Company Overview: Based in Louisville, KY, Measure Consumer Perspectives is a full service mystery shopping company with clients in a wide variety of industries. They do both conventional and video mystery shops. The company is an accredited member of the Louisville, KY Better Business Bureau and carries an “A” rating with that organization. They…
Forum Alias: TowerOrchard How long have you been Mystery Shopping? I did a few shops about 4 years ago, but I seriously got back into mystery shopping during the last week of November, 2012. Where are you shopping? I primarily shop the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, but I have done routes in Kansas, Missouri & around…
Overview: Competitor shops are, as the name implies, where Company A wants information on the customer service, or other customer aspects of its competition. Rather than send their own employees to shop the competition, they hire a mystery shopping company to get the job done. Competitor shops can include, but are not limited to, restaurants,…
Company Overview: Based in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Mars Research offers “a wide range of solutions for all of your qualitative and quantitative research needs including survey design, data collection, recruitment, statistical analysis and reporting.” It appears from their website that this company concentrates primarily on focus groups, product testing, and various forms of market research….
Overview: As the name implies, exit interviews take place after the customer has left the targeted location. In general these aren’t interviews per se, but rather surveys that generally average five to seven minutes, although they can be as short as three or as long as ten. Almost all are for the targeted location in…
Company Overview: Many mystery shoppers also do merchandising assignments to fill voids in their schedules. Cast Force is a merchandising company about which volumes have been written on www.mysteryshopforum.com. Based in Sarasota, FL Castforce is not a member of, nor are they accredited by West Florida BBB. However, the BBB notes that there have been…
Company Overview: Based in Omaha, NE, Customer Service profiles is a full-service research organization with over 25 years of experience helping their clients gain knowledge from customer surveys that “provide actionable analysis to ultimately improve the customer experience and improve sales activity.” While they don’t have a list of clients on their website, as…
Do you want the best mystery shopping assignments? If you’re like most mystery shoppers, the answer is obvious. That’s why I wrote this article: To help my fellow mystery shoppers get the best assignments they can. This is a follow-up to my column on choosing which companies to work with. It’s really a corollary as,…
Forum Alias: jpgilham How long have you been mystery shopping? I’ve been mystery shopping for 5 years now. What was your first assignment and how did it go? My first assignment was a gas station for a whopping $4. I picked up 4 of them and just thought that was amazing that I could go…
Overview: Although not a mystery shop, loss prevention audits are conducted by several mystery shopping companies. These are similar to revealed gas station audits in that you will have to take pictures, often of the good as well as the bad. The major difference is that there is no “mystery” portion of this audit. Visit…
Company Overview: Beyond Hello is primarily retail oriented. Their clients range from sunglasses to clothing, automobiles, high end plumbing, and more. Most of their shops average in the $10-15 range and the reporting is in line with the pay scale. They have recently started some exit interviews that pay $45 for three hours. I don’t…
Company Overview: This company specializes in one thing: automobile mystery shopping. If you want to mystery shop car dealerships, they are for you. Automotive Insights, LLC is a global provider of operational consulting and mystery shopping teams that enable vehicle manufacturers, dealers, and suppliers to the automotive industry the ability to develop, measure, and deliver…
Company Overview: Melinda Brody and Company is another of the niche mystery shopping companies, this one specializing in new home shops, of which about 95% are video shops. Based in the Northeastern suburbs of Orlando, Florida, Melissa Brody and Co. has over 20 years experience in shopping the new home industry. They break their shops…
One of the most common questions seen on www.mysteryshopforum.com is, “Can someone tell me the best companies to sign up with?” That question is very much akin to “Which do you like better, vanilla or strawberry ice cream?” It’s a subjective question and therefore, what is best for me will not necessarily be best for…
Company Overview: Based in Irving, Texas, a Dallas suburb, Ellis Property Management Solutions will soon celebrate 30-years of mystery shops in the apartment industry. Recognized as a leader in this industry, Ellis averages over 6,000 apartment shops per month in locations all across the United States. The company has audio, video, and ‘un-recorded’ shops. The…
Overview: Hotel shops aren’t for everyone. Some have a basic set or requirements while others can require multiple interactions with different employees and narratives that can rival novellas. Payment can range from reimbursement only to reimbursement plus a fee. The shops that are connected with national chains do have the added advantage of allowing you…
How long have you been Mystery Shopping? I have been mystery shopping for over 7 years. I was a starving college student when I started. I was so glad to eat something other than ramen noodles I didn’t know what to do. I thought mystery shopping would be a great way to earn free meals…
Company Overview: Headquartered in Londonderry, NH, The Troy Dolan Group is a full service, customer experience management firm. In June, 2007, they acquired Best Mark Audits (BMA) which will operate as the Mystery Shopping/Audit division of Troy Dolan. They expanded into the southeast with the 2010 acquisition of Customer 1st of Greensboro, NC. The company…
Company Overview: Monterey Mystery Shopping is another mystery shopping company that has focused on a niche industry. In this case, it’s the luxury and ultra-luxury motor vehicle industry. Monterey Mystery Shopping was founded 10 years ago, in 2003. They proclaim themselves to be the “premier mystery shopping provider for the motor vehicle industry.” Although they…
Overview: This is another love them or hate them assignment. There are two positives in my book—being video shops, in general less reporting will be required and, being video, the pay will tend to be higher. Multiple locations are usually available which allows for routes to be built. Project Variations: These assignments will almost always…