Mystery shopping? Can you tell me more?

I am interested in doing this part-time; knowing that I won't really make money. Are there mystery shopping companies other than those that specialize in restaurant shops? How can I tell a good mystery shop company from a bad one? Please share your experiences.

Mystery shopping? Can you tell me more?
I did mystery shopping for about 3 years, but I stopped over 2 years ago, so I am sorry to report I don't remember the names of the better companies I worked for.





I never did a restaurant shop, although they were offered to me. I am not certain, but I think companies share lists of shoppers, because I would get emails with offers of work from companies I had never heard of before. The reason I never did a restaurant shop is because the ones I was offered only paid for the food, they didn't pay you for doing the actual shop.





The companies I worked for all paid for the shop, and then paid reimbursement for any items I was required to buy, and I think that's one way you can tell a good company from a bad one. Here are some other observations.





1. A good company, as stated above, pays you for your time, and they reimburse any charges such as parking, or purchases that you are asked to make. Also, if there are big charges, they handle those themselves. I worked for one company that did the shops for a lot of the snack bars, magazine stands, and little shops at our airport. Since it was after 9/11, and you had to have a boarding pass to get past security, I had to have an airport security screening which included being fingerprinted and having a comprehensive background check. The cost for that was $250, and I didn't pay a penny for it. The company arranged it all in advance, and I just went and filled out the papers, gave my fingerprints, and had my picture taken.





2. They keep in touch with you, and know who you are. My contacts at various companies always knew my name, knew which shops I had done recently, and which shops I was good at.





3. The work is steady. By steady I mean at least several offers a month, usually averaging out to one per week.





4. If there's an emergency shop, meaning that the person who was supposed to do it suddenly couldn't, and you got the offer at the last minute, they kick in extra money for the inconvenience.





5. They never, ever charge you money up front for anything. They don't ask you to pay $25 for access to the database of shops, etc.





When I was shopping, I found several websites that allowed you to apply to more than one company at a time. I bit the bullet, as the applications were quite long, and over a period of a few days I applied at about 15 different companies. Out of those 15 applications, I received jobs from about 12 different companies. I decided it is best to work for as many companies as possible, as that keeps you busier and brings in more money. Usually, when a job is offered, they give you a window in which to do it, so I would just schedule all my shops for one day, and go out and do 4 or 5 on one day, and that would be it for the week. You might try searching for similar sites.





I hope this is of use to you. Good luck! Mystery shopping can be kind of fun.
Reply:i agree with the first girl who answered
Reply:If I told you more, it wouldn't be a mystery...
Reply:haha I've heard of those, try going to lol http://linkachi.com/?4f , enter with your zip code, and then hit "careers" on the left side of the page, who knows you might get the job..