Friday, July 6, 2012

Welcome To Adventures In Mystery Shopping

Welcome to Adventures In Mystery Shopping. This blog will chronicle my journey through the interesting and often amusing world of mystery shopping. Along the way, I hope to impart to you some valuable information so that you can embark on your own adventure. And, hopefully make a few bucks along the way.

I started out as a mystery shopper ten years ago when I was a stay-at-home mother living near the beach in South Florida. I had relocated there from the Chicago area to marry and start a family with the love of my life, but I sure felt like a fish out of water.  I had nothing but time on my hands and wanted to get to know the community better. After reading an article about mystery shopping and doing a modicum of research, I figured it would be a good fit for me. At the time I had a newborn daughter and she just tagged along on assignments. I did this for about six months before we opted to relocate back to the Chicago area, as I wanted to resume my career as an executive at a large firm in the suburbs of Chicago. Still, mystery shopping was an exciting experience for me...we got to go out to eat a few times, I hit a few retails shops, and  I really loved getting out of the house.

Flash forward six years ►► In late spring 2008 I was 'relieved of my duties' (read: fired) from my job and suddenly found myself home once again. I decided to pursue my passion for writing and became a freelance writer. I loved it! I could make my own hours, take only the assignments that intrigued me and got to be at home. However, several years into this portion of my career I found myself getting seriously stir-crazy. I loved being at home, but yearned to make contact with the outside world. At those moments when writer's block set it, I desperately needed to get out of the house and clear my mind. Still, budgetary constraints being what they are, I wanted to make money while outside of the home rather than spend it. Then, I remembered my mystery shopping days and decided to return to that.

Boy, things had changed since I did this ten years ago. Now, everything is online and getting assignments is easy peasy. Plus, the Chicago area had literally thousands of assignments to choose from! Woo hoo, this was going to be amazing!  I have now been mystery shopping for about six months, but have learned a ton in a short period of time (not to worry -- I will share all of my secrets with you!).  Further, my goal is to make this a very interactive blog. This means that if you have any questions at all regarding mystery shopping, just post it in the comments section and I will get you an answer ASAP.

Now....Let's start shopping!!

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