Issue Fourty Four

Business Evaluation Services

Company Overview: Business Evaluation Services was founded by the current President, Charles Stiles. Charles comes from a background in retail; owning a number of retail gift stores in national malls for over 8 years. Quickly realizing the only way to really differentiate his stores and stand out from the competition was to develop a consistent…

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers

Company Overview: ASCAP was founded by composer Victor Herbert in New York City on February 13, 1914, to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members, who were mostly writers and publishers associated with New York City’s Tin Pan Alley. ASCAP’s earliest members included the era’s most active songwriters—Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and John Phillip…

Unrevealed Compliance Audits

Overview: Not all audits are revealed. I recently completed an audit for an upscale manufacturer where I was to pose as a typical customer interested in purchasing their top of the line product. Project variations: You may not always be assigned a top of the line product. In any case, be observant for attempts to…

Credit & Financing Assignments

Overview: These assignments are all about our evolving world of commerce relying less and less on cold hard cash. Credit and financing are a business within a business. It’s the norm to use these payment options for everything from refrigerators to designer jeans. And it’s another way to make money from the consumer beyond the…

Featured Shopper: GraceR

Forum Alias: GraceR How long have you been mystery shopping? I started shopping two years ago but didn’t get really serious about it until a year ago. Where are you shopping? I shop all over Northern California. What got you started? I had always seen those mystery shopping ads that were obviously scams. I always…