By Rex Roy, for AOL Find a Job

For decades, businesses have used sophisticated research techniques to improve company performance. One such tool utilizes "mystery shoppers," a virtual army of regular Janes and Joes who shop for the benefit of all mankind. Mystery shoppers can help an airline understand if customers like their check-in procedures. Mystery shoppers can help automobile dealers improve their oil-change operations. Mystery shoppers can even identify specific areas where retail giants are having issues, such as with display designs or return policies.

AOL Find a Job recently identified another trend in mystery shopping: schools. Here's what we found out.

"We've seen state officials and other types of school administrators requesting mystery shopper-type research of individual schools, campuses, and even entire school districts," said Edward Gagnon, president of the research firm Customer Service Solutions in Charlotte, N.C. "These mystery shopper studies help schools understand the experience their customers have; the students, parents, and prospective parents."

Gagnon explained that most mystery shopping research is not conducted to learn about competitive schools. Instead, school administrators want to learn about what needs to be improved within their own school or school system.

After a research project has begun, the research company hires mystery shoppers and gives them specific assignments. For example, mystery shoppers may call the school to check on how easy the phone system is to navigate. Specific questions may include: Was the phone answered within the first three rings? Were you asked your name? Did the representative gauge your level of interest and inquire about your timetable for enrollment? Shoppers also measure callback time, whether their questions were answered sufficiently, and the friendliness and professionalism of the advisers. These calls are recorded, so that they can be used as examples of what works and what doesn't.

Mystery shoppers may also contact departments within the school via e-mail so that response time and the thoroughness of the responses may be measured. Depending on the type of research program requested, mystery shoppers may visit individual schools and campuses, posing as potential students/parents. These on-site visits reveal important insights regarding campus condition, the friendliness of the staff, and how easy it is to reach important individuals, such as principals or counselors.

In most cases, data gathered by mystery shoppers does not become public unless those who commissioned the study release it. Normally, the lessons learned through the research lead to changes within schools, such as improved Web sites and phone etiquette.

Today, individual schools, school systems, and colleges compete for students. With the wide availability of private schools and the vast number of colleges, improving an educational institution's level of customer service is critical to attracting the best students and the funding (public or private) that comes with them.

Becoming a Mystery Shopper

Mystery shopping is a job category that is shrouded in, well, mystery. There have been some scams associated with the field, including fraudulent "certification" programs even though no governmental or industry certifications exist for mystery shoppers. However, the majority of companies in the business are legitimate, Gagnon said. Hundreds of companies conduct market research using mystery shoppers. Many of these firms specialize in particular industries such as finance, automotive, retail, and lately the field of education.

If you're interested in becoming a mystery shopper, the trick is getting in contact with these organizations. A giant in the research business is the multinational Maritz. Like other large research firms, Maritz offers potential mystery shoppers the opportunity to register at the company's Web site. The company then reaches out to this pool of shoppers when opportunities arise.

Individuals can contact other firms one at a time, or find sites that have up-to-date mystery shopper assignment databases from hundreds of research companies. One such site is www.PremierShoppers.com.

We contacted Gary Cohn, the president of Premier Shoppers to find out what would-be mystery shoppers need to do in order to get started, and what they can expect in the process. "Research companies provide us with daily updates of current research projects," Cohn told us, "People who want to be mystery shoppers register at our site, and based on the information provided by each registrant we then act like a match maker between the research firm and the mystery shopper." Cohn's network automatically sends out daily e-mails to those registered about work opportunities in their area that meet the registrant's personal criteria.

We asked Cohn whether an individual could make a living mystery shopping. "There may be a few people in the country who can make a living mystery shopping," he said. "Realistically I'm talking just a handful. But you can make extra money every month. Depending on how many assignments you find and accept, you could generate $500 to $2,000 per month. Some people might be able to make more."

Cohn cautioned that mystery shopping is real work. As a shopper, you must be aware of a shopping opportunity, and then apply for that "shop" (what the industry calls an assignment). If you are selected for the shop, then you must visit the targeted establishment, take time to complete the assignment (for example, buying shoes, getting your car's oil changed, having lunch), then complete and file the required forms (paper and/or on-line) to the research firm. Shoppers are hired as contract or project employees. Companies issue workers a 1099 tax form at the end of each year for income tax reporting.

The compensation for each "shop" ranges from about $10 to $30. Not much for the 60 minutes or more required to properly complete the task. However, shoppers can be reimbursed for the cost of services rendered or products purchased.

Registration at PremierShoppers.com is free. Along with linking shoppers with research companies, Cohn's site offers practical Web seminars that help virtual attendees learn about different aspects of the mystery shopping business.

Cohn wasn't aware of any specific assignments listed on PremierShoppers.com for education-directed research. "But on any given day we have up to 150,000 assignments listed, so it's kind of hard to keep up," he said.

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