Company Overview: This company was formed in 1981 as a consulting company. It first focused on the hospitality industry with mystery shopping, and other related services. Today, DSG touts itself as, “A leader in all types of mystery shopping, intercept interviews and specialty field services for a broad range of consumer businesses, manufacturers, agencies, and…
Overview: BARE International (BARE) is a privately owned mystery shopping company and customer research evaluation firm, headquartered in Fairfax, VA. It also has offices located around the globe in Antwerpen, Belgium , Africa, Russia, Budapest, Hungary, Sao Paulo, Brazil , Santiago, Chile, Shanghai, China and Mumbai, India. BARE was founded in 1987 by Dale Bare…
Every so often on Mystery Shop Forum someone will post that an editor gave them an eight or nine and cited a grammar error. Some then continue on with, when they asked for a clarification, they never got a reply. Is it worth contesting the one or two points? The English language is in an…
Overview: Sensors Quality Management, Inc. (SQM) is a privately owned company, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was co-founded in 1993 by former Ryerson University classmates, David Lipton and Craig Henry, when they recognized a need for Mystery Shopping within the hospitality industry. Throughout the years, the company has expanded its focus and grown its…
Mystery shopping with a handicap. It’s different but it’s not different. Two individuals enter a restaurant. One is a disabled vet in a wheelchair, the other is an older gentleman about 4’5” tall. Do either or both of them get noticed? We all know that one of the key elements to mystery shopping is to…
Forum Alias: LIJake How long have you been mystery shopping? I started researching mystery shopping in September 2013 and completed my first shop in October. Where are you shopping? I live on Long Island, NY and normally shop within 20 or 30 miles of my home. Anything beyond 30 miles puts me into the boroughs…
I hope everyone was safe through the “Blizzard of Historic Proportions” that struck New England on January 26-27, 2015. This storm illustrates some of the hazards of current weather forecasting technology and why I’m sure there are schedulers who have to take these events with huge grains of salt. Let me start with my credentials….
Overview: In 2000, Elaine Moran founded Mystery Shoppers Training Group, which offers basic mystery shopping classes at over 30 community colleges throughout California. In addition, Elaine has written a book, “How To Become a Mystery Shopper”. The book is both a comprehensive guide and a great resource for beginning mystery shoppers. MSM talks with Elaine…
This Canadian MSP (not to be confused with Premier Shopper’s Network) was started by CEO Michael Glazer in 1991 as part of a college project. That project was to assist retailers, “Evaluate and improve their customer service.” After a period of growth, Keren Dolan joined Premier in 2001 as President of Sales and Operations. Continued…
Jancyn Evaluation Shops recently announced the acquisition of Shoptalk Service Evaluations. According to Vicki Dempsey, VP of Sales & Marketing for Jancyn, this will mean “more industry assignments to choose from, in addition to apartment shops.” ShopTalk was located in the Pacific Northwest, so the greatest impact will be more shops in that part of…
Mystery Shopper Magazine is pleased to present the first in a series of interviews with mystery shopping web developers, SurfMerchants LLC. They are the creators of, among many other products, SASSIE, GeoVerify, Presto Insta-Shops and PrestoMap. Note to Readers: This started out as a (yawn) interview with the founders of SASSIE, however as we read…
Overview: This type of shop can be fun, but it requires more narrative than the average shop. Paying attention to detail is a must, so is writing a thorough report. Once you get the hang of doing apartment shops, they will become a breeze to complete. Project variations: The assignment is more structured than most…
When I first entered this strange new world of mystery shopping, there was a lot to learn and Mystery Shop Forum proved to be invaluable. A lot of what we do sounds easy, but really isn’t without a lot of prior preparation. I quickly learned that I can’t do dining shops that require I take…
Add Primo Solutions to the list of MSPs recently purchased. In October 2014, Bild & Company, a Tampa based consulting firm for senior living facilities, announced the acquisition of Primo Solutions. Bild was founded in 1999 to offer “Integrated sales and marketing services to help healthcare organizations build occupancy and maximize revenue.” Additionally, it offers…