Frugal Expat

An expat's journey in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Surviving the Tough Economy: Extra Source of Income

Money..MoneyWith the rising cost of living and the shrinking value of our salary, it is just apt to start living frugally at the same time scouring opportunities for extra source of income.

My pursuit for extra income was a heaven sent, a referral from a friend. Luckily, it is a part time job that I love to do.

It is a local company that hires part time mystery shoppers. Wish it is a real shopping activity. LOL! Service oriented companies such as banks, mobile shops, restaurants, hotels and occasional government sectors hire consultants to gauge their employee’s level of service and product knowledge.

So you go to the your assigned shop or office, pretend to be a potential customer, ask the staff with series of questions and once your mystery shopping is completed, fill up the report and that’s it! You will be paid afterwards.

In my case I started in July and so far, I completed 5 assignments. There was a bit constraint of the timings in my part. Most of the available assignments have the regular office working hours which is similar to mine. Basically, I can hit only shops in the mall because it is open after my work or banks because it is open on Saturdays.

It is an interesting job but deep inside I felt somehow bad for fooling the staff in front of me. You give them hard time by asking tough thorough questions, trying to extract as much information and in return, they do (most of them) their best to please you as a customer.

Anyway, the payment is not much really though it is not bad too rather than wasting your time.

I personally admire the level of professionalism of this mystery shopper company. They are prompt in replying to your queries and in rating your reports. The specifications for each mystery shopping job are very clear and specific. You will need a sharp memory though because there is detailed information that you need to remember while mystery shopping and this info will be asked in the report.

Also, it is an internet based job. Once you become a member, you will be given log-in details and you can check available assignments and complete the reports online.

The company has very limited time frame though you can choose according to the options given in the site. Some assignments need to be complied within the next two days while others will give you 3-5 days.

If you are a neophyte, you are allowed to take one assignment only then after that, you can take more.

It is an ideal part time job but here is the hitch! The payment process takes time. You can only request for payment a month after the completion of your assignment and the company process the payment every first week of the month only.

So, it will likely take 45-60 days before you receive your payment.

If you are interested to be a part time mystery shopper, PM me and I’ll send you the details!

Cheers!

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35 thoughts on “Surviving the Tough Economy: Extra Source of Income

  1. Madhav on said:

    Yes.I am intrested..please send me the deatils on my email- jha.madhav@rediffmail.com.

    Thanks,

    Madhav

  2. Hi,

    Sounds too good to be true..pls drop me an email with all the details – mushi_17@hotmail.com. Thanks.

  3. I took a class on mystery shopping a few years in New York. Some people actually make a living full-time from it.

  4. I never heard about mystery shopping. Maybe you could use a hidden recorder to remember what they said?

    • @ Madhav: Thanks for dropping by & hope you receive my PM.

      @ Joel: Hope you receive my reply & thanks for dropping by!

      @ Brian: Yes, it is true! I heard few bloggers who are earning significantly as mystery shopper.

      @ Oscar: That’s a good tip Oscar! :-)

  5. cecilia on said:

    in time like this,,,,i need one…please send me the details

  6. karlimae on said:

    Hi! I came upon your blog and i’m interested to be a mystery shopper and earn extra. Hope you can help me with this. Thanks.
    Here’s my email add – karlimae_gallenero@yahoo.com

  7. karlimae on said:

    hi cyra! got the link and registered. thanks again.

  8. ZMacsMom on said:

    I’m interested as well. Can yo send me the link?

    Thanks!

  9. hi! i love your blog – i find it really interesting. you have a talent in writing – very skillful.
    i am interested in mystery shopping and the freelance writing jobs. hopefully you can give me some ideas. thanks!

  10. please send it to my email – gina.fajutnao@yahoo.com

  11. kristine on said:

    hi, can u pls send me more details about mystery shopping?? im in to that!

  12. loveena on said:

    I’m interested in mystery shopper assignments. Plz. mail me details on greystalker@yahoo.com

  13. Chris on said:

    Hi I’m interested in mystery shopping pls. send me details.

  14. ashfaq on said:

    es i have interest ,so plz send me a detail email plz

  15. Timothy on said:

    Hi pls let me know about this

  16. Hi, im interested to know more about this and how to go about being a mystery shopper…and a freelance writer. Would appreciate your reply. thanks so much and more power to your blog!

  17. Hi! I wonder if your mystery shopping site works here in the Philippines? Can you give me the link so I can check it out? Thanks!

    mpadrelanan@gmail.com

  18. Yes this true. Even here in Saudi Arabia there is that what we call mystery shopping. I was invited but I lived far away from big city so I stop the letter that they sent me.

  19. Liza P. on said:

    Hi Cyra,

    Please give me details for the part time job as i need extra income badly.

  20. Yes i am interested please send me details rajpaul75@gmail.com

  21. Jeff Arigo on said:

    Hi, please send me more info at arigo.jeffrey@gmail.com thanks!

  22. Hi,

    im really interested but dont know the details pls drop me an email – mdizon30@yahoo.com. Thanks. hope to hear from you soon

  23. Hi!! would love to try mystery shopping.. please send me the details at emjay4152@gmail.com.

    Thanks!! More blessings for you.. :)

  24. Christine on said:

    Hi, I’m interested in mystery shopping pls. send me details.Thanks!

  25. Hi is the writing gig for real & what about the mystery shopper. How do we go about it. More details please: sapney@hotmail.com

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