Part Time Jobs in Dubai: Mystery Shopping

Trying to find part time jobs in the Dubai or Abu Dhabi? Part time jobs in Dubai are not easy to find and many of us that come from the West find this to be a source of frustration. How can a student get some extra pocket money? How can a stay at home mom earn some extra cash while the kids are in school? I found a great solution for myself in mystery shopping.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the entire UAE are booming in terms of retail, restaurants and entertainment. There is competition and companies are increasingly turning to consultancies to find out how to maximize their share of this growing market. Mystery shopping is one very effective method such companies utilize to improve their service and in turn sales. Mystery shopping can also make a great part time job.

Successful Mystery shoppers will possess:

1. Good command of written English. Actual shopping can often be done in other languages but the written reports are exclusively in English.

2. Organization. Mystery shops or checks often need to be completed within a certain time period. Companies often wish checks to be during weekday or weekend hours and often will specify morning or evening as well. The actual visit to the shop or restaurant must be completed during this company specified window and the reports must be completed within 24 hours of the visit. This rule applies to all mystery shopping companies.

3. Good observation skills and attention to details. As a mystery shopper your job is to notice details. General impressions are useful but companies want to know details. They need the names of the people you interacted with and the exact responses they gave you. After your first few checks you get much better at focusing in on these types of details but it still requires good attention.

4. Flexibility. You can be a rigid planner and still complete an excellent mystery shop but to make money at the endeavour I found flexibility to be a highly useful trait. Assignments will often come up last minute and if you are able to complete them it is very much to your benefit in terms of earning. Mystery shopping jobs can be a feast or famine. I have found myself overly busy for several days followed by days or even a week or more searching for an assignment to complete. The more flexible you are to pick up multiple jobs during those busy time the better your overall earnings are as well. Of course as with any work place your flexibility will win over many of the project managers who are responsible for assigning the mystery shopping assignments.

I have been able to make a make several hundred US dollars a month while mystery shopping part time during my kids school days with occasional checks done in the evening or weekend. There are a variety of assignments form fast food, coffee shops, full service restaurants, Banks, Government offices, public transportation, petrol stations and retails shopping outlets. There are also jobs checking websites and call centers. These assignments generally pay slightly less but have the benefit of being done from home any time you chose. You really can tailor your assignments to suit your interest and convenience.

If you are now ready to get started mystery shopping I can recommend the following two companies all of which I have worked with. If anyone has information on any additional companies recruiting mystery shoppers in the UAE please add them in the comment section below and I will include them here as well.

Mystery Shopping Companies working in the UAE:

Ethos Consultancy,

www.ethos.ae

International Service Check,

www.internationalservicecheck.com

I will note that Ethos is located in Dubai and does require all mystery shoppers to attend an orientation at the office prior to receiving assignments. International Service Check enrolls mystery shoppers via computer only.