I just finished a shop for A Closer Look. It was a restaurant, reimbursement only. The questionnaire was a terror. Each area needed 3-8 sentences to back up what had already been answered by a yes or no. It took more than an hour to enter the results. It certainly was not worth it.

Yes, their reports are long and I'm surprised that a first one took only an hour or so to report. These do get a faster as you do them and they do have some very pleasant restaurants.

An hour should be standard for good restaurant shops. A closer Look has some great restaurants, and I don't have a problem providing a quality report with narrative to back it up. But with a hospitality background, I guess it comes as second nature.

I think there are different kinds of shoppers who do mystery shopping:

-Shoppers who rely on Mystery Shopping to be a primary source of their income. These shoppers likely do lots of shops in a given year, have been at it for a long time and have contacts and relationships with schedulers, MSCs and even other shoppers. They are more likely to do routes with several shops scheduled for each day, often requiring travel far from home. They are also more likely to do what I think of as "varsity level" mystery shopping like video shops or high end hotels, resorts and other things that require very in depth reports, but pay fairly well (never well enough... never).

-Shoppers who are doing this mostly for fun: to make a little bit of extra money or discounts on stuff they would do anyway, or to try new things and get out of the house. If it means having to fill out a report that takes an hour for a nice meal with a friend to be free (or nearly free), that's fine. If it means going to the gas station costs $20 when you factor in the reimbursement and payment you'll get instead of $34 and all that has to be done is take a few photos and fill out a report, that's cool.

-Somewhere on the spectrum between these two extremes.

I'm much closer to the second one than the first. I do mystery shopping mostly for fun and don't care as much about the money (though it's nice!). That means that I don't care how much of a bonus is on that Micky D's shop, I don't want it (well... maybe once every six months or so I'll get an Egg Muffin craving and take one, but otherwise, no).

A Closer Look was one of the first MSCs I shopped with 10 years ago and I still shop with them (going to the movies this weekend). Yes, the reports are longer than some other shops I do. But for me and for what I'm looking to get out of Mystery Shopping, it's worth it. Thank goodness we don't all want to take the same shops, or I'd be out of luck while the pros like @Flash, @MDavisnowell, and @walesmaven took all the jobs.

They get a lot worse than that. But I'd love to know who you have been shopping for so far. Tell us please?

CaliGirl is spot on. We all have our motivations. The Closer Look reports are in depth to be sure, but they are well organized and definitely not the worst I have seen (looking at you Sentry!) The clients they have are usually better than your average dining out shops. I don't take that many mainly because of the reimbursement only policy and the reason most of the shops are limited to two people only and restrict kids. But when I do take the occasional shop, they pay as promised, and the schedulers are very helpful. They are in my top 25 to be sure.

While it would be nice for A Closer Look to pay at least a small fee, that really doesn't bother me that much. If I weren't doing shops we would still eat out probably once a week and would rarely get out for under $25 even with Restaurant.com or Groupon or coupons. So we make it a shop and the personal $25 stays in the pocket. Any personal money I don't need to spend is great because I already paid taxes on my $25 and I don't pay taxes on the reimbursement.

I am squarely in CaliGirl's first category and no longer do shops for ACL. I need $$ and they are not very forgiving with route shoppers in my experience.

I did A Closer Look jewelry shop, I didn't think it was that bad, granted I didn't need to have exact timings of stuff like when the water was delivered, when the entree was delivered and when was the appetizer cleared away?

5842Meg, I agree, it can get a little redundant when you already answered the YES/NO questions then have to rewrite them into sentences... that was my issue with the grocery shop I did yesterday... I feel like the YES/NO was very clearly worded without having me to reiterate it and having a word minimum on a grocery shop to say the same thing that was already expressed.

I haven't taken any of their restaurant shops mainly b/c the other MSCs do pay a fee for fine dining, so I rather do those first... If I'm out of rotation for the other MSCs I might take A Closer Look fine dining shop, how does it compare with Coyle??

Yes, they do have a lot of guidelines to follow. I had a problem with them but they were pleasant in resolving it. I think they try to be nice, which is more than I can say about a lot of other mystery shopping companies.

I understand that writing narratives can be frustrating, especially when it is a simple yes/no. However, it may help the company that is requesting these narratives to know why they are doing something correct. I did quality assurance work in the military and it was annoying to have to write down as to why a work center was doing certain criteria correctly. This gets even worse when there are hundreds of questions. However, we were able to use that information for trend analysis to see if there were patterns or other factors that could cause a yes or a no. Also, it definitely helped the commander/person in charge especially if there are a bunch of yes answers.

An hour? Takes me north of 2 hours to finish a report for ACL. I strive for perfection in those reports. I enjoy those restaurants which would not normally fit into my budget. For me, slaving over those reports are totally worth my time.

I am in mostly in the "just for fun" category of mystery shopping, though I also do it for income at times.

While I try to keep my MS income in the $20/hour range, I accept different shops for different reasons.

1. PAY ME enough and I'll do anything: I don't shop McDonald's for "fun." I do them only when they pay well. If I have to eat anyway, then I might consider the reimbursement part of the compensation. If I do six fast food shops in a day (and yes, I've done that many times and more), it's not about reimbursement, it's about earning fees. I have a healthy credit life, so it's never a problem to spend and get reimbursed 4-8 weeks later.

2. Things I HAVE to do but don't want to pay for: Oil changes, haircuts, and routine meals on the go fall into this category. A fee is nice, but if I can save $30 on an oil change by writing a 30-minute report, I've just made $60/hour. I'm not counting the time it took to get the oil change, because I would have spent that time getting it whether it was a shop or not. In this case, the reimbursement IS income.

3. Things I LIKE to do but really can't afford: I LIKE to eat at Texas Roadhouse, but it would be a rare treat were it not for MS'ing. With two locations nearby and wifey shopping, it's now a regular date-night option every few weeks. The better the restaurant, the less they need to offer a fee or bonus. ACL falls into this category. I did a great location last night for a $50 reimbursement only. If I spent an hour on prep, post-visit call, and the report, then I feel like I made $50/hr and spent it on a nice dinner. They have other locations that I don't like as much, but I'll do for a small $5-$10 bonus.

ACL communicates well, pays on time, and provides somewhat picky but fair feedback. I enjoy working with them and take pride when they find my report to be flawless (as they did last night!)

However, if you live in central Texas, I should warn you that the locations are terrible, the communication is horrible, the reports are onerous, the editors are unfair, and the pay is terribly weak. Please avoid central Texas locations!

BTW, ACL is one of the few companies where I write the narratives in an email or Word doc and past them into the report. I do this because of the way their report is structured. Seeing all the narratives on one page helps me write with consistency. It seems to save time for me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2015 12:11AM by AndrewTX.

I consider a $100 meal with good company is worth an hour of my time. But, they do get easier the more you do. Mine usually take no more than 40 minutes and thats a long one.

@AndrewTX wrote:

BTW, ACL is one of the few companies where I write the narratives in an email or Word doc and past them into the report. I do this because of the way their report is structured. Seeing all the narratives on one page helps me write with consistency. It seems to save time for me.

I've seen someone else make this recommendation on this forum... I think I'm going to try it out next time. Thanks!

A Closer Look is one of the only companies I like working for but everyone is different. I am glad not everyone loves them so I can get a few shops. I don;t think I have ever done one of their reports in less then 3 hours but maybe I am slow or more detailed. Thanks again for leaving their shops on the boards for those of us who love their clients!

Yes, ACL reports are long - but the more I do them, the faster I get. And I've noticed the more shops I do, the better shops I get offered. They must have some rating system or something - because before I was seeing dinner shops like maybe casual dining - but now, I am getting fine dining shops where your bill for a modest meal is $150! And even when I do mess up a little, they let me know exactly what I did wrong and don't like punish me or "grade" me like other places do, and I got a second chance at a location the next month so I know they didn't block me. Also - they had a lot of fun places besides restaurants on the list, way better selection here than some of the other companies.

I have been with ACL for over 10 years and I do it to go out to nice restaurants. It does get easier and I figure, a $75-$100 dinner to write a 1 hour report is worth it. I don't need to get paid. Their reimbursements almost always cover the full cost of everything they ask you to do.
Goodwin Hospitality, on the other hand, has good restaurants, but the $65 or $75 they give you covers your dinner only if you order the cheapest items that are required. On the other hand, they have easier reports. Coyle is one that I did a few time, If you want a really nice dinner, go with them. I won't do any more with them because their reports take me 2-3 hours. They want time stamps on every interaction and movement you make. They do compensate very very well though.

This company is notorious for wanting poor shoppers to work for free.

How is getting an expensive meal working for free? I don't do shops for expensive meals but I wouldn't consider a report in exchange for a meal to be "free".

I've too worked for A Closer Look for Several Years now. I find them to be a great company. They are honest and pay me as they promise. The reports are long but I consider myself now a Pro. They've even asked me to be an editor for them. I was honored that they thought of me so highly but I would prefer to edit my own reports not that of someone else for $10 and hour. I too shop for fun and to do things we would normally not do. I've been to restaurants and hotels that I never would have visited thanks to A Closer Look. Reports are long but now I get them done quickly or I'll do a section at a time and come back within by the required deadline so the reports don't seem so difficult.

I enjoy doing work for ACL. I have been able to get reimbursed for things I would normally do with the kids and my husband and I have been able to justify things like nice dinners and movies that aren't usually in our budget.

@Ridgeranger101 wrote:

I was honored that they thought of me so highly but I would prefer to edit my own reports not that of someone else for $10 and hour.

If only it was $10/hour; I'd still be editing for them. I do love shopping for them though

They pay editors by the report. It's nowhere near $10 an hour. I used to edit for them when they used to have a popular buffet client. They paid $5 per report if I recall. It sometimes would take an hour to edit a report if I had to contact the shopper for more information, which was quite often.

Some of the shops in my area offer a small shop fee of $5, but most are just the reimbursement and no shop fee. However, towards the end of the time they have to fill the shop, they do offer bonuses. I did a $40 reimbursement shop last night with a $20 bonus.

I'm amazed that it takes some of you just an hour. It takes me many hours complete the report, but I write pretty long narratives and take a while to figure out timing of services rendered. I'm curious what other MSCs pay in addition to reimbursing for restaurant shops.

The reimbursement for my shop was $30. plus 15%. I will choose to do a FF as I did yesterday for $25 plus, most of the cost reimbursed and their reporting is oh, so easy. I indicated it took more than an hour to complete the ACL report. It was closer to two hours......no absolutely not worth it for me. I will take the $25 from the FF and go to a restaurant that is comparable to the ACL and not have the forever report.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2015 04:48PM by 5842meg.

@mastereater wrote:

I'm amazed that it takes some of you just an hour. It takes me many hours complete the report, but I write pretty long narratives and take a while to figure out timing of services rendered. I'm curious what other MSCs pay in addition to reimbursing for restaurant shops.

I love these shops and I think the reimbursement amount is fair payment for the work I do on one of these fine dining shops. Sometimes on their casual dining shops, I do NOT feel the reimbursement is fair payment so I don't take those shops.

If it is taking you many hours to do these reports, but if it is still worth it to you, that's your decision. If it were taking me many hours to complete a report, it would not be worth it to me. These reports take me 45 minutes-an hour, although they did take longer for me at first. I also write very long narratives, but I try to be specific in what I am writing about.

You can streamline the reports by the notes that you take during the shop. Understand the requirements BEFORE you go in. Know exactly what you are looking for. If you are spending time AFTER the shop, when you are writing the report, to figure out the timing of services rendered, then you are doing something wrong IMHO. Collecting the times when things happen should be a quick and easy thing when they are happening. If you are looking at them and changing or re-interpreting them after the fact, that doesn't sound like your timings are accurate. It also sounds very time-consuming.

My best advice is to know up front what you will collect. Make a cheat sheet. I use a 3 X 5 index card. I know what timings I will collect and I plug them right into the card. When I write the report, the timings come directly from my note card. There should be no need to figure out the timing later. I write my narratives in Word and paste them into the form.

I like the respect this company offers its shoppers which is not something I could ever say about Intellishop, Bare or Sentry, They were very nice whenever I have had a question or issue.