So far I've registered with 12 mystery shopping companies, been accepted by 9, with 1 corrupted account meaning I effectively have 8, and I've actually shopped with 6, and I have seen a few patterns with them. This is what I've observed:
1. They are insanely-complex to sign up.
Some are worse than others, but generally-speaking it is a major hassle to sign up. It is so bad that I find myself annoyed just thinking about it. Some took several hours to do it, and some had different approval processes that lasted days or weeks even, with different people having to approve one stage, then you'd have to jump back in to do another stage, and so on. Presumably this is to stop people who aren't serious about it.
2. The first jobs are awful, and are very competitive.
Even after the sign-up, all of the jobs on offer are awful. The first job with any company is whatever it is that the regular mystery shoppers for that company don't want.
3. Once you pass the first job, they start offering you better ones.
Just one job is all it takes. I do one properly, don't cancel or try to reschedule, and whammo suddenly I'm seeing the real jobs that they have on offer, which can be much, much better than the first job, and can pay double, triple or more.
4. After a while, they start offering you special jobs.
Your first job is never going to be one of these high-paying multi-day ones, but they do appear after you've done a few, if you do them well enough and they like you. These are quite competitive too, so you don't necessarily get the first one. I got an intercept job paying $300 over 2 days for one place, another one let me do a full inspection of a place (albeit that that one only paid $30 for that), and another one is letting me do an overnight stay at a luxury resort, all expenses paid plus $300 on top of it, as part of a hotel judging competition for the best hotel.
5. It's very hands-off.
You rarely speak to an actual person. You get e-mails you can't reply to, and they either don't contact you at all or else it's very automated. It's rare to actually talk to someone.
6. If you do speak to someone, it's not always good.
While I have so far only had one truly awful person, and most of the ones who are calling me or texting me or e-mailing me personally have been good, it is better if they don't contact you as it can be a bad sign.
7. They want to know what's wrong with the place.
Being negative is good, at least if it is deserved. While companies will complain if you criticise their favourite staff member, if they were making sales by flirting and had zero product knowledge then they probably want to know. They'd rather that than just have you write fluff to pretend that someone is perfect when they're not. They want you to find the problems that they can't find because everyone cleans up when they know that a manager is coming.
8. They also want genuine praise.
If praise is deserved, they want to hear it. If a staff member is exceptional even without a manager around, they want to know. But they absolutely do not want fake praise.
9. Mystery Shopping companies, like the companies you are shopping at, can vary in quality
Don't expect them all to be the same. You can get $3 at one mystery shopping company and $22 at another for the same exact job at the same place. A two-parter can pay $16 in one place and $70 somewhere else. A special job can be $30 in one place and $300 somewhere else. My general rule of thumb is the more they pay the better the company is. If you are being paid dirt, you will probably be treated like dirt too. You aren't in a situation where you are taking a low pay but being treated well, not in my experience at least. The best companies pay the most.
10. The best companies want to hear genuine reviews.
If a mystery shopping company tries to force you to delete criticism and insert undeserved praise, and to lie about your experiences, then they are not a good mystery shopping company. Companies hire mystery shopping companies to find out the errors that they can't see. They don't want false praise. They want honesty. So if your mystery shopping company is forcing you to lie, then they are not a good mystery shopping company. So far I've only found one place that has forced me to lie, and they were bad in other ways too. Another place had a company who complained about criticism, but the mystery shopping place approved it.
...
I am still, according to some on this forum, a newbie, with just 29 shops in 21 companies for 6 mystery shopping companies over 6 months, which is probably tiny compared to some here, but these are just my observations. Also note that my wife used to do it for 4 years before this, but she only did about 10 jobs.
1. They are insanely-complex to sign up.
Some are worse than others, but generally-speaking it is a major hassle to sign up. It is so bad that I find myself annoyed just thinking about it. Some took several hours to do it, and some had different approval processes that lasted days or weeks even, with different people having to approve one stage, then you'd have to jump back in to do another stage, and so on. Presumably this is to stop people who aren't serious about it.
2. The first jobs are awful, and are very competitive.
Even after the sign-up, all of the jobs on offer are awful. The first job with any company is whatever it is that the regular mystery shoppers for that company don't want.
3. Once you pass the first job, they start offering you better ones.
Just one job is all it takes. I do one properly, don't cancel or try to reschedule, and whammo suddenly I'm seeing the real jobs that they have on offer, which can be much, much better than the first job, and can pay double, triple or more.
4. After a while, they start offering you special jobs.
Your first job is never going to be one of these high-paying multi-day ones, but they do appear after you've done a few, if you do them well enough and they like you. These are quite competitive too, so you don't necessarily get the first one. I got an intercept job paying $300 over 2 days for one place, another one let me do a full inspection of a place (albeit that that one only paid $30 for that), and another one is letting me do an overnight stay at a luxury resort, all expenses paid plus $300 on top of it, as part of a hotel judging competition for the best hotel.
5. It's very hands-off.
You rarely speak to an actual person. You get e-mails you can't reply to, and they either don't contact you at all or else it's very automated. It's rare to actually talk to someone.
6. If you do speak to someone, it's not always good.
While I have so far only had one truly awful person, and most of the ones who are calling me or texting me or e-mailing me personally have been good, it is better if they don't contact you as it can be a bad sign.
7. They want to know what's wrong with the place.
Being negative is good, at least if it is deserved. While companies will complain if you criticise their favourite staff member, if they were making sales by flirting and had zero product knowledge then they probably want to know. They'd rather that than just have you write fluff to pretend that someone is perfect when they're not. They want you to find the problems that they can't find because everyone cleans up when they know that a manager is coming.
8. They also want genuine praise.
If praise is deserved, they want to hear it. If a staff member is exceptional even without a manager around, they want to know. But they absolutely do not want fake praise.
9. Mystery Shopping companies, like the companies you are shopping at, can vary in quality
Don't expect them all to be the same. You can get $3 at one mystery shopping company and $22 at another for the same exact job at the same place. A two-parter can pay $16 in one place and $70 somewhere else. A special job can be $30 in one place and $300 somewhere else. My general rule of thumb is the more they pay the better the company is. If you are being paid dirt, you will probably be treated like dirt too. You aren't in a situation where you are taking a low pay but being treated well, not in my experience at least. The best companies pay the most.
10. The best companies want to hear genuine reviews.
If a mystery shopping company tries to force you to delete criticism and insert undeserved praise, and to lie about your experiences, then they are not a good mystery shopping company. Companies hire mystery shopping companies to find out the errors that they can't see. They don't want false praise. They want honesty. So if your mystery shopping company is forcing you to lie, then they are not a good mystery shopping company. So far I've only found one place that has forced me to lie, and they were bad in other ways too. Another place had a company who complained about criticism, but the mystery shopping place approved it.
...
I am still, according to some on this forum, a newbie, with just 29 shops in 21 companies for 6 mystery shopping companies over 6 months, which is probably tiny compared to some here, but these are just my observations. Also note that my wife used to do it for 4 years before this, but she only did about 10 jobs.