First, we received a follow-up to James’ review of Strategic Reflections:
James,
I read the magazine article you wrote about Strategic Reflections. I was the shopper who was hung up on. I wanted to make sure you (and shoppers) knew that one of the owners contacted me about this after she was informed of my forum posting. In addition to an apology, she called a meeting with her schedulers to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Not only was my account immediately reinstated (and yes, the scheduler had deactivated me for asking for more money), but the owner kept in touch to update me before and after the meeting with the schedulers.
The follow-up by management was exceptional and I gained newfound respect for this company based on it.
Thanks,
JK
That is great to hear, J, and thanks much for coming forward as the shopper to whom that happened. It’s also great that the MSC ownership was proactive in wanting to make sure things were made right.
And then there were several regarding Shoppers Inc. This was typical of the responses:
Read your article with interest. They handle mystery shops for a soup/salad/dessert chain with locations in Utah and Arizona. I wind up doing at least a couple of shops a month for them. Overall, they are one of my favorite companies to work with. My scheduler is both prompt and friendly, and accommodating when I run into the occasional scheduling issue. While I would prefer payment via PayPal, their checks show up like clockwork, with shops being performed in the first half of the month paying by the end of the month. They are one of a handful of companies that pay that quickly.
Thanks much for all the responses. A website is a chance for a business owner to promote their business. And, generally speaking, the amount of data on a page has no effect on the costs. That being the case, why not list your clients, or at the very least, the industries you serve? For instance, I don’t like doing “Memory Care” or Alzheimer’s shops. If I see a MSC where that is their main focus, I’ll save both of us time by not registering with the MSC. Along the same lines, why not give some company history? If, as a shopper, I’m looking for a company to sign up with, and I’m not sure about signing up with Company X, finding out they have been in business for 20 years could be the information that makes me decide to sign up with them.
*
We received an email from Customer Service Profiles. It looks like they are expanding the number of states they have shops in this year. As a refresher, their shops pay about $15 for a 10-15 minute bank inquiry with a report that is mostly yes/no or multiple choice, with minimal narrative.
Lastly, we haven’t received any feedback from any of the MSC’s that pay be check and have “Mystery Shopper” or some variation on the check.