I love working for Customer Impact. Of course I love mystery shopping in general. But, they have the most shopper friendly setup that I've encountered. I had to contact them today, and they were responsive almost immediately. I get nervous about being sure that I am completely prepared for every shop, and I love that they have a hotline for you to call to make sure that any questions are answered before you shop. They always have detailed instructions, but I appreciate that they encourage questions from shoppers. I also love that they give you 24 hours to submit dinner shops. It is so much easier than same day and/or 12-hour deadlines, which is difficult when you've been out late. I also find that they have great clients to shop and offer reasonable pay. (You mean I can have a fine dining dinner completely covered AND get paid enough to make a profit?) I have also found that their editors provide constructive feedback and aren't nitpicky.

On top of all that, they stand behind their shoppers. I haven't been shopping long, but have been shopping long enough to have had a few bumps in the road. I have worked for other companies that don't pay you if something that is out of your control goes wrong (permanently closed shop, etc.). When I was a very new shopper for Customer Impact, I had a shop that I could not complete for reasons beyond my control. They really didn't have any way of knowing how dependable I was as a shopper, but they paid me anyway. I think I have proven myself to them at this point, but I will always appreciate that they took a chance on me before that.

I wish some of the other companies would take their model as an example of how to run things. I think believing in your shoppers and offering them support is a great way to ensure that shops are properly done the first time they are scheduled, and a way to earn shopper loyalty.

Customer Impact is great. I make a conscious effort to work with them as much as possible.

Customer Impact is a good company, we don't have many available shops in my area for this company, but when the opportunity comes up, I go for it. Very Happy doing assignments for them, I don't think of it as work, I prefer to say it's fun.

I wish they had more assignments in my area too. I just take into consideration the fact that I love the boutique feel of the company. I'm happy to do shops for a huge MSC even if they don't offer as much shopper support, but I sometimes avoid shops for those companies when they don't have clear instructions, don't have a support system that makes it easy to clarify questions, and/or if they offer too low of a fee/reimbursement for shops. Customer Impact seems to realize this and has things set up in such a way that I never walk into a shop unprepared. It also seems that they don't have the need to blast shoppers with emails about bonuses because their reimbursements cover the required purchases and the shop fees are set at a fair rate to start with (in my opinion).

I especially love working for Customer Impact because they take care to make things as easy as possible for their shoppers. Their reports are intuitive. Most of the questions they ask are things that I would be evaluating as a paying customer anyway. They don't require you to ask outlandish questions that give you away. I suspect that whoever creates their assignment requirements must also be a shopper. I know we all have different likes/preferences when selecting which shops we accept and from whom we will accept shops . To me, their setup works really well.

Oh, yes! I love Customer Impact too. The schedulers are awesome, helpful and responsive.

My sentiments exactly. Love this company.

Love the hot dogs here in Houston...not the 90-day rotation--have to be real picky about what I shop. With they had more near me, too.

completely agree ! very pleased with their support.

They were my 2nd msc when I first started.i did a lot of work for them. Excellent company. Wish more were like them.

Oh, I love CI too! I wish they had more shops in my area. They are so helpful, and I find that there reimbursement is enough for the shop instructions without me going into my own pocket.

I want to do a shop with Customer Impact, but all of the opportunities that come available require a rating. Do you have any tips on getting a foot in the door with them?

jdawg597 - i am pretty new to them, maybe two to three years now. I was in a larger city before and had to take on one smaller fast casual to prove myself, then I was immediately thrown into the better dining locations. Unfortunately, we moved further south and my shops for them, while plentiful in my area, are on the lower end. I would say to look for a lower end shop outside of your area when you travel which doesn't require a rating, and try to start there. Good luck!

SouthShopTexas gave good advice. They have a mattress shop that is is worth a lot more than the $12 they pay. Take a couple of those shops and prove yourself. Their high end dining shops are very popular and they have a lot of shoppers. Customer Impact is very proud of those shops and works hard to provide the very best shoppers and reports to those clients. Unless you get very, very lucky and no one applies for a high-end dining job, they are going to pick a shopper who has a history of completing shops successfully with them.

Thank you both. I did find a couple mattress shops. I just need to get my timing right to be able to complete them. Thanks!

I did shops with them many years ago when it was under a different name.. I did several FF with them.. Hopefully they will pick them up again. If it was the same company my average rating is an 9

Customer Impact is a TOP NOTCH Company! I love them too, my only complaint (or drawback) is they don't have more shops in my area. They just have the bed shops here.

I've been happy with them too, but alas, they don't have many shops in my area. Would do more if they did!

In agreement with all of the above praise. My biggest complaint with CI is that they don't have more shops in my area.

Me too!

Ditto

There are a few high end restaurant jobs available with CI in my area. Based on the menus I looked at online, the reimbursement will cover the meal without having to order the cheapest items. The pay is $12. I want to apply, but don't want to get into a situation where the report and requirements are overwhelming. From what you all have said, it sounds like they are reasonable. Has anyone done any of these in Canada? Any other advice/feedback? TIA

I have found their fine dining reports to be very reasonable. Their instructions are comprehensive and they require you to contact them to discuss the job, after you have read over the instructions and questionnaire, the first time you perform an assignment for each client. In my opinion, the questions they ask are things that the average customer would notice anyway. Of course, there are timing requirements.

I have not performed any shops in Canada, so I can't offer any advice specific to that area. If you have any experience with fine dining or hotels, you should be able to do the CI fine dining shops. One of the best things is that you don't have to order the cheapest thing on the menu. You can order a reasonable dinner for two people without going over the reimbursement.

I hope you enjoy working for them as much as I have.

Thanks, @WhoMe!

Customer Impact has a couple of different dining clients in my area. At the top of each of the guidelines, it states that if this is the first time completing a shop for that client you are to call Customer Impact to review the guidelines with someone. They have always been willing to help and answer any questions. And I haven't found any of the guidelines to be hard to understand or the reports difficult to complete.

If they have the GC app shop in your area, reach out to the scheduler and talk to him about it. They are super easy. Actually, I've completed the non-dining shops and thought they were very simple. I have my first dining shop coming up this weekend!!

Mod note: Edited to remove client name. It is a breach of Forum rules and probably also a violation of your ICA to link an MSC with its client(s).

I am hoping to be assigned a job with them at some point. They seem like a really good company based on what I've read here and elsewhere.

I don't work as much for them anymore. They lost a large client last year but I can still do the fine dining for them if I choose and I must add, they will make an exception. If I do not have a guest to bring with me, they will send me in there alone. Unfortunately, that's the only shop I can do around here. Nothing else available.

I think my very first shop with them was fine dining. It was in my area and nobody from the big city wanted to drive to my area, so they gave it to me and I did very well. I've done hundreds of shops for them. Excellent company.

CI has some really good restaurants in Tampa. Some are for take out and reimburse very well. I had enough for three days of meals from one shop. The pay is usually the next month which is great because of the money laid out for the meals.
Very good company to work with.

I am in deep south Texas and they have few restaurant shops here. Love working for them, their comments on reporting are always positive.

I enjoy working for them. Wish they had more shops in my area.