One of the hardest parts of mystery shopping is finding a good mystery shopping company to work with. That's why I started these forums -- so we can make it easier for everyone.

So, is there a specific company that you've gotten along with? Let us know here...

Edit: Here are the companies recommended so far(Thanks everyone!):

Service Evaluation ( [www.serviceevaluation.com] )
Gapbusters ( [www.gapbusters.com] )
Bare Associates International ( [www.baidata.com] )
Shop'n Chek ( [shopnchek.com] )
DSG Associates ( [dsgai.com])
Consumer Research International ( [mysteryshops.com] )
CyberShoppers NOP ( [www.cybershoppers.nopworld.com] )

You should be able to apply to each of the companies directly at their website...

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2006 02:39AM by JacobJ.

I've had great luck with Service Evaluation, Baidata.com,and Gapbusters. I was worried when I first started that I would do all this work for little money and then not get paid, but these companies did pay me. When they said they were going to as well.

Hi Perma,
I promise that I won't write a book this time. I Notice that you have listed Gapbusters in you group of companies that you trust. I am certainly not saying that they are honest, it is just that the pay, at least here in the St.Louis area is not worth even starting the car for. I have never heard of the company called Baidata.com. or Service Evaluation. Would you let me know what their E-mail is and maybe I can send them a letter to see if they have anything in this area.
Thank you again Fontella (Jane)

I am new to MS in that I am comtemplating putting my foot in the water. What MS companies are acceptable in terms of dealings, payment: amt and payment time, assignments, etc.? Thanks in advance for your information. Al

There is a company called shopncheck this company always have good shops and lots of them. I have done several shops for them.

I have shopped for a couple different companyies. I don't want to pay a fee to shop, so currently the only company I shop for is Gapbusters. I have no problem getting paid but jobs in my area are not always available. They have me shop at Radio Shack(those are always good) and McDonalds (those are time consuming and they are very picky about reporting the information. There were a few times when my reports were rejected and I didn't get paid. I need to find other good companies. Any suggestions for Arizona? Shirley

WHAT MYSTERY SHOPPING COMPANIES DO YOU TRUST I TRUST NATIONAL SHOPPING SERVICE I BELONG TO A LOT OF MYSTERY SHOPPIN G COMPANY

i am just like the others i would like good ms company in central sc with e-mail address. thanks, look forward in hearing you from you.

I have had good luck with Service Evaluation, also. (serviceevaluation.com.) and I've had success with dsgai.com doing Cingular shops.

I have used Gapbusters, but I have not gotten paid yet. I just started with them a few weeks ago. I should be getting paid soon. I do not know how I feel about them yet. The McDonald's shops are time-consuming and you are not allowed to take anyone with you. The report also does not let you fill out accurate information. I shopped a McDonald's in the mall. There was a spot on the report for evaluating the restrooms. It had options that included "this site is not responsible for the restrooms," but it would not let me select that option. I tried different options, but I eventually had to rate the restroom as if I had checked it before the system would allow me to submit the report. I sent an e-mail to the scheduler at Gapbuster about the problem. I have not gotten a response.

I have also tried shopncheck, but they do not seem to have shops available in my area. I can never find anything there. My favorite site is Consumer Research International (mysteryshops.com). I get a lot of assignments from that site, but they are self-assign. If you do not have time to check the site continuously, you probably will not like it. They have a large variety of companies including, but not limited to: Lowe's, K-Mart, Pizza Hut, CiCi's pizza, Papa John's, Dominoes, East of Chicago, Stride Rite, and many others. The pay is ok. Some shops take a lot longer than others. They send payment through Direct Deposit once a week. So far, they have been very reliable.

i would like to try ms but not sure what ones are good i signed up at gapbusters three differnt times they never even contacted me at all my sister works with them thats why i tryed them im a trucker is there anything like ms at truck stops

I hear good things about Shop N Check,but I can not get pulled up on the website can someone who has used them help me. I have good luck with Beyond Hello company.

I work for a few company, the one that is good is cybershoppers nop, they have few shops like Superdrug, Boots,Jobcentre and Banks, the pay is OK, but I would like to find some more reliable company

I like Ritter company,and checknshop myself,but i could use a few more good shops to shop for. Do you know of anymore?Please let me know

I do shops for Shopper's Inc., Creative Image, Check Mark, Gap Buster, Service Intelligence, Corporate Research, Best Mark, and Service With Style. There is also A Top Shop, Beyond Hello, and A Cut Above.

INWOULD LIKE TO KNOW NAMES OF COMPANIES THAT PAY WELL. THANKS !!!

You must apply to many companies, they won't all be available in your area. That is now, but this thing is getting bigger everyday!
I have gotten several invitaions to do 'American Eagle Outfitters'. they have age limit of 24, size 14 women's. DUH! I won't be shopping for them anytime soon, my grandaughter is 7 months old!!!!!
Just like we all have, it's trial and error. I found that applying for these companies, they want to see why you want to shop. I said and always do 'To make a difference in how people are treated' I really need money, but they are looking for people with a cause.
We would all like companies within a 10-20 mile range that pays oodles, with hardly any paperwork. They all try to keep their costs down, to attract more companies to sign with them. I take the ones close to me, in town, or 15-16 miles away for little pay, then later in the month, it gets desperate, they raise the amounts, or add a bonus. It's worth your time then.
I did not choose a Mcd's in the town just 7 miles away, they called a day before, offered me $18. plus the cost of my food, I took it. The original pay was $7.50, $10.50 bonus, I got breakdast, brought it home, and laid back in the glory.
My secret? Be discrete. I checked the restroom, all the items it asked for, ordered it for dine in, got over to my seat, left and put it in my sack. I did nothing illegal, I checked the temp of everything, I do not lie, or make up anything. Always do the drive thru first, your receipts will tell the time you spent inside vs the drive thru later.

Hi. Don't hold your breathe on receiving a check from checkmark. Yet they are still recruiting new shoppers and assigning them shops?????

What companies have Food Lion, CVS, Eckerd and Sub-Way?

I found that the website secretshopper.com I believe has many mystery shops. I am signed up for 15 shops to date.

The company's I trust are Service Intelligence, Gapbuster,ShopnCheck, Retailtracking,Beyond Hello, Spotcheckservices. Also try Volition they have quite a few companys. Also secretshopper.com Try a few . I'm signed up for about 15-20 companys and sometimes I can do 50 100 jobs per month it depend on how lengthy they are. Happy shopping.

My best experience has been with Second to None (Starbuck locations), Corporate Research, Bestmark, Trendsource, Confero, Ath Power,Gapbuster. Franchise Compliance and Intellishop. I had a heck of a time getting paid by Hilli Dunlap-way over the 3 mos span and after several phone calls, after I got paid, I unsubscribed to them. They said they were having financial problems--well that's not my problem after I paid to do the shop and had to wait and wait for the payments.

I Use Certified Reports Inc. the most they are trustworthy reliable and work with you and pay ok. Consumer Research International Is very bad they have dumb tests that no other company has that you have to take just to get on the site and to get in with every company you want to sighn up with, plus they only repay you a $1.00 for what you spend on the shops and shop pay is very low and they like to loose the information you send them a bad not together companie!!!!!! Gapbuster well they told me I was a moron because of my spelling and grammer and it was pretty much those words so after 15 emails and some rounds with them I am now a member of there site but they also have lots of dumb tests to take and very strict rules for the shops like 3 timeing points and lots more they make it hard and complicated for your free food!! I have also done 20 or more shops for Buisiness evaluation services another good companie only drawback about them is they do mostly cellphone shops and that gets old

Bestmark is one of my favorites and I haven't seen them mentioned here. They have some good shops and the pay is not bad. But the work is plenty for the big $10 you get paid for the shops. You are allowed to do 2 shops at the same location in one visit so $20 for one visit and about 40 minutes of your time is $$ in the pocket. Pay is usually in the mail about 2-3w after shop is complete.

So far I have shopped for Integrty Marketing and Gapbusters. Have not been paid yet as they were just done last weekend. Integrity wanted my drivers license#, bank account# and ssI# faxed to them which scared the heck out of me, but they are a real company and so I did it. They sent a confirmation. Otherwise I opened a paypal account. Much more safe. Anyone done any business with Integrity?

I just registered with Cybershop and so far I am very impressed. Have not done a shop with them yet though

Hi, I have not had a problem getting paid by Check mark. I have done some shops for ICCDS, Intell-shop, Shopnchek, Gfk/Roper, Confero, I have been paid by all of these on time.

WHAT MYSTERY SHOPPING COMPANYS TO you trust I WORK NATIONAL SHOPPING SERVICE SATISFACTION CERTIFIELDFIELD ASSOCIATES THEY ARE VERY GOOD COMPANY THEY PAID ME ON TIME tHE COMPANT AREV THE BEST

I have had good experiences with:

www.satisfactionservicesinc.com

www.thesolomongroup.com

www.speedmarkweb.com

I have done mystery shopping for CRI, Gapbuster,Intellishop,Confero Inc, Shoppers Inc, Kerns Scheduling. I have gotten paid by all these places and on time. The company that I would stay away from is Shoppers Corner (Sinclair) I did a shop for them the 1st part of October and haven't gotten paid from them as of yet. They don't return my emails.