Frugal Expat

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Surviving the Tough Economy: Extra Source of Income

October 16, 2009 · 31 Comments

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!

Categories: Extra Income · Finances
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