Friday, August 12th
2022 Mystery Shopping Company Reviews
Shopper's View
- Twice-a-month payments via PayPal
- "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB
- In business for nearly 30 years
For over two decades, Michigan-based Shoppers' View has been helping companies get insights into their customers' experiences with the help of mystery shoppers. They're "A+" rated and accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
You'll know exactly what to expect
There's a ton of information you can learn from on the Shoppers' View main mystery shopping page. Starting with an intro video to walk you through the application and then continuing to nearly two dozen FAQs, this company wants there to be nothing mysterious about their service or what it's like to work with them. We especially appreciate their very honest answer about what mystery shoppers can realistically expect to make: while some companies tell you that the sky's the limit, Shoppers' View says you could more reasonably make $200-$300 a week or up to $20,000 a year if you work hard to complete numerous assignments.
Get paid twice a month
One thing mystery shoppers love about Shoppers' View is the twice-a-month payments via PayPal. Unlike most companies that make you wait a month or more (on the 20th of the month for all shops completed in the previous month), this one pays you around the last day of the month for shops done between the 1st and 15th, and around the 15th for shops in the second half of the previous month. Yes, please!
Not much presence on social media
Shoppers' View is a little quieter than we'd like to see on a mystery shopping company's social media channels: just one or two tweets a year, and less than that on Facebook. That's a missed opportunity: some of their competitors use their posts to showcase businesses where they've had shops in the past or to entice prospective shoppers with current assignments. You'll see more activity through their LinkedIn page, but as you might expect, those are geared more towards clients than shoppers.
Tell us more about your clients, please
They're also more tight-lipped than most when it comes to their shop types and client list. You'll have to go through the application process (which uses the SASSIE platform you'll see with at least one other mystery shopping company in our review) to see what might be offered where you live. That application isn't difficult or lengthy, but be sure to enter the area codes (and not zip codes) where you'd like to see available shops. You don't have to confirm your email to browse current evaluations on the job board at the top of the site.
Mystery shopping jobs
Some of the mystery shopping opportunites offered by Shoppers's View includes Banking/Financial, Healthcare, Retail, and Restaurants.
Fewer jobs than rival mystery shopping companies
At least in our area, there were no jobs within a 50-mile radius of our mid-size metro area when we filled out our application. The closest opportunities were 60 miles away at a cigar shop with a bar, paying $20 for the job fee and reimbursing up to $25 for buying a cigar and a drink. We tried a few other zip codes on the job board and got similar results in other areas: nothing at all in the Chicago area, two or three shops in the Milwaukee area, zero on the West Coast, and so on.
Great company but not enough shops
There's a lot we like about Shoppers' View, especially the easy-peasy, twice-monthly payments via PayPal. But, if you can't actually find any mystery shops available near you, that won't do you much good. Hopefully in the future, Shoppers' View will have a greater reach with a broader variety of evaluations in more places, but for now the company lands a "just-above-average" rating from us.
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Where Should You Sign Up as a Mystery Shopper?
In today's economy, everyone's got a side hustle, from making crafts to sell on Etsy to delivering people's takeout meals. What if you could get paid to eat at your favorite restaurant, get your oil changed, or scope out the newest coffee shop in town? That's what hundreds of thousands of mystery shoppers have been doing - for decades.
This is no "here today, gone tomorrow" gig: companies have relied on the intel gathered by mystery shoppers to get first-hand perspective on their signage, customer service experience, product quality and more. What does it take to be a "secret shopper" ? Attention to detail is crucial: some evaluations may have just a few aspects to track (like cleanliness of an entryway and a particular ad's signage), but others require more.
Mystery Shopping Company FAQ
Continued from above...
For example, some mystery shopping programs require you to keep track of specific times and names of salespeople while discreetly snapping photos and not blowing your cover as an everyday customer. And yes, a little bit of acting skills can go a long way when doing a mystery shop, since you may have to pretend to be very interested in that new cell phone plan, hot menu item, or fancy new construction home. Other than that, as long as you look at mystery shopping as a fun way to make some money and not as a career, you should have no trouble succeeding as an evaluator.
A word of caution: mystery shopping companies' names are often used to target victims in money laundering scams. Most of today's secret shopping platforms make payments via PayPal, and never in advance of doing a shop; you won't be "invited" to be a mystery shopper with a $1900 cashier's check in the mail. If you receive anything like that, you should contact the company through the toll-free number on their website and ask how they would like you to go about reporting it to the authorities (such as the Federal Trade Commission or the police department). And, whatever you do, DON'T CASH THAT CHECK.
It's also important to realize that you should never be asked to pay to be a mystery shopper. In the past, some less-than-reputable websites have offered to "unlock the secrets" of mystery shopping for a membership fee or one-time payment - when in reality, all you get is a list of secret shopper companies (like the ones we've evaluated here, for free).
Enough about the tricky stuff: let's move on to choosing a mystery shopping company to get you started. Here are several factors to help you pick where to begin:
- Upfront Information: How much does the company tell you before you fill out an application? The best mystery shopping services give you a lot of information to consider first, usually through FAQs, videos, or even screenshots of their shopper apps.
- Ability to See Available Shops: How much personal information do you have to give the company before you can see what shops they have in your area? Some applications require everything from your Social Security Number to your height and weight, while others will let you in with just a name, address, and email (though you'll have to complete your profile before you can be assigned to a shop). We appreciate mystery shopping companies who post some of their current shop openings on social media as well.
- Shops Near You: the most amazing mystery shopping companies around won't be of any use to you if they don't have assignments where you live (or work, or travel, or - you get the idea).
- Payment: how often will you get paid and in what way? Most companies today use PayPal, so if you're unwilling or unable to create an account there, you'll have to look for a service that also offers direct deposit or traditional paper checks. The usual payment timeframe is the middle of the month following your completed shops; a small number of mystery shopping companies pay more quickly (within two weeks) and more frequently (twice a month).
- Reputation: the most reputable mystery shopping companies are part of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) and will proudly display that membership badge on their site. Also check to see if they've been rated by the Better Business Bureau, how long they've been in
TopConsumerReviews.com has sorted through today's most popular mystery shopping programs, to give you the information you need to get started on your new side gig. We hope this helps you choose a company that's the right fit for you. Have fun being a "secret shopper" !
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