Make a list including your dates of travel, where you are likely to stop or towns along the route and where you are likely to eat.  Go to the sites of the companies offering mystery shops and search for shops in the locations along your route. You should check specifically for the chains you know your family will shop.

If you will be staying overnight along your route, look for opportunities at hotel chains.  What would be better than evaluating your room and the hotel service and lodging for free?  This is a great way to save money.

There are companies that provide mystery shoppers and secret shoppers for amusement parks. If your family will be visiting an amusement park while traveling or visiting family and friends, be sure to check this out.

Check shops located in the geographic area of your final destination.  Don’t forget bank shops, dinner shops and theater checks. You can work these shops into your normal visiting routine. If you dine out with family over the holidays, try to dine where you can do a secret shopper evaluation.

Longhorn Steakhouse shops are posted for December at http://www.focusonservice.com

Bank shops are posted at http://www.athpoweronline.com

Sonic, McDonalds and Five Guys Burgers shops are posted at http://www.marketforceshopper.com

If your family and friends visit the mall or go to the movie theater over the holidays, your opportunities expand.  You should search retails shops and check out movie trailer checks or movie display audits.

Theater shops are posted at http://www.certifiedmarketingservices.com

If you plan ahead and think of making a bit of extra money on your travel vacation, this will be easy. Mystery shopping while traveling is also a good way to pass the time. Get the kids involved and maybe you will be spared the ongoing chant, “Are we there yet?”

Yesterday, I was planning to go to Panera Bread for lunch. It was chilly and rainy and the soup was just what I needed to warm my bones. But this is beside the point….. I decided to do a search to see if there was a company out there providing mystery shoppers for Panera Bread.  Getting paid to shop could only make my soup taste better.  I did a few searches for restaurant mystery shopping and Panera Bread and found the company in just a few minutes.

The company providing mystery shoppers for Panera Bread is Satisfaction Services Inc.  You can sign up to shop for this company at http://www.satisfactionservicesinc.com/join.html  Panera Bread shops pay $10 and offer a $10 reimbursement.

Other restaurants where you can get paid to shop or get paid to eat include Friendly’s, McDonalds and Five Guys Burgers.

For Friendly’s, you can sign up with National Shopping Service at http://www.nationalshoppingservice.com  This mystery shopping company will you a $19 reimbursement for the meal and pay is $6. For $25 you can feed a family or at least put a nice dent in the bill.

The same company manages shadow shoppers for McDonalds and Five Guys Burgers. You can sign up at http://www.shopnchek.com./home.html to accept shops for McDonalds or Five Guys.  The pay and reimbursement for Five Guys is $8 shopping fee and $10 reimbursement.  The pay and reimbursement for McDonalds can vary. The basic fee is $8 with actual purchase reimbursement.  This company will increase the fee for McDonald’s shops if they are having a hard time getting shoppers. Shop fees will usually increase to $9 or $10 but I have seen them as high as $18 or $20.

As you can see, being a mystery or shadow shopper and getting paid to shop with restaurant shops can save a little money for your family.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens: Panera Bread Buddies (justjared.buzznet.com)