Mystery Shopping in Nevada

Mystery shoppers (also known as secret shoppers) get paid to visit stores, restaurants, salons, casinos, and all kinds of businesses to evaluate the service, cleanliness and quality. Although mystery shopping is not a typical full-time job, it is possible to make extra money in your spare time as a mystery shopper.

Businesses all over the world use mystery shopping evaluations to determine if employees are meeting the standards established by the business. Are employees saying thank you? Smiling? Offering assistance to customers? Is the store clean and well-maintained? Are food items fresh? Secret shoppers provide these answers and others about the customer experience.

The process of mystery shopping is much the same in Nevada as it is everywhere else; however, the requirements for becoming a mystery shopper are different when you work in Nevada.

In Nevada, mystery shoppers must be licensed private investigators or employees of private investigators. This is in contrast to most jurisdictions, where mystery shoppers are independent contractors, not employees, and no special license or permit is required.

There are several mystery shopping companies that have the licensing required to mystery shop in Nevada. To become a mystery shopper, you apply to work for them.

Once hired by a Nevada private investigator, mystery shoppers must obtain a work permit from the Private Investigators Licensing Board (PILB). The mystery shopper is responsible for any fees for the work permit, which may range from $85 - $110. The mystery shopping company will pay any fees required to register the shopper as an employee of their company.

Getting the work permit may require a background investigation and fingerprinting. Do not apply for the work permit until a Nevada mystery shopping company has said they want to hire you. Do not pay a fee to the mystery shopping company. They will not charge you to apply.

To become a mystery shopper in Nevada, start by applying to a company that has the proper licensing. Consult this list of Nevada mystery shopping companies.

The mystery shopping firm will provide any required training to prepare you for your assignments. Although you will be an employee, most companies will not require that you accept every assignment they offer or that you work full-time for them. Most will allow you to mystery shop for other firms.

Because most mystery shops require the purchase of products or services as a part of the evaluation, shoppers are reimbursed for those required purchases as well as receiving a fee for their time.

Mystery shopping can be a great way to make extra money. Just be sure that if you are a Nevada mystery shopper that you are following the law and working with a properly licensed agency.