Saturday, May 31, 2008

Support Homeless Pets, Please!

North Shore Animal League America

As you can see I have added some pet related Banner & Widgets throughout this site. I have been a strong supporter of animal organizations for a long time. Unfortunately, due to my state of unemployment for the past year I have had to discontinue my monetary donations to my favorite organizations. While being a stay at home step-mom has its rewards, the loss of income has its disadvantages.

The purpose of adding these widgets is to help support homeless pets and shelters. For the moment it is the only way I can help support a cause that means a great deal to me. I receive no financial compensation whatsoever from these links. By clicking on the link you will be directed to their site where you can adopt a pet, which would be absolutely awesome, or donate a little something! A little something goes a long way, and everything is greatly appreciated. Also, see my list of links at the end of this post. These are organizations that I have supported myself personally.

Please help out if you can. Please do not buy pets from pet stores that use puppy mills and backyard breeders. They are under terrible conditions and just bred for monetary reasons with no regard to their well-being. If you buy a pet from a pet store you are unwillingly supporting the puppy mill industry. If you still find that buying from a pet store is the right thing for you, you can research the puppy providers of a pet store easily by doing a Google search. Make sure they do genetic health testing. Most of them do not and this is very important. Giving a homeless pet a warm and loving home is an incredible experience for which you will be rewarded dearly. “Adopt a pet, save a life”.

We currently share our home with Thor (feline and prince of static electricity), a bird, a hamster and a few fish. All are, of course, rescued pets. Well, except for the fish. We are looking to adopt a puppy in the next couple of weeks. This is the perfect time of year to find lots of adorable pets in desperate need of a warm and loving home! There is a Petfinder Quick Search widget on the left side bar to help you get started effortlessly.

Thanks!

Links

The Humane Society of the United States
HSUS Secure Donation Page
Petfinder.com
Petfinder Donate
North Shore Animal League of America

NSAL America Donate - you can even donate an old car!
Puppy Love Pet Rescue NJ
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PETA Donate
– everything from cash, memberships, jewelry, cars, property, stock, workplace giving and even furs!

Back to WAHB Home


North Shore Animal League America

Chained Dogs

The Animal Rescue Site

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Friday, May 30, 2008

Location and Mystery Shopping

Where you live will have a direct affect on the amount of shops available to you. High density, urban areas have the greatest amount of chain stores which are the ones usually asking for Mystery shopping services. These areas will have the greatest amount of available shops, but these high density areas with a large population will also have the highest number of Mystery shoppers!

In my case, I live in a rural area which is growing significantly! Although there may not be many opportunities, there are also less mystery shoppers applying for these assignments. What this means to me is that I have a better chance of being assigned the few shops there are. Because there are not many shoppers in my area, many times these shops also have an added bonus because no one has been able to fill them.

Today location is also very important because of the high gas prices. I personally am not shopping as much as before. The high cost of gas has directly affected my ability to accept assignments outside of my immediate locale. I always try to do more than one shop in a specific area or run any errands that I may need in the vicinity. But with gas prices reaching new records every day it is increasingly difficult to justify a long drive for $8-$15 in pay.

Keep track of your mileage as an independent contractor you will need this information come tax time. This website has ready made Excel sheets that help you keep track of all your Mystery shopping activities including mileage.

Happy Mystery shopping!

Disclaimer

You may see ads for Mystery shopping on this site, unless I specifically mention that I use a certain company you should do your homework first! Follow the ‘Safety First’ guidelines.

The Excel forms found through out are from the site mysteryshoppingbilble.com I have no association with this site. It is just something I came across and found extremely helpful and time saving!

Coming soon to WAHB:

Mystery Shopping Tips
Mystery Shopping and the IRS

For more information on mystery shopping check out some of my other posts!

Silver/Gold Certification Buzz
Ready to Mystery Shop?

Mystery Shopping Necessities
Mystery Shopping and Scams
The Buzz on Mystery Shopping

Back to WAHB Home

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Silver/Gold Certification Buzz

Silver/Gold Certified is not required to mystery shop. It is recommended through the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association). I am silver certified and I did see an increase of job offers. A number of Mystery Shopper Providers say that certified shoppers are given precedence for assignments. I have gotten most of the assignments I signed up for since becoming silver certified, but I believe it also has a lot to do with my improved skills in filling out the reports foremost and then, for being silver certified.

Mystery Shopping Providers Association

Two certification programs are offered by the industry association, Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Anyone can become certified, it provides the mystery shopper information about industry standards and the skills needed to mystery shop. Certification is not required to use MSPA’s services. MSP’s do not require the shopper to be certified, however most clearly state that it is favored.

MSPA’s General Certification Questions Answered

Silver Certified is the first step in a two-step process. The Silver Certification consists of a $15 online test. If you pass this test, you will be given a confirmation number. You will be able to use your e-mail address and this confirmation number to sign up for Gold Certification conferences. The buzz is that if you get the Gold Certification you receive higher paying assignment offers. Given the area that I live in, I have not found the Gold Certification process necessary.

I have found the Silver Certification well worth the fee. It’s an easy test that does not take long. The information that the test is based on is given in one page and then you go on to a page with a set of questions. The questions are multiple choices. This process repeats until the test is finished. It is a trustworthy way to get the information you need to become a successful mystery shopper.

As mentioned before, in the post Mystery Shopping Necessities, it is advisable to set up a separate e-mail address for all your secret shopper activities. Your certification is associated to your e-mail address. When the MSP’s authenticate your certification they need to have the e-mail address originally connected to the certification. While most companies make it easy for you to add your certification number, there is a space reserved for this in your shopper’s profile page, there is no place to add the e-mail associated with the certification. I suggest an e-mail account that is not connected to your current internet provider, such as Yahoo or Google. Also, remember that changing your e-mail address with a bunch of companies will be a pain!

Happy Mystery shopping!

Coming soon to this blog:

Mystery Shopping Tips

For more information on mystery shopping check out some of my other posts!

Location and Mystery Shopping
Ready to Mystery Shop?
Mystery Shopping Necessities
Mystery Shopping and Scams
The Buzz on Mystery Shopping

Back to WAHB Home

Disclaimer

You may see ads for Mystery shopping on this site, unless I specifically mention that I use a certain company you should do your homework first! Follow the ‘Safety First’ guidelines.

Safety First:

  • You can check registration data here such as name, address and phone number. http://www.whois.net/
  • Updated link to The BBBOnLine "Check out a Business or Charity
  • Check it out with the Federal Trade Commission http://www.ftc.gov/
  • Google the site name or registered domain owner and check out the buzz!
  • Leave a post about the site you are curious about and I will do all the work for you! Chances are I already have checked it out.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Friday, May 16, 2008

Ready to Mystery Shop?

Now that you are informed about what mystery shopping is all about it is time to get your feet wet! Start applying to as many companies as possible. The more companies have your name the more shop opportunities you will have.

First thing you should do to make this process as easy and time efficient as possible is getting a few things together.

  • Open up your new e-mail account not associated to your Internet provider.
For detailed info: Mystery Shopping Necessities

  • Get an Excel sheet to keep track of what companies you have applied to, your user names, passwords and status. Make a note of how to apply for shops, are jobs e-mailed to you? Do you need to check out their job listing? Or do they both e-mail and have a job search on the site?
Check out this great Excel sheet: Tracking Companies

  • Open up Word and get ready to write your answers here and then paste them to the sites for you will be asked the same questions over and over again. Some questions require essay style answers so you definitely want to have them saved! They will also want to know what other companies you work for; the above Excel sheet will come in handy for that.
  • Get a list ready of companies and their web addresses. Do not, I repeat DO NOT ever, I mean EVER pay for this service. Mystery shopping information is found for free all over the Internet. For a list of sites you may try my Favorite Mystery Shopping Providers, the MSPA site and Volition.

You are ready to start applying! Good luck and happy Mystery shopping!

Disclaimer

You may see ads for Mystery shopping on this site, unless I specifically mention that I use a certain company you should do your homework first! Follow the ‘Safety First’ guidelines.

The Excel forms found through out are from the site mysteryshoppingbilble.com I have no association with this site. It is just something I came across and found extremely helpful and time saving!

Links:

Lists of MSP's:

My Favorite MSP’s:

Related Articles on WAHB:

Location and Mystery Shopping
Silver/Gold Certification Buzz
Mystery Shopping Necessities
Mystery Shopping and Scams
The Buzz on Mystery Shopping

Back to WAHB Home

Safety First:
  • You can check registration data here such as name, address and phone number. http://www.whois.net/
  • Updated link to The BBBOnLine "Check out a Business or Charity"
  • Check it out with the Federal Trade Commission http://www.ftc.gov/
  • Google the site name or registered domain owner and check out the buzz!
  • Leave a post about the site you are curious about and I will do all the work for you! Chances are I already have checked it out.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Mystery Shopping Necessities

  • Computer with reliable Internet connection
  • Printer
  • Scanner/fax
  • Digital camera
  • Stop Watch
  • E-mail
  • Folder
  • Reliable transportation
  • Word processor/spreadsheet

In this post I would like to touch upon the equipment you will require to successfully mystery shop. They are not all mandatory, but they are essential to making your mystery shopping a joyful experience. You will find out more as you read further on.

Internet access at home is necessary because you usually have approximately 12 hours to submit your report online once the shop has been preformed. If the shop had a required time to be performed at, such as from 5pm to 8pm, your report must be submitted by 8am. This does not leave much time. You can see why it needs to be reliable, if your connection is down and you can not report the shop on time it will not be valid. The company you are working for will not be happy, at all! In order to get jobs you must be reliable! I can not stress this enough, you must complete your shops on time!

Apart from the reports you will need to scan and upload other forms. These vary from company to company. Almost always you will have a receipt, a signed agreement between you, the contractor, and the company hired to provide the service, business card and sometimes pictures. In order to effectively mystery shop it is suggested that you have access to a computer connected to the Internet at home, a scanner, a printer and a digital camera.

This computer must have a printer hooked up for you will be printing instructions and forms to be signed and uploaded or faxed back to the company. It is recommended that you have a scanner. The reason for this is that while many sites still allow you to fax the necessary forms to them, they are doing away with this and highly recommend that you scan and upload.

A digital camera is desirable for some shops will require you to take pictures of specific areas which they will define. Also, some companies allow you to take pictures of your forms and upload in this manner. Camera phones are not allowed to be used in most instances. I was allowed to use a camera phone for a return shop where they would be keeping the original receipt. This was the only instance that I have come by where this practice was encouraged.

Stop watches are required for fast food shops on a regular basis. A stop watch will also come in handy for many other shops that require reporting your time on line, time before you were helped, etc. Mobile phones with stop watch capabilities are not permitted.

Of course, you will need reliable transportation to complete the shops. Some companies will ask for the year and make of your vehicle.

If business attire is required for the performance of a shop the instructions will state this fact. When there is no guideline for clothing they expect you to look like an average buyer, with a clean and neat appearance.

An e-mail account is needed to apply, respond and for certification. I suggest an e-mail account that is not connected to your current Internet provider, such as Yahoo or Google. The reasons are that you will be signing up with many different companies and maybe getting certified (Silver is only $15, well worth it) changing your e-mail address will be a pain! Your certification is associated to your e-mail address. In many sites your user name is your e-mail address. It is much easier to remember and check once you start receiving offers if you dedicate one specific address for your money making opportunities.

Programs I use for my mystery shopping assignments are Word and PhotoShop. Excel for record keeping. Word or similar is essential for me. PhotoShop I use to crop and paste documents which could not be scanned all at once, receipts usually. I am sure you can find another program that is comparable and not as pricey.

A great excel form to keep track of your assignments:

The Assignment Log

If you do not have Microsoft Office this free download from OpenOffice.org allows you to have word processing, spreadsheets, and more for free!

I also keep a folder with receipts, business cards and signed forms. It is also helpful to keep guidelines from assignments since sometimes you may repeat them and if these have not changed you will save ink. Ink can get expensive! Keep receipts for ink and paper purchases you can deduct them come tax time! Make sure you have your printer set to black and white, saves a ton in color ink and toner. Don’t forget your mileage; you will also need this information for tax purposes.

Other great Excel forms to keep track of your annual expenses:

Expense Log & Mileage Report

Happy Mystery shopping!

Disclaimer

You may see ads for Mystery shopping on this site, unless I specifically mention that I use a certain company you should do your homework first! Follow the ‘Safety First’ guidelines.

The Excel forms found through out are from the site mysteryshoppingbilble.com I have no association with this site. It is just something I came across and found extremely helpful and time saving!

Links:

Safety First:

  • You can check registration data here such as name, address and phone number. http://www.whois.net/
  • Updated link to The BBBOnLine "Check out a Business or Charity
  • Check it out with the Federal Trade Commission http://www.ftc.gov/
  • Google the site name or registered domain owner and check out the buzz!
  • Leave a post about the site you are curious about and I will do all the work for you! Chances are I already have checked it out.
For more information on mystery shopping check out some of my other posts!

Location and Mystery Shopping
Silver/Gold Certification Buzz
Ready to Mystery Shop?
Mystery Shopping and Scams

The Buzz on Mystery Shopping

Back to WAHB Home

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Mystery Shopping and Scams

Legitimate mystery shopping companies never, EVER ask for any fees to be paid to them. You will never be asked for money. Period. No money orders, checks or anything of the sort!

There are some companies out there in cyberspace and who advertise in local papers who claim that for a fee they will connect you to job opportunities and provide training. This may be true, but is totally not necessary. Mystery shopping companies provide tips, forums and job boards with no fees whatsoever associated.

Silver/Gold Certified is not required to mystery shop. It is recommended through the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association). I am silver certified and I did see an increase of job offers. Companies contacted me via e-mail through the MSPA site. Some of these companies only offer jobs to certified shoppers. The MSPA is a trusted source for all that is mystery shopping. There you will find a great forum to communicate with other mystery shoppers, job board, certification pros and cons, company lists, industry news, etc.

There is a scam going around related to mystery shopping. It is a variation of the money order/check theme. Supposedly you are evaluating a check cashing service or Western Union. The task requires you to buy a money order with the check they provide or cash a check, and then send back the money they sent you minus a generous $100 payment. A few days later when your bank fully processes the check, it will be exposed as a fraud and you will be out the money.

Click here for the article from ConsumerReports.org site.

Click here for the article from NBC4 site.

If you have any doubts about a company, check that they are registered with MSPA, check for complaints at the BBB and check with the Federal Trade Commission.

Make sure it is an actual company before providing with SS number. Legit Mystery shopping companies do not advertise in your local paper; don’t fall for those ads with inflated earning potentials. Shops can pay as little as $5 or only reimburse for a small purchase, you think really $500 is a legit offer? Not at all. Mystery shopping will not make you rich. Follow the ‘Safety First’ guidelines in this site and sign up only with verified companies.

Disclaimer

You may see ads for Mystery shopping on this site, unless I specifically mention that I use a certain company you should do your homework first! Follow the ‘Safety First’ guidelines.

Links:

Safety First:
  • You can check registration data here such as name, address and phone number. http://www.whois.net/
  • Updated link to The BBBOnLine "Check out a Business or Charity
  • Check it out with the Federal Trade Commission http://www.ftc.gov/
  • Google the site name or registered domain owner and check out the buzz!
  • Leave a post about the site you are curious about and I will do all the work for you! Chances are I already have checked it out.

Related articles on WAHB:

Location and Mystery Shopping
Silver/Gold Certification Buzz
Ready to Mystery Shop?
Mystery Shopping Necessities
The Buzz on Mystery Shopping

Back to WAHB Home

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Monday, May 12, 2008

The Buzz on Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping, also known as secret shopper and performance evaluations, it is about helping companies evaluate their customer service, customer experience or quality of products and services. As the name implies you should not reveal that you are a secret shopper, you should act as a typical customer. When performing a shop you will make straight forward observations on what they want you to assess. You should not let personal bias or a previous visit influence your report. This is really important! You should stick to the facts in your reports. Do not tell the company what they should do, just report the facts based on careful observation. Mystery shopping is highly confidential, be very careful about posting too much information on forums, blogs or any other type of public media. You will be signing confidentially agreements.

Different companies have different types of clients so you should sign up with many companies. As an independent contractor you do not owe loyalty to any one in particular. This will give you more work opportunities and the choice of which to work for. You will find that there are companies which you may not like as much as others. Their forms may be too long, website not easy to navigate, etc. It is up to you, you are your own boss!

Be reliable!! Canceling shops is looked upon very poorly. You may of course have an emergency, but be guaranteed that if you cancel often you will not be offered many shops in the future. Make sure that if you can not perform a shop you contact the scheduler immediately. Before accepting a shop make sure you understand the commitment! Some shops only pay reimbursements for a purchase you are required to make. The compensation may be only be $5, if any at all, so you must consider how much you are willing to travel for the payment offered. Do not forget when considering the shop it is not just about the time needed for travel and to perform the shop, but also to report the shop! Providing a detailed account of what transpired is essential. My experience has been that I need about 45 minutes to submit the report. When I first started out it took me a lot longer! Understanding the difficulty of the task at hand will help you determine how much time to allocate for its proper completion.

All mystery shopping companies have a rating system for your completed reports. Reports are submitted online on their website. I always open up a Word document then copy and paste unto the companies forms. Preparing the text in Word gives me two advantages: first, Word has a spell and grammar check. It is very important that your report is grammatically correct and every word is spelled correctly. Second, it allows me to save the document for later reference. If your report quality is very low, filled out incorrectly or incomplete you may be denied pay and not offered any more shops. First impressions are absolutely crucial. Make absolutely sure you understand what is required of you before performing the shop. Read the instructions thoroughly and carefully. Follow all directions to the letter.

Mystery shopping will provide you with a little extra income. It is not a full time job! Availability of shops to perform is sporadic. You will be your own boss, an independent contractor, and will need to file taxes accordingly.

You will need first-rate communication, observation and written skills. Must know you’re way around a computer, not expertly, but you will need to scan or fax, take digital pictures and upload these and other forms to the company’s site. E-mail is essential. If you can do this and like shopping this could be the niche for you!

Good luck! Happy shopping!

Disclaimer

You may see ads for Mystery shopping on this site, unless I specifically mention that I use a certain company you should do your homework first! Follow the ‘Safety First’ guidelines.

Links:

Safety First:

  • You can check registration data here such as name, address and phone number. http://www.whois.net/
  • Updated link to The BBBOnLine "Check out a Business or Charity"
  • Check it out with the Federal Trade Commission http://www.ftc.gov/
  • Google the site name or registered domain owner and check out the buzz!
  • Leave a post about the site you are curious about and I will do all the work for you! Chances are I already have checked it out.

Related articles on WAHB:

Location and Mystery Shopping
Silver/Gold Certification Buzz
Ready to Mystery Shop?
Mystery Shopping Necessities

Mystery Shopping and Scams

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Concerning Google Ads

You will see advertisement on this site in the form of Google ads. They are sponsored links which serve the purpose of maintaining this site and providing useful links to the reader. Of course, I would love for you to choose to check out the ads and in the process help sustain this site! But, you are in no way obligated to do so. In case you do decide to click on any of these sponsored links I would like to give you a little information about them.

“Google uses third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit this website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies click here."

What are third party ads?

“Many of the banner ads displayed on Web pages are not selected and delivered by the Website visited by a consumer, but by network advertising companies that manage and provide advertising for numerous unrelated Websites. The NAI refers to these companies as ‘3rd party ad networks’."

For the FAQ on the NAI site visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/faqs.asp#question_7

You may also visit the 3rd party sites directly to opt out of cookies.

The following third parties are supported by Google:

North America: Ad servers

North America: Rich media

North America: Research

For Google Info page click here.

Update June 14th:

The information quoted in this post and the list of third parties supported by Google came directly from the Google Info page. These are not work from home opportunities. This information was provided because I believe in total disclosure. My disclosure policy can be found towards the bottom of my left hand navigation bar. I consider we all have the right to opt out of advertisement directed at us without our consent. This type of advertisement happens throughout the internet it is not exclusive of this site. I can only hope that you find the information useful and go forth feeling empowered by this knowledge.

Back to WAHB Home

Stumble Upon Toolbar