We briefly mentioned in our last mystery shopping entry that companies that hire you as their mystery shopper reimburse you for the costs of your mystery shopping (for example, reimbursement for food at a restaurant or hotel that you need to review). But there’s one very important thing you need to remember as a mystery shopper if you want to get back the money you spent for a review: always, always save your receipts!
Without the receipt, the mystery shopping company won’t reimburse you. You will need to either take a photo of the receipt, scan it, or fax it to the company. You will be required to save your receipt for around six months to a year.
Aside from being reimbursed, the receipt will also show you the following information that’s important to your shopper report:
- Business name
- Address
- Date and time of purchase
- Amount you spent
- Name of person who served or waited on you
- What you purchased
- Transaction number
It would be difficult to remember these information if you don’t have it on paper, plus if it’s your first time going mystery shopping, you might be so nervous that you forget the important details.
If you aren’t given a receipt, ask for it! If you don’t have a receipt, you won’t be able to get paid, and you’ll have wasted time and money. If they can’t give you a receipt for some reason, you can ask for a handwritten receipt and say that it’s for work (but don’t reveal that you’re a mystery shopper!). While writing your report you would then have to mention that an electronic receipt wasn’t available, so you asked for a handwritten receipt instead.
When you hear the word “mystery shopping“, what first comes into mind?
