If you are willing to do a little traveling to local stores, restaurants, movie theaters etc. this is the best job available online. Your job duties will include dealing with local businesses in your area and providing a valued service.

Your official title will be “Field Associate Auditor.”

In this program we will show you how to get certified in this position through a few companies at no additional cost.

What is an Field Associate Auditor?

Today, many companies use Field Associate Auditors to measure their customer service and enhance employee training and offer employee incentive programs and measure customer satisfaction.

Most businesses are finding it necessary to continually offer and do more to attract and keep customers. Businesses now are using the Field Associate Auditor service as a means of separating themselves from the competition. There are thousands of undercover people (mystery shoppers) evaluating workers’ performances and more are needed.

Field Associate Auditing is more than a great opportunity to make extra money. It is also your opportunity to give helpful suggestions and constructive criticism to local businesses.

Have you ever had a problem with a business such as customer service, cleanliness or an inappropriate order? Have you ever wished you could report to someone? Well, now’s your chance to do it and get paid at the same time. Businesses are willing to pay individuals such as yourself to visit their establishments and give them your opinion. They are willing to do this to get an honest and unbiased opinion of their everyday operation.

Most stores know when an inspection is coming from higher management and this gives them time to prepare and make sure everything is perfect. But, an establishment has no idea when a Field Associate Auditor is used. Therefore, how you are treated and what you think is a better indication of how the establishment treats its customers on an everyday basis. This identifies problem areas for senior level management. Senior level management can then take action to improve this area, which provides the consumer with better service.

In these times, customer service is all important. Customers today simply will not tolerate bad service like they might have in the past. People are too busy to tolerate slow or poor service. Nowadays, people want it right, and they want it right now! If the service and products are not perfect, the customers will go to another store instantly.

Field Associate Auditing services will prevent the loss of the most valuable asset – the company’s hard earned customers. Most business that use mystery shoppers are service oriented companies who stand to lose a substantial amount of business if their employees perform poorly. When a company wants a mystery shopping program they seek the services of a Market Research company that specializes in developing these programs.

These market research companies are the ones that directly hire the mystery shoppers. They are the companies you contact in order to obtain your shopping assignments. A list of market research companies that use mystery shoppers is included with the resources on this site under the section entitled “Companies.” All that you have to do is contact them, tell them a little about yourself and let them know that you are available to shop. They will then contact you in regard to upcoming assignments when they become available.

As a Field Associate Auditor, you will usually work in conjunction with these market research businesses on a contract basis. This means that you are not their “employee” – but rather an independent Field Associate Auditor. You will be held responsible for your own income taxes on your earnings and no deductions will be taken out of your paycheck. Most people like this because it allows them to take advantage of numerous tax breaks.

What Makes a Good Field Associate Auditor?

Anyone who is reliable, observant, with a little common sense and neat in appearance can be a great Field Associate Auditor. People who make good Field Associate Auditors are those people who appreciate good service and who like to feel that their business is appreciated. A person who accepts assignments with the good intentions of completing each assignment in a timely manner and evaluations that are completed objectively makes a good Field Associate Auditor.

Field Associate Auditors take pleasure in knowing that their comments and suggestions are read and acted upon by the businesses they shop.

The Field Associate Auditor’s job is not to spy on the employee’s or business, or even to try to catch them in something wrong. You are not even looking for anything right. You simply evaluate and report on your experience. Field Associate Auditors must remain completely unbiased when performing their duties. If you’ve had a bad experience in the past at a certain business, then you should be professional and refuse to evaluate that establishment if you feel you cannot be objective. This is not a time for revenge.

You are the link that keeps the corporate headquarters informed, and they need you to act in a professional manner. For a business to be successful, they must maintain customer satisfaction. They can better please the customer if they understand how the customer is being treated and if their product is being sold as they intended.

Many businesses operate from a corporate office with stores all over the country. For them, mystery shoppers are invaluable to maintain quality in each and every location. By having you, the ordinary customer, report on your shopping experience, they can better achieve uniformity throughout their chain. They are completely aware that cleanliness, service and the quality of their product is essential to their success. Give them your loyalty by not revealing your findings with any other source – whether friends, competitors or other marketing research companies and you can have a wonderful, long lasting working relationship with them.

You will have the benefit of working around your schedule, which can be beneficial for a stay-at-home mom or dad, retiree, student or part-time worker. Some places may want you to go to their establishment only during certain hours, i.e. happy hour, early bird specials, moonlight madness sales, etc. You may be able to request certain hours of the day that are best for you, such as early mornings for moms with small children in preschool or late afternoons – early evenings for those who already hold down a part time job. Field Associate Auditors are needed every hour of the day somewhere!

How You are Paid For The Assignments

You will get paid for each assignment you complete for the market research companies. The pay can range from $10.00 for a quick 15-minute assignment, to $50-$100 or more for a longer assignment. Most of the companies will send you a check once you submit your assignment report with the details they request. Some now are also offering PayPal as a payment option.

What is Needed and Required

You need NO EXPERIENCE to do this work. Requirements are transportation of any kind. Any amount of available time you may be able to give to this job. Many members have found this can actually be a full time job, and making a $100 or more per day is not out of the question. You can work one day a week or seven days a week — the choice is yours. The more assignments you do, the more money you will make.

The Whole Job Process Explained!

After training you will begin by getting set up with the market research companies we provide. It will require you to get registered with these market research companies in order so they can properly assign you the jobs applicable to your geographics and demographics.

In our training we will go over which market research companies to get signed up with and we will provide our main market research company for you to get signed up and certified. They even start sending you assignments within 24 ours after you are signed up.

We have many market research companies to work with so the work is plentful.

The amount of Field Associate Auditing assignments that you may go on in a given time period will vary. Usually an assignment begins with a business representative or scheduler from a market research company getting in touch with you via e-mail. Most market research companies use the Internet exclusively when offering assignments because of its speed and convenience.

Keep in mind that you can choose which assignments to accept as they are offered to you. Never feel pressured into a job. Don’t be afraid to say no if you are not interested in an assignment. For example, if you do not drink alcoholic beverages, let them know ahead of time and they will do their best to not place you on jobs that require drinking.

Your First Assignment

When a marketing research company contacts you for the first time, they will ask if you are available for a specified job at a certain time and date.

For example, let’s say a department store needs a Field Associate Auditor next week sometime between Monday and Thursday in the mornings to evaluate the Ladies Department. Your fee may be $15.00 for the trip and merchandise valued up to $50.00. They will send you a questionnaire before your assignment with detailed instructions.

Your instructions may include: Looking at the displays to see if they are kept neat and well put together. Asking the sales clerk for information about a certain item and how they could assist you in getting a certain size not readily available. They may ask you to try on several items and check the dressing rooms for neatness. Does the sales clerk offer to assist you with additional sizes? Are the shelves well stocked and neat in appearance? Was the sales clerk helpful? They will want you to actually purchase something they suggest or of your choice and will want you to observe the actual transaction and note how easily or difficult it was performed.

They may also ask you to question the sales clerk on several different items. What was his / her response? They may ask you to visit the washrooms and make sure they are clean and well stocked. Use a public telephone and comment on its accessibility.

Now that you have decided that you are going to do this Field Associate Auditing assignment, plan ahead. Look over the questionnaire they sent you. There may be 20 or more questions to review. Study it carefully, so you can be prepared for what you’ll be doing before you go. Take along a notepad. This will come in handy for making quick notes to yourself to be used for reference when completing your questionnaire.

Never take your questionnaire in the store with you! This is one of the most common mistakes most first-time auditors make! It most likely would violate the terms of your agreement and end in you not being used again as a mystery shopper for their company.

Your next step will be to actually go to the store during the times specified. Before you even enter the store, note the time you actually go and also make some reference to surroundings such as weather conditions, crowded parking lot, etc. This information may not be required on the form, but may help you to remember details later.

Next, go through your shopping as described on your questionnaire. Shop around, enjoy the beautiful displays, select something for yourself or as a gift for someone special and have fun while you make some money!

After the Audit

There’s not a lot of work left, however, you’ll be required to file a report or fill out the questionnaire within a short time of your visit. A response is usually expected within 24 hours. You can e-mail in your forms in but always adhere to the time frame set by the company you’re working for.

Once you leave your shop location, take a few minutes to make some quick notes in your notepad. Later, when you fill out the actual form you will refer to these notes extensively. Answer all the questions to the best of your knowledge, keeping an unbiased view.

Provide as much information as possible in your reports. You need to recreate your visit to give the reader enough information to visualize the entire interaction. The more detail you provide, the more valuable you are to the company and the more shops you will get. Companies don’t always know everything that is going to need to be noted during an individual shop, so let them know of everything that you determined to be notable.

If you are unsure how to answer a certain question, contact the company for details. Follow the instructions accompanying your questionnaire completely. If they ask you to contact them within a certain time, do everything possible to comply. If you made a purchase, make sure you have your receipt. You will need to turn this in for reimbursement.

They will ask you to e-mail your questionnaire in within a certain time. Remember to adhere to the time allotted for response. If you do not respond in time, contact the company immediately and let them know why.

Once you have made a copy of your report / questionnaire for your records and turned in your paper work (including your sales receipt), you are done. Now you just have to wait a few days for your payment and start thinking of where you would like to audit next!

Assignment Possibilities

Large national chains are the businesses most likely to use Field Associate Auditors and can include almost any type of business you can imagine. Here are some examples:

– Apartment Leasing / Real Estate or Property Management companies –
– Grocery Stores – Drug Stores – Department Stores –
– Banks / Financial Institutions – Travel Agencies – Air Lines –
– Hotels / Motels / Inns – Cruise Lines – Restaurants / Pubs –
– Computer Stores – Pet Stores – Automobile Dealerships – Wine Stores –
– Toy Stores – Stereo / Electronics Stores – Furniture & Appliance Stores –
– Hardware Stores – Movie Theaters – Theme Parks – Casinos – Night Clubs –
– Florists – Fitness Clubs – Insurance Companies – Gift Shops –
– various Specialty Shops…

Job Overview Recap