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.

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.

Many people think of working from home as not real work, and that you will never be able to support a family, but with the digital age we are living in, more and more people are finding excellent and sustainable home based careers. These can be online based or working in a field like mystery shopping. Mystery shopping jobs are offered all over the world for many different large corporations to ensure that their products, franchises, stores, and staff are all meeting the high standards that these companies expect.

Now you can imagine that with a huge corporation there will be some dissention in the ranks and that some quality will be lost along the way, but that is why these industry giants hire mystery shopping firms as an effective means of quality control. 

Mystery shopping firms are located all over the world and will hire freelance mystery shoppers who are sent out on various assignments. Now, this is great because you can do the job as you go about your daily business, and most importantly you can work from home writing up your report. It gives you the ideal secondary or full time income that you need, and is great because you can work in your own time.

The assignments are usually to be completed within a certain period of time, but it is usually enough time that you can plan a day for it and enjoy the freedom of working at home and being with your family. In fact, many secret shopping jobs are actually designed for 2 people where you might have to go to a restaurant or attend a movie. This means that you can actually get paid for eating out, having fun and spending time with your loved one.

Working at home allows you to earn money when you want to and how you want to. You are not hampered by strict deadlines, and you have a flexible working schedule. With mystery shopping though, the assignment usually becomes part of your daily schedule anyway of going to the shops, enquiring about a product or attending an establishment. The pay usually covers your costs for that assignment, be it a meal, tickets, or a product purchase, and you will get to keep the product as well. Above that you will receive a payment for your assignment which could be in the region of $40.

If you can make mystery shopping a full time career, by doing one assignment per day you can earn a good living just by working from home.

Scams come in all shapes and forms, but with the online world we live in today, most scammers will try to use things like online shopping and mystery shopping to scam people. Mystery shopping jobs are also a way that people, who have lost their jobs in the recession, can make money again. Scammers know this and will target people searching for jobs online and online money making schemes. One such way is through counterfeit money orders. So, how do these kinds of mystery shopping job scams work.

The targets are those who have signed up for secret shopping jobs. Using a simple website, this is how the scammers can get the email and address of the target. They are told that aside from evaluating a store and its condition, as well as the employees, they will also be told that they have to evaluate various money transfers that take place over the internet using services such as Money Gram or Western Union.

The process involves cashing a check or money order that the scammer has sent to the target, and then withdrawing the money to make purchases. These purchases will be made mainly to the scammer. These money orders and checks are fakes and there are a few ways that you can spot these before you succeed.

In the case of a money order the first way that you can notice the difference is that the color under UV lights will not change. The silver strips will simply reflect the light, whereas a real money order will have a red glow on the silver strips. Another indication of a fake money order is that the watermark of Benjamin Franklin is clearly visible. On the real money order the watermark is only visible when it is held to the light.

There is also a number that the US Postal Service has set up so that you can call to verify if the money orders are real. This number is 866-459-7822, and it will ask you to enter the serial number on your money order and some other details for verification. These counterfeit money orders are not just used for mystery shopper scams, but for making purchases on online shopping portals like eBay, so you should be very careful to check it out before shipping your goods.

If you want to learn about other mystery shopping job scams and learn how to avoid them if you want to get into the secret shopping industry, then you can visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder. Here you can also find out how to join legitimate mystery shopping companies where you will be able to earn a lot of money by just going shopping and writing reports about your experience.

Big businesses want to find out how all their branches and franchises are working to iron out any problems and to satisfy customers. This is why they hire mystery shoppers to assess all the details of the store or company including its condition, staff, products, professionalism, and many other things. If you want to become a mystery shopper, then you should not hesitate to become a member and gain access to job openings.

Of almost 80 UK towns, Ludlow has been placed 10th in a mystery shopping test that has taken place that has assessed more than 50 retailers in each town. The mystery shopping test, Location Model, was done by the ESA market research company who are doing a survey to see which towns rank the best in terms of an overall great shopping experience. Professional mystery shoppers who visited the town during December rated 42 out of the 50 stores in the area above 80 percent. The overall results showed that 93 percent of mystery shoppers would return to the stores and that 91 percent would recommend these stores to a friend.

The number one store as voted by the secret shoppers was Bentley’s Wine Merchants, receiving a score of 97.8 percent. The second shop was Capitol Carpets, who received 97.5 percent, and third was Bensons of Ludlow receiving 96. Aside from analyzing each shop, the professional mystery shoppers also interviewed about 100 consumers. The main areas that were noted were the cleanliness and tidiness of the town, the feeling of safety, and it was also found that there is also parking which is not congested, and that it was easy to find somewhere good to eat.

The benefit of the reports was to assess the towns in the UK to see which ones needed improving upon so that tourists and visitors would enjoy their time in each place. Even Ludlow, being one of the highest rated towns, will celebrate their achievement, but at the same time work on those areas that needed it. For this survey lots of professional mystery shoppers were needed and if you want to make money from assessing shops like this, then you should think about joining a Mystery Shopping Agency or Market Research Company.

By doing this you will have the opportunity to be called for any assignment in your area and this can involve mystery shopping jobs, market research jobs, and survey jobs. The great thing about this type of job is that anyone can do it and you can do it from home. It is perfect for retirees, housewives, or anyone else who just wants to earn an extra income from going shopping.

One of the most important things to remember when you become part of a secret shopping company is to do the training that is provided and be prepared to complete the assignments within the given time. You will have to write up a report on your experience and the best time to do this is right after you have gone mystery shopping. You will have to include the customer service, the product displays, the atmosphere of the store, their efficiency, and much more.

This is used to make sure that the stores are always in the best possible condition and that they are always ready to serve customers to the highest of standards. There are lots of mystery shopping opportunities out there, but you have to also beware of scams where fraudulent activity will take place and that you will sometimes be involved in unknowingly. The best way to understand how secret shopping works is to visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder and learn about the different jobs you can find as well as the scams that are around.

With large corporations always on the lookout for new ways to attract customers and to keep their current ones happy, they have looked to market research for many years. This is mainly because it works. They have to employ market research companies to conduct the research needed, which is where you and I come in to the picture. Market research jobs are always available. You will get a call based on your age, gender, and other criteria for certain jobs. These can be in the form of a survey or group discussion.

You will get called together to discuss a certain product and this will help that company to market it, brand it, or develop it. For example, if a company is looking to bring out a new type of washing powder, they are going to ask the market research company to conduct a discussion. They will get a group of housewives together, probably between the ages of 25 and 45. They will ask the women what they want their washing powder to do, how much they are willing to spend for a good quality product, if they prefer washing powder with built in fabric softener or not, etc.

Once the group discussion is over the market research teams will collaborate and draw up a report of their findings. This will then be presented to the company that requested it. Looking at the job side of things, you can easily join a market research company. All you have to do is find a reliable and trustworthy one that pays well and on time. You don’t have to have any experience to do this and you will probably only be contacted in regards to products or companies that you are familiar with.

You don’t have to take part in each market research project, but if you go frequently you will be called more and you will start earning a nice extra salary. This will not be a huge amount, but it is not a bad amount either, and is perfect for pocket change and for getting started in a more permanent market research or mystery shopping career. To find out more about being a mystery shopper or taking part in market research, all you have to do is visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder today.

If you are looking to expand your mystery shopping job portfolio, you will have to learn all you can about market research and how companies conduct this research to make improvements to their company. Market research and mystery shopping jobs are similar and in fact intrinsically linked. Without mystery shoppers and secret shopping jobs, it would be impossible to conduct accurate market research in some instances.

Mystery shopping is therefore a very effective market research tool that most companies choose to use and where you can excel if you understand the dynamics involved. When you get a mystery shopping assignment, you will find that they are very specific. You might be asked to specifically buy a certain product and then return it the next day. This could be to assess the store’s returns policy and customer care.

You could get a secret shopping assignment that requires you to make various enquiries into a service or product. This could be to analyze the staff and their ability to promote their key service or to see how well they understand the different aspects of their job. For example, a cinema might have a special membership card that allows you to get points every time you watch a movie and work your way up to getting a free ticket. The staff should all be trained to sell these cards and explain how they work to customers. Now to check that this aspect of the company is running smoothly, market research will need to be done and this is where a mystery shopper comes in.

You buy a movie ticket and ask about the card. The secret shopper’s job is to create a detailed account of the experience and give an analysis of how well the salesperson handled the questions and if they explained about the card correctly. Part of assessing the salesperson could involve actually purchasing the card, so that the entire process can be analyzed.

With market research, you can use secret shopping as a tool, as well as certain over the phone mystery shopper jobs. Instead of getting an assignment that takes you to a store, you might be asked to call the store as a customer. You might be assessing the store’s ability to answer the phone correctly and their telephone manner when customers call.

The different types of market research techniques used by secret shoppers are helpful when you want to work as a mystery shopper full time. You can use mystery shopping as a part time job for some extra cash, but many people who want to work from home can learn more and better themselves. By looking at various market research techniques and how they affect companies, you can set yourself up to get far more mystery shopping jobs and make more money.

If you want to learn more about mystery shopping jobs and market research job techniques you can easily check out the Mystery Shopper Job Finder website. When you become a member you will have full access to the website’s resources regarding mystery shopping, what you need for secret shopping success, and how to be a mystery shopper. You will learn how to apply for mystery shopping jobs and where to get the most reliable job offers and secret shopping companies.

If you have to take on a second job or find that your salary is just not getting you as much as it used to, then one of the best ways to extend your budget is to become a mystery shopper. This job is not stressful and does not take you away from the day to day chores you have to do anyway. You will still go grocery shopping; you just have to pay more attention now.

Mystery shopping is when you assess and analyze a specific store and its staff. Big companies pay for mystery shoppers to evaluate the store and staff from a customer’s point of view, so that they can make any necessary changes in order for it to function better, and be more customer friendly.

You can easily find a list of open jobs online, but you have to be aware of these. Many are scams and will get you to pay to join them, only to get the same information that you could have found for free elsewhere.

The best place to find mystery shopper jobs is to look at a reputable website of a reputable mystery shopping company. You can find these easily by going to the Mystery Shopping Provider’s Association or the MSPA. The MSPA is located across the world in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. It has more than 150 member companies under it giving you peace of mind when you apply to be a mystery shopper.

Most mystery shopping jobs are easy and you have to simply buy the products you are told to in your assignment package and spend the money you are asked to while asking certain questions to the staff. You will then fill out a detailed account of your shopping experience and send this back to the company you work for. Obviously the store does not know who you are and who you work for. This is why you can also be known as a secret shopper.

Your payment can include freebies of whatever products you had to buy, and you will receive a reimbursement of the money you spent. Sometimes you will get the money to spend on the items over the above the fee that you will be getting for the assignment.

These assignments differ from grocery stores to casinos, from restaurants to cinemas and more. You can easily turn down assignments if you are busy, which is one of the great things about mystery shopping. It is advisable to take as many as you can though to get more and more offers thrown your way and therefore more money.

It is easy to apply to be a secret shopper or mystery shopper. Anyone can do it, whether you are a college student looking for part time work, or a retiree who wants to make some extra cash while doing something that you normally do anyway. To find out more and start working you should check out Mystery Shopper Job Finder today.

The latest trend in mystery shopping is being offered to physicians to ensure that top quality is maintained in medical practices across the United States. A company called The Practice Pros is offering this new mystery shopping idea at the request of physicians and it is a first in the mystery shopping industry. Medical mystery shoppers can help to maintain high standards at doctors’ rooms, dentist practices, and more. Patient satisfaction is analyzed and in this time of economic crisis, The Practice Pros understand the need for keeping patients completely happy when they visit the doctors’ rooms and will give medical practices all the information that they need to implement a better office atmosphere for their patients, including making sure the staff are friendly and efficient, and that the processes and procedures are professional.

There are many benefits to medical mystery shopping including increased patient satisfaction which leads to more loyal patients, higher patient referrals, more healthcare opportunities to offer, and it helps to identify the key components for a successful medical practice. If you want to be involved in medical mystery shopping to ensure that your healthcare professionals are the best they can be, you can easily join a company like The Practice Pros and start assessing practices right from the phone call, through the visit, and afterward for any post visit contact.

A medical mystery shopper has the following job description:

• To offer an unbiased and clear view of a medical practice.
• Evaluate office staff and their patient service skills.
• Help to improve office staff training methods.
• Assist in cutting down the amount of time patients wait to be attended to.
• Help to evaluate how welcome a patient feels when they arrive.
• Assess why patients are attracted to the practice and why some might be turned away.

Also visit Mystery Shopper Job Finder to learn more about mystery shopping and what each job entails.