People to Know
Here you are. You've been reading the articles. You've taken a look around at the links. You think you are up for the job. Now, you're asking "What ELSE can I do to get my information out there?". Well, I'll tell you what you can do.
I do not support many shopper databases. As a matter of fact, I think there are only two I truly believe in and recommend to people. This is one of them.
Let me tell you about Connie. If my memory is accurate, I 'met' Connie on AOL in 1994. I had received in the mail one of those pamphlets that insisted I could make thousands of dollars a month outside of my regular job by doing mystery shopping. On top of the thousands of dollars I could get free products from great places like Saks, Godiva, Victoria's Secret and Macy's. I was skeptical. I decided to see what I could find on AOL and the Internet.
The first thing I found was on AOL. I did a search using the keyword mystery shopping. Easy enough, I found a board all about secret shopping. The board had a ton of messages, about six thousand in all. So, I read the newest fifty or so to get a feel for what people were saying. There seemed to be about four or five regulars who would answer people's questions and lead them in the right direction. After I had read the fifty posts, I decided to jump right in. I posted a note saying I was new and would love more information about this. I couldn't imagine it could really be like the pamphlet I had gotten but right here was a board of people who seemed to be happy doing this. I asked the inevitable newbie questions.
How do I get started? How will companies contact me? I would love to do this. Can someone help me? Is this really legitimate?
Well, within minutes the reply posts and emails started coming in. Were they helpful? Yes and No. The first post was from a veteran. (..and hopefully now a friend as well.) She very bluntly told me I didn't have what it would take to be a mystery shopper. It was obvious to her that I didn't even know how to research something appropriately and expected things to be handed to me. (Thank You Nan for that note.) She went on to say she would bet I'd be gone within six months. She also said that if I had even been the least bit truly interested in really learning about mystery shopping, I would have taken the time to read the board.
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