Hi! I'm brand new to mystery shopping. I decided on the $25 (Silver) certification from MSPA.

****Question: Is it worth it to get any additional certifications, like Gold for instance? I noticed while browsing hiring companies off MSPA's website that majority ask if you are certified, then ask for specification of Silver or Gold Certified. To me this implies that it DOES make a difference when being considered for jobs...

****Q: Has anyone found this to be the case/found the Gold to be beneficial when starting out?

In addition to the Silver and Gold Certs MSPA offers a variety of additional certifications. The ones I'd be most interested in are:
A. The Core Bundle of (1) Professional Responsibility and Ethics & (2) Professional Industry Writing, and
B. The Business Certification Bundle of (1) Banking & Financial Institutions and (2) Brand Standards Auditing.

****Q: Experiences? Are these additional courses beneficial in helping one gain an edge (being chosen for more assignments starting out) and ultimately earn more faster?

Off MSPA's website--
A. As part of the Core Bundle: The Resp.& Ethics Course teaches one how to set up properly in businesses, know the legal and industry-accepted standards, and have a clear sense of the ethics expected in industry. And the Professional Industry Writing Course says how editors and proofreaders spend majority of time fixing recurring typical errors such as generic writing, improper choice of vocabulary and inconsistency, and that this would be a crash course in attacking these areas and demonstrating your understanding of the industry and report writing--over everything from vocabulary to leaving the proper impression--because companies are looking to use most frequently the independent contractors who submit the best reports needing the least amount of editing. From what I've personally read from online forums, blogs, etc. most people agree there's no need to even be certified to get hired-- AS LONG AS you write well-written reports, follow through, etc.

****Q: So if everyone agrees well-written reports are what count- my question would be how one would learn to construct a well-written report that's expected from top assignments, without this course?

B. The Business Certification Bundle I may not get right away, but also seems useful in progressing faster...

****Q: Thoughts, experiences?

Off MSPA's website--
The Banking and Financial Institutions course teaches the skill sets necessary to be successful at these shops, which tend to be some of the most lucrative paying in the industry. The Brands Standards Auditing course is an overview of the auditing industry, requirements to be a successful auditor, and paths to find auditing work. Prerequisites for both: All Core Courses

****Q: Does this mean one's ineligible for these assignments without completing the Core Courses first then?

The Gold costs $75, and each bundle would cost $60. $195 all together if I decided to get all at once, or $135 for just the Gold and Core Bundle to start out. This isn't a huge investment in my opinion IF they yield results of more or higher paying assignmentssmiling smiley

****Q: Any experience on obtaining any of the above certifications, and subsequent noticeable (or not) benefits would be greatly appreciated!!

Sara

I did the $25 dollar initial registration when I first started - and nothing else. I'm not convinced it helped me and have never felt like I was missing out on anything by not doing more.

Most of the companies that require training provide it on their own. Some will refer you to a specific training they want you t do - mostly for video shopping..

In other words: I would not make any more of a monetary investment than you already have - unless you decide to invest video shopping equipment.

I never certified with anything but video shopping. That was several years after starting and after completing a couple thousand regular shops.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2018 03:02AM by LisaSTL.

I am silver certified and have never been rejected from a possible job due to not being gold.

You may want to read the threads in this forum regarding mspa certification. It sounds like it isn't really helpful and can be a pain to get the code to enter into the msc applications.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2018 11:19PM by 7star.

It's impossible.

Thank you Harley that's great to know! I always overthink everything.. Nice to know I can start right away without that much effort. May I ask if you also do financial institutions or audits? Thanks again!

@7star Thanks! I had read some threads on certification- but no one really talks about the benefits of getting these specific ones. I was really curious about the Report Writing course because I keep seeing repeat responses on those threads that you can pretty much get any job.. as long as you can create a well-written report-- so I thought this course would be helpful.

May I ask if you know of any other resources for learning what to expect on the job, what companies want, and how to write a report etc.?

And like I asked Harley, may I ask if you do financial institutions and audits, too? Thank you so much.

Hey Deb, what's impossible?? Thanks, Sara

I don't have any certifications. I have not been denied shops because of this.

Save your money is what I have learned from this forum.

@LisaSTL Lisa, again apologies. Brand new! Didn't know this and was simply looking for some helpful responses. Good to know! Thanks again
Sara

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2018 12:48AM by sfb.shopper.

@HonnyBrown Thanks for that info. That's a concern of mine too.. Do you know if they were looking for very specific certifications, or, for instance would simply upgrading from Silver to Gold cut it? Thank you
Sara

OMG, no apologies are necessary. You are just enthusiastic

@Msaddict That's what the general consensus seems to be for sure. I'm just curious if anyone who HAS higher certifications actually benefits? I guess you've read and heard no, then? Thank you for your input, I very much appreciate it.
Sara

Not sorry I got my silver certification when I started years ago, cost about 15.00. Not interested in getting Gold,
but (as I said) happy to have silver and have a # to put in some applications when they ask and they do. You get good jobs by being a good shopper and experience is everything.

@MFJohnston Thank you! This is one of the most helpful answers I think I've seen so far. Good to know "Most of the companies that require training provide it on their own. Some will refer you to a specific training they want you t do - mostly for video shopping..

In other words: I would not make any more of a monetary investment than you already have - unless you decide to invest video shopping equipment."

--I didn't know this at all.

Out of curiosity, do you work with financial institutions and audits by any chance-- If so, have you never had any issues then? Or if not, would these assignments be similar to the video shopping then, whereas if we wanted to do those we may actually need the cert., or still no? This is all 100% new to me so I really appreciate your help and insight. Thank you!
Sara

If memory serves, there are usually way more shoppers who never got certified or only went so far as the Silver. Most of the time when someone is Gold certified they did so when MSPA was still offering in person certification classes. Now they are mostly DVDs unless you travel to their yearly conference in Florida.

There are good mystery shopping companies that are not a part of the MSPA and MSPA companies who don't seem too concerned about certification at all. Just an FYI regarding the MSPA. They are a trade organization for mystery shopping companies. In other words, they work for and on behalf of the companies including doing things like lobbying. There is absolutely nothing wrong with who they are or what they do. Many newer shoppers misinterpret their mission and think membership somehow guarantees a company is golden. There are no standards for member companies regarding policies or payment terms. To find out what others are thinking it is always a good idea to check out the feedback here.

I’ve never gotten a certification and never missed out on a shop for not having any. With every MSC having a platform where they can put their own training and tests, certification became obsolete. MSPA usually has video certification at their conferences, which is good, but I believe the real value is in networking.

@Irene_L.A. Thanks Irene! May I ask how you "get good" at this industry (without certifications of course) from your experience? Are there any websites you rely on, informative blogs/forums like this one, etc.?
And so you don't think having some other certs may have helped when you were starting out then I'm guessing? I appreciate your advice, thank you.
Sara

Your welcome Sara, I learned through years of doing this, to shop what I find to be "Boutique" companies, who treat you well when you do good work for them. don't cancel, report in on time, read instructions, many want different ways of writing. Do the same jobs monthly (if possible), and build a relationship with companies that have work near you. I don't do routes as I live in a heavily populated area. This comes with time, just be a serious shopper, but do have fun along the way. I've found what I love to do like restaurants, grocery, upscale retail and a hotel now and then, doing others that pay nicely....just find your niche....where do you live?
I am glad I got my silver, but it was inexpensive when I got it....

@LisaSTL Thanks Lisa, good to know more about MSPA. They were just the first place I went after looking at an independent (?) Mystery Shopping company (or maybe they weren't?)-- because they asked if I had a MSPA or certification #. I looked up MSPA and they seemed reputable to me, but I can understand that membership with a certain company doesn't make it an industry standard.

You said "There are good mystery shopping companies that are not a part of the MSPA and MSPA companies who don't seem too concerned about certification at all."

May I ask how I'd find these other reputable mystery Shopping companies that aren't affiliated with MSPA- Is there an online database of accredited (?) ones? Asking because I've also read plenty of warnings about non-reputable companies out there and even scammer companies. And as far as the MSPA companies that don't need certification as a requirement or that don't necessarily see as an advantage to hire someone, is there a way on MSPA to search for these specific companies? Or again, some sort of database that may make the sorting and finding easier to expedite getting started? Thank you!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2018 01:13AM by sfb.shopper.

You have found the best resource for mystery shopping right here. At the bottom of each page is a list of most of the mystery shopping companies we know of at this point. Along with the names you will find links to their websites and links to any discussions.

At this point I would recommend you go to the New Mystery Shoppers section of the forum. There are 12 threads pinned to the top. They provide just about everything you need to know to get started. It is so useful and all the threads were created by veteran shoppers who know their stuff.

@Irene_L.A.Thank you. So then the whole Professional Report Writing Certification is sort of pointless if companies have detailed and outlined descriptions of what they want, huh? And it sounds like the Professional Ethics and Responsibility cert would probably be covered in the instructions!

Thanks for the advice: "Do the same jobs monthly (if possible), and build a relationship with companies that have work near you." Good to know. And you said you like restaurants, upscale hotels and retail sometimes and "doing others that pay nicely....just find your niche."

May I ask how you find (and get in) to these higher paying opportunities? I assume they require some experience and time put in--and a good record, before one would be accepted for the job? Do you have any websites or anything specifically that you would recommend referring to for the more upscale and rewarding jobs? And I'm guessing finding your niche just comes with experience

I live in Idaho Falls.. So definitely not metropolitan. I moved from Houston where I was first interested in Mystery Shopping and was afraid that there wouldn't be anything out here. I'd say its pretty rural and remote but I'm hoping to find some good ones! Thanks again,
Sara

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2018 01:24AM by sfb.shopper.

@LisaSTL Oh wow thank you! You've been so very helpful. So glad I found this forum Very appreciative.

Sign up with a lot of MSC's, and just jump in, it's really not difficult. There is a list of companies on the forum at the bottom, get some names, and start filling out applications.

@TroyHawkins Thanks Troy. I'm learning just from the responses so far that this seems to be very true!- "With every MSC having a platform where they can put their own training and tests, certification became obsolete"
Could you tell me more about networking? When you said "I believe the real value is in networking."...sounds silly but with whom, where, etc.? I lived in Houston TX and networking was pretty much required to make it in any industry, but this seems different? And I'm also not in a metropolitan area anymore, so maybe I need to readjust my idea of networking... May I ask what do you do to network in this industry and what you've found most helpful?Thanks so much.
Sara

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2018 01:33AM by sfb.shopper.

@Irene_L.A.Thank you that's great. This does seem much simpler than I imagined- definitely more doable right away after your advice and the help I've found on here! I'm very appreciative.

@HonnyBrown Whoops apologies. I misread your response: "I don't have any certifications. I have not been denied shops because of this." That's great to know! I read that you'd been denied because of this. Very glad to hear

@sfb.shopper
I have not had any recorded (video or audio) shops at financial institutions. I have had video shops at apartments, new homes, pawn shops, retail clothing stores, oil change garages, athletic clubs and a few more places. I have done many jobs at banks (all non-reveal), some of which are customer-service oriented and others more of compliance audits. For some of the banks, I have had webinars for training. Others, I've had to pass the company's test - which is really a verification that I had read the guidelines.