National Shopping Service

National Shopping Service
Overall Rating: C

• Number of jobs/clients: Average
• Type of jobs: Varied, often restaurant and retail
  
• Rate of pay: Below average
  
• Speed and method of payment: Check, 4-8 weeks
  

Advantages:

NSS has an excellent new website format; it's easy to use, informative, and features an advanced search for its job board. The shopper area is professionally designed, and it's simple to see how much you've earned. The website also features local weather information, an assignment summary (with calendar), and a "buzz" area for new or exciting clients. In addition, their website supports both Internet Explorer and Firefox.

One tip: taking their shopper surveys boosts your internal shopper rating, making it easier to get shops.

Disadvantages:

With NSS, you'll have to apply for each shop (or, as they call it, "prospect") and hope that you're the one chosen from all of the shoppers that apply; you can't self-assign even simple shops. However, you can often call the scheduler to get the shop assigned to you.

Shops through NSS, unfortunately, do not seem to be particularly high paying. Going through the trouble of applying for a shop, calling a scheduler, and then a purchase with required return for $7, to me, just isn't worth bothering.

Shoppers' Critique

Shoppers' Critique
Overall Rating: B

• Number of jobs/clients: Average to below average
  
• Type of jobs: Apartment, auto, entertainment, and others
  
• Rate of pay: Average
  
• Speed and method of payment: Check, 4-6 weeks
  

Advantages:

Shoppers' Critique has some unique and interesting assignments, if you can get them. If you're getting tired of eating fries and going into cell phone stores, this might be the place for you.

Shoppers' Critique does offer a job board, and has both self-assign shops and shops that you must apply for.

Disadvantages:

It's often difficult to get started with Shoppers' Critique, as they seem to have a base of experienced shoppers who get most of the work. Expect to check back often in order to get your first assignments from SC. However, most shoppers report having good experiences with their schedulers; they're a reputable company, so don't hesitate to apply.

Ten Tips for New Shoppers

Are you new to mystery shopping? Your first shop can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you're not prepared. Try some of these simple tips to make your first shop a success, so that you can find out if mystery shopping is a way of earning income that you'll enjoy.

1.) Start slow. Don't get carried away and sign up for fifteen shops; try signing up for just one and see how it goes. You'll have a much better idea of what shops to apply for in the future just from having first-hand shopper experience.

2.) Don't shop someplace new. If at all possible, schedule a shop at a business that you frequent. A familiar atmosphere will put you at ease, and when you're reviewing the guidelines for the shop ahead of time, you'll easily be able to use your knowledge of the business to plan out your shop.

3.) Fully prepare. Plan some time to read through briefing notes, client guidelines, and the audit form, and to take any qualifying tests. Write a short checklist of what you'll need to take note of from your shop, such as which employees you will need names and descriptions of, signage, or anything else you need to look for.

4.) Take a simple shop. Don't start right away with ten employee interactions! Try a short fast food shop, or an audit with a single employee interaction. You should be able to get a good idea of the complexity of the assignment before signing up if you're working with a good mystery shopping provider.

5.) Work with a reputable company. Check the MSPA website for a list of available openings in your area, or join a mystery shopping forum to get feedback from other shoppers. This will ensure you'll join a company that is legitimate and treats its shoppers appropriately -- and, most importantly, that has a commitment to paying as promised.

6.) Review the guidelines just before the shop. Don't do this in the store parking lot, it may give you away! Print out the guidelines and review them at home if at all possible.

7.) Always have a Plan B. When you get to the shop, don't be caught not remembering what to do. Write a small checklist to yourself and hide it in your purse or pocket. That way, if you end up in a pinch, you can retire to the bathroom or a fitting room to review your guidelines in private or take short notes. Alternately, if you have a cell phone, you might consider leaving yourself a voice mail or recording a voice memo with important information.

8.) Record information as soon as possible. You definitely can't write notes in the car or, heaven forbid, in the store itself (at least not publicly), but your memory can fade fast if you're trying to retain a lot of information. If you struggle with memory, or you won't be at your computer shortly, you may want to stop someplace outside of view of the business and record some notes -- particularly all important times, names, and descriptions.

9.) Take your time when recording your audit. Spelling and grammar count! If you struggle with spelling, try copying and pasting narratives into a document and using a spell checker. Be as detailed as possible, and remember -- be objective.

10.) Write as if you were the employer receiving the feedback. Remember that your words might be used in an employee review. Write about your experience in a professional way that will clearly describe your experience in a way that will be clear to someone who wasn't there, and be especially specific about any negative feedback. Negative responses are far more likely to be challenged by the business. For example, don't write "The employees were unfriendly and rude, and this upset me." Try: "The cashier, Peter, did not greet me when entering. When I approached him and asked for assistance, he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, and said, 'I suppose I can help you,' in a sarcastic tone of voice."


Many companies will provide you feedback on your completed shops. Watch your e-mail and visit the site often within the following few days after a shop to make sure that further clarification isn't needed. Good luck, and remember -- it takes time to learn everything, but you can do it!

Shop'n Chek

Shop'n Chek
Overall Rating: A-

• Number of jobs/clients: Very high
  
• Type of jobs: Varied, including restaurant and retail
  
• Rate of pay: Average to below average
  
• Speed and method of payment: Direct deposit or check, 3 - 7 weeks (20th of following month)
  
• Bonuses offered?: Yes (Chek Advantage Day)
  

Advantages:

Shop'n Chek is one of the most popular and largest mystery shopping sites. They're well known for being reliable payers, and their staff is helpful and responds quickly to concerns.

SNC also has a great website available to its shoppers. For available shops in your area, you'll be able to decline to remove items from your shops list so it's easy to tell if something is new. For example, you could decline just one instance of a shop (for example, you're not available that day) or remove that client's shops from your list in that campaign permanently if you choose.

SNC's pay is usually the industry standard, but they do offer Chek Advantage days, where shops can be available for far more -- even more than double the original fee. Make sure you sign up with SNC, and check back often in order to grab shops you're interested in.

Disadvantages:

Due to its popularity, inexperienced or uncertified shoppers may have difficulty getting shops at first. E-mail notification of shops is only sent once per week, rather than as jobs are actually posted, so you need to check back often in order to grab any but the least popular.

Each shop has a series of qualifications as well as a briefing test in order to sign up, and be careful -- if you don't qualify for a shop, you can't change your answers, and won't be able to take the shop until the next campaign (up to a few months).

Intellishop

Intellishop
Overall Rating: A

• Number of jobs/clients: High
  
• Type of jobs: Varied, including retail and convenience
  
• Rate of pay: Average
  
• Speed and method of payment: PayPal, 2-6 weeks
  
• Bonuses offered?: Yes
  
• Software: SASSIE
  

Advantages:

Intellishop is good about communicating with shoppers when jobs are available. They use the SASSIE job board option, as well as e-mail notifications. They also are responsive to phone calls and to e-mail, and the schedulers are pleasant. Editors give meaningful feedback about their ratings, including specific things to improve on next time, without being too harsh or rating too poorly.

Fortunately, Intellishop is a job board site that tends to have a lot of activity. Shops are posted plentifully and often. However, it's a popular site, so check back frequently before other shoppers snag up all of the good ones! I've also received bonused shops from Intellishop, presumably when a shopper can't complete the shop, and the bonuses are quite fair for the short deadlines. The normal pay isn't spectacular, but it's certainly competitive within the industry.

Disadvantages:

If you're a casual shopper, you probably will dislike Intellishop, simply because shops are posted and scheduled so quickly. Be prepared to see some shops pop up and down on the board fast enough that you may not have a chance to respond to your e-mail unless you check it very often!

RoperNOP

RoperNOP
Overall Rating: C -

• Number of jobs/clients: Average to below average
  
• Type of jobs: Varied, mostly retail and convenience
  
• Rate of pay: Average
  
• Speed and method of payment: Paypal, 1 - 2 weeks
  
• Bonuses offered?: No
  

Advantages:

RoperNOP pays quickly and as promised, and the pay rate is pretty standard.

The RoperNOP website does offer an online job board with information and pay rate about each shop clearly and easily available, so you don't have to jump through hoops to get the basics of the shop (where, when, scenario, pay amount).

Disadvantages:

RoperNOP is generally very uncommunicative with its shoppers. It does not have a rating system (at least not one viewable to shoppers); it provides little to no feedback on the quality of received shops. E-mails frequently go unanswered or with significant delays.

The RoperNOP website is not very user friendly and lacking some important features, such as a completed shops log. It is also difficult to navigate -- documentation is often provided in short snippets, and requires the user to click through a dozen pages to get everything (not very printer friendly). It suffers frequent downtime and errors, particularly if you're not using Internet Explorer as your browser.

Kern Scheduling

Kern Scheduling

Note: Kern Scheduling is not a mystery shopping company, but rather a scheduler for several different MS companies. For this reason, they do not have an overall rating.

• Number of jobs/clients: High
• Type of jobs: Varied
• Rate of pay: Average
  
• Speed and method of payment: Varies based on MS company
  
• Bonuses offered?: Yes
  
• Software: Sassie
  

Advantages:

Kern does scheduling for several other companies. For some companies (like Service Research), they do all the scheduling; for others, they schedule shops that shoppers didn't take. It's a good way to get to know various MS companies that are active in your area.

Disadvantages:

Kern typically doesn't offer the "big money" shops; they're often scheduling ones that other companies can't schedule themselves -- often because they pay low rates and don't wish to offer bonuses.

Unfortunately, while Kern will in some cases offer you shop guidelines, interact with you, and pay you, there are cases where their documentation has conflicted with their client's, and shoppers denied payment for shops done "incorrectly". As such, I prefer to avoid this scheduling company and sign up for the companies directly.

Sights on Service

Sights on Service
Overall Rating: B-

Note: According to their website, Sights on Service is the name of the company; Secret Shopper is the name of the service they provide. For clarity, I've referred to them as Sights on Service for the sake of this review.

• Number of jobs/clients: Average
• Type of jobs: Varied, including restaurant, retail, and phone
  
• Rate of pay: Average
  
• Speed and method of payment: Check, 4 to 8 weeks
  
• Bonuses offered?: No

Advantages:

Sights on Service does have a few great clients with fantastic shops (and high reimbursements). I'd recommend signing up just to keep an eye out for what they have in your area.

The website does have an area where they will post the next "release" of new shops; sadly, this feature often goes unused, listing the next release as "unknown".

Sights on Service does offer a job board (restricted to non-business hours) with both available and back-up shops. They also give feedback on each report, as well as a viewable score.

Disadvantages:

Their website requires Internet Explorer, which is an annoyance; I prefer Mozilla Firefox.

Their schedulers and help desk tend to be snippier and less helpful than most, though I have had some good experiences, as well.

You are required to pass their Secret Shopping online course before scheduling assignments; some clients have additional required courses.

Check Mark, Inc.

Check Mark, Inc.
Overall Rating: C+

Summary:

• Number of jobs/clients: Average
• Type of jobs: Mostly retail
• Pay rate: Average
• Speed and method of payment: 4-8 weeks, check by mail

Advantages:

Check Mark offers an online job board, so it's easy to find when jobs are available.

Check Mark also offers an online forum for users to interact about mystery shopping, earning opportunities, and more; their forums are busy and often have useful information.

Disadvantages:

They're not one of the big dogs, so don't expect a huge nunber of jobs to be available, but they are active enough that you're likely to be able to snag a few.

Rate and speed of pay aren't particularly noteworthy.

Corporate Research International

Corporate Research International
Overall Rating: D

Summary:

• Number of jobs/clients: High
• Type of jobs: Extremely varied, including phone shops, restaurant, apartment, and retail
• Rate of pay: Far below average
  
• Speed and method of payment: Weekly direct deposit
• Bonuses offered?: Yes
  

Advantages:

CpRI has excellent website design, including an easy to use job board. Scheduling and submitting jobs is relatively easy.

CoRI does pay extremely quickly (weekly) with a direct deposit option. It is clear and easy to tell when you will be paid and the status of your payment on the website, and they also issue a confirmation e-mail.

Jobs not claimed are often offered sequentially increasing bonuses, so it pays to wait if you don't think anyone will accept the job.

Disadvantages:

Pay rate is much lower for several of their major clients than the industry average, sometimes laughably so. Five dollars for ten employee interactions? Fifty cents for a phone shop? Get outta here! Sadly, it's to the point that, unless a shop is bonused, in most cases it simply isn't worth doing.

CoRI also has very poor communication. Despite having a website "chat feature", as well as the ability to leave a message in the chat room or just send an e-mail, I have never managed to get any kind of response out of the company. This is particularly troubling when dealing with payment problems.

You have to participate in a long client training and pass a test in order to see the details of the job, including the pay rate -- which can be frustrating considering some jobs aren't worth the money. Also, CoRI requires electronic receipt submission; no faxes or mailing of receipts are allowed.

All in all, CoRI is a good place to start for a brand new shopper if you just want to try out a shop at any pay rate -- chances are, there are lots of shops just sitting available -- but otherwise, I'd give this one a pass.

The Reviewer's Guide

There are lots of mystery shopping company lists out there, but my site is all about reviews. Please keep in mind that I share my own experiences and perspectives; yours may be different, so I encourage you to leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Here's a handy guide for more information about how to read my reviews:

The Overall Rating of the mystery shopping company or scheduling company is intended to give you an overall idea of how well I perceive the company. I also read quite a bit and am sensitive to other shoppers' opinions, too; companies that are widely known for having payment problems, even though I may not have had those problems personally, will get a ding on their grade, for example.

An A+ would be a company that's nearly universally regarded as top of the line in every possible way and that shoppers would step over each other to work for. C would be average -- essentially middle of the line, it's comparable to the 'industry standard' in most ways. A company that rates a D is below average and doesn't have any high points to make up for it; an F would be one that I would never recommend, is a scam, or doesn't follow up on its commitments to pay.

Number of jobs/clients: When possible, I try to get a gauge of the overall number of jobs available in multiple areas. However, everyone's experience will be slightly different. I simply want to give an impression of what to expect for the 'average' shopper.

The type of jobs will be listed in general terms, except for companies where the client or the mystery shopping company is open about their relationship.

The rate of pay will vary, of course, depending on the type and complexity of the shop. However, I give an overall rating in order to point out the exceptional companies; ones that are well known for paying well, or not paying well.

The speed and method of payment will be listed or described when possible. Some companies wait way too long to compensate their shoppers, and I think that they should be accountable. Companies that pay rapidly should be supported.

If bonuses are offered is indicated by a simply "yes" or "no".

Introduction to Mystery Shopping

Secret shopping, to put it simply, is visiting businesses in order to give them feedback. Each business is different in what they want, but typically it involves making a small purchase (often reimbursed) in a store, eating dinner in a restaurant, asking questions of employees, and that sort of thing. Most secret shops are organized through research companies -- each research company taking various businesses as clients, and then organizing shoppers and a survey form to fit their needs.

Keep in mind, everyone's experience will be different depending on which sites you join, your ability to rate companies, and where you live:

* Metropolitan / urban / high population areas will tend to have more businesses doing secret shopping; however, they also tend to have more secret shoppers!

* Rural areas will have fewer businesses participating, but fewer shoppers, so often the companies will offer bonuses to complete jobs after a certain amount of time has passed without someone accepting the job.

* The larger the area that you can take jobs in, the more jobs you can potentially do (of course, you don't want to end up paying all of your profits in gas, so be careful).

* Each site will offer different businesses, so it's important to sign up with several different companies (the more, the better).

* Poor performance counts; if you miss a secret shop, or don't fill out the forms correctly, you can be denied pay or kicked off a site completely. Only take jobs that you know you'll be free to do, and make sure you understand the directions in advance!

* Expect not to be paid right away; delay in payment typically runs from 14 to 60 days; some sites take even longer.

It's important, when taking secret shopper jobs, to realize that not all of them are worth it. To me, a 45 minute or an hour job paying only $5 isn't worth it; if it's next door, or you were heading over there anyway, maybe it's worth it to you. Make sure you carefully determine the location of the site and the length and complexity of the job before accepting. Some do require purchases that are not fully reimbursed, so be careful of what you agree to first!

Some general tips:

1. Read all the information about the job before you go, and take some small notes to review just before entering the store.
2. Take jobs that you will enjoy. You will do better!
3. Check sites often to watch for new secret shops being released. Other shoppers are competing for the same jobs, so the longer you wait, the more that jobs will be picked over.
4. Learn the methods that each site uses to recruit for shops. I separate my bookmarks by sites that post available jobs on their website for searches (and check back daily), and those that just contact by e-mail when shops are open. Some sites do both, but it's always a good idea to check their website.
5. Do not pay a fee to join. Reputable sites are free.