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.