Best Companies

I am new to the community, but I've been a shopper for three years now. Tell me about your favorite companies. What are the worst companies? TIA.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Paula, welcome to the community. In the "New Shoppers" section there are several discussions on this. Also, mystery shopping is so personal that my five favorite might not be LisaSTL's favorites. It all depends on what you like to shop.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei

Worst and best companies are highly specific to the person and include such factors as what shops you like to do, how far you are willing to travel, and what companies have shops in the area. Sorry but there is no such thing as "best" and "worst" companies.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

PaulaM, as you see from the above posts, shoppers on this forum are not willing to share their favorite shops. However, they do brag about their $100 bonuses, high end restaurants for $300-$400 per dinner (the highest I have is only $230) or their week long resort hotel. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they are just bluffing.

Oh come on now, BettL

Read bgriffin's post. That is why I don't bother answering questions like this. It all depends. No need to be snarky.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 12:01AM by Canuck.

I will state my five favorite types of shops [in no particular order]:

New Home Video
Apartment [both regular and video]
New Car [again both regular and video, and ideally with a pricepoint above $60k]
Senior Living, as long as I don't have to go to an Alzheimer's Care Unit
Bank

The problem is your question is akin to "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?"

really just not worth it

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2015 07:07PM by bgriffin.

If you've been shopping for three years, @PaulaM, you're probably already signed up with the ones I'm going to name, but I'll give it a whirl:

Favorites
Customer Impact
GSC
TrendSource
GFK
Mercantile
Harland Clarke
CIMA
ACE

Not So Favorite
IntelliShop (low pay/heavy narrative)

Worse
So far I haven't run into any I don't like at all

That just my opinion, ymmv

(heart)

I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

Stilllearning must not have had an Ikea shop yet.

@bgriffin wrote:

Worst and best companies are highly specific to the person and include such factors as what shops you like to do, how far you are willing to travel, and what companies have shops in the area. Sorry but there is no such thing as "best" and "worst" companies.

\

Yes, it's like when I get asked what a typical day of mystery shopping is like. There is no typical day.

@James Bond 007.5 wrote:

Stilllearning must not have had an Ikea shop yet.

Stilllearning knows better than to ever have an Ikea shop.

(heart)

I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

@James Bond 007.5 wrote:

I will state my five favorite types of shops [in no particular order]:

New Home Video
Apartment [both regular and video]
New Car [again both regular and video, and ideally with a pricepoint above $60k]
Senior Living, as long as I don't have to go to an Alzheimer's Care Unit
Bank

The problem is your question is akin to "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?"

You could move in next door, and we would never compete. That would be my nightmare list.

My shops are probably your nightmare though. It takes all kinds.

Favorites:

Bar audits (where I just watch people and and drink top shelf liquor)
Resorts (I love room service)
Casinos (especially the ones where I keep any winnings, up to $1199)
Salons
Restaurants
Carpet Cleaning
Car washes

The best advice I can offer you (shopper since 2009), is to consider the specifics of each shop. Some companies have both good and bad shops. It's not necessarily the MSC. That said, YES, there are some MSC's whose reports are notoriously more difficult (Intellishop is one but I noticed recently that they have trimmed a bit off), and others whose reports are more "fair" for the fee offered. If I see an offer like grocery stores, where they want you to interview 6 departments with multiple choice questions and a narrative for each department...well that's essentially 6 shopping reports, isn't it? They are just all at the same location. So if they are not going to pay me $25-$30 (cash, or groceries of a type that I would be purchasing anyway), then I am not going to perform that shop. It takes AT LEAST 30 - 45 minutes of your time in store, plus roughly the same time at home, doing that report. For 1.5 hours (that's your BEST CASE scenario), a $25/shopper fee mean you are working for $16.67/hour...and I am assuming that you did not make a special trip to this store (that it was along your normal travel route or it's in your neighborhood), otherwise you also have PER MILE costs to deduct from the fee, thereby lowering your per hour earnings. I won't work for less than that and neither should you.

@BetteL wrote:

PaulaM, as you see from the above posts, shoppers on this forum are not willing to share their favorite shops. However, they do brag about their $100 bonuses, high end restaurants for $300-$400 per dinner (the highest I have is only $230) or their week long resort hotel. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they are just bluffing.

The week long resort hotel shops might be great for the guest you bring along. I read an MSC's introduction to their site. They kept talking about the number of questions and the level of quality they wanted. I did not see a vacation. I would be working! If you are a gambler you would like the challenge. If you blow it and the shop is invalid you blow it BIG. I would rather just take a vacation.

BetteL. I've had a lot of luck with this company. [www.measurecp.net] I have had some fun assignments and made some money while doing so. Thanks for your response.

Thanks Paul. From your list I've only tried Merc and Ace. I've had a couple great assignments with Merc (hotels

) , but ACE has been just o.k. so far. I also really enjoy ACL and measurecp. ACL doesn't really pay extra, but the assignments have been fun and they've referred me to high end companies. measurecp has paid me well and I've had some fun.

Back to my earlier point. Measure is one of the two companies I have seriously considered deactivating myself from.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2015 03:38AM by bgriffin.

I was able to stay at a resort for a week just by listening to an hour long time share presentation (recorded). I was also paid by the company plus had milage reimbursed. The resort also gave me a bribe for listening to their presentation, which I was allowed to keep. I am happy to share the information.

Thanks for checking on me. Yes, I am here.

I'm sorry to hear you had trouble with them.

@BetteL wrote:

PaulaM, as you see from the above posts, shoppers on this forum are not willing to share their favorite shops. However, they do brag about their $100 bonuses, high end restaurants for $300-$400 per dinner (the highest I have is only $230) or their week long resort hotel. Sometimes it makes me wonder if they are just bluffing.

No, they are just on Buckalew's Secret Job Board. ROFLMAO. I knew I recognized her from somewhere. TGIF.

I don't get a ton of $100 bonuses. I have had a few over the years. No big deal when you throw another $50 or $100 on a 2-3 day job.

I tend to agree with Bill on this one. Whenever someone asks me to show mine, they need to show me theirs first

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Best Companies

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine