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From the category archives:

mystery shopping

Mystery Shopping: JC & Associates

by nicolesnickels on December 24, 2009

JC & Associates is a mystery shopping company that I have been signed up with from the beginning but only recently completed a shop for them.  The shop was a fairly simple quick casual restaurant shop and the reimbursment/payment were very fair for the length and complexity of the shop report.  My only complaint about this company is that it took a while to be paid.

I recently received an email from JC & Associates that they are merging with another company and payments will be processed quicker.  I was happy to hear that as they have a nice selection of national restaurant chains to shop at.  As always, it’s FREE to register and you’re under no obligation to ever complete a shop.

To learn more about mystery shopping, please read my Mystery Shopping 101 post. For a list of other mystery shopping companies I have discussed click here.

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Mystery Shopping: Gfk

by nicolesnickels on November 27, 2009

GfK is another company I have been signed up with since I first started mystery shopping but only recently completed my first shop with them. I received the assignment via email as it was very time sensitive. I was amazed at how quickly the shop was assigned to me and how quickly I was paid!Payment was made via Paypal within a few weeks of the shop. I had to take and pass a short quiz before doing the assignment that was very simple. The form was short and no narrative was required for the shop I did! I love that!

As always, it’s FREE to sign up with the mystery shopping companies I blog about.

To learn more about mystery shopping, please read my Mystery Shopping 101 post. For a list of other mystery shopping companies I have discussed click here.

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Mystery Shopping: Retail Eyes

by nicolesnickels on November 17, 2009

I have been signed up with Retail Eyes for a long time but just recently completed my first shops with them. I wanted to wait until I received my payment before posting about the company. Everything went very smoothly so I feel comfortable recommending my readers sign up to shop with them!Retail Eyes is FREE to join as are all the mystery shopping companies I blog about. They recently picked up some great restaurants near me and pay generously for the complexity of the report form. I was paid by check in a timely fashion and found the instructions to be straightforward. I liked that they emailed when a shop in my area was open as I don’t generally have time to check the 100+ mystery shopping sites I am signed up with!

To learn more about mystery shopping, please read my Mystery Shopping 101 post. For a list of other mystery shopping companies I have discussed click here.

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National Shopping Service

by nicolesnickels on October 27, 2009

I signed up for National Shopping Service a while ago but just recently completed (and was paid for!) my first shop. I found the directions to be clear and straightforward and the shop form was fairly easy to enter. In my area they have quick casual restaurants and retail establishments primarily. The site is easy to navigate. I’ll definitely sign up for some more shops with National Shopping Service!

As always, it’s completely FREE to sign up. You won’t really receive emails when shops are open so you should plan to check the site a few times a week.

To learn more about mystery shopping, please read my Mystery Shopping 101 post. For a list of other mystery shopping companies I have discussed click here.

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ICU Associates

by nicolesnickels on September 29, 2009

I have done several mystery shops with ICU Associates when I was offered a bonus. This company will offer high bonuses (including mileage and tolls) towards the end of the month to complete open shops. I did a shop very close to my house and was paid quite handsomely for not so much effort.

The shop reports are easy to enter and do not require substantial narrative. I receive emails when shops are open and when they are in dire need of you to do a shop you’ll get several emails. You can negotiate fees with them towards the end of the month. I found the scheduler I dealt with to be very professional and payment was made via paypal on the timetable expected.

As always, it’s FREE to sign up for these companies. You’re under no obligation to do any shops whatsoever.

To learn more about mystery shopping, please read my Mystery Shopping 101 post. For a list of other mystery shopping companies I have discussed click here.

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Mystery Shopping: National Shopping Service

by nicolesnickels on September 15, 2009

National Shopping Service is a fairly new mystery shopping company to me but I find the shops easy to schedule and the reports easy to complete – both a bonus in my book! There is a good variety of food and retail shops near me and I like how you can indicate you are interested in a shop even if it has already been assigned to another shopper in case they can’t complete it.

I found the directions for the shops to be very clear and loved that minimal narrative was required. The shop paid adequately and I will definitely be doing more shops with National Shopping Service!

As always, it’s FREE to sign up to be a mystery shopper for any of the companies I blog about. You can read more about the mystery shopping companies I blog about here. Please read my Mystery Shopping 101 post for more information.

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Review: The Essential Guide to Mystery Shopping

by nicolesnickels on September 3, 2009

PamInCa recently emailed me to let me know that she had published a book on mystery shopping called The Essential Guide to Mystery Shopping and asked me to review a copy of it. I’m so excited about this book and couldn’t wait to share it with my readers. The Essential Guide to Mystery Shopping is great for those of you who are new to mystery shopping. The book is divided into chapters, such as “What tools do I need” and “New Shopper Support among others. PamInCa (a pseudonym to maintain her anonymity) writes in a very clear and easy to understand manner, explaining how to get started and what equipment you need.

There is a very large list at the end of the book of mystery shopping companies to sign up with (with live links in the ebook format) as well as commentary from schedulers from several large companies about what they look for in shoppers and what not to do. Even though I have been mystery shopping for well over a year now, I still found this book to be helpful and I learned new things from it.

Pam is a seasoned mystery shopping professional with years of experience. Pam’s tips about scheduling shops and setting up your own shopping calendar have inspired me to become more organized and methodical with my shopping. Every mystery shopper can benefit from this helpful book. You can order the book in ebook form or paperback form.

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Mystery Guest, Inc.

by nicolesnickels on August 27, 2009

I’ve had Mystery Guest, Inc. on my to-blog about list for several months and I’m excited to tell you about this company. I have completed several shops for them (for me, their only shops are a big name “chain” of restaurants that most everyone I know LOVES) and find their reports to be very straightforward without lengthy narrative.

They pay with giftcards though – so the first shop you do you’ll pay for the food and then receive a giftcard for the restaurant. You CAN use the giftcard on subsequent shops so I roll the giftcard like it’s ECB’s! I’m serious!

Anyway, Mystery Guest, Inc. sends an email out once a month when they release new shops and if they don’t have the dates you want listed just shoot them an email with your availability and they will try to accommodate you.

Once you’ve signed up it may take some time to be “accepted” – they’ll accept you pretty quickly if they need shoppers in your area. If you don’t hear back from them within a few weeks, you can always send an email just letting them know how interested you are in shopping with them. They have been a super nice company for me to deal with.

As always, it’s FREE to sign up to be a mystery shopper for any of the companies I blog about. You can read more about the mystery shopping companies I blog about here. Please read my Mystery Shopping 101 post for more information.

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Coyle Hospitality

August 5, 2009

Coyle Hospitality is the “creme de la creme” of mystery shopping companies. Their application is 5 screens and asks a lot of questions but don’t let this deter you! They focus on fine dining restaurants, high-end hotels and luxurious spas. These aren’t your $5 gas station shops!
That being said, they want people [...]

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Service with Style

July 21, 2009

I have been signed up with Service with Style for about 4 months now and am happy with their timely payments and variety of shops in my area. They have many restaurant and bar shops where I am and I have seen other kinds of shops listed in other areas.
They use the “prophet” system for [...]

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Tell Us About Us

July 1, 2009

Tell Us About Us is another mystery shopping company that I have shopped with for some time now. I have always been paid in a timely fashion and found that the shops were fairly compensated for the tasks I was required to perform and the report I had to complete. The editors I dealt [...]

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Feedback Plus

June 19, 2009

Feedback Plus is a new mystery shopping company for me. I have completed two (2) shops with them and was paid extremely quickly on both which makes me happy! I didn’t get any questions from the editors – I didn’t even get any feedback at all which is rare with mystery shopping. I [...]

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GameFilm Consultants

June 11, 2009

GameFilm Consultants is yet another great and legit mystery shopping company. If you are new to mystery shopping, make sure to read my Mystery Shopping 101 post here and to check out all my recommended mystery shopping companies here.
I have completed a series of telephone mystery shops with GameFilm and was paid timely via PayPal. [...]

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Service Intelligence – Experience Exchange

June 4, 2009

Service Intelligence – Experience Exchange is the next in the series of mystery companies I have worked with and want to tell my readers about. I have been working with this company since the first days of my mystery shopping experience over a year ago now. They are very professional and pleasant to work with [...]

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Corporate Research International

May 27, 2009

Corporate Research International is a mystery shopping company that I have completed several shops with. They have many of the quick shops such as gas stations and pizza shops. They pay extremely fast for the industry and I have found that their editors are not overly picky like some other companies. It’s of course FREE [...]

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Kern Scheduling Services

May 13, 2009

Kern Scheduling Services (KSS) is a mystery shopping company that acts as a clearinghouse for other mystery shopping companies and helps schedule their shops. For example, mystery shopping company A may be a small company that then outsources their scheduling to Kern Scheduling. You’ll find many shops listed on this site from many different companies [...]

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Marketforce Mystery Shopping

May 6, 2009

I have done approximately 6 shops with MarketForce and have been very happy with their responsiveness, clear instructions, and variety of shops in my area. As with all mystery shopping companies I discuss on my blog, it is FREE to join MartketForce. There are 3 portals to sign up with under Marketforce and I am [...]

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Focus on Service

April 30, 2009

Focus on Service is a different kind of mystery shopping company than the ones I usually post about in that Focus on Service has only one (1) client who they reveal on their home page so it’s not a secret! Focus on Service does mystery shops for the Longhorn Steakhouse chain. It is FREE to [...]

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A Closer Look releases new shops today!

April 20, 2009

For those of you who signed up be a shopper with A Closer Look from my earlier post on the company, they will be releasing the May shops starting at noon on Tuesday and continuing through Friday afternoon. If you signed up and logged on and didn’t see anything you liked, you’ll need to log [...]

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BARE International Mystery Shopping

April 9, 2009

BARE International is another mystery shopping company that I wanted to highlight. BARE International is FREE to join (as all legit mystery shopping companies are!) and they have shops all over the country, ranging from casual dining to financial (bank, mortgage) shops. The editors and schedulers at BARE are great to work with and provide [...]

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