A Week in the Life of a Mystery Shopper

April 11th - April 17th...

Last week was crazy. I earned $890 and drove 1,523 miles. I also received reimbursements totaling $266, which included one night in a hotel. Things were looking great... until I received a speeding ticket Friday. The officer claimed I was going 60 in a 40 in a construction zone - with workers present, which doubles the fine. I didn't see any workers, so I took photos going back three miles from where he was parked. Does anyone know what the legal definition of "workers present" is? There were workers present - the construction zone was more than 20 miles long.

Sunday
The quietest day of the week. I did a pizza shop and 7 retail stores.

Monday
Quite a bit busier. I did a gas station route and a couple local retail stores. I was gone most of the day but earned $141.

Tuesday
This was also a short day. I did another pizza shop, 6 retail stores, 2 gas station audits, and ate dinner at a steakhouse. Dinner was reimbursement only but worth it.

Wednesday
Took a test drive at a new car dealership (these are my favorite shops... I love looking at cars!), completed 7 retail audits, visited one bank, one home improvement store, and evaluated a car wash.

Thursday
Busy. I did a little of everything: fast food, banks, retailers, and 3 telephone shops. My partner and I left early evening for the hotel shop and completed two tobacco compliance stores en route.

Friday
We continued our road trip, which mostly consisted of tobacco compliance audits. My partner completes the purchase attempt because he is under 25, but I have to watch. Also did a couple of gas stations and retailers and a pizza shop. This was the longest day of the week: we left the hotel about 8 AM and arrived home after 9 PM. I earned over $300 today but after giving my partner some spending money for helping out and the speeding ticket, I probably lost money. Ugh...

Saturday
A fairly busy day doing all sorts of shops. I went to a couple office supply stores, two discount retailers, two mailing centers, two fast food restaurants and a gas station.

Most of the "retail" shops I did last week were part of a special one-time project. While they only contributed $120 to my income, it involved visiting 30 different stores. Fortunately, the visits were ridiculously easy and usually took about 2 minutes each. This week will be outstanding. I have 17 stores to merchandise, maybe more. This week is a changeout week, which means I have to stock new merchandise and return old, so I will be paid better than my standard visit. I have also signed up for 20-30 other shops already.