About a month ago I had a very conversation with an Anglican Priest at a coffee shop we both frequent. He had observed me signing up for jobs on my laptop and was curious what I did for a living. I told him I was a mystery shopper and I explained what it entailed. He…
You’ve done four or five video shops and have made the decision that video shopping is something you want to add to your mystery shopping repertoire. So you’ve invested the $600-$800 in a new PV-500 rig. How do you protect that investment? Electronics have three main enemies, heat, moisture, and shock [impact]. In protecting your…
Company Overview: Based in Arroyo Grande, CA, A Top Shop is the subject of quite a bit of negative discussion on www.mysteryshopforum.com. The company shows the “BBB Accredited Business” logo on their site but, when I attempted to search for them through the BBB site, no records were found. Also, what is interesting is that…
Company Overview: The Shadow Agency is headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. They were one of the pioneers in video mystery shopping, starting in 1995. The company specializes in new home, retail, automobile, apartments/property management, and restaurants. Their website is www.theshadowagency.com. Registration is on an extremely easy form. They…
Company Overview: Remington Evaluations is based in Liberty Township, OH. Their website is: http://remysteryshops.com/. Remington Evaluations is primarily focused on apartment shops. On their website they say, “All of our mystery shopping reports and surveys are customized for each client. No apartment community or property management company is the same. Each mystery shopping report is…
This week I picked up 14 bank shops for a route, and a restaurant dinner shop. All the shops were supposed to be completed by Friday, 12/13/13. Here’s the catch. I won’t have them completed until December 19. And the schedulers are cool with that. I can hear some of you asking, “Has Bond finally…
Overview: These shops aren’t applying for credit cards, but rather seeing if you’re offered a credit card application with a purchase that’s within a certain dollar range. Project variations: There are two main variations, and it will depend on the type of store that is the target. In some of these shops, you will only…
Company Overview: Located in San Jose, CA, Jancyn has been in the mystery shopping business for over 30 years. According to their website, Jancyn’s mission is to, “provide you with the qualitative and quantitative data you need, using employee performance measurement tools to drive improvement for your business. Our “insight from the outside” is a…
Hi I have done Porsche shops in the past. I don’t do video, but regular ones. I have never heard of getting the car for six weeks. I am a car freak and would love that. Altho not an SUV (haha). I want a Panamera. But anyway, how does one apply for that gig? Thru…
A few weeks ago, I did an assignment review of hotel shops. Coyle hotels shops are really a shop unto themselves, so I felt the need for a separate column on this particular shop. Overview: These shops aren’t for your typical Holiday Inn or Marriot. Rather, hotel shops for Coyle are going to be involving…
Company Overview: Data Quest Limited was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts and has a branch office in New York City. The company serves, “more than 1,000 companies, including Fortune 500 corporations, national chains as well as smaller companies on a local and regional level. These companies vary by industry, including but…
Company Overview: Lanla Marketing Research is a Canadian MSC located in Mont-St-Hilaire, Quebec. Their focus is on “various customer experience evaluation and measurement programs to companies, such as surveys, automated complaint management system, competitive analysis, expert consulting services, training, etc. We specialize in mystery shopper programs with real consumers. Our cutting-edge technology turns data collected…
I am very new to doing this kind of thing. I work full time, but I ultimately want to be a stay at home mom for my boys. I also want to make money at home as well to help support our family. Is there any advice on where to start and what companies are…
Overview: Do you like going to open houses around town to kill time on weekends? Then consider doing new home mystery shops. Most of these do take place on weekdays rather than weekends, but they afford the shopper the opportunity to visit new home subdivisions. I like them because I live in a small house…
Company Overview: Located in one of the four towns named Holly Springs in NC, Service Performance Group is a mystery shopping company that shoppers seem to love—when they can remember them. Founded in 1992 by two former United States Marine Core officers, SPG provides shopper services in these areas: Apartments, Financial, Retail, Restaurants, Leisure, Travel,…
Company Overview: Research Services Group has offices in the US, Asia, and Europe. They cover a smorgasbord or industries including clothing, department stores, convenience stores, and real estate. Visit their website to see the full list. The company was founded in 2008 as Research Services Group in Atlanta, Georgia. They changed their name in September…