Devoted to WAHMs -Work at Home Moms

This is the second in a series of interviews with women who work at home. Today's interview is with "TxPeg," whose identity must be kept anonymous because she works as mystery shopper. She has agreed to be interviewed under the pseudonym, "TxPeg."

TxPeg originally contacted me in response to my feature on mystery shopping.

Because the interview with TxPeg is so long, I'm dividing it into two posts. This is the first post.

Work From Home Momma: How many years have you done mystery shopping?

TxPeg: I started mystery shopping in 1998 when we lived in Anchorage, Alaska and continued shopping in the greater D.C. area from 2000 until 2002. Then I took an extended break because we moved to a small town and I needed a "real" job for a bit. After yet another move, I started shopping again in July of 2007. So I guess I am in my 5th year of shopping even though I started in 1998.

A large part of the reason I stopped shopping was that I did not think there was enough business to keep me busy. However, although our current town is not as large as Anchorage or the DC metro area, I am doing enough shopping to keep me fairly busy and I regret that I took such a long break from shopping.

Work From Home Momma: What made you decide to start mystery shopping?

TxPeg: I don't remember how I got started mystery shopping. I think a scheduler contacted me in Anchorage and was desperate to find someone to do a shop for eyeglasses and I needed a new prescription. I really liked the fact that I was able to get some nice eyeglasses that were partly paid for by my shop fee. In fact, because I am a penny pincher sometimes, I started searching on the Internet for companies that I could shop for. Before I knew it, I had schedulers calling me to do shops instead of sitting by my computer waiting for job offers to show up in my email.

I want to point out something else too.  One of the things that helped my business to grow at that time was that I kept my commitments and if I said I would do a shop on a certain date, I did it. I once drove in a blizzard to do a set of shops and when the scheduler found out about it, she said it could have been rescheduled. But I gave her my word and it was important to me to keep my word.  I also read the instructions very carefully and made sure to follow them in detail. I wrote my reports in complete sentences and gave detailed answers. I think that all these things helped my business grow because schedulers do talk and share the names of good shoppers with other schedulers.

Work From Home Momma: What do you enjoy most about mystery shopping? 

TxPeg: I love the flexibility of choosing when I want to work and what I want to do. I like being able to schedule my shops so that they usually fit my family's needs and schedule. I also enjoy the "reimbursements" when I complete a shop and they pay for part of or all of my purchase. There are some fast food places I love to shop but if the meal that month isn't one I like, I ask myself if I really want to do the shop. Why? Because I want to enjoy what I purchase since this is part of why I shop. In the past, there have been times when my husband and I have gone on a date and wound up paying $2 plus the tip (once you figure the amount that the company will reimburse). I've rented videos and been reimbursed for the rental. I've bought books and calendars and been reimbursed for part of the purchase. Some of my groceries are paid for from my shop reimbursements. I guess what I am saying is that I like what mystery shopping can add to the quality of our life - whether it be a pizza or a dinner out or a movie we've been wanting to rent.

Work From Home Momma: What do you enjoy least about mystery shopping?

TxPeg: Keeping the paperwork and the mileage organized is a pain. I'm just now getting started again and trying to find a system that will work well for me so I can keep track of my income and expenses. I also don't enjoy it when I have to say no to a scheduler because a shop won't work for my schedule. I travel to two other towns once a month and if a scheduler calls up with a shop in that town but I've already gone, I have to say no or ask them to give me a couple of hours to see if I can pull together enough jobs to make it worth the 50 or 70 mile trip one way. I hate doing that to a scheduler because I really like and respect many of the schedulers I work with and I know they have a tough job.  There are a few schedulers that I will email if I know I am going somewhere because I want to see if they have any shops they need me to pick up on the way. As an example, this weekend we are going to a larger town (San Angelo) to do six shops for one company. I've emailed some of my favorite schedulers to see if they have anything they need done since I will be in that town. I like the fact that I can do this but I hate it when I have to turn a scheduler down if they call.

In the next post:

• How TxPeg keeps her identity secret
  
• TxPeg's biggest business challenge
• Where TxPeg sees her mystery shopping business going in the future
• General pointers on mystery shopping from TxPeg

Mystery shopping website picks from TxPeg:

1. www.volition.com because they have a FREE list of mystery shopping companies. I recommend that you spend a week or two and apply at them all. Save some writing samples into a document and keep it handy for  applications so that you can simply copy and paste samples of your writing into the applications and save yourself some time.
   
   
2. www.mysteryshop.org because this is the Mystery Shopping Provider's Association. I spent the $15 to get my silver certification from them because I wanted to have an edge over other shoppers in my area. I know many people will say, "don't pay to shop" and I agree with them ... most of the time. However, I think it looks good when companies can see I have my silver certification and many of them will ask if you're certified when you apply with them. The MSPA is a legitimate organization and has been around for a while - it is respected by many in the business. I would share my favorite shopping companies but the list would take up more space than you have - so I will share about one of my favorite scheduling companies.
   
   
3. I would visit www.kernscheduling.com and get registered with them. Kern Scheduling works with several companies and their schedulers are among my favorites. I check their site daily and hope for shops in my area. I also let them know if I am traveling to see if they have shops open.