First off, I have to say that in order to create an homage to burgers thread, the outlets have to be discussed...so please no mention of the MSCs, asking for hints about the MSCs or messaging me to ask who any of the MSCs are. I think it's safe to discuss the shop details with that in mind.
While I try to avoid fast food in general, I have a weakness. It's burgers! I try to keep it to one or two per month and have made a business out of finding the best burgers that I can get paid to eat. Where I live, I could probably mystery shop a hamburger every single day of the week, but I try to concentrate on one at a time and have rotated through a few different companies over the years while enjoying the guilty pleasure of a burger once a month or so. Some were better experiences than others.
Here are some of those experiences. Please feel free to add your own. There's been a lot of discussion about 5 Guys in the forum recently and haven't done that shop for a variety of reasons, but may need to take one on for comparison purposes.
In-N-Out
Meal reimbursement for Double-Double, fries and drink = $6.53
Shop payment = $5
This is the shop that started it for me. Anyone who's visited Southern CA had probably been instructed to try one of these, and if you live here, it's probably something you indulge in regularly. I even have vegetarian friends who love this place!
The MSC that originally used to shop these guys was a disaster to work for, but luckily they split off and the burger client went to the nicer partner of the company, becoming one of the most loved small MSCs out there for having a great scheduler and super-fast payments. The shop itself is a breeze and reported in Sassie, but it's limited in what you can order. Has to be a combo and the type of required burger changes each month. I got tired of waiting for the Double-Double to come around and stopped drinking sodas so I moved on after a year or two of shopping these burgers:
R+D Kitchen
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $90.73 + bar for $33.54
Shop payment = $10
This was a local restaurant on the street I used to live on, and I think there was one other outlet in Dallas, but the MSC always had trouble getting people to this place for some reason (there was special test you had to pass) so it was on regular rotation for me for a few years.
They had a glass of Cabernet Franc at the bar that paired really well with the burger. Pics were required but the food was so nicely presented I would have taken them anyway:
Smashburger
Cost for BBQ bacon burger, fries, shake = $14.20
Reimbursement = $10
Shop payment = $4
This is the burger shop that everyone loves to hate, but I have to admit there was no requirement to purchase a shake + an expensive burger and go $0.20 over my budget. The requirement was to get any burger plus a side and/or a drink, but since I’ve sworn off sodas, I get the shake. It does take a bit of time to complete. The narrative itself was just under 5,000 characters. Took me exactly one hour the first time out, but the burger was delicious. It was literally across the street from my workplace and you are free to order any of the burgers off the menu, but I decided to look for better options in the gourmet burger world:
Burger Lounge
Cost for burger with cheese, fries and drink = $17.89
Shop payment = $18.00 all-in
This one may have been an improvement over Smashburger because I made $0.11 instead of losing $0.20, but the report still takes and hour and requires pics. On the plus side...the burger was amazing and shops are self-scheduled. Other guests were literally complimenting me on how gorgeous the burger was when I was taking pics. It was like having a baby or cute puppy in the park. There are also quite a few outlets near me so I could do this one monthly, and it seems like nobody else ever wanted the shops and I had my pick of assignments. This place serves beer and wine too, which was allowed, but would wreak havoc with the budget.
Umami Burger
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $54.69
Shop payment = $10
I made a decision to move over to Umami last year since it was the current burger rage in L.A., had more outlets near me, allowed a guest and had a higher overall reimbursement for the same company and a similar form. Problem was that it was still a flat rate at $40, required drinks AND sides, and I was loosing $$ on every shop. Then another MSC showed up with an Umami shop and offered me full reimbursement, so we were able to order expensive wines with the burgers. The bad news is that I don't think they got the contract and I have not seen the shop offered in a few months, so I had to move on...
The Habit
Reimbursement = $9.00
Shop payment = $13.00!!
This might be my favorite burger shop ever and is my current indulgence. Somewhere it was voted it "Best Burger In America" so I had to check it out. Shop report is in Sassie, takes less than 30 minutes. Self-schedule. You can order anything you want. Literally ANYTHING! Burgers start around $3 and it's easy to stay under the reimbursement, and has a really good payment for the amount of work required. It has an open window for days and times you can visit. The only thing this assignment is missing is the ability to get a glass of wine with the burger...
Burgers & Bourbon
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $107.61
This isn’t a regular stop, but was an outlet I had to visit on a high-end hotel shop in Deer Valley…and one of my favorite burgers ever. Partly because I was allowed to pair it with a whiskey tasting that offered three different local whiskeys. The Lux Burger alone is offered at $32! There is no specific payment for the lunch, but the hotel assignment offered $100 per day and covered 100% of all expenses, including a lift-ticket and ski rentals, so the burger lunch was basically icing on the cake.
Chateau Marmont
Meal reimbursement (room service for 2) = $108.82
Also not a regular stop for me but one of the better burger experiences I’ve had on a hotel assignment, weighing in at a mere $23 for the Chateau Burger. Again no specific payment for the room service portion, and the hotel assignment only pays $75 total, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience staying there. Beer choices at the Chateau were limited and Peroni would not have been my first choice for a pairing, but it was still delicious enough that my guest ordered this burger the next day when we had lunch day at the restaurant. I also got to check in with Uma Thurman waiting behind me in line, which somehow made the burger taste better:
db Bistro
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $198.76
Shop payment = $15.00
The DB Burger was in the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive burger back in 2001 at $29, but has long been surpassed and now sells for $32 (which seems to be a new standard for high-end burgers). Though there are much more expensive burgers these days, this one really set the standard for me, and my picture did not do it justice so I stole this one off the web. It’s a combo of braised short ribs, foie gras and ground beef. While not a monthly indulgence, I do try to visit this eatery once a year when possible. They also offer a great Cabernet Franc to pair with the burger and we finished off the meal with a cheese plate for dessert on my last visit. The report is nothing to scoff at, totaling just under 2,000 words for the narrative, but at least there’s no bar required to evaluate the Times Square location, so it’s one of the easier assignments for this MSC:
While I try to avoid fast food in general, I have a weakness. It's burgers! I try to keep it to one or two per month and have made a business out of finding the best burgers that I can get paid to eat. Where I live, I could probably mystery shop a hamburger every single day of the week, but I try to concentrate on one at a time and have rotated through a few different companies over the years while enjoying the guilty pleasure of a burger once a month or so. Some were better experiences than others.
Here are some of those experiences. Please feel free to add your own. There's been a lot of discussion about 5 Guys in the forum recently and haven't done that shop for a variety of reasons, but may need to take one on for comparison purposes.
In-N-Out
Meal reimbursement for Double-Double, fries and drink = $6.53
Shop payment = $5
This is the shop that started it for me. Anyone who's visited Southern CA had probably been instructed to try one of these, and if you live here, it's probably something you indulge in regularly. I even have vegetarian friends who love this place!
The MSC that originally used to shop these guys was a disaster to work for, but luckily they split off and the burger client went to the nicer partner of the company, becoming one of the most loved small MSCs out there for having a great scheduler and super-fast payments. The shop itself is a breeze and reported in Sassie, but it's limited in what you can order. Has to be a combo and the type of required burger changes each month. I got tired of waiting for the Double-Double to come around and stopped drinking sodas so I moved on after a year or two of shopping these burgers:
R+D Kitchen
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $90.73 + bar for $33.54
Shop payment = $10
This was a local restaurant on the street I used to live on, and I think there was one other outlet in Dallas, but the MSC always had trouble getting people to this place for some reason (there was special test you had to pass) so it was on regular rotation for me for a few years.
They had a glass of Cabernet Franc at the bar that paired really well with the burger. Pics were required but the food was so nicely presented I would have taken them anyway:
Smashburger
Cost for BBQ bacon burger, fries, shake = $14.20
Reimbursement = $10
Shop payment = $4
This is the burger shop that everyone loves to hate, but I have to admit there was no requirement to purchase a shake + an expensive burger and go $0.20 over my budget. The requirement was to get any burger plus a side and/or a drink, but since I’ve sworn off sodas, I get the shake. It does take a bit of time to complete. The narrative itself was just under 5,000 characters. Took me exactly one hour the first time out, but the burger was delicious. It was literally across the street from my workplace and you are free to order any of the burgers off the menu, but I decided to look for better options in the gourmet burger world:
Burger Lounge
Cost for burger with cheese, fries and drink = $17.89
Shop payment = $18.00 all-in
This one may have been an improvement over Smashburger because I made $0.11 instead of losing $0.20, but the report still takes and hour and requires pics. On the plus side...the burger was amazing and shops are self-scheduled. Other guests were literally complimenting me on how gorgeous the burger was when I was taking pics. It was like having a baby or cute puppy in the park. There are also quite a few outlets near me so I could do this one monthly, and it seems like nobody else ever wanted the shops and I had my pick of assignments. This place serves beer and wine too, which was allowed, but would wreak havoc with the budget.
Umami Burger
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $54.69
Shop payment = $10
I made a decision to move over to Umami last year since it was the current burger rage in L.A., had more outlets near me, allowed a guest and had a higher overall reimbursement for the same company and a similar form. Problem was that it was still a flat rate at $40, required drinks AND sides, and I was loosing $$ on every shop. Then another MSC showed up with an Umami shop and offered me full reimbursement, so we were able to order expensive wines with the burgers. The bad news is that I don't think they got the contract and I have not seen the shop offered in a few months, so I had to move on...
The Habit
Reimbursement = $9.00
Shop payment = $13.00!!
This might be my favorite burger shop ever and is my current indulgence. Somewhere it was voted it "Best Burger In America" so I had to check it out. Shop report is in Sassie, takes less than 30 minutes. Self-schedule. You can order anything you want. Literally ANYTHING! Burgers start around $3 and it's easy to stay under the reimbursement, and has a really good payment for the amount of work required. It has an open window for days and times you can visit. The only thing this assignment is missing is the ability to get a glass of wine with the burger...
Burgers & Bourbon
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $107.61
This isn’t a regular stop, but was an outlet I had to visit on a high-end hotel shop in Deer Valley…and one of my favorite burgers ever. Partly because I was allowed to pair it with a whiskey tasting that offered three different local whiskeys. The Lux Burger alone is offered at $32! There is no specific payment for the lunch, but the hotel assignment offered $100 per day and covered 100% of all expenses, including a lift-ticket and ski rentals, so the burger lunch was basically icing on the cake.
Chateau Marmont
Meal reimbursement (room service for 2) = $108.82
Also not a regular stop for me but one of the better burger experiences I’ve had on a hotel assignment, weighing in at a mere $23 for the Chateau Burger. Again no specific payment for the room service portion, and the hotel assignment only pays $75 total, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience staying there. Beer choices at the Chateau were limited and Peroni would not have been my first choice for a pairing, but it was still delicious enough that my guest ordered this burger the next day when we had lunch day at the restaurant. I also got to check in with Uma Thurman waiting behind me in line, which somehow made the burger taste better:
db Bistro
Meal reimbursement (for 2) = $198.76
Shop payment = $15.00
The DB Burger was in the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive burger back in 2001 at $29, but has long been surpassed and now sells for $32 (which seems to be a new standard for high-end burgers). Though there are much more expensive burgers these days, this one really set the standard for me, and my picture did not do it justice so I stole this one off the web. It’s a combo of braised short ribs, foie gras and ground beef. While not a monthly indulgence, I do try to visit this eatery once a year when possible. They also offer a great Cabernet Franc to pair with the burger and we finished off the meal with a cheese plate for dessert on my last visit. The report is nothing to scoff at, totaling just under 2,000 words for the narrative, but at least there’s no bar required to evaluate the Times Square location, so it’s one of the easier assignments for this MSC:
