new to mystery shopping
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Wolf, many new shoppers start out with Market Force and Intellishop. You can, and should, sign up for others after "cutting your teeth" with these. Be sure to read on this forum to avoid companies that get a lot of negative discussion. However, to each his own, and you may love a company I can't stand. Good luck!
I suggest Market Force as a good starter company. Start out slow until you are familiar with what is needed for each shop.
Yes, Marketforce, Trendsource (now called The Source), and Bestmark are good beginner companies. Intellishop has picky editors and that might be discouraging for a beginner.
A Closer Look. They are based in GA and have a lot of work there.
I wonder if they have different editors for different clients. I hear that a lot on this forum, but my average is a 10 with them. My only 9s were once when I forgot to fill out part of the receipt form and twice when I had (alleged) "minor grammatical errors, but keep up the great work." They don't have a lot of projects that interest me, but I have had positive experiences.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
Intellishop has picky editors and that might be discouraging for a beginner.
I wasn't basing that on my personal experience (for the most part). I have done 191 shops for them and have an average of 10 as well. I don't do many of their dealership shops, but I have done a handful of them in the past when they were bonused, and that's where the editors were picky. And like you, I hear about it on this forum and that's what I based my post on.
I don't agree with that, Robbi. Unless it's a non-targeted shop. Too many instances where things can go wrong and shops get rejected. That would be very disheartening for a new shopper. And, they do require a lot of details on the shops. Maritz is a good one for beginners in addition to Marketforce, The Source, and Bestmark.
I have to agree that EPMS apartment shops are probably going to discourage newbies. Until a shopper gets into the swing of recalling minute details of the layouts of both the apartments seen and the leasing office and the path traveled between them, as well as of the descriptions of the leasing agent(s), that is a real killer of a report. Shoppers who want to do those will do well to do several less challenging apartment shops as practice to develop their "shopper memory bank" before doing EPMS apartments.
One tip: for the very detailed reports, I learned that I could "fix" some apartment details in memory just by saying to the LA things like, "Oh, that's handy; the half bath being to the right of the entry hall and the coat closet on the left." Or, "I really like the contrast between the black cabinets and the gray counter tops and floors." Then, of course, we all walk out of shops mumbling things like, "Male, 6', 35-45, collar length brown hair, black slacks, green shirt, blue tie."
One tip: for the very detailed reports, I learned that I could "fix" some apartment details in memory just by saying to the LA things like, "Oh, that's handy; the half bath being to the right of the entry hall and the coat closet on the left." Or, "I really like the contrast between the black cabinets and the gray counter tops and floors." Then, of course, we all walk out of shops mumbling things like, "Male, 6', 35-45, collar length brown hair, black slacks, green shirt, blue tie."
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.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
It is hard for newbies to get non-targeted shops simply because it is usually only the first shopper to go to the site in the reporting round who can be told to "shop anyone." And, I know for a fact that many schedulers use those non-targeted shop opportunities to reward shoppers who have gone above and beyond to "capture" some tough targets. Being reliable and tenacious does really pay off!
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.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
I think new shoppers should be encouraged to hold off on targeted shops until they have a good understanding of mystery shopping and a successful track record.
The Source, Customer Impact, Second to none are easy companies to work for and won't scare you into submission...
Many more, just depends on jobs you like and are available in your area. Doesn't hurt to sign with many, personally I don't work for MF so have no opinion on that one.
Many more, just depends on jobs you like and are available in your area. Doesn't hurt to sign with many, personally I don't work for MF so have no opinion on that one.Live consciously....
Yeah, I don't do much for MF anymore unless they bonus the shops, but they are super easy reports with very little narrative, and since they shop all over the country with a good variety of clients. Good chance they will have shops in the OPs area. And, on occasion I have done shops where they bonused shops between $40-$100. I know that other shoppers in the forum have gotten even more. Lately the highest bonus I got was only $30, but that's still pretty good for a shop that was only 10 miles from my house and took about 1.5 hours total time including driving, making the visit, and doing the report.
July 23, 2017 03:41AM
Really EPMS for a beginner. . . .NOT advised by me either. . . .
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2017 03:44AM by sun&fun.
Really EPMS for a beginner. . . .NOT advised by me either. . . .
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2017 03:44AM by sun&fun.
Nor are targeted, Personal Bankers I have had only one but I got really lucky in that she was the only Personal Banker there that day.
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