Any other Secret Shoppers here?

[drdisney]

Since the Disboards was the one that got me started doing shopping, I wanted to see if any other shoppers are still on the boards. Have you ever done any shopping while on vacation at WDW? Last time I was going to, but changed my mind as I wanted to spend more time with my family. I did pick up a few shops at the airport though

For those who have never shopped feel free to ask any questions. There are some easy shops you can pick up and every penny earned just goes more to the mouse

Dr D

 

[Tinknalli]

I used to , but stopped about 8 years ago when my second child was born. Couldn't fit it in with working full time and ttwo little ones. I never felt like the monetary compensation was worth it, but I liked the freebies. Worked a lot for Friendly's restaurant, got my meals for free and the compensation covered the meal for my husband so I didn't make money, but got to eat out often for free.

 

[LiloH]

I could tell you but then...
Ok, I'm kidding! I also do mystery shopping. It varies from month to month as my schedule is pretty busy but I usually fit in 10-12 jobs a month.
Airport jobs are definitely the best. Last month I made about $200 in the 2 hours before my flight. I had to rush like a crazy person through five different terminals but it was worth it as I got a bunch of stuff in addition to the money.
My general rule is if the fee is less than $30 I'll only do a job if...
- it is both super easy and convenient
- It offsets cost for something I'd be doing anyway.
- It's a free meal/hotel stay/activity that I am really interested in.

Using those rules of thumb I am usually able to keep this activity fun instead of stressful.

Any favorite companies for you guys?

 

[Tricia's mom]

How does one get started ? PM me....

Thanks, Janet

 

[packofjedis]

How does one get started ? PM me....

Thanks, Janet

I'm interested as well. Can someone PM me details?

 

[leeserw]

I am interested as well. Anything to get me back to WDW!

 

[jen1977]

I'm also interested....I have looked into it, but it seems hard to know which companies are legit!

 

[rileyreese]

I would love to know some legit companies too! I have thought about it and we are going back to the mouse in 20 months do I need to save money for it!

 

[jmrdavis99]

I used to, but don't pick up many jobs anymore. I am much pickier than I used to be of the jobs I take and just look for ones with big $ or something that I want/need anyway. I've done dinner & bar shops, a local amusement park, lots of chain fast food & pizza shops, car dealerships (sales), oil change chains, riding lawn mower dealerships, pet food price audits and home gift stores. The sales shops (car dealerships & riding lawn mowers) paid the best. I've also seen apartment shops & bank shops (usually mortgages) that pay well.

For those of you interested, the best way to find legitimate companies is to sign up for certification through Mystery Shoppping Providers Association (mysteryshop.org) and complete the silver certification. I think it was around $15 when I did it & took me about 45 minutes to go through the online tutorial & test. They also offer gold certification online, but I have gotten plenty of shops just with silver.

Once you have a certification, go signup at the companies listing jobs on their job board even if they don't currently have any jobs that you want.

****WARNING**** Legitimate companies WILL ask for your social security number as they will have to issue you 1099 if you make over a certain amount. I also work with a couple that direct deposit my pay, so they have my bank account info as well.

 

[3boymthr]

Could someone PM me some info on legitimate companies. Got laid off last year and I would LOVE to have a little extra cash right now.

 

[LiloH]

I got entirely started based off this one blog post:

http://realwaystoearnmoneyonline.com/2011/07/about-mystery-shopping.html

Really... this is all it took. It has lots of great information on what to expect and some information on reputable companies.

I would agree with a lot of what she said in relation to this not being a job for everyone. You have to be detail oriented, a great writer and super reliable.

You also need childcare arrangements in place as you can not bring kids with you to the vast majority of jobs. I tend to do quick jobs on my lunch hours from my real jobs or on the weekends when my husband can spend time with our children.
(I did do jobs for the Disney and Lego Stores though where they REQUIRED you to bring your children. Those were fun!)

Anyway, good luck to everyone and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[caribear]

I also mystery shop, but not that often. I mostly do Five Guys Burgers....so basically a free lunch as the pay is minimal. I do not have any certifications, but I am thinking about doing the Silver. I have done a really detailed theme-park shop which was fun, but a lot of work! Most of the shops I do have very small fees....I basically get something for free at the store/restaurant....but that is it.

The hard part is finding which mystery shopping companies do which stores/restaurants/theme parks.....You basically have to register with a lot of companies...and then go from there. Due to paperwork that a mystery shopper signs...they are not allowed to share which companies they work for or which companies shop which stores....at least this is what I have been told. I might be wrong though....maybe someone with more experience can verify this. I am trying really hard to find out which company shops Outback, Longhorn, Red Lobster....but after applying to 10 companies I still have not found the info. Keep searching.....

 

[kim929]

I used to do mystery shopping but quit. In my area there really wasn't that much of a choice mostly burger king and dunkin donuts nothing really good.

I didn't go through the site listed, I might just check it out.

 

[jessica52877]

I read a thread here a while back about using the i-phone for this. Is this what most of you are doing and anyone know if it is available for android yet? I know at the time it wasn't.

 

[drdisney]

Well instead of PM's everyone, I can name off a few of the scheduling companies that I work for. There are over a 100 the last time I have seen, but I only do about 20 as it keeps me pretty busy. You will find some that companies that schedule for one general field, and then some that do all sorts of shops. One thing that is a big no-no is to say who the client is, as its against your ICA (Independent Contractor Agreement ). I have been doing it for almost 5 years now, and love it !!!! The money I earn isn't that much, but it's mostly how I get free groceries and get paid to go out to eat and drink. Here are a few companies that I work for, but will post more if people are interested.

Marketforce
https://www.applymarketforce.com/index.aspx?
Mostly burger fast food places, but also has gas station audits as well as some nice paying tax refund shops as well.

Kern Scheduling
http://www.sassieshop.com/2kern/index.norm.php
A great place to sign up as there are a clearinghouse of other companies. They offer a wide variety of shops and have some all of the US.

Ardent Services
http://ardentservices.com/index.asp
Even though I can't name the fast casual Mexican restaurant they work for, it's listed right on their website...lol. The pay is great, but the reports can be a little long for the inexperienced. Once you start doing them, you will get the hang of it. One of my favorite companies I work for!

Trendsource
https://www.trendsource.com/msi/Application.aspx
Another one of my favorite companies that has various grocery store audits as well and pizza delivery shops. For the audits, they give you a list so you can write down the prices of the items at a grocery store. For the pizza delivery, you order up a pizza from a well known chain and then take a couple of photos of the pizza before enjoying it.

Confero
http://www.conferoinc.com
Mostly has movie theater and theme park reveal shops, but also has others from time to time.

Ok,, there is a list to get you started. Feel free to ask me any questions about them or shopping if you like. You can ask me what time of shops they offer or how does the process work, just remember that no client names can be talked about.





Dr D

 

[drdisney]

I read a thread here a while back about using the i-phone for this. Is this what most of you are doing and anyone know if it is available for android yet? I know at the time it wasn't.

Hi Jessica,

There is a app for the iPhone, but I don't know off hand if it's available for the Android. It's called iSecretshop. It's an ok app, but there was only like 2 or three shops within 50 miles of me. I did do one movie theater visit that I thought was neat as the entire report was done via the phone. It was mostly yes or no questions with just a few sentences needed.


Dr D

 

[ForAandA]

Well instead of PM's everyone, I can name off a few of the scheduling companies that I work for. There are over a 100 the last time I have seen, but I only do about 20 as it keeps me pretty busy. You will find some that companies that schedule for one general field, and then some that do all sorts of shops. One thing that is a big no-no is to say who the client is, as its against your ICA (Independent Contractor Agreement ). I have been doing it for almost 5 years now, and love it !!!! The money I earn isn't that much, but it's mostly how I get free groceries and get paid to go out to eat and drink. Here are a few companies that I work for, but will post more if people are interested.

Marketforce
https://www.applymarketforce.com/index.aspx?
Mostly burger fast food places, but also has gas station audits as well as some nice paying tax refund shops as well.

Kern Scheduling
http://www.sassieshop.com/2kern/index.norm.php
A great place to sign up as there are a clearinghouse of other companies. They offer a wide variety of shops and have some all of the US.

Ardent Services
http://ardentservices.com/index.asp
Even though I can't name the fast casual Mexican restaurant they work for, it's listed right on their website...lol. The pay is great, but the reports can be a little long for the inexperienced. Once you start doing them, you will get the hang of it. One of my favorite companies I work for!

Trendsource
https://www.trendsource.com/msi/Application.aspx
Another one of my favorite companies that has various grocery store audits as well and pizza delivery shops. For the audits, they give you a list so you can write down the prices of the items at a grocery store. For the pizza delivery, you order up a pizza from a well known chain and then take a couple of photos of the pizza before enjoying it.

Confero
http://www.conferoinc.com
Mostly has movie theater and theme park reveal shops, but also has others from time to time.

Ok,, there is a list to get you started. Feel free to ask me any questions about them or shopping if you like. You can ask me what time of shops they offer or how does the process work, just remember that no client names can be talked about.





Dr D

Thank you for all of the great information. I used to be a mystery shopper, and stopped after DD#2 was born. Time to get back in the swing!

 

[North of Mouse]

I used to be a mystery shopper (back when) but was just for one particular fast food (sort of) place. Can name it because it has been so long the policy is changed now. It was Captain D's in another state and they paid for our complete family of 5 to eat every week. I had to vary the day, time of day, also takeout, and drive through. That was my only compensation, but it was enough for me because it enabled us to all eat out for free once a week when we could not have afforded it otherwise. We also all had to order something different - no problem. Have thought of doing it again, as we were transferred from there and I had to quit, but just haven't looked into it.

 

[rnorwo1]

I used to, but don't pick up many jobs anymore. I am much pickier than I used to be of the jobs I take and just look for ones with big $ or something that I want/need anyway. I've done dinner & bar shops, a local amusement park, lots of chain fast food & pizza shops, car dealerships (sales), oil change chains, riding lawn mower dealerships, pet food price audits and home gift stores. The sales shops (car dealerships & riding lawn mowers) paid the best. I've also seen apartment shops & bank shops (usually mortgages) that pay well.

For those of you interested, the best way to find legitimate companies is to sign up for certification through Mystery Shoppping Providers Association (mysteryshop.org) and complete the silver certification. I think it was around $15 when I did it & took me about 45 minutes to go through the online tutorial & test. They also offer gold certification online, but I have gotten plenty of shops just with silver.

****WARNING**** Legitimate companies WILL ask for your social security number as they will have to issue you 1099 if you make over a certain amount. I also work with a couple that direct deposit my pay, so they have my bank account info as well.

Do you have to have the certification to be able to do this or can you still get jobs just signing up at the various sites?

I tried a few of the websites and I got a message that the ardent site was not safe and a potential scammer???

 

[StephMK]

Volition.com is a good resource for mystery shops & focus groups. They have a huge list of companies - it's just a matter of finding ones that have jobs in your area.

I do some shops, just depends on my schedule and motivation. DH & I enjoy a few restaurant shops, it comes out to $4 or less total for us to enjoy a meal out. I have also done some oil changes and my fav are eye exams shops. We get one exam free per person a year so it's all profit to go through the shopping. Some of the reports are a huge pain so I'm careful to pick shops that are reasonable and worth the pay.