Flexible Working Life

Photo byjunkmonkey

I got an email this week from Retail-Eyes asking if I would like to go to a hotel and get paid for it.
Naturally, I said yes, then I remembered that I hadn’t done any mystery shopping in ages.  In my last post, I listed some of  the companies that take on mystery shoppers, so I thought I’d have another go.
I remember being offered some great assignments when I was last with the companies, I got paid to have my hair cut, stop in a hotel, eat at restaurants and I even got paid to drink wine! On most assignments I could take my son and it became a fantastic game where we pretended we were secret agents.
So, after quickly logging my interest and imagining all the 5 star hotels that I would be offered to assess, I excitedly went to the ‘view assignments’ pages ready to pick out my hotel.  Much to my disappointment, there were no hotels; instead there were three nightclubs.
They were offering payment as well as a £30 spending allowance.  Confusing; as when I filled in my profile I did have to include my age and family commitments.  And then I thought, ‘Hey, if this mystery-shopping outfit thinks I’m the perfect candidate to check out a club and give feedback on the service, music and general atmosphere, then maybe I have the whole wrong idea about which little pigeon-hole of society I really fit into.’
Just because I think I’m past it, doesn’t mean that the mystery-shopping folk do.  They clearly think I’m the clubbing-diva, yummy-mummy type, who can go out and boogie the night away just in time to be back for breakfast serving up pancakes and orange juice.
It was a nice idea for ten seconds.
Anyway, I have re-logged my interest with all mystery shopping companies taking on applicants at the moment and I’m now wishing for a theme park or family friendly assignment that will need assessing in the coming week.  Preferably Alton Towers or a free holiday to Disney.
Although I do think my little boy would love the chance to go clubbing until the wee hours, I’m not convinced myself, so I won’t be snapping up those assignments any time soon.  But, hey, if you want to trip the light fantastic all for free, go ahead!