Mystery shopping is a side hustle that I love, because not only can you make money but you can also save money by being reimbursed for items you have to purchases or services you get to enjoy as part of your mystery shop – such as meals, spa treatments and more. Grass Roots mystery shopping is a company that I have completed many assignments for over the years – to date I've completed 49 assignments so it is fair to say that I love them.
What is mystery shopping?
Mystery shopping is a tool used by companies to evaluate their quality of service.
In order to do this, companies employ outside agencies to recruit mystery shoppers to carry out assignments. These shoppers will act like normal customers and look at certain aspects of the service they receive. The shopper then completes a report after the assignment and receives a payment for doing so.
What is Grass Roots Mystery Shopping?
Grass Roots is a mystery shopping company that hires mystery shoppers to complete mystery shopping assignments for various businesses.
The types of jobs vary – I've done tasks that involve visiting a Bureau De Change to exchange currency, I've visited sofa shops, I've enjoyed pub lunches, assessed supermarket's click and collect service and many more.
Is Grass Roots Mystery Shopping Legit?
Absolutely, Grass Roots mystery shopping is a legitimate company offering mystery shopping tasks.
As I've mentioned, I've completed 49 assignments with them over the years and been paid for my assignments.
The companies that I have completed mystery shops for are leading names across supermarkets, high street stores, mobile phone brands and more.
How much does Grass Roots Mystery Shopping pay?
The amount of money you can earn from mystery shopping varies greatly, from the type of assignment to the length of the report.
Some mystery shopping companies have assignments that will only pay you a reimbursement – for example you might get a meal for two worth £40 for free in exchange for your report.
Thankfully I haven't come across that with Grass Roots mystery shopping.
Typically the assignments I've had with Grass Roots will offer a fee and reimbursement.
If you complete two mystery shopping assignments per month, then I estimate that you will earn yourself an extra £240 per year.
Getting paid by Grass Roots mystery shopping
In order to get paid, you must have added your BACS details, and payment runs are made on the 1st and 15th of the month as long as they're working days.
This means that it usually takes 3 – 4 weeks after completing an assignment to get paid.
Of course, the assignments must pass their quality control checks before being paid. I've never had a job declined!
Mystery shopping and tax
You will need to declare your mystery shopping earnings and pay any relevant tax on your earnings over the Trading Allowance.
I have written about declaring your extra income to HMRC to help guide you. Remember that you can offset any travel you do at a rate of 45p per mile.
Mystery Shopping hints & tips
If you are keen to start mystery shopping then here are my top hints and tips.
- When you apply for mystery shopping companies, they will most likely ask you to write up a report or list why you think you would make a good mystery shopper. If you save this for your next application then you will save time.
- Be sure to read through the brief carefully and do some research beforehand. Sometimes the reimbursement you are given does not cover the item(s) you are required to purchase. This is fine if you were planning on going there anyway or you are looking to get some money off a purchase, but not okay if your sole aim is to make extra money.
- Don't be afraid to ask for travel expenses. Sometimes if an assignment has been difficult to place then you might be able to ask for an increased fee AND your travel expenses paid.
- Don't talk about your assignments. Most, if not all, mystery shopping companies don't allow you to mention their clients by name. Even in this blog post you'll see that I've mentioned the types of companies I've completed assignments for, and not their names.
