First, the client requires that the shopper live withing about an hour of one of a handful of their stations becasue the they want their observations to begin and end at those key locations. NO exceptions. I have not done one in about 2 years, primarily because I tend to book up my schedule so far in advance that it became difficult for me to do them on 48-72 hours notice.
Most that I saw on the NE corridor routes were out-and-back in one day, with about 2 hours at the layover. But, I did do a nice long route between DC and Jacksonville, with sleeper accommodation.
They can afford to be picky because they only use a core group of about 12-15 shoppers, nationwide. They train those shoppers and have very low tolerance for missed items. (For instance, every time an attendant entered and departed your coach car; uniform details down to the color of everything except sox; detailed observations and timings of snack car or dining car transaction for the shopper and up to 5 other customers; detailed accounts of exactly where the cash went in food and ticket transactions; and some integrity testing for conductor actions regarding lost tickets.) If you really like train travel, you will enjoy these. Compensation is by the hour, paying only for time ON the train.
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.