Company Overview: In some cases, reviewing mystery shopping companies can be very much like the old saying “No news is good news.” There are some MSCs that do not garner much attention from shoppers. Considering that the independent contractors in the mystery shopping world have a tendency to be vocal about negative issues, it could be of benefit to an MSC to be able to “fly below the radar”.
Such is the situation with Shoppers View. This BBB accredited business started operations in 1993 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Shoppers View advertises some of its clients on its website, which include those involved in self-storage, banking, alternative financial services, rent-to-own, automotive dealerships, convenience stores, restaurants, car washes, bars, pawn stores, and grocery stores.
Additionally, Shoppers View offers telephone survey assignments in addition to on-site evaluations.
Sign up with Shoppers view by visiting their website at http://www.shoppersview.com. Click on “Become A Shopper Today” on the left side of the page. Click “Yes” on the agreement, and you will be taken to the registration process. The application is standard for most MSCs using the Sassie System.
Shoppers can receive notices of available assignments via email and/or the Shop Notifier app on their smartphones. Most projects are requested by shoppers from the job board on the Shoppers View website which will then be assigned by a scheduler. Sometimes opportunities are posted on the Mystery Shop Forum job board as well.
Payment is made via PayPal on the 15th of the month following the month in which an assignment is completed.
There are few discussions on Mystery Shop Forum regarding Shoppers View. This might limit their shopper base because fewer shoppers know about them. This company has had a representative on the forum willing to answer questions and concerns, which is always appreciated.
Shoppers state that payment is made as outlined in their policies. Most agree that the pay is inadequate for the telephone surveys. Others have commented on the lengthy guidelines to print out for such surveys.
There are no red flags about this company. Yet there are no laurels, either. So as of the time of this writing, this should be a safe MSC to work with. Whether it is worthwhile to work with Shoppers View is something that each independent contractor needs to decide for themselves.
Personal Experience: I’ve completed a few assignments for Shoppers View without experiencing any issues. Payments were made in a timely manner. This company doesn’t have much in my area. Telephone surveys are low-paying, and do not merit the work required.
Assignment guidelines are detailed, and include multiple scenarios for different shops, which makes it wasteful and costly for the shopper to print out. I have no doubt many shoppers have not printed out the guidelines due to this, which might explain why there have been repeated instances of shoppers having their reports rejected. It could be that they are missing information that they should have handy. The MSC might want to consider reorganizing the assignment instructions in such a way as to make it reasonable to output and review easily.