Company Overview: Business Research Group, Inc. was founded in May 1996. They are a full service research company based in Springfield, Missouri. They specialize in personal “one on one” customer service evaluations for businesses with multiple locations. The company serves businesses in the following industries: Casinos / Gaming Hotels / Restaurants / Fast Food / Tennis & Golf Resorts Banks / Financial Institutions / Department Stores / Health Clubs / Home Builders / Shopping Malls / Pharmacies / Home Improvement Stores / Convenience Stores / Retail.
I would almost consider this MSC a “Boutique MSC” because I find they have shops in select areas and appear to choose their clients selectively.
Personal Experience: I completed one shop with this MSC and was paid in a timely manner. They pay by check and PayPal, whichever the shopper prefers, and they pay on the 15th of the month following the month of the shop, i.e. shops completed in January are paid by February 15.
What Others Have to Say: There is a discussion on Mystery Shop Forum where a shopper is complaining about not being paid. The discussion is somewhat convoluted, but it appears that, when a target couldn’t be contacted, the shop was changed to any person at the target company and the shopper was afraid they would be ID’ed as a shopper, so they did not complete the shop. As a result, they were not paid, yet they felt they should be paid for the attempts they made to contact the target.
Overall: Every story has at least two sides…and often the truth is somewhere in the middle. On my spreadsheet of mystery shopping companies, I have a notation by this MSC which says, “Try one shop before committing to anymore.” I had based that on the above referenced discussion. Based on my personal experience, I feel that I can recommend this MSC without hesitation and I’m deleting that notation from my spreadsheet.
Questions? Email the editor: james@mysteryshoppermagazine.com