Save on Gas with Mystery Shopping

Market force Mystery Shopping Written by Tammy S: Market Force is one of the leading forces in the industry of mystery shopping. I have worked for this company for over 5 years. They offer a variety of jobs in a multitude of venues When you sign up with the company you will see that they are very fair and compensate nicely within a month. The range of pay that they offer is anywhere from $3.00 for a telephone shop or over $100.00 for audits.

If you go to their home website at: http://www.homejobslistings.com this will take you to their registration page and from there you can easily sign up and if you have any questions about their program.

When you sign up with Market Force you will be asked what “areas” you will want to work in and around such as a major city that you live near as well as the surrounding cities that you would be able to travel. It all depends on you and how far you want to go to obtain jobs.

I would have to say it is the best mystery shopping company I have ever worked for simply because they are comprehensive and thorough in their directions of how they want you to perform a job. It is one of the easiest websites to follow and you will not be disappointed with Market Force.

My Experience I enjoy working for Market Force. They send you an email every day to let you know which shops are available in your area(s). From these emails you can pick and choose the jobs you want to perform and the jobs that will go along with your schedule. You can also go to their website and search in other cities and states if you happen to be traveling and want to perform mystery shops in your spare time.

I have completed a wide variety of jobs for Market Force. I started out doing cell phonejobs where I would go undercover and pretend I was interested in obtaining a new cell phone. These were the perfect jobs for me to start mystery shopping because they are very easy and I could perform many of them in one day which makes it quite worth it when the day is complete! I also perform telephone mystery shops, mainly to banks, and I will call and get a name and determine if the customer service rep was doing their job correctly.

Another type of job I perform is with the bigger companies such as tire manufacturers and book stores that may need auditing, which means you would contact the manager of the store to help you count merchandise on shelves and let the company know what is out of stock. This type of job is very easy and you get to interact with the managers of some major companies. You get the respect of the managers and a job that can be repeated throughout the year.

Working with the schedulers of Market Force is a breeze. If you have any questions you would contact the scheduler for the specific job and they will get back to you in a reasonable amount of time. They really are very helpful and can steer you in the right direction if you get stuck with anything, such as printing paperwork, or a question about the specific job you are performing. They respond quickly and efficiently.

I have a high regard for Market Force. They have worked with me over the years and if I make mistakes I correct them quickly and they take this into great consideration since no one is perfect! So you won’t have to worry if you happen to make a mistake, unless it is quite major, then this company will work with you to correct your mistake. It may mean that you would be with held from future jobs until a period of time goes by, but this is not an issue since they have so many other jobs to choose from on their web site.

I encourage you all to sign up with Market Force. Happy Mystery Shopping!

Save on Gas with Mystery Shopping

Mystery shoppers have been watching gas prices creep back upward for months with much dismay. The higher gas prices climb, the more money mystery shoppers have to pay to travel to do assignment site visits. With gas prices up almost $1.00 per gallon in many locations in just the last few months, if not more, many mystery shoppers are really starting to feel some pain at the pump each time they fill up.

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They find companies with assignments available, and send them straight to you.

There are some steps you can take, however, to help take the sting out of those painful fill-ups. Here are some ideas:

Gas Station Assignments. There is nothing that will put a smile on  your face faster while you are standing there filling up your tank than knowing  you are getting reimbursed for your gas purchase! Now most gas station assignments will reimburse you for only a portion of your purchase, so don’t expect to walk away with $50 or $100 in gas for free! However, if you make an effort to pick up a few of these assignments each week on a regular basis, you will find that this really will make quite a difference in your overall gas expense for mystery shopping.

Top It Off. While most gas station assignments offer you a reimbursement on a portion of a fill up, there aren’t many that will reimburse you for the cost of a full tank of gas. It’s fairly common to see a $5 or $10 reimbursement, plus a small fee for your assignment pay.

Be sure not to “leave money on the table”, so to speak. Don’t show up at the gas station assignment with almost a full tank of gas and unable to get your full reimbursement on your purchase. If you are bone dry the day or two before your assignment, only fill up a quarter or a half of a tank to leave room for the gas purchase you will be reimbursed for.

Tie A String Around Your Finger! Whether you simply don’t like the extra clutter in your car or you are trying to be more “green”, many people these days opt to not print out the receipt at the gas pump. Keep in mind that you will need to print out the receipt to get reimbursed for your gas purchase. So avoid the urge to go into auto-mode at the gas pump and click “no receipt.” If you need to literally tie a string around your finger to remember to print your receipt, do it!

Say Cheese! Most gas station assignments will require you to snap a few photos of the exterior of the store from different angles. Many mystery shoppers prefer to do this at busier times of the day to  avoid being seen. This can seem fairly illogical, as with many cars and drivers at the gas station, you stand a better chance of being seen. Yet it is far easier to blend into the crowd and not be singled out when the gas station is packed with motorists. You also stand a less likely chance of the gas station clerk glancing out the window and catching you snapping photos if he is busy helping other customers.

The time of day you choose to shop will be up to the assignment requirements as well as your discretion. Just keep in mind that you will likely need to snap photos incognito and think through if you’ll be more comfortable in a crowded or uncrowded environment.

Skip The Goodies! Many gas station assignments also require you to make a small purchase inside the store and interact briefly with the gas station clerk. It may be tempting to buy that candy bar or a soda, but if you are strapped for cash, you may want to make your reimbursed purchase towards a necessity like milk, eggs, or even fruit that are sold in many gas stations these days.

Double-booking It. If you have to be out on the road and burning gas, you might as well make that trip worth your while. With gas prices so high right now, it absolutely makes sense to schedule mystery shopping assignments with location in mind. A great idea is to look for several assignments in the same shopping mall, outlet mall, or retail center so you can drive to one location and complete several site visits. Another idea is to pick up assignments that you can complete en route to places you already need to travel, such as on your way to work or to your daughter’s ballet lesson. You can also try to find assignments that serve a double purpose for you, such as a grocery store assignment where you can pick up your groceries for the week while you are also working on an assignment, too.

When gas prices get as high as they currently are, and especially given the fact that they are only expected to go higher yet, you really have to make some adjustments to your mystery shopping habits so that you can avoid pain at the pump. When you take steps to follow some of these tips, you will find that you can continue to make great money as a mystery shopper without spending quite so much in gas, and this means increasing your overall profits!