Get paid to shop, eat and travel, Nancy Drew style

A chief executive walks into a fast-food chain. No, it’s not the start of a riddle but rather a reality. As the boss of the store, they’re going to get the juiciest Big Mac, with perfectly salted fries (no burnt ones), in record time. It’s not exactly going to tell them how smoothly their store is running.

Enter the mystery shopper. They’re here to uncover the real story.

Far from a fictional job in a movie, mystery shopping is a thriving industry in Australia, helping businesses see what a customer sees: the actual wait times, the messy tables, or the staff member who forgot to say hello.

From supermarkets to car dealerships, businesses are willing to pay for your undercover feedback to see what’s really happening when they’re not looking.

What does a mystery-shopping mission look like?

Before you head out, you’ll receive a brief with specific instructions. It might be to visit a certain shoe store next Tuesday between the hours of 1pm and 2pm. Tell the assistant you’ve just started long-distance running and need advice on a shoe that fits your feet and your running goals.

What will you be looking for? Well, it might be how you were greeted. How long did you have to wait to get approached by a sales assistant? Did they offer a fitting? What recommendations did they make and were you offered any other products?

For your time, you’ll often get the cost of the item you bought refunded, a payment–starting at around $10 and going up to $80–or in some cases, both. 

More often than not,  an actual store won’t hire mystery shoppers directly. Businesses tend to hire mystery shopping agencies that manage both shoppers and their reporting at the other end. 

Beyond the obvious retail and hospitality industries, mystery shoppers are everywhere. Banks, petrol stations, and even healthcare and childcare providers use mystery shoppers. You’ll even find them at car dealerships (no, you won’t be getting a Porsche for free).

There are even over-the-phone mystery shopping assignments where you can earn money without leaving your living room.

It’s not all fun and games

After the visit, don’t expect to simply send a thumbs up emoji to your mystery shopping agency. You’ll need to submit a detailed report within a certain timeframe. This often requires staff names, exact timestamps of when you entered the store and how long it took to be served, photos of the storefront, and your receipts (vital for claiming back on costs).

Don’t quit your day job–at least not yet

You could try to do mystery shopping full-time, but you’d find yourself exhausted after crisscrossing the city for individual assignments. 

Instead, it’s better to view mystery shopping as a way to supplement your income or enjoy a free treat, not as a career replacement.

Mystery-shopping might not pay all the bills but for some, it can be life-changing. Louise Heffernan from Mystery Management, one of Australia’s largest mystery shopping companies, shared that one of her long-term shoppers, now retired, hadn’t been able to afford restaurant quality steak in years. Now, his assignments let him and his wife enjoy meals out again.

“For a lot of our shoppers, it’s a way to enjoy a meal out or a small treat without the usual cost, especially right now,” Ms Heffernan said. “At the same time, they are helping businesses understand what customers are really experiencing and where they can improve.”

OK I’m in. Hire me!

Ready to start? Hit the internet to find a reputable agency. A referral from a friend is always nice to have, but you can also check the online reviews of the company you’re considering joining.

Agencies want detail-oriented people with a keen eye and a decent memory–you can’t exactly walk around a store with a clipboard without blowing your cover. You need to be able to recall conversations and observations later when you’re clear of the store.

When you apply, know that it’s going to take time to get through the online application as the agency is going to want to know a bit about you. Not because they’re super snoopy, but because they need to match you to the right assignments. For example, they’re not going to send an 80-year-old to review a nightclub, while a 16-year-old walking into a fine-dining restaurant alone might raise some eyebrows.

Pro tips: avoiding the traps

• Don’t blow your cover. If you get caught taking photos of shelves or writing notes mid-conversation, you might not get paid. Channel your inner Donnie Brasco—stay cool.
• Keep your receipts. No receipt = no reimbursement. Take a photo of it immediately after you leave the store.
• Be like Charlie Brown. Dependable. If you accept a job and cancel at the last minute, it  might make it harder for you to get the juicy assignments in the future.
• Not a tax-free zone. Mystery shopping income is generally not tax-free. Whether you treat it as a hobby or a business (using an ABN), you should keep some money aside for the ATO at the end of the year, provided your total income is above the tax-free threshold. If you’re not sure, chat to your accountant.

Watch for scammers. Mystery shopping agencies are usually pretty reputable, but it’s wise to keep your antenna up. If you’re asked to pay a fee to join the agency or for training, it could be a scam.