Overview: I recently completed a new kind of assignment. The assignment is to Compare and Contrast two different financial institutions. When I received the email about the assignment I hesitated before applying because it seemed like it would be a lot of work, but I told myself that I would try it because I love trying…
Mystery Shopping Magazine is pleased to present the third in a series of mystery shopping scheduler interviews. MSM talks turkey with Erika Wooton, ACE Mystery Shopping Scheduler: MSM: Please give us an overview of your life before you entered the world of mystery shopping and tell us what led you to the job of scheduler…
Monterey Mystery Shopping is located in Pacific Grove, California and has been in operation since 2003. Their website states that they “provide mystery shopping services for all major brands within the automotive, motorcycle, recreational vehicle and marine industries, as well as related industries.” It also makes the claim of “being the premier mystery shopping provider…
Overview: Members of the Mystery Shop Forum have frequently asked if it is financially feasible to survive solely on mystery shopping income. Volunteers, who were successfully earning $2,000 or more per month, were solicited and Mystery Shopper Magazine is proud to present the third in a series of interviews on the topic. This interview differs…
Being a shopper is one of the most interesting jobs that I have ever had in my employment career. But I have to keep in mind that it is a job, and I have to make sure that I am not just shopping for fun. My job has to show a profit. The best parts…
Disclaimer: These suggestions are solely the opinion of the author. As widely documented on Mystery Shop Forum, one shopper’s “best” shops are another shopper’s “worst” shops. In addition, many more shops could have been mentioned, but due to space limitations, only five examples were cited. Welcome to the World of Mystery Shopping, New Shopper! Although…
Company Overview: This company started in the United Kingdom as Retail Eyes in 1998. In 2012 a portion of the business was sold and the remaining company renamed Shared Insight. This new company is based in California. Its overall business includes mystery shopping, website feedback, and customer surveys. It offers a limited number of mystery…
We MUST proofread. And the older we are, the MORE we MUST proofread. I took typing back in my senior year of high school, when personal computers had not been invented. I learned to touch type on an IBM Selectric typewriter. I’m also a competent speller, and had an excellent grammar teacher who hammered punctuation,…
Overview: Members of the Mystery Shop Forum have frequently asked if it is financially feasible to survive solely on mystery shopping income. Volunteers, who were successfully earning $2,000 or more per month, were solicited and Mystery Shopper Magazine is proud to present the second in a series of interviews on the topic. MSM talks with…
Company Overview: Coast to Coast Scheduling Services (CTCSS) was founded in 2001 and is based in California. It schedules shops for a number of companies including Customer First, Goodwin, and Customer Perspectives. As such it is not a mystery shopping company, but a separate, distinct entity that performs the task of recruiting shoppers to perform…
This is a rhetorical question of sorts. The genesis of it occurred shortly before the polls were closing on Election Day. I had decided to break my routine of going to the coffee shop and getting online to search for shopping assignments and photography jobs. I instead volunteered as a poll watcher for the party…
Overview: Sales Quality Research Group (SQG) is a privately owned company, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in 1993 and incorporated in 1997 by Jim Rensel, the principal owner and President, and Dr. Kenneth Kehrer, a part owner. SQG provides research services for banks, thrifts and credit unions, as well as their brokerage firm…
By far one of the oldest market research firms in existence, GfK was founded in 1934 by Professor Wilhelm Vershofen as a scientific institute known as “Gesellschaft fur Konsumforschung,” or Association for Consumer Research. The company is still headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany and it’s mission is simply, “Make the consumer heard.” According to their corporate…