Mystery Shopping made Easy

Feb 17, 2009
So why would anyone care to read my blog. Well I have done a few things.....some of them interesting. I spent the last 3 years overseas...working on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. Before that I spent 31 years at Xerox (so I blew up a couple of copy machines in my time).
Recently, I got involved in mystery shopping. I have seen some interest in the subject, so I think I will begin my blogging experience with my thought process on that. Please stand by for more.........

After I spent 3 years overseas, I dreamed of travel....of leisure...of time with my grandkids. Although I still have many of those dreams, $4 a gallon gas, medical payments, bills, and many other things I hadn't given much thought to in the last 3 years slowed my plans. I immediately found that just to drive to Branson for an extended weekend now demanded a big plan just to cover the gas cost. I began to consider mystery shopping because when my wife and I decided to drive to Bryant or Little Rock to shop, I could pick a mystery shop up to pay for the gas and maybe get a free meal out of it.
So here are some of my thoughts about mystery shopping.....

What you need to be a mystery shopper-secret shopper-shop auditer-service sleuth-customer service field agent-service checker-spy in disguise-service impressionist-shopper critique-video eye-etc.-etc.-etc.

Internet connection: Well, since you are reading my blog on the internet, you must have that covered. Most of your assignments will be viewed and reported on the internet.
Email: Your assignments will be generally sent to you via email. You will confirm and accept the assignments via email. I would suggest that you get an email account specifically for your mystery shopping. This will allow you to keep your personal email separate from your mystery shopping. I would suggest getting this email from your current internet provider (my AT&T DSL account allows 10 alternate addresses). If this isn't possible, a Gmail, Yahoo, or other free account will work as long as you can easily and frequently check it. I have my business email set up to be sent by my email client (I use Microsoft Outlook) into my mystery shopping folder. That way when I check mail I can see quickly whether I have any shopping queries.
Timing device: This would be a watch with a digital second hand or a stop watch. Remember your timing must be exact and discrete.
Printer: Most of your assignments will have paperwork that needs to be printed out for various reasons. A fax machine or scanner is also necessary to send in receipts to get reimbursed.
Bio: Most of the mystery shopping companies require you to write a bio for their application. I would suggest you write one and save it into a text file to copy and paste into your applications. This bio is just an introduction to the companies of your skills. A great bio is generally not a big deal. You should tell them who you are and give some information about your shopping experience. I told them I was available as a single shopper or my wife could accompany me if that was desirable. I told them of my shopping experience in exotic places (Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) and of my experience on cruise ships. I said I enjoy fine dining, but also go to the drive-in for a burger from time to time. I spoke of my 31 years of customer service experience and that I had to be in situations where I had to account for others lack of good service techniques. Of course, you should put in your bio a few personal traits....I am detail oriented....I do well at multi-tasking---I am thorough at reporting dialogue---etc. And when all is said and done....check your spelling and grammar.
Transportation: This is another no brainer. You have to have a way to get to assignments. In some cases you will need to drive through a restaurant to evaluate that portion.
Other tools: Several items may be needed according to the shops you accept. A digital camera is required on some shops. Other specialty tools may be needed....like a meat thermometer....but in most cases the shopping company will say what you must have and reimburse you for the expense of unusual items.
Time: Of course, you must be available. Sometimes the time of the shop is very specific.I recently saw a shop for IHOP that required for you to take someone with you. It payed $25 but required you to evaluate service from 11pm till 5am. This would have been a great shop for someone going to work (regular job) at 5am and wanting to take in a breakfast before work. Many of the shops, however, just want you to shop during normal business hours in a given time period, usually a week or more.
Some shops, also need a specific age or sex of the shopper. I have seen numerous shops that require a participant to be between 18-25….this because the shop is to check to see if the store asks for an ID when buying tobacco products. Interestingly, these shops normally will not pay for the products. After the ID is asked for you are instructed to announce who you are and award a price to the cashier (or a slip to the manager if you find noncompliance).
Ok, that is some preliminary information.
So, how much can I make doing this? And how do I get involved?
There are several ways to get involved in mystery shopping. The first is through a shopping clearing house. Another approach is to go directly to the shopping companies.
A mystery shopping clearing house generally will charge you a subscription for information about different jobs. They get these jobs from many different companies and offer them to you. In most cases you will accept the job and still have to go register with the individual company. The plus of this approach is you get a lot of information thrown at you, so you get an excellent overview of what is available. The minuses from this approach are several.... It typically will cost you $30 or $40 for a 90 day subscription. The assignments you get may not be the best. In other words, some companies send requests to the clearing houses after they are turned down by their "premier" shoppers. Examples of clearing houses can be found by googling "mystery shopping". I do not want to recommend individual web sites for two reasons...First, although I have subscribed to one in the past, I do not recommend doing so....And secondly, I don't want to recieve any nastygrams from irate webmasters :)
There are many different shopping companies; so many that you will not want to get involved with all. I will include a list toward the bottom of this article.
And what about pay..... The typical shop pays anywhere from $6 to $25 or more. The more detailed the shop the better the pay. The shop usually comes with some reimbursement of products bought....whether a meal or $2 to allow you to evaluate the cashier. The pay occasionally goes up as the company’s needs increase...or they will offer a $5 or $10 premium to get the shop completed. My recommendation and comment is....you might want to keep your day job. Some people make a good amount of money, but it takes multi tasking at its best. Some of the shopping companies limit the number of shops per day (Like who can actually eat three lunches?) I personally, shop just to get a little extra from time to time.
The shopping companies cover a number of types of shops.
The most numerous shops you can accept are fast food audits (McDonalds, Sonics, Wendy's, Burger King) These are walk up, drive through. and sometimes both. They typically pay $6 - $12 plus reimbursement of the meal. You must report several timings exactly to the second and must order from a particular menu selection. You must be very careful here. If you are required to buy a medium burger, fries, and a coke......and the order taker talks you into up sizing...that can nullify your shop. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!
Other restaurant shops are regularly available. Some mid scale shops like IHOP, Bonanza or Ponderosa Steak House, Sizzli' Steak House, Colton's Steak House, Cici's Pizza, and several delivery places are common. These also occasionally require you to bring at least one other person, eat from the buffet and order a steak, or order from the bar. You should look at the instructions carefully to make sure you will do what is required. But from time to time, I can stand a free steak....what about you?
Also some shops require you to do things that I am just not willing to do……like buy a dress or other item and immediately take it for a return and refund. So read the instructions and make sure you are comfortable.
Another common ask is theatre checking. Some companies want you to count the seats used on a movie at its first showing. At other times they want to check the trailers shown (either for content or to see a particular logo displayed). These typically pay $9 to enter the theatre plus $2 for each screen viewed. So you change theatres every 15 minutes till you get your 5 screens (most allowed) then you watch the last movie for free.
There are also a large number of gas station shops. These generally require you to use the gas pumps (and take digital pictures), buy something from the store, and visit the rest room (not necessarily in that order :) These shops are sometimes checking for specific things...like if the signage has been changed or the credit card rack is sitting beside the cash register.
Other offers include merchandising. These are not mystery hidden shops, but are offered regularly. Typically a company wants someone to straighten up their air filter stock at Wal Mart or check the battery display at CostCo, or check the Go Phone display at Fred's, etc. etc. These assignments typically pay $10 or $12 for 30 minutes of expected work. If you can double dip (get several assignments at the same store...from the same or several shopping companies) it may be worth it, otherwise you have to be the judge.
You can see by my discussion you will probably want to keep your day job. But there are many assignments you may enjoy.....and several ways to make it more profitable. The main way I have already alluded to....double dipping. I was asked to do the trailers on the movie "Twilight", then the same company asked me if I could also do "Bolt" and another company wanted me to check the trailers for Texas Instruments to see if their DLP logo trailer was running. So I got paid $9 for each job plus $4 for the first 5 trailers and $2 for the last 5 trailers. I made $57 for the 2 1/2 hours I was in the theatre, but turned down the free movie because I had to eat lunch at Sonic:) Oh, well. The next trip to the theatre I had my grandson meet me after I was there an hour, and my shop paid for my movie (actually I watched it for free and still got paid for the shops).
There are also times you can line up several assignments. An example would be a shop at Best Buy to evaluate the expertise in the camera shop. There may also be shops to evaluate their competitors at Wal Mart and Sam's club. So you go to the shop at Best Buy (30 minutes - $12) go across the street to Wal Mart (30 minutes-$12), then go across the street to Sam's Club (30 minutes - $12). As a bonus the shopping company reimburses you for the $40 Sam's Club membership. You do, however, spend another 45 minutes online reporting when you get home. But in my case......my wife and I wanted to go shopping anyway :)So, what about some specific company recommendations?

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So , are there really companies that will hire me to be their mystery shopper??
Well, by the end of this article you may be wishing you hadn't asked that question.
There are many companies that are looking for new shoppers. The paperwork could be overwhelming if you don't go slowly. My suggestion is that you limit your exposure to a few at a time.....say 4 or 5. Register with these 4 or 5 companies and after the flurry of emails and you settle on whether you are interested in their offers, you can then cull the ones out that you are not interested in. Go back to these and opt out of their email traffic. Then go register for a couple more. As time goes by, you will settle on a hand full of companies. You can always go back to your culls from time to time and see if they have shops listed that look interesting to you.Here are some initial suggestions. Remember, however, what is interesting to me may not interest you at all.
DSG Associates handle all of the Sonic Drive-ins and seem to look for shoppers often http://www.dsgai.com/.
Trendsource handles several types of shops, but they have bunches of Krogers. They pay $5 + $9 in groceries. If you are near several Krogers you could get your food bill reduced by taking these shops. http://www.msishopper.net/
Incidentally, while I was making this entry, I recieved a call from a Trendsource rep. She asked if I could take a shop for her. When I heard it was in a town 35 miles away, I declined saying it was just too much travel. She asked if she raised the fee and paid me 50 cents a mile travel would I do it. Since it is on the way of a planned trip I am making in a couple of days, I am considering it.
Corp Research Int handle Exxon, several banks, Cici's Pizza, Western Sizzlin', Shoe Carnival, Brookshire Foods, and others. http://www.mysteryshops.com/
CFA handles mostly merchandising (Dollar General, Wal Mart), and some theater shops http://www.certifiedfieldassociate.com/
The following is a list......a long list....but certainly not a comprehensive list of other shopping companies. Some are aimed at more merchandising shops; others are only mystery shopping. Some may be US wide; others may be local (like only Pittsburgh). Each of these was checked and were active the morning of Feb 17, 2009. So here goesA&A Merchandising Ltdhttp://www.aamerch.com/
A Step Above Servicehttp://www.serviceevaluations.com/evaluators.htm
A Top Shophttp://www.atopshop.com/
Ann Michaels & Associateshttp://www.ishopforyou.com/
Associate Consumer Evalhttp://www.acemysteryshopping.com/shoppers.asp
Amusement Advantagehttp://www.amusementadvantage.com/
Anonymous Insightshttp://www.a-insights.com/
Anonymous Shoppershttp://www.asapittsburgh.com/job-opportunities.htm
At Your Service Marketinghttp://www.aysm.com/jobs/#ShopperAuditor
Best Markhttp://www.bestmark.com/become_a_shopper.htm
Beyond Hellohttps://www.beyondhello.com/secure/index.htm
Beyond Marketing Grouphttp://www.beyondmarketinggroup.com/
BEShttp://www.mysteryshopperservices.com/
California MarketingSASSIE
Campus Consultinghttp://www.shopaudits.com/whatismysteryshopping.htm
Certified Reports, Inchttp://www.certifiedreports.com/
Check Mark, Inchttp://www.checkmarkinc.com/newhome/index-flash.html
Check-Up Marketinghttps://www.checkupmarketing.com/mainsc.html
Cirrus Marketinghttp://www.cirrusmktg.com/html/shopper_info.html
CKA GroupJoinNow
Conferohttp://www.conferoinc.com/conferoinc/mysteryshopping.html
CRGhttp://www.crg2000.com/ProShoppers.htm#ProShopper
Consumer Impressionshttp://www.consumerimpressions.com/jobopp.htm
Count on Ushttp://www.ucountonus.com/services/mysteryShopper/application.asp
Coyle Hospitalityhttp://www.coylehospitality.com/shoppers.html
Customer 1sthttp://www.customer-1st.com/shopper/faq.asp
Customer Perspectiveshttp://www.customerperspectives.com/opinion-research.html
Customer Service Expertshttp://www.customerserviceexperts.com/pages/resource1.html
CV Marketinghttp://www.sensusshop.ca/shopper/
Data Questhttp://www.dataquestonline.com/mystery.html
DSG Associateshttp://www.dsgai.com/
Feedback Plushttp://www.feedbackplus.com/shoppers.htm
Focus on Servicehttp://www.focusonservice.com/
Full Scopehttp://www.fullscopemysteryshopping.com/Shop/NewShop/shopNew1.asp
Graymark Securityhttp://www.graymarksecurity.com/web/
Green & Associateshttp://www.greenandassociates.com/
Greet Americahttp://www.greetamerica.com/joinus.htm
Hilli Dunlaphttp://www.dunlapenterprises.com/
Howard Serviceshttp://www.servicesleuths.com/shoppers_whatYou.php
Imaginushttp://www.imaginusinc.com/main/secret.html
imysthttp://www.imyst.com/shoppinginfo.asp
Infotelhttp://www.infotelinc.com/become.htm
IntelliShophttp://www.intelli-shop.com/shoppersignup.html
J M Ridgway Companyhttp://www.jmridgway.com/shopper_resources/index.htm
Jancyn Evaluationhttp://www.jancyn.com/work.php
JC & Associateshttp://www.jcandassociates.com/
Ken-Rich Retail Grouphttp://www.ken-rich.com/employme.htm
LeBlanc & Associateshttp://www.mleblanc.com/
Maritz Researchhttp://www.virtuoso.maritzresearch.com/about/default.htm
Mar's Surveyshttp://www.marsresearch.com/Employment.asp
Market Viewpointhttp://www.marketviewpoint.com/shoppers.htm
Mass Connectionshttp://www.massconnections.com/
Michelson & Associateshttp://www.michelson.com/mystery/become.html
Mystery Guest, Inchttp://www.mysteryguestinc.com/MGI/SContactUs.asp
Mystery Shoppershttp://www.mystery-shoppers.com/shoppers.asp
Mystique Shopperhttp://www.mystiqueshopper.com/shopper.html
NSShttp://www.mysteryshopper.net/employment/index.htm
Nationwide Serviceshttp://www.nationwidesg.com/pages/10/index.htm
Northwesthttp://www.nwlpc.com/aboutus.asp
Performance Edgehttp://www.pedge.com/evaluator_menu.aspx
Pacific Researchhttp://65.119.21.227/shopper_application/welcome_letter.asp
Premier Servicehttp://www.premierservice.ca/become/agreement.php
Professional Shoppershttp://www.proreview.com/mysteryShopping/
PulseBackhttp://www.pulseback.com/evaluators1.asp
Quality Assessmentshttp://www.qams.com/
Quality Servicehttp://www.qsispecialists.com/
Quest for Besthttp://www.questforbest.com/shoppers.htm
Restaurant Evaluatorshttp://www.restaurantevaluators.com/new_eval_register.asp
Rickie Kruh Researchhttp://www.rkrmg.com/
Ritter & Associateshttps://ritter.shopmetrics.com/shoppersignup.asp
RQA, Inchttp://www.rqa-inc.com/
Satisfaction Serviceshttp://www.secretshoppingservices.com/shoppers.html
Secret Shopper Comphttp://www.aboutfacecorp.com/shopper_become.html
Secret Shopping Serhttp://www.secretshoppingservices.com/shoppers.html
Sensors Qualityhttp://www.sqm.ca/NewSQMsi.nsf/become.htm
SAIhttp://www.servad.com/emp_opp.htm
Service Alliancehttp://www.serviceallianceinc.com/
Service Checkhttp://www.servicecheck.com/sup/FAQ.htm
SEChttp://www.serviceevaluation.com/iss/public/WhatIsBA.asp
Service Excellence Ghttp://www.mysteryshopsplus.com/shoppers/shoppers_welcome.htm
Service Impressionshttp://www.serviceimpressions.com/4prosshoppers.php
Secret Shopnethttps://www.experienceexchange.com/ShopperApplication.do?language=EN
Service Performance Ghttp://www.spgweb.com/shoppers.php
ServiceProbehttp://www.pwgroup.com/sprobe/helpwant.shtml
Service Qualityhttp://www.service-quality.com/msa.html
Shoppers, Inchttp://www.shopperjobs.com/mystery_shoppers.htm
Shoppers' Critiquehttp://www.shopperscritique.com/contact/pro_Shoppers.aspx
Sights on Servicehttp://www.secretshopper.com/
The Solomon Grouphttp://www.thesolomongroup.com/?pageID=staff
Spies in Disguisehttp://www.spiesindisguise.com/secure/login.asp
Texas Shoppers Nethttp://www.texasshoppersnetwork.com/
Trend Sourcehttp://www.trendsource.com/Agents/signup.aspx
Video Eyeshttp://www.videoeyes.net/
Service Researchhttp://www.serviceresearch.com/shoppers/shoppers_wanted.php3
Second to Nonehttp://www.second-to-none.com/
ABA Quality Monitoringhttp://www.aba.co.uk/apply.php
Allied Corporate Protectivehttp://www.alcops.com/employ.html
Bare Associateshttp://www.baievaluators.com/
Mystery Shopper, USAhttp://www.bmiltd.com/shopperapp.html
Byers Choice Inc.http://www.byerschoiceinc.com/
Consumer Connectionhttp://www.consumerconnection.net/
Courtesy Countshttp://www.athpoweronline.com/index.norm.php
Ellis Propertyhttp://www.epmsonline.com/shoppers.html
Hindsight Shoppershttp://www.hndsight.com/shoppers.html
Service Sleuthshttp://www.servicesleuths.com/shoppers.php
JKS Inc.http://www.jks-inc.com/apply.html
Secret Shopperhttp://www.secretshopper.com/info/shoppers/shopperIntro.asp
Nationwidehttp://nationwidesg.com/pages/10/index.htm
National Shopping Servicehttp://www.nssmysteryshoppers.com/
Quality Marketinghttp://www.quality-marketing.com/shoppers/index.html
Westcoasthttp://www.westcoastmysteryshopping.com/bams.php
Mystery Shopper Services http://www.mysteryshopperservices.com/website/app_disclaimer.asp?DepartmentID=31
Business Insightshttp://www.businessinsights.com/
Shop Auditshttp://www.shopaudits.com/
ICCDShttps://www2.iccds.com/signup/newprofile.cfm
**Golden Resources http://hometown.aol.com/cgr315/index.html
BMIhttp://www.bmiltd.com/shopperapp.html
Service Quality UShttps://www19.servicequality.us/aresp.html
KSShttp://www.kernscheduling.com/
Shop'n Checkhttp://www.shopnchek.com/shopper.html
SQMhttp://www.sqm.ca/

To be successful you should treat your shopping as a business.....because it is. Keep good records. Your mileage, printer supplies and paper, all your meals, and many things you buy are required for you to be in business and are tax deductible.Make detailed explanations in your reports. I recently did a computer shop at Sam's Club and could not find an associate to ask questions. I went to the jewelry dept and had electronics paged for customer assistance. I waited a few minutes and approached a guy in cell phones, but was told he was an outside contractor. I documented my efforts, and although the shop didn't go as planned, the company was pleased with my efforts.Also check your reports for misspelled words and grammar (unlike my blog :).
I have mentioned several times in my article here another little factor that is needed in a successful mystery shop---multi-tasking. On a Sonic Drive-in shop, as the carhop comes up to your car, in addition to the normal business transaction, you must check the exact time of delivery; you must listen for the greeting; you must observe the clothing for Sonic logoed wares; you must get the carhops name; you must recieve the receipt without asking for it; and if you don't receive a receipt, you must ask for it before the carhop retreats. and you must do all this and more without exposing the fact that you are a mystery shopper. The task can be daunting, especially when you get 3 miles down the road and you discover one of the many important details that you did not do.
Because of the before mentioned scenario, my wife goes with me on any shops that she is allowed. That way I can ask her to observe a couple of trivial items or ask an important question. Two sets of eyes are normally better than one.
As companies are pleased with your efforts you will get calls for harder or better assignments.
There are also some certifications that you may want to look into after you get further into shopping. These include MSPA certification and others. I don't think it makes a difference, but some of the companies say they send their shops to MSPA Gold certified shoppers first.I hope this little excursion has been interesting for you. If you have questions or would like for me to comment on an aspect that I may have missed, let me know at rytecproducts@sbcglobal.net
Have fun shopping
Randy
RYTec Consulting