"I became a mystery shopper to pay for my lunches - I have to check weird things"
- 2 months ago
A mum took up mystery shopping to help pay for her lunch on days out - and has revealed the bizarre things she gets paid to check.
Jennifer Lleras, 41, signed up with a company after seeing someone else do it on TikTok and gets free stuff or money in exchange for pretending to be a customer.
She doesn't pay for lunch or earns around $30 a time for visiting restaurants or shops and ranking customer service.
The marketing agency owner got an $18 free lunch at Cane's by timing how long it took her to go through the drive-thru.
Bizarrely she had to also count how many ketchup sachets she was given.
At Costco she was paid $30 to browse the store and visit ALL the free food sample stations.
In the coming weeks she's due to visit a tech shop to report on whether staff are all carrying iPads - and wearing name badges.
Being a mystery shopper involves visiting a business undercover with a specific set of instructions to assess specific things such as service and product quality.
There may be a small financial reward, or incentive such as having the cost of the purchase covered by the company.
The mum-of-two, from from Baltimore, Maryland, US, plans days out around her shopping assignments.
She has so far got $41 worth of food for free, and earned $30 at Costco - for doing very little.
She said: "I plan them around my trips and errands - like I was already planning to go to Costco.
"So I do a mystery shop too and get a free lunch!
"It's a lot of fun - I only just started but it's addictive.
"It's just a fun way to make a little bit of money, or free food."
Jennifer first took up a mystery shop with Costco, where she was paid $30 to browse the store and visit all the free food sample stations.
She had to check how engaged and friendly staff were, and take covert pictures of the sample stations, then report back.
She visited Five Guys and got $23 worth of food for free just to give some feedback on the experience.
Jennifer said: "At Cane's I had to time exactly how long it took to go through the drive-through.
"They wanted to know how many cars were in front, and how many packets of ketchup I was given.
"It can be very specific."
She is also trying to arrange a mystery visit to a car wash, a jewellery shop and a trampoline park.
Jennifer, who gets the opportunities after signing up to a mystery shopper site called Market Force, said she's already hooked.
She said: "It's a fun way to take advantage of your time, and get paid when you're already out and about.
"It just looked fun so I thought, 'why not try?'.
"I'm always looking for a good side hustle.
"It's not very lucrative - you couldn't do it as a full-time job - but I would be interested to see how much money someone could make if they maxed it out.
"It's just a fun way to make a bit of money, it's not a job - but I always appreciate when something actually works and isn't a scam.
"And all the food I've had so far has been delicious!"
Jennifer Lleras, 41, signed up with a company after seeing someone else do it on TikTok and gets free stuff or money in exchange for pretending to be a customer.
She doesn't pay for lunch or earns around $30 a time for visiting restaurants or shops and ranking customer service.
The marketing agency owner got an $18 free lunch at Cane's by timing how long it took her to go through the drive-thru.
Bizarrely she had to also count how many ketchup sachets she was given.
At Costco she was paid $30 to browse the store and visit ALL the free food sample stations.
In the coming weeks she's due to visit a tech shop to report on whether staff are all carrying iPads - and wearing name badges.
Being a mystery shopper involves visiting a business undercover with a specific set of instructions to assess specific things such as service and product quality.
There may be a small financial reward, or incentive such as having the cost of the purchase covered by the company.
The mum-of-two, from from Baltimore, Maryland, US, plans days out around her shopping assignments.
She has so far got $41 worth of food for free, and earned $30 at Costco - for doing very little.
She said: "I plan them around my trips and errands - like I was already planning to go to Costco.
"So I do a mystery shop too and get a free lunch!
"It's a lot of fun - I only just started but it's addictive.
"It's just a fun way to make a little bit of money, or free food."
Jennifer first took up a mystery shop with Costco, where she was paid $30 to browse the store and visit all the free food sample stations.
She had to check how engaged and friendly staff were, and take covert pictures of the sample stations, then report back.
She visited Five Guys and got $23 worth of food for free just to give some feedback on the experience.
Jennifer said: "At Cane's I had to time exactly how long it took to go through the drive-through.
"They wanted to know how many cars were in front, and how many packets of ketchup I was given.
"It can be very specific."
She is also trying to arrange a mystery visit to a car wash, a jewellery shop and a trampoline park.
Jennifer, who gets the opportunities after signing up to a mystery shopper site called Market Force, said she's already hooked.
She said: "It's a fun way to take advantage of your time, and get paid when you're already out and about.
"It just looked fun so I thought, 'why not try?'.
"I'm always looking for a good side hustle.
"It's not very lucrative - you couldn't do it as a full-time job - but I would be interested to see how much money someone could make if they maxed it out.
"It's just a fun way to make a bit of money, it's not a job - but I always appreciate when something actually works and isn't a scam.
"And all the food I've had so far has been delicious!"