Mystery Shoppers

brij2006 · December 2015

Who in here does mystery shopping?

I've signed up and done the testing with "A Closer Look," and have my first assignment for the movie theater on Saturday night.

Is there anything I need to know before going? If I'm reading correctly, they give you smaller/easier once like this first, then as you build up they unlock other opportunities. Is this how all companies work?

Not going to lie, my H and I are kind of excited about having a reimbursable, mandatory, night out to see a movie and grab some popcorn. We never end up spending our entertainment budget because I hate spending the money for things like a movie at a theater, but this will help us to get out and be reimbursed for it.

cbee817 · December 2015

That sounds like a lot of fun- enjoy it!

short+sassy · December 2015

Oh! You came to the right place, Bridget . I've been actively mystery shopping for almost 15 years and have even done a number of assignments for A Closer Look. Though they don't have movie theater assignments in my area.

Generally speaking, its not so much getting access to better assignments as you have more experience with a company, but as schedulers get to know you and know that you are reliable, you will start getting preferential scheduling. As in, you'll be given a lot of the assignments you apply for.

The best advice I can give you for your first assignment is to read all of your instructions and the questionnaire ahead of time so, if you have any questions, you have time to get in touch with A Closer Look and ask for clarification. Then, shortly before you are about to go on your assignment, read through the assignment/questionnaire again.

If there are any questions/items you are worried you will forget...especially if they are looking for something fairly specific...write yourself a note in your cell phone's notepad to check on throughout your shop. Your cell phone notepad is another great, but discreet place, to keep track of specific info like timings and people's names. And double check you are getting a receipt back every time you are paying for something. I'm making an assumption on this because I don't know your instructions, but usually they won't reimburse without a receipt or could even throw the whole shop out.

You would be amazed, but the best way to impress the schedulers is to just do your assignment on the date you say you will and then get your report in on time. Because it is such an independent contracting thing and there is no "boss" to watch over people, shoppers flake on schedulers all the time.

But yeah, my H and I go out to eat all the time...even to 4-star restaurants...because most of the places we go, I am being reimbursed for our meals anyway by an MS company. If you like it, it can be a great way to cut down on the entertainment budget or just go out more anyway.

Volition.com is a great website for mystery shopping because they have a huge forum about the industry, plus a list of most of the MS companies out there. There is no cost to register or use Volition and no reputable MS company will ever charge a fee to sign up either.

Feel free to PM me at any time if you have a question about MSing.

orangehills · December 2015

This sounds amazing! I want to look into this!

short+sassy · December 2015

I forgot to add that, every once in awhile, there might be something weird or unusual that happens on your assignment. Try not to let it throw you and just stay in character. For example, on my very first restaurant shop ever, the server asked me if I was a mystery shopper. I pretended that I had no idea what she was talking about and asked her if I had won a prize. She laughed and told me "no" and then explained what a mystery shopper was. I asked her why she thought I was one (couldn't help myself) and she told me because I wasn't one of their regulars. The restaurant was in a bit of a small town about 40 minutes outside of NOLA, so I at least felt better I hadn't done anything hugely obvious, lol.

brij2006 · December 2015

@short+sassy Thank you! I thought it was you who did MSing, but wasn't sure.

Can you be contracted with multiple companies at 1 time?

I think I fully understand my assignment. Only negative part to it, we have to arrive 30 minutes beforehand to get into our seats in the theater. I hate sitting in there during the boring commercials. lol. But hey, for a free movie, pop, popcorn, and candy. I'll take it. :-) It's forcing us to have a date night we otherwise wouldn't have done.

There's 1 part of the assignment I will e-mail them on though, just to clarify a bit better. Thank you for telling me to do that. I was just going to assume on it, but now realizing I shouldn't.

I can definitely see how people flake on the assignments though. They do take a bit of work, and it says my report has to be submitted within 12 hours after the shop. We're going to a 7pm movie. So I'm either going to have to do it late that night when we get home, or bright and early that next morning.

brij2006 · December 2015

short+sassy said:

I forgot to add that, every once in awhile, there might be something weird or unusual that happens on your assignment. Try not to let it throw you and just stay in character. For example, on my very first restaurant shop ever, the server asked me if I was a mystery shopper. I pretended that I had no idea what she was talking about and asked her if I had won a prize. She laughed and told me "no" and then explained what a mystery shopper was. I asked her why she thought I was one (couldn't help myself) and she told me because I wasn't one of their regulars. The restaurant was in a bit of a small town about 40 minutes outside of NOLA, so I at least felt better I hadn't done anything hugely obvious, lol.

OMG that's so going to be what happens to me. We live in a very small area. I was honestly shocked there was even a single assignment available. So if I walk into a restaurant I normally wouldn't, it would be suspicious.

But I expanded my assignment area, and found some in the city an hour away that we go shopping to about once a month. So I'm really hoping I can keep an eye on the shops in that area, and maybe we can hit up some restaurants we wouldn't usually go to. We normally only spend $20 on a dinner out. So I would love to have the chance to actually go somewhere and get a better/nicer meal and maybe a dessert with my H, and not worry about it blowing our eating out budget.

short+sassy · December 2015

Despite what I just said, lol. If you are going to talk to them anyway, I'd ask if it is okay to get the report in by noon the next day, since it is a movie in the evening. They are usually pretty good about that, especially if someone asks them ahead of time. And I'm assuming the 12 hours timeline is from when you leave the theatre, not when you all get there. So, conceivably, you'd have until 9-9:30 the next morning to get your report in.

Absolutely! You can be signed up with as many MS companies as you want. Though just be careful not to reveal to other companies/schedulers the specific names of clients you've done assignments for. It generally doesn't come up anyway, but that "non-disclosure" clause in the contracts that all MS companies have is taken pretty seriously. For obvious reasons! They don't want their clients poached.

In the applications for some MS companies, they'll ask what type of shops you've done and what other MS companies you've worked for. So it's okay to mention general types of shops, like, "I've completed movie theatre shops, restaurant shops (fine dining and casual), and retail." But not, "I've shopped ABC Movie Theatres, DEF Restaurant, and GHI Housewares." It's also okay to list the MS companies you've worked for.

I mean, obviously I do like MSing because I've done it for a long time, but it is a lot more work and organization that most people realize. I think it's less money than most people assume it is also. But then, it has so much flexibility. For example, I did a shop the other day that normally would not be enough pay for me to bother with...if I included driving time...but I happened to be going to that specific location anyway. I was like, "Hmmm....Intelli-shop shops them. I wonder if they have any assignments open right now for that location." So I went to their site and boom! Shop available, so I snatched it and made an extra $15 for running an errand and then writing a report about it.

lbonga1 · December 2015

@short+sassy how do you know which MS companies to sign up with? I've done a bit of mystery shopping, but I haven't really found any companies that have good ones to do in my area....which I think is weird because I live in Orange County, CA. Most of the ones I've seen are like, get paid $5 to ask about cell phones at an AT&T store or some sort of fast food something that doesn't even seem worth it.

brij2006 · December 2015

short+sassy said:

Despite what I just said, lol. If you are going to talk to them anyway, I'd ask if it is okay to get the report in by noon the next day, since it is a movie in the evening. They are usually pretty good about that, especially if someone asks them ahead of time. And I'm assuming the 12 hours timeline is from when you leave the theatre, not when you all get there. So, conceivably, you'd have until 9-9:30 the next morning to get your report in.
Absolutely! You can be signed up with as many MS companies as you want. Though just be careful not to reveal to other companies/schedulers the specific names of clients you've done assignments for. It generally doesn't come up anyway, but that "non-disclosure" clause in the contracts that all MS companies have is taken pretty seriously. For obvious reasons! They don't want their clients poached.
In the applications for some MS companies, they'll ask what type of shops you've done and what other MS companies you've worked for. So it's okay to mention general types of shops, like, "I've completed movie theatre shops, restaurant shops (fine dining and casual), and retail." But not, "I've shopped ABC Movie Theatres, DEF Restaurant, and GHI Housewares." It's also okay to list the MS companies you've worked for.
I mean, obviously I do like MSing because I've done it for a long time, but it is a lot more work and organization that most people realize. I think it's less money than most people assume it is also. But then, it has so much flexibility. For example, I did a shop the other day that normally would not be enough pay for me to bother with...if I included driving time...but I happened to be going to that specific location anyway. I was like, "Hmmm....Intelli-shop shops them. I wonder if they have any assignments open right now for that location." So I went to their site and boom! Shop available, so I snatched it and made an extra $15 for running an errand and then writing a report about it.

Lol. That's exactly what I did when expanding my search last weekend. I knew we were making the hour drive to a more populated area. So I looked to see if there were any shops I could do while there (was really hoping for a restaurant one so we could get a free lunch or dinner), but didn't have enough time to fit in what they had available.

Thank you for the tips on the timing. I will e-mail them and ask about having until noon on Sunday to turn it in. It means I'll have to get up early to have it submitted before church, but this gives me some uninterrupted time in the morning to work on something and drink some coffee. ;-)

julieanne912 · December 2015

Well, based on this post, I just signed up myself. There aren't any opportunities in my area just yet (most seem to be down in Denver/south Denver) but I'm sure some will pop up

short+sassy · December 2015

@lbonga1 and @julieanne912, the key is to sign up with a ton of MS companies in order to be exposed to as many assignments as possible. It is a lot of time on the front end to do that, but will give you a lot more choices of assignments that appeal to you. And, unfortunately, there is no way to tell which MS companies have assignments in your area and which ones don't. Or which one are cheapskates and which ones aren't, lol.

And it is true that, the bigger a city you live in, the more assignments there will be. But also more competition. However, even the smallest towns will usually have a few opportunities and...because there are none or few shoppers...schedulers will get desperate and often offer large bonuses.

@lbonga1, I agree. I do find most shops are too low of a fee for me to bother with. It was different when I started 15 years ago because I made a lot less money, so working for the "equivalent" of like $12-$15/hr was great. But now my standard is roughly more on the $20/hour range (or valuable perk I want, like a great restaurant dinner) and I don't even request 80-90% of the assignments I get e-mailed.

However, although they are fewer and farther between, there are great paying assignments out there. Either a high fee...or a mediocre fee, but there is little time involved. $5 for a cell phone shop is crazy low. I'd say the average fee for a cell phone shop is $10-$12. I actually like most fast food shops because, although the fees aren't great ($5-$8), they are usually quick to complete and have short reports. Plus, if you like the food, that's reimbursed on top of it.

But the fees I listed above are average standard fees. And I'm a "bonus" kind of girl. Most assignments need to be done on a monthly basis. As the month starts coming to a close, schedulers start getting desperate to fill assignments they still have available. Not all companies do it, but most will start adding bonuses. I've done cell phone shops a few times for $35 and once for $50, because they were down to the wire. I've also had some crazy bonuses on fast food shops. One company I work for starts their fast food fees at $8, but I regularly do those assignments for $20. Plus reimbursement for the food.

I'll go through my e-mails later today and list a few of the bigger MS companies who pay at least okay and should have assignments throughout most of the country. Perhaps not assignments right at this moment...because most of them post early in the month, but companies to keep on your radar for anyone interested in MSing.

Oh! And for you @lbonga1, try out https://mcg.shopmetrics.com/login.asp . This company primarily does restaurant shops and are actually headquartered in NOLA. In fact, I used to be an editor for them. I don't know if they still do, but they used to have restaurant assignments in Orange County. I just checked their board and, right now, the only CA assignments are in Palm Springs and Tahoe City. But, by this time of the month, their board is picked pretty clean. January assignments should post in the last days of this month and/or the first week of January.

KatieCutie05 · December 2015

@Brij2006: Is is sad that the only thing I got from this post was "must be nice to be able to go to the movies... i miss that" - i take it you have family to watch the baby. Even if we had a free movie - at 10-12 dollars an hour for a sitter, its just not worth it....

brij2006 · December 2015

@katiecutie05 Our in-laws live 1 mile away. It's very convenient, but it's way too convenient. I love living close to family, but it's way too close. We constantly feel like we have to give visiting rights to each grandparent (they're divorced), and if they haven't seen her in 2 days, they drop in unannounced. It's frustrating.

Oh, and having them watch her for a movie night, they will say doesn't count because she goes to bed at 7. So they will still want to come over on Sunday to see her.

Yet we know if we move an hour away, we won't have the option of a free sitter, which is partly why we're getting cold feet on moving. It's a blessing for her to be loved so much, but sometimes having this option for a sitter is a curse. There are nights where we would rather pay a 16 year old to just come watch her, because it's less of a battle.

Oh, and because the IL's are divorced, they get bitter with us and each other if we didn't call them when it was "their turn." Love them dearly, but they make me bang my head against the wall when it comes to DD. We had a wonderful relationship before she arrived, but now I just constantly want to tell them to get out of my house.

short+sassy · December 2015

See Level HX - Primarily retail shops

https://www.sassieshop.com/sassie/SassieShopperSignup/Signup.php?EmsID=c8F2b1e7L7s%3D

Intelli-shop - Variety of shops, including car dealerships. Warning, in general, car dealership shops take a lot of time. Usually at least one hour at the dealership and one hour to fill out the report (narrative intensive), but often have generous fees.

https://www.sassieshop.com/sassie/SassieShopperSignup/Signup.php?EmsID=qESXvlfNf4k%3D

Bestmark - Car repair and car dealership shops primarily, but have other types

http://www.bestmark.com/become_a_shopper.htm

Maritz - Gas stations, grocery and retail stores...I like their gas station shops, but I find most of the rest of their shops to be on the low pay side for the time involved.

https://www.maritzmysteryshopping.com/profile/Default.aspx

GfK - Variety of shops, though not usually much in my area. They have cell phone shops.

https://www.sassieshop.com/sassie/SassieShopperSignup/Signup.php?EmsID=IhN7J3vnI6Y%3D

And this is really just scratching the surface. I think there are something like 200 MS companies in the U.S. But these are the ones that a) I've worked for b) Seem to have nationwide clients c) Pay decent for at least some of their assignments and d) most of them e-mailed me with something today because that was the laziest way for me to grab some good MS company links to share, lol.

brij2006 · December 2015

@short+sassy I just told my H about the car dealership one. He is all gunho (I'm making him sign up for this one though). He's a big car guy, and loves going to the car dealership to haggle. Even though he always walks away with nothing.

short+sassy · December 2015

brij2006 said:

@short+sassy I just told my H about the car dealership one. He is all gunho (I'm making him sign up for this one though). He's a big car guy, and loves going to the car dealership to haggle. Even though he always walks away with nothing.

Oh good! Hopefully he likes it because those car dealership shops, when their bonused, can be a good chunk of money. I'm the opposite, though. I don't like all the time involved to go on a test drive. I don't like discussing prices with the sales person. And I definitely don't like writing the long reports these types of shops usually require, lol.

I actually rarely request these shops...even when the fee is extra generous for the time involved...just because I really dislike them. But I know from previous posts you've made that your H is into cars, so I could see someone with that interest enjoying this type of shop.

Haha...just like car dealerships, casino shops also pay well but are really time consuming. But I like going to the casino! So I gobble those shops up when I see them.

brij2006 · December 2015

short+sassy said:

brij2006 said:

@short+sassy I just told my H about the car dealership one. He is all gunho (I'm making him sign up for this one though). He's a big car guy, and loves going to the car dealership to haggle. Even though he always walks away with nothing.

Oh good! Hopefully he likes it because those car dealership shops, when their bonused, can be a good chunk of money. I'm the opposite, though. I don't like all the time involved to go on a test drive. I don't like discussing prices with the sales person. And I definitely don't like writing the long reports these types of shops usually require, lol.
I actually rarely request these shops...even when the fee is extra generous for the time involved...just because I really dislike them. But I know from previous posts you've made that your H is into cars, so I could see someone with that interest enjoying this type of shop.
Haha...just like car dealerships, casino shops also pay well but are really time consuming. But I like going to the casino! So I gobble those shops up when I see them.

Which company does these? He would be all for that one as well. Especially if he gets to sit at the tables.

short+sassy · December 2015

While I don't know what casinos are in your area or who might shop them, the two companies I have done casino shops for are Bestmark (listed above) and HS Brands (listed below):

http://www.usa.hsbrands.com/

I think casinos shops is primarily what HS Brands does. They are headquartered in Las Vegas, so that would just make sense, lol.

However, he definitely needs to have a few mystery shopping assignments under his belt before tackling a casino. They are, by far, the most complex shops I do. There is a lot of specific detail that must be captured, such as timings and people's names...and a lot of interactions to do that for. Though not all the interactions are in the actual casino. They usually involve evaluating at least one of the restaurants. Some casino shops are overnight stays, some aren't. But if they are overnight, usually employees of the hotel are also part of the report.

I recently did a mega one that involved a 2-night stay. Phew! It was an insane amount of work. I evaluated every restaurant on the property, including the bars. Lots of casino-specific activities. But I was also required to evaluate the spa and my reimbursement included enough for a one-hour massage. That was my favorite part of the whole trip!

Just the report itself took me over 10 hours to write!

julieanne912 · December 2015

So they already contacted me about a hotel shop. It's about an hour and a half from here on a weeknight, so I can't do it. Plus it's a hotel I've already stayed in, oddly enough, so I don't think I'd be the right person since I already have an opinion about it before going in (it's not a bad opinion either). Just amazed at how fast they contacted me!

It's also funny, the email mentions I can use it for a "romantic night". It's definitely not a hotel I'd pick for a romantic night LOL!

brij2006 · December 2015

@julieanne912 I would say the places you have already been could still be useful shops. Our area is rural, so many of our options are going to be places I've already been to. The theater I just did on Saturday night, I've been to at least 100+ times. To be honest, it was really nice to be able to give my thoughts on the current experience there, since we usually drive an hour away to go to the nicer theater. I just made sure that I only reported about my experience there from this 1 and only visit.

Our movie started 20 minutes late, and someone had to go out and let them know our movie wasn't playing. It was hard for me to not put in my report that this is a regular occurrence at this theater. Same with how the same hand driers are in the womens' restroom that STILL don't dry your hands and barely give off more air than a fan. So I'm always just drying my hands on my pants. However, it was really nice to be able to inform them of my experience with both of those on Saturday, and put it into my report and know that someone from corporate was going to read it.

Now I'm just hoping that it helps that theater get the attention it needs.

short+sassy · December 2015

julieanne912 said:

So they already contacted me about a hotel shop. It's about an hour and a half from here on a weeknight, so I can't do it. Plus it's a hotel I've already stayed in, oddly enough, so I don't think I'd be the right person since I already have an opinion about it before going in (it's not a bad opinion either). Just amazed at how fast they contacted me!

It's also funny, the email mentions I can use it for a "romantic night". It's definitely not a hotel I'd pick for a romantic night LOL!

As long as you can be objective in judging your experience on the shop for just the experience on the shop, its fine to mystery shop places you have been before. In fact, for the most part, MS reports do not want the shopper's opinion at all. Most questions are factual. Like, "Did the front desk employee smile and make eye contact? Did they tell you about the ABC Perks Program? If so, what benefits did they mention?"

If the shopper's opinion is wanted, it is typically only at the very end of the report and will be phrased like, "Would you recommend this location to friends/family? Why or why not?" And/or, "Was this a positive or negative experience? Why or why not?"

Second bolded...yeah, if they are having a hard time filling a shop, the schedulers will get creative with their descriptions , lol.

short+sassy · December 2015

@brij2006, what did you think of your first mystery shop? Did everything go well?

Oops, never mind! I see you just mentioned it .

short+sassy · December 2015

julieanne912 said:

Well, based on this post, I just signed up myself. There aren't any opportunities in my area just yet (most seem to be down in Denver/south Denver) but I'm sure some will pop up

I don't know if you live near any of these cities:

Grand Junction CO 81501

Gunnison CO 81230

Montrose CO 81401

Steamboat Springs CO 80487

But I just had a scheduler post some awesome sounding shops with a very high fee. Alas, none of them are near me. But those are the ones in CO. If so, send me a PM and I'll give you her name and contact info. Or PM me your e-mail address and I'll forward her e-mail to you. I just don't want to put her contact info in an open forum.

Or you can go on their website, but I don't know if the shops are listed there, sometimes they are just through e-mail. The company name is Informa Research and their sign-up address is:

http://informaresearchservices.com/mystery-shopper/

julieanne912 · December 2015

short+sassy said:

julieanne912 said:

Well, based on this post, I just signed up myself. There aren't any opportunities in my area just yet (most seem to be down in Denver/south Denver) but I'm sure some will pop up

I don't know if you live near any of these cities:
Grand Junction CO 81501
Gunnison CO 81230
Montrose CO 81401
Steamboat Springs CO 80487
But I just had a scheduler post some awesome sounding shops with a very high fee. Alas, none of them are near me. But those are the ones in CO. If so, send me a PM and I'll give you her name and contact info. Or PM me your e-mail address and I'll forward her e-mail to you. I just don't want to put her contact info in an open forum.
Or you can go on their website, but I don't know if the shops are listed there, sometimes they are just through e-mail. The company name is Informa Research and their sign-up address is:
http://informaresearchservices.com/mystery-shopper/

I wish I lived near most of those places as they are in the mountains and are gorgeous (except Grand Junction). But yeah the closest is probably Steamboat but that's still a good 3.5 hours or so.... in good weather.

I'd actually do the one offered to me if it was on a weekend...we've actually done day trips up that way, but it said only Sun-Thurs stays and I just can't swing it since I work 8-5. It's been almost 2 years since I've been there so I could be pretty objective I think.

short+sassy · December 2015

Bummer!

I hear you on the weekday difficulties. There's a company that, by the end of the month, usually has their valet parking shops bonused up huge...like a $35-$40 fee. They are even walking distance to my work. Would be so easy for me to do. Except the "start" timeframe is always either after I already have to be at work or after I'd already be back from work for lunch. And never a timeframe after work. Frustrates me every month, lol. If they'd even extend the timeframe by one hour on both sides I could do it.

I don't normally seek out hotel shops because, unless I'm traveling somewhere, I don't want the work of a hotel shop. Staying at a hotel for free is not a perk I value, unless I'm staying at a hotel anyway. But there have been a few times I've taken weekday hotel shops in town because the fees were generous enough to put up with the hassle.

One of those had a very odd requirement. It was a totally solo assignment. I couldn't have anyone else stay with me. But I think the fee was much higher than usual because of that ($75), plus I was reimbursed for my dinner and breakfast. And the hotel was super close to my workplace anyway...almost walking distance. So that was another win-win.

julieanne912 · December 2015

Ha yeah H travels for work a lot so the last thing he wants to do is stay in a hotel when he's home. I looooove hotels though... so I'd be all about a solo hotel stay!

brij2006 · December 2015

short+sassy said:

@brij2006, what did you think of your first mystery shop? Did everything go well?

Oops, never mind! I see you just mentioned it .
****SITB****
I'll elaborate a bit more. I actually truly enjoyed doing the shop. I'm a very detail oriented person, and my H is not but remembers random things. So it was very helpful and easy to do the shop with him. He remembered and keyed into things that I did not.
I also have a degree in business management and did some work during college with a business consulting firm. So I was able to use a lot of those skills to do this shop. It was actually really nice to do something like that again, and give a very thorough and detailed report on my experience.
This morning I received a forwarded e-mail that was in response to my report, from the CEO (didn't think the CEO would be going through these). He was very pleased with how thorough and detailed my report was, and how I went above and beyond what was asked to be reported on. He asked for my address so he can send me a gift card to the theater.
To be honest, it was nice to do something like this for a local place. We have very limited options in our area, and if it's a chain, it seems to be neglected because we are a rural area and there's a lot less traffic through these places.
Now if only there would be more shops open in our area. I've signed up for a few more companies that you listed, but there isn't anything within a 75 mile radius.

short+sassy · December 2015

I'm glad you enjoyed it! That's amazing they are sending you a gift card!

It is tougher living in a rural area because there just aren't going to be nearly as many assignments around. But, when you come across them, schedulers will also be ecstatic to find you. Because those are going to be tough assignments for them to fill.

I constantly get e-mails, sometimes phone calls, from schedulers begging for shoppers to complete assignments in lots of different Louisiana cities. Most of them are small towns with a limited population and far from population centers like NOLA or Baton Rouge.

Mystery Shoppers

Re: Mystery Shoppers

Choose Another Board

Search Boards