» Secret Shopping Websites
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How To Identify Fake Secret Shopping WebsitesBy admin on July 20, 2009 | No Comments
Over the last few years, there have been innumerable scams involving shopping website . These scam sites feature advertisements intended to attract prospective secret shoppers by offering incredibly high payments. Such scam ads often charge a registration fee – about USD 20 to USD 50 – and promise the best anonymous shopping opportunities available in the particular locality. To establish credibility, the ads also include fake testimonials of their so-called successful shoppers who have made it big through undisclosed shopping.
How Do Scam Sites Operate
Applicants who respond to scam website ads on anonymous shopping will most probably receive completely worthless information related to contract shopping companies. Emails or queries sent to the contact mail address in the website will never be answered. There will also be no response to phone calls. So, if an applicant pays a fee, there will be no refund. It is important to bear in mind that genuine companies NEVER charge any kind of fees from applicants.
Then there are reports of scam sites that seek currently employed mystery shoppers and request these shoppers to disclose information on completed assignments, companies visited and payments received. These sites also promise more rewarding opportunities. Although the real intention of these sites remain unclear, it is best not to disclose job details to any website.
How To Identify A Scam Site
While browsing for anonymous shopping jobs, if one happens to come across any hiring company ad that promises instant riches, refrain from responding to it. Nobody can and never will earn millions with undisclosed shopping jobs. This is only meant to be a part-time job with payments ranging from only USD 20 to USD 40 per assignment. It may be even less in the case of beginners.
It is important to remember that a genuine and legitimate company will never offer unbelievably high paychecks. If any site advertises high earning possibilities, immediately identify it as scam secret shopping website . If the representatives of a shopping website seem reluctant to disclose their names or location, it is better to cease dealing with them. No matter which website one visits, it is important to study the information present in it, how much information they have discussed and then arrive at a judgment regarding its trustworthiness.
Working As a Secret Shopper
An anonymous shopping job is one among the numerous entrepreneurial possibilities created by the growth of the internet. It is an exciting, freelance earning source for all kinds of people. Working as a mystery shopper begins with registering for free at a genuine website. In fact, students, retired personnel and stay-at-home mothers find this so appealing since there is no investment involved. In addition, there is the fun of shopping or eating out and getting paid to do all that.
Mystery shoppers will be assigned particular shops on each assignment. They may visit electronic shops, banks, hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls or retail outlets. Their job involves observing and assessing the standards of the particular establishment on the basis of cleanliness, friendliness of staff, product quality, customer service and overall shopping experience. These observations are then reported to the company.
Upon registration at the website, the details of the applicant will be stored into their database. The details may also be passed on to a network of market research companies, individual stores or other companies that may need secret shoppers. When a mystery shopper request comes up, the applicant will be given an assignment if his details suit the expected customer profile. Mystery shoppers are usually remunerated on completion of their assignment.
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What To Learn From Secret Shopping WebsiteBy admin on March 27, 2009 | No Comments
You do not have to look very far to find a secret shopping website . Thanks to the internet, a number of anonymous shopping services are now getting a virtual presence. This is certainly beneficial in a number of ways. For one thing, it makes the research aspect of finding a good shopping service much easier. It is also a great way to find services you might not normally have access to. Nevertheless, it is also important to be careful about the kind of sites that are out there.
Be Discerning
The truth is that almost anyone can put up a shopping website. This of course applies to any business on the internet. The result of this is that there are now a lot more suspected shady shopping services out there than before. Traditionally, hidden shopping is a trust-based service that relies heavily on providing good work on their assignments. In fact, they are not much different from detective services. As a result, most of the well-established shopping services are known via word of mouth and recommendations. In other words, they do not need to advertise. This means that you need to be able to spot the difference between a covert shopping site that is informative and one that is being used to blatantly advertise.
There are a number of red flags you can easily spot on a suspect shopping website. One is the address. A reputable undercover shopping service should have a physical address and phone number within the country. If the site only provides an email address or a post box number, it might be better if you looked elsewhere. You should be able to keep in touch with your hidden shopping service, preferably by meeting in person or over the telephone. Another thing to look out for is advertisements for freelancers. It is true that a number of shopping services do outsource their employees, particularly the evaluators. If possible, it is best to go with a company that pays their freelancers a fee above their reimbursement rate.
Referrals
Another way to gauge the worth of a secret shopping website is to ask about it. There are numerous online forums and message boards that discuss different shopping services and how they have worked for people. You will even be able to read feedback from freelancers who have worked for different companies. The more feedback you get, the easier it will be to see how good the company is. Another thing to look for is how long the service has been in the business. If you were to look at the best shopping services out there, you will find that they have been around for a number of years. This means that they have valuable hands-on experience that can be beneficial for any shopping assignment.
It is also a good idea to look for client lists on a shopping website. If the service has clients that have stayed with them for a number of years, you can be sure that the service is good and dependable. It is also a good idea to see what kinds of clients use their services. Ideally, they should be businesses that are also in your niche market. A website like this certainly does have its conveniences. However, it is important to be wary when researching them. By knowing the things to look out for, you can avoid the services that look shoddy or suspect.
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How Could You Not Use Us?By Natalie Thomas, blog manager on May 24, 2006 | No Comments
Wendy Lane, evening supervisor at the PhoneSmart call center offers a view of our secret shopping projects.
Welcome to the PhoneSmart Secret Shop blog an inside look at the self-storage secret shop and mystery shop industry.Occasionally I do some secret shopping for market research. When I take on that project I know I am going to be speaking with a lot of different people and personalities. Because we have such excellent training in fielding calls and selling the store I am somewhat taken aback by the way some store managers and employees handle the calls. For instance I was calling one day and actually had a salesperson at one of the facilities tell me I had to call back the next day because their system was already shut down for the day! I could have been a very wealthy person looking for storage and lots of it and they just told me to call back tomorrow. If it were necessary for me to make a decision today that person would have cost their company real profits.There are a lot of reasons to use PhoneSmart. What we do here is make sure that person does not have to call back tomorrow. They can take care of their storage needs right when they call. This makes good sense. The self-storage industry is so competitive that it seems very destructive to tell a caller they will have to wait until tomorrow because it would inconvenience a store employee to retrieve information. If I have to wait I will go down the list to find a place where I can get that information right now.Some places have their prices on their answering machines. No human contact just a recording and message to call back if you want the unit. What happens when they keep calling and can never get a real person to secure a unit? That can be very frustrating for a customer who needs to have arrangements made in advance. That is another example of how PhoneSmart can come to your rescue and give the customer attention they deserve and help them secure a storage unit. So if you ever call around for storage pricing you will see how different each facility is, sometimes good and sometimes bad!!Why would you not use us? At PhoneSmart we turn your missed calls into profit.
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