you are out shopping normally, but you are actually taking mental notes of your experience to report back to the company.

You will have to write out your experience when you get home, so firstly a good memory and attention to detail is important. You may be wondering why you can’t just make notes while you are there. Well, the entire point of a mystery shop is that it is a mystery, meaning that the staff or managers cannot know why you are there and that you are assessing them. Of course if you know you are going to be assessed you will put on your best effort and behavior, which does not help to know how a store usually runs.

In order to maintain the high standards that various franchises and companies have, the mystery shoppers help them to isolate problem areas and problem stores to be dealt with accordingly. Your job is very important in the customer satisfaction department.

Now that all this is explained, you might wonder how a typical mystery shopping assignment would work. Let’s take an actual mystery shopping example for Hard Rock Café. This major company has establishments all over the world, and to this end, mystery shoppers are employed in every location. The assignments are emailed and you will have to inform the company if you are willing to complete it and for which area you are applying.

The mystery shop includes going to the restaurant and spending a certain amount of money. You might be told to order a specific meal or beverage. You will also be given a voucher for the gift shop that you have to spend. Some assignments will have specific questions that you will be expected to ask the shop assistants or manager and you will have to memorize these so that you look and sound natural. Most of the time, these stores can recognize a secret shopper quite easily, so you have to try and act as normally as possible so that you don’t give yourself away.

If you think that you have what it takes to become a mystery shopper and you want to work flexible hours whilst earning some good money, then join Mystery Shopper Job Finder right away and gain access to a huge database of current mystery shopping opportunities.