Dear OZbargain
I'll try my best to keep up but please feel free to ask me anything.
I'm a mystery shopper and completed over 5,000 visits during the course of my career.
Covered all sorts of visits… I'll try to keep the thread live for 72 hrs.
Nothing of a personal nature thanks!
This sounds very interesting and I would not mind trying this myself. Question:
Is it too hard to get ABN? Is there a downside to getting it if I end up dropping mystery shopping altogether after getting it?
I am trying to find a few mystery shopping agencies for retail/supermarket. Can you please recommend a few good and reliable ones?
Getting an ABN is easy and free, a little like applying for a TFN
I wouldn't activate and cancel ABNS unless you want some attention from the ATO, plenty of ABN's discontinue though.
I've already recommended them in the thread.
Thanks for the answer. I know you have recommended a few, just wanted to find more. Is seek a good place to find them?
also have you heard of these guys? https://www.thesecretshopper.com.au/
No I wouldn't use seek.
The website that you've quoted doesn't have an Australian address or contact number.
He seems to run a car dealership??
https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn=52491295347
Domain Name: THESECRETSHOPPER.COM.AU
Registry Domain ID: D407400000000127660-AU
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.auda.org.au
Registrar URL:
Last Modified: 2019-03-09T04:31:54Z
Registrar Name: Web Address Registration Pty Ltd
Registrar Abuse Contact Email:
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone:
Reseller Name:
Status: serverRenewProhibited https://afilias.com.au/get-au/whois-status-codes#serverRenew…
Registrant Contact ID: R-024446655-SN
Registrant Contact Name: Nicholas Cooke
Registrant Contact Email: [email protected]
Tech Contact ID: C-001043498-SN
Tech Contact Name: Nicholas Cooke
Tech Contact Email: [email protected]
Name Server: NS1.WIXDNS.NET
Name Server: NS0.WIXDNS.NET
DNSSEC: unsigned
Registrant: Nicholas Cooke
Registrant ID: ABN 52491295347
Eligibility Type: Sole Trader
Last update of WHOIS database: 2019-04-24T00:48:40Z <<<
Is an ABN strictly necessary (or do the companies want you to use one for their own reasons)? Seems more like the mystery shopper companies see running a business and hiring at the shoppers as, employees. It would be easier to declare it as income tax, that way your expenses that were reimbursed don't factor into your tax and complicate things (I believe it's just allowances that do).
Best to speak to an accountant for that. I went down the ABN route for tax reasons.
@mousie: I'm real keen on this but need to know more about the tax/abn side of things. Any specific accountant needed or would any local one suffice?
Any mistakes you've made in hindsight you wish you could do different? Any other beginner tips you have?
@Skinnerr: One of my best mates was a book keeper after high school so I got some insights but mostly did my own books.
The tax benefit for me was huge.
The mistake I made was a lot of overcommittment to agencies which sometimes have a significant delay in payment. Frontline Focus were terrible.
Have a cushion of $2k at least as a bare minimum at the scale I indicated.
Apparently in the last year the ATO is not issuing ABNs for Mystery Shopping anymore, so the Statement By Supplier form is the route people take now. I got my ABN for MS’ing mid 2017 but only use it for I think 2 or 3 companies.
Hi can you reference this one?
@mousie: It was a topic of discussion for a group of Shoppers, but I don’t think it was 100% proven, hence “apparently.”
Nice thread. Thanks for the effort. A few Qs:
Did you always dress just as ‘you’ or often try and dress for the market, eg, wear a smart suit for a prestige car job? If so, did it make a difference re customer service?
Conversely, did you ever deliberately ‘cross dress’, eg, as a tradie when shopping in an upmarket store like David Jones; or in a three piece suit when buying a length of copper pipe and a pick and shovel? Again, if so, did it make a difference re customer service?
Broadly speaking, and without referring to type of shop or product, did you generally find that females or blokes provided the best customer service?
That $7k casino win was a nice bonus. Did you tell the agency? If so, did they try and claw any of it back from you, since you were gambling with their money?
Hey Ozpit
Thanks - this is enjoyable but I'll have to go back to the real world tomorrow lol :)
Lest we forget - if any of the ozbargainers found this thread valuable don't forget to pay your respects tomorrow.
Kicking $5 to the vet's is a noble cause.
http://www.defencecare.org.au/donate1
RE: Dressing - dressing in a newish ralph polo shirt - I got much better service in JB Hifis
Luxury car brands - a lot of the sales reps are quite douche and cocky. Wearing suit pants and a quality cotton business shirt was necessary to be taken seriously.
Yep , don't wear a 3 piece suit to bunnings lol - I actually wear a kinchrome from this deal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/144497 it's got about 100 holes in it!
Both girls and guys can have a bad day. The girls in my view were more personable and had better selling skills. Taking the kids along to some of them softened the impact.
Yep - I told the agency because I had a great relationship with them. We had a laugh about it and it was mine to keep.
How many hours on average did you get from mystery shopping and how many agencies did you sign up with?
Not hours per week. Jobs per month would be a better indication.
About 150 jobs per mth
Wow, that's quite a lot of jobs! That's about 5 a day.
I would do most of them on a Thursday night's and Sunday as it was easier with less traffic. 20 on a Sunday was ok for me.
Is it worth for you to set up a mystery shopper agency yourself (assuming you dont have a FT job already)?
Yes, the agency gets paid up to $100 per visit per survey for each store in the audit network.
For that they have to put up with a lot of people pulling the plug on them in the last minute etc.
A lot of retailers are doing away with mystery shoppers with things like the KFC feedback / HJs and Maccas. However, in my view - this doesn't take away from the random nature of a using a mystery shopper for a spot compliance check. People are going to complain through other means anyway.
whats your usual survey checklist for an audit like?
is it a open ended type of questionnaire or '1-10' type or just varies?
A combination of yes and no questions and spots for short 1 or 2 sentence commentaries typically.
What does a typical mystery shop consist of and how long would it take? My previous conception of mystery shopping is just going to a shop and buying whatever you need to and getting out. Shouldn't take long or be labour intensive.
Here are some samples.
Get a catalogue and ask for help from a staff member on where it is.
If the team member escorts you to the department, this is acceptable.
If the team member points or directs you to where the item/product is, that is also acceptable.
You are not required to ask the team member a question about the product, but simply ask them where it’s
located within the store. Once you have located the Catalogue — FRONT or BACK pages
You must then select another small item/product from eitherthe FRONT or BACK page of the catalogue and
locate it on your own. Again, we recommend you select a product that will be easy (a small or medium
Step 5: Select Any ltem/Product to Take to the Fitting Rooms
Select any item of clothing that would be suitable to try on (not an accessory item eg; scarf or hat/beanie
etc) and take it to the fitting room as if you intend to try it on to see if the fitting room is clean
Get a catalogue (either from a customer liaison team member or from the entrance/stand)
Make an enquiry about a catalogue item/product from the INSIDE of the catalogue, with any team
member. Scan the product.
Helpful Tip: Use your mobile phone as though you are texting,
Visit the fitting rooms, no need to try anything on but must make observations.
Make a purchase and keep your receipt for verification purposes.
Q5. Did the customer liaison team member provide you with a ‘Your Target’ flyer?
This question is to identify if you can move throughout the area easily even if you have a pram or you are in a
wheelchair. If you see any trolleys, boxes or stock blocking access then please score NO.
Q10. Was the store neat and tidy
Q11. Was the signage for current promotions clear and visible?
Catalogue Enguiry
You are required to identify an item/product from INSIDE (not front or back) the catalogue and ask a team
member (not the customer liaison team member) where to find it. Please record the item you asked about, on
your online questionnaire. The questions in this section should be answered about the team member who
You are required to scan two products for prices as part of this assignment.
You will need to locate a price check scannerwithin the store to do this task.
029. If the store was busywas there someone managing the flow of the queue i.e.
Were you asked if you had a Fly Buys card?
Ermmm I think I see what’s going on. This isn’t a mystery shopper. They are using you for reasearch. Rather than pay you $150 they are doing it under the guise of a mystery shopper and paying Penuts. Very smart on their part!
For the Automotive stuff, how far did you need to go? You mentioned doing a test drive, but do they ever get you to go further, e.g. negotiate a price, actually placing an order? If so (working on the assumption they don't let you to keep the car like the other stuff…) what does the manufacturer do, void the contract after it's signed or something?
Phone / Email Enquiry
Physical visit on Site
Test Drive
Negiotiate a price
Monitor for Follow up.
Put Dummy details into their lead system and the manufacturer check to see if the prospect is loaded into their CRM.
Spackbace will know this :)
An interesting read, thanks! Could you disclose what is full time role or at least your specialty?
I'm an importer / exporter
Art… Vandelay?
Not sure if you've had any experience in this but this is always my favourite mystery shopper story. Back when I was working at Safeway during my school years, a call was made over the pa about. Person stealing. The mystery shopper ran out along with all the staff from the shop. Du into this time, there was a person collecting trolleys who spotted so done being chased by all the staff….. Doing the 'ritht' he followed an tripped that person. Little did he know it was actually the mystery shopper!
Wait… when u said Mystery Shopper, I thought you're one of these people at Myer paid to walk around and pretend they're shopping to catch crooks?
Only these days they've been sloppy as I've seen one hang around the Kitchen Appliances section for 2 hours
They're different I think they are referred to as Plaines clothed loss prevention officers.
Loss Prevention Officer - to make them feel important - but more commonly known as Store Detectives.
Sounds like a fun and casual side gig. Why did you stop?
My full time role required about 60 hrs of focus per week and I just didn't stop.
You said you had a system. Is there anything technology wise (eg. Some sort of app for organising your jobs) that you wish you had that could've helped you?
Mostly I was fine with this. Having a removable battery on my mobile and being and to replace it on the go was great, but I haven't been able to do that for a while.
If you're a real mystery shopper how do we know you were?
I did this long ago for maccas, it really wasn't worth the remuneration. Had to write a 500 word essay on it for like $10.
Had to write a 500 word essay on it for like $10
Hated them for that reason. I cheated and made up several templates and made modifications each time to fit what actually happened when I visited.
They were a lot easier to do when Gap had the contract, mostly tick and flick.
It's a fair call - but a lot of little $12 hits do add up. There are people that do this on Google Maps / Facebook guides for free without any advantage.
Uber wasn't a thing at the time - but I think M/S is more lucrative than that.