Mystery Shopper Magazine

Fixed Link: AboutFace Mystery Shopping

Company Overview: This MSPA member company was founded in 2005 and is based in New Jersey. The stated aim of Mystery Shopper Pros is to help clients improve their business by providing feedback about their business from shoppers. It serves the automotive, retail and restaurant industries in the United States and Canada. The website is located here http://mysteryshopperpros.com/. Prophet is the platform for shoppers. Reports are due by 3 PM on the day following the shop. Payment is made by check by the end of the month following the shop. According to the website, shoppers are insured by this company through Traveler’s insurance for injuries sustained on the client’s premises. Another unusual facet of this company is that they offer apparel with their logo on it for sale. From the website selling the apparel they state,

“We offer a wide range of clothing with our company logo on it for you to purchase in order to let your friends and the people you encounter know that you are a mystery shopper. When wearing these items in public to go shopping you can expect extra special treatment from the stores and restaurant personnel you encounter.”

What others have to say: Comments on the forum are few and far between regarding this company. The oldest one in 2009 states, “they certainly do not show up on anyone’s ‘GOTO’ lists.” Others state they are good to work with. Payments are received on time or quicker than the stated payment schedule. Shoppers report responsiveness of this company is both good and problematic. One shopper reported the fee barely covered the meal in a restaurant shop. Another reported the fee seemed good for the work involved. Shops seem to be centered in the New Jersey area with some coverage in the rest of the country. The BBB rates this company A+ without accreditation.

Personal Experience: I have been signed up with this company since 2008 without receiving an email announcing a shop in my area. For me, checking the job board produced similar results. Research for this article yielded shops in New Jersey and New York state. The companies website has a style using a decades old style of graphics. In addition, some of the text is rather outdated. For example, “our system is compatible with Internet Explorer 5.5 and above, Netscape Navigator 4.76 and above, AOL 7.0 and above, and Mozilla Firefox 1.0.”

In addition, the name of this company makes it especially vulnerable to scams. For more on mystery shopping scams see this article from MSM issue #102. Safe surfing practices include being sure you have navigated to the correct website. Please visit this and other mystery shopping companies from a reputable source such as Mystery Shopper Magazine or Mystery Shop Forum. Then bookmark them for future reference.

Overall: This is a small, offbeat company. Although it uses Prophet as a job board and reporting site for shoppers, the main website seems outdated. Shops seem to be focused in New Jersey and New York state. Selling apparel with a logo declaring yourself a mystery shopper seems contradictory to accepted practices in our business. Perhaps one could use an item from their store as an unusual Christmas gift. With that said, this is a certainly a legitimate company that might work for you.