Does anyone know of some mystery shopping companies that have several jobs for Houston and the surrounding areas? I have signed up with several companies, only to find there are no jobs listed for this area. Thanks.

See my response to your other post. A further thought . . . most companies post around the end of the month or the very beginning of the month, so right at this moment most of the job boards are pretty empty.

See my response to shayika. She asked for a list of companies with shops in NYC.
Mystery shopping can be fun and profitable, but it does take work.

Only the insecure have a problem sharing.

Try
Marketforce, Customer Impact, Bestmark,EPMS, Second to None, Corporate Research International. Just to name a few.

I would disagree entirely prettygul1. I do not live in Texas. I do know some companies that have work in Texas, but to a great extent it is because shopper friends have shared what work they are doing. Do I have the right to turn over that information to someone who just asks for it? I would be rather annoyed if a friend responded to a request for shops in my back yard indicating that Flash has had great luck with ____, _____ and ____. While in the greater scheme of things it probably would make no difference in what shops were given to me, but it would make a huge difference in the 'dash for the cash' shops that are self assign. Certainly what I try to do is encourage folks to give shopping a try by signing up with the companies that have shops everywhere--Market Force, Corporate Research, these days Bare and Maritz. And of course folks should use Jobslinger.com to help themselves locate companies that have shops in their area. But indeed when the dust settles it is really up to each of us to be responsible for signing up with a number of companies to see what they have to offer now and in the future. And if the companies you listed are your best companies, let me suggest it is time to check the list and sign up with more.

The companies I listed have plenty of shops. In my experience, everyone I have referred have found it to be too much and don't follow through. I always have schedulers asking me if I know of anyone who wants to shop. So I don't have a problem giving the names of companies. When I started out, someone from another board was helpful to me so I do not mind helping others. I am signed up with over 50 companies and that does not include the sassie and prophet companies. Like I said, it's those that are insecure who dare not share.

Name calling is unattractive.

For anyone to be successful at mystery shopping, self-determination with a sense of purpose is essential. If a newbie is given names of a handful of mystery shopping companies to register with, does so, and finds minimal or unappealing work, then what? On the other hand, if a new shopper is given the tools (a list of 200+ MSPs and shared experiences) their likelihood of succeeding substantially increases.

Your opinion, but I happen to disagree.

prettygul, I really don't see how you say that anyone here has a problem sharing. The top thread on in the section for MSCs is all about sharing. You pretty much can not share anymore than that, it lists almost all the MSCs known.

I don't believe in sharing my hard work. I busted my butt to find MSCs, signed up with over 100 companies most of which don't have shops in my area but they might one day, and can spend hours upon hours at my computer searching and signing up for work. Why on earth would I give it away to someone who just asks? Why would I reward their laziness? There may lots of work where you are prettygul but this person isn't asking for work in your backyard ~ they're asking for work in someone else's!

If people wanting to be mystery shoppers are too lazy to find their own info, maybe this type of work is not for them. Anyone with a computer can Google mystery shopping, read this forum or others like it, and be able to find everything they need on their own. In fact, this forum has taken the time to have an entire section devoted to MSCs ~ one merely has to sign up!

I don't believe for 1 second that any of us are insecure (BTW, name calling really is not a mature way to communicate ~ if you're an adult, you should know that by now!). I believe we are wise enough to know that shops are sometimes hard to find and none of us are about to cut off a source of income to help a newbie who can't help themselves.

However, I'll be sure to let people in the NY area that you don't mind sharing your MSCs and jobs since there are plenty to be had.

MtlShopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't believe in sharing my hard work. I busted
> my butt to find MSCs, signed up with over 100
> companies most of which don't have shops in my
> area but they might one day, and can spend hours
> upon hours at my computer searching and signing up
> for work. Why on earth would I give it away to
> someone who just asks? Why would I reward their
> laziness? There may lots of work where you are
> prettygul but this person isn't asking for work in
> your backyard ~ they're asking for work in someone
> else's!
>
> If people wanting to be mystery shoppers are too
> lazy to find their own info, maybe this type of
> work is not for them. Anyone with a computer can
> Google mystery shopping, read this forum or others
> like it, and be able to find everything they need
> on their own. In fact, this forum has taken the
> time to have an entire section devoted to MSCs ~
> one merely has to sign up!
>
> I don't believe for 1 second that any of us are
> insecure (BTW, name calling really is not a mature
> way to communicate ~ if you're an adult, you
> should know that by now!). I believe we are wise
> enough to know that shops are sometimes hard to
> find and none of us are about to cut off a source
> of income to help a newbie who can't help
> themselves.
>
> However, I'll be sure to let people in the NY area
> that you don't mind sharing your MSCs and jobs
> since there are plenty to be had.


I'm totally with you on this, Mtl. It upsets me when people off-handedly give data on where I live to people who won't invest enough time in their own success to read one section further down this forum and look at the LONG list of companies that they can apply to. Even if they want to give out data about their own back yard, the number of people who lurk that are also getting the info increases competition for *the other shoppers in their area* who feel differently as well as for themselves.

I also disagree with Pretty; I am not insecure, and don't think it added anything to call people with different values than your own insecure.

prettygul1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The companies I listed have plenty of shops. In
> my experience, everyone I have referred have found
> it to be too much and don't follow through. I
> always have schedulers asking me if I know of
> anyone who wants to shop. So I don't have a
> problem giving the names of companies. When I
> started out, someone from another board was
> helpful to me so I do not mind helping others. I
> am signed up with over 50 companies and that does
> not include the sassie and prophet companies.
> Like I said, it's those that are insecure who dare
> not share.

The unwillingness to share a client list is not insecurity. Bringing personal issues, in this case insecurity, into a discussion about running a business raises questions about what we are actually doing. It is the difference in how you view what you are doing: is mystery shopping a hobby or a business? I see myself as an Independent Contractors running a business rather than someone with a hobby. We build our businesses by researching and signing up with companies, performing contracted work for those companies, and building relationships with the most profitable (for us) MSPs. We can share methods and ideas with other ICs, just as companies share their ideas with other companies. But only if we think of our company as a hobby rather than a business would we give away some of our jobs. How many MSPs share their clients with other companies? The client may elect to use a variety of MSPs, but the MSPs do not share their client lists among other MSPs. There is quite a lot of sharing that goes on here at the forum: detailed step-by-step instructions are provided for starting and building a mystery shopping business, and many questions are answered when asked. Anyone who is serious about their business and willing to spend the time necessary to read the new shopper instructions here and apply to many companies, keeping good records, will probably be successful. There is even a list of companies available. I applied to most of them, a few every day, until I had applied with the biggest part of the list. Yes, it is time consuming but it is part of what's involved in building and maintaining a business. I have invested a lot of time and work in my business, and, while I am more than willing to share ideas and information about tools and methods, my client list is confidential.

I really think it depends on how and who is asking. I have absolutely shared information with people I "know" here, and it has often been reciprocal, not necessarily by sharing companies or work, but also by virtue of them sharing their experiences on the board. That said, I recently posted a reply in a similar thread, and the poster was completely new. Perhaps it was the way she asked and/or the feeling I got from her post, that she wasn't a "hit and run" poster.

Conversely, the feeling I got from the poster asking about jobs in NY was totally the opposite. Didn't seem like she had read the board at all, and wasn't planning to. Perhaps I was wrong in feeling that she came looking for an answer and that was it -- after all, without knowing someone in real life, the written word can be misleading. That said, from her return visits and the way she responded in that thread, I think my initial instincts were correct.

I agree, nicely, if someone I "know" from the forum, a shopper who has contributed to the forum and who I have interacted with here a little bit, PMs me with a specific question about a MSP/client, I may, depending on what is asked and how it is asked, choose to share information with them, but I do not share my MSP list in open forum, and I don't provide a list to anyone other than the long list available here. I also agree about the New Yorker who posted - she registered a year ago, never posted, and it seemed pretty clear from her post (and her subsequent anger when she didn't get the list she ordered) that she didn't have the time or inclination to visit or share, she was just placing an order. When she compared the forum posters to employees in a store who are impolite when something a shopper orders is not available, it clinched it for me. Good riddance on that one. But waterskiier in Houston was a newbie, registered just 6 days earlier, posted twice, and just wants a list.... I figure her for a hit and run, too, although she asked politely and didn't get snippy. I think although we don't provide lists, if you read enough on the forum, and you utilize Jobslinger, etc., you get a really good feel for what's available in your area.

I agree it is up to the individual. When I first started shopping which has been about 6 years now, I used to go to a board and when you asked questions ie; "Who has jobs in ______?" No one told use to go find it ourselves. That board had a community of people who were willing to help each other. I don't know maybe the market wasn't as competitive as it is now. But, I get plenty of jobs in my market, and the fact that I share the company lists does not hinder my jobs. I say "insecure" because I have schedulers who call me and ask me to do the hard to fill shops at bonused rates. And at the end of our conversation, they are always asking, if you know of anyone who wants to shop please have them sign up.

So if I don't share in the enjoyment of people telling others to go find it yourself, then oh well. I just konw what I went through and how I got this far.

Happy shopping.