Hello all! I am new to MS, I have 3 shops scheduled through different companies and I was just wondering if anyone had any opinions on Satisfaction Services,Northfork Research and BMA. I have gotten one of these through Mystery Shopper services but BMA is the paying client. Does that happen a lot? It seems like most of the companies I've signed up for have the jobs posted but then you have to register with another to get paid. It seems like a lot of confusing stuff to keep up with.

Hello, Angel and welcome to the forum. Usually, when you sign up one place and someone else pays you, you're dealing with a scheduling company and with a mystery shopping provider. The scheduling company is set up to schedule jobs for mystery shopping providers. The mystery shopping provider, sometimes referred to on the forum as the MSC (mystery shopping company) is the company that actually has the contract with the client (the company being shopped) to do the shop.

Let's say you get an email from ABC Scheduling Company wanting you to sign up for a job with DBC Mystery Shopping Company. The job will be to shop the MNO Fast Food Franchise. DBC Mystery Shopping Company will accept your report and pay you for the job.

Let's look at another example. Let's say the DBC Mystery Shopping Company does not use an outside scheduling firm but instead schedules all their own work in house, either on their own job board or by sending emails directly to shoppers alerting them of jobs available. Many companies work this way, not using outside scheduling firms.

Scheduling firms do not have contracts with clients (the firms being shopped) but instead have contracts with mystery shopping companies. The mystery shopping companies have contracts with the clients being shopped. You have a contract with the mystery shopping company, whether you sign up directly on their job board or whether you are signed up by a scheduler who works for a scheduling firm.

The scheduling company does not pay you. You do not work for them. They are a contact service between you and the MSC (mystery shopping company). Not all mystery shopping companies use outside schedulers.

I hope this clears up the fog a little. Ask more questions for more answers.

MDavisnowell: thank you that helps. I've started a notebook to keep track of my shops and the sites I have to report to, and the companies I'm doing each shop for. At least I'll be honing my organizational skills. I'm attempting to get as much work as possible so I have multiple accounts with both the scheduling companies and the ones that book they're own. Again thanks for your time and help!

I can vouch for Northfork Research/ICCDS, they are a decent company to work with. Pay is about 30 days, assignments and reports I've done have been straightforward and simple.

When I started about 3 years ago the whole scheduling company vs MSC was so confusing.

Angelfielding -
Welcome to the Forum! There is an excellent section, "New Mystery Shopper," that you can access through a link at the bottom of this page. You'll find lots of great information for growing your business there.
Just to clarify your second post... You don't have multiple accounts with any one company, do you?

@Angelfielding wrote:

I've started a notebook to keep track of my shops and the sites I have to report to, and the companies I'm doing each shop for. At least I'll be honing my organizational skills.

Many shoppers will suggest using Excel or some sort of spreadsheet instead of a notebook. There is one posted under the New Members section.

ETA: elcarev68 and I kinda cross-posted. Great minds think alike.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2015 03:08AM by Sybil2.

elcarev86: No I don't have multiple accounts with any one company. I just have one account with multiple companies. Did that make sense lol. Thanks a lot for the info.

Northfork/ICCDS great company, Can't coment on Satisfaction services and BMA is good as I have never had any problems.

Angelfielding, all companies you mentioned are reputable. I have worked for all of them. Just keep in mind what others said about the definitions of:

Clients: The ultimate customer, and our "employer," if you will. You are working for this client, e.g. XYZ gas station, wherever that shop is actually perfomed.

Shoppers: That's us...we do the field work...sometimes referred to as "field workers" by one or two companies.

Scheduling companies: Companies who locate shoppers and schedule shops for Mystery Shopping companies, who have contracted with clients to perform shops. Because of this, you will need to have an account with BOTH the Scheduling company (so you can view the shops they are trying to locate shoppers to perform) AND with the actual Mystery Shopping Company (MSC) who has contracted with the client to have the shop performed (so you can enter the actual report for the client at the MSC website). It can get confusing, remembering that XYZ Scheduling may have scheduled the shop, but you have to go to ABC Mystery Shopping to view/report on the shop.

The previous advice about a spread sheet is best. There is a generic form that exists. Contact Angela Megasko (aka JANE BOND) at "Mystery Shopping Solutions." She has a pretty complete mystery shopping spread sheet that I believe she might be willing to share. It's all set up with deadlines, fees, payments, expenses, etc.

Schedulers: People who work for Scheduling Companies OR for the MSC itself, scheduling shoppers to perform shops.

Editors: The people who actually READ and CORRECT your report before it goes to the client. These people also contact you directly for more information or clarifications, if your report has any such issues. They also GRADE your report, in many cases. ALWAYS RESPOND PROMPTLY TO EDITOR QUESTIONS...these are the people who hold the position of ultimately rejecting your report, if you do not satisfy their questions.