Company Overview: This is a family business started in 1994 by Beverly Gleason and her two daughters, Tiffany Gleason, and Trish Overton. From their office in Knoxville Tennessee they started small, serving nearby businesses.
Today they serve a wide variety of industries including restaurants, banks, and healthcare in the United States and Canada.
This MSPA charter member’s goal is to help improve sales by helping to make businesses more aware of their customer service. The name, Mystery Shoppers, Inc., presents shoppers with some confusion because of another company with a similar name.
This company’s website is located here: http://www.mystery-shoppers.
They use Sassie as a platform for their website. Smaller case letters (mystery shoppers, inc.) are sometimes used for the name of this company on the website. Payment is made by check at the end of the month following the shop. They also have a client oriented presence on Facebook.
What others have to say: There are limited comments on the forum. Several long-time members say that in their experience the pay is good for the work, and this company is responsive. Instructions and questionnaires are clear and concise. Another forum member suggests that from reading the posts this company has a history of late payments. However, careful examination of the posts show two complaints of late payment. One of those members reported the check was received one month later without mention of that member chasing the payment. Perhaps they just added it to the next months payments. Several other long-time forum members report they pay regularly and on time. The BBB rates this company A+ without accreditation.
When conducting research for this article, I noticed this company has been victimized by some scams. It seems the name itself is a bit of a magnet for the scam artists that use mystery shopping as a vehicle for their scams. Scam artists may use this company name, posing as the company. For more on mystery shopping scams see this article from MSM issue #102. A Google search of this company directed me to one particular site that had replicated this company’s shopper application page by using the actual appearance of the legitimate website. It seemed a phishing attempt. The giveaway was the web address was different from that of the legitimate company. Thankfully, I later noticed that website appears down. Safe surfing practices include being sure you have navigated to the correct website. Link to mystery shopping companies from a reputable source such as Mystery Shopper Magazine or Mystery Shop Forum. Then bookmark them for future reference.
Personal Experience: I have been signed up with this company for seven years, but have yet to find a good match for the shops in my area with my part-time shopping schedule. Despite this, I still check their job board regularly for the shops in my area. Emails for jobs are rare. Although in 2015 they have increased.
Overall: This is a legitimate, fine-performing company that has been in operation for 21 years. It is also an MSPA charter member. The number of long-time forum members relating positive experiences are sufficient to recommend this company. However, its name invites confusion and draws attention from scammers. Please link to it from the forum or another reputable source.