Mystery Shopping Tips

If you’re a mystery shopper, you might be interested in Jelly Bean Services. They don’t do mystery shopping, they hire people to research court records. Basically, you go to the courthouse, retrieve court documents, and send them back to Jelly Bean.

Jelly Bean Services operates with some similarities to a mystery shopping company. You get hired as an indenpendent contractor, go out to specific site visits, and complete the required assignment. Very similar to mystery shopping, except you’re retrieving court records instead of evaluating customer service.

If you’re interested in this, it does seem like a fun alternative to mystery shopping. Jelly Bean Services has a job board on their website, and their do seem to be quite a few opportunities available. If you’re interested, here they are: Jelly Bean Services

Written by Tammy S: Market Force is one of the leading forces in the industry of mystery shopping. I have worked for this company for over 5 years. They offer a variety of jobs in a multitude of venues.

When you sign up with the company you will see that they are very fair and compensate nicely within a month. The range of pay that they offer is anywhere from $3.00 for a telephone shop or over $100.00 for audits.

If you go to their home website at: http://www.marketforce.com/the-shopper-force/ this will take you to their registration page and from there you can easily sign up and if you have any questions about their program.

When you sign up with Market Force you will be asked what “areas” you will want to work in and around such as a major city that you live near as well as the surrounding cities that you would be able to travel. It all depends on you and how far you want to go to obtain jobs.

I would have to say it is the best mystery shopping company I have ever worked for simply because they are comprehensive and thorough in their directions of how they want you to perform a job. It is one of the easiest websites to follow and you will not be disappointed with Market Force.

My Experience

I enjoy working for Market Force. They send you an email every day to let you know which shops are available in your area(s). From these emails you can pick and choose the jobs you want to perform and the jobs that will go along with your schedule. You can also go to their website and search in other cities and states if you happen to be traveling and want to perform mystery shops in your spare time.

I have completed a wide variety of jobs for Market Force. I started out doing cell phone jobs where I would go undercover and pretend I was interested in obtaining a new cell phone. These were the perfect jobs for me to start mystery shopping because they are very easy and I could perform many of them in one day which makes it quite worth it when the day is complete! I also perform telephone mystery shops, mainly to banks, and I will call and get a name and determine if the customer service rep was doing their job correctly.

Another type of job I perform is with the bigger companies such as tire manufacturers and book stores that may need auditing, which means you would contact the manager of the store to help you count merchandise on shelves and let the company know what is out of stock. This type of job is very easy and you get to interact with the managers of some major companies. You get the respect of the managers and a job that can be repeated throughout the year.

Working with the schedulers of Market Force is a breeze. If you have any questions you would contact the scheduler for the specific job and they will get back to you in a reasonable amount of time. They really are very helpful and can steer you in the right direction if you get stuck with anything, such as printing paperwork, or a question about the specific job you are performing. They respond quickly and efficiently.

I have a high regard for Market Force. They have worked with me over the years and if I make mistakes I correct them quickly and they take this into great consideration since no one is perfect! So you won’t have to worry if you happen to make a mistake, unless it is quite major, then this company will work with you to correct your mistake. It may mean that you would be with held from future jobs until a period of time goes by, but this is not an issue since they have so many other jobs to choose from on their web site.

I encourage you all to sign up with Market Force. Happy Mystery Shopping!

Direct Scheduling Services is a mystery shopping scheduling company. They’ve had some rough times recently, including problems paying their mystery shoppers. This is a serious issue. Shoppers for DSS have been left holding the bag, waiting for payments that are likely to never come…

That’s the story you can read about on various mystery shopping forums. So, if you’re looking to work with Direct Scheduling Services, don’t expect to get paid! I wish this were the other way around, but sadly this appears to be a company that has hit hard times and simply cannot be trusted.

More about Direct Scheduling Services on MysteryShopForum.com

Direct Scheduling Services Scam Warning: While this is a company that is hard to recommend, it may be the target of a scam involving money-wiring and fake checks. This scam is easy to avoid: If you ever receive a large check in the mail from anyone claiming to be “Direct Scheduling Services” DO NOT deposit it, do not wire any money. The check is fake.

If you’ve worked for this company before, or have any word about pending payments, or further information, please add comments below. We would all love it if Direct Scheduling was able to pay everyone the money owed, so please add your comments below.

Sentry Marketing is a mystery shopping company based in Frisco, Texas. They were founded in 2006 by Dave Agius. They are a legitimate company — they pay you to shop, and in return you provide valuable feedback according to their explicit instructions.

Sentry is known for their rigorous reports and high expectations of their shoppers. They may be nit-picky, but they do pay, and they pay on time. There have been mixed reviews on forums about this company, which may put some people off of working with them. However, if you go in knowing that their standards are high, they are still be worth a look.

They’ve been known to have restaurant assignments in the past. So, if you’re interested in mystery shopping restaurants in Texas, they just might be able to help.

If you’re interested in becoming a mystery shopper for Sentry Marketing, then you can fill out an application on their website.

Scam Warning: Yes, this is a real company, however they have previously been impersonated by scammers as part of a ‘check fraud’ scam. This scam is easy to avoid: If you ever get a large check in the mail from anyone claiming to be from “Sentry Marketing” it is fake: DO NOT deposit it! Do not wire any money! Pretty simple to avoid.

Reality Based Group is a mystery shopping company based in Austin Texas. If you’re looking for more mystery shopping companies to sign up with, this seems like a good option. They’ve had a variety of assignments including “time share” evaluations, oil changes, and ‘steak house’ assignments.

Some of Reality Based Group’s assignments require the use of audio recording equipment.

They are accredited by the BBB, and feedback on various mystery shopping forums is positive. They are a legitimate mystery shopping company, with real assignments. They pay you to shop, not the other way around.

Reality Based Group has audio recording assignments, video mystery shopping, telephone assignments, and retail assignments of many types.

If you’re interested in signing up with them, here’s their website:
Reality Based Group
http://www.realitybasedgroup.com/

Scam Warning: While this is a real company, beware of scammers who may be impersonating this company. This is pretty easy to avoid: If you ever recieve a large check in the mail from any “mystery shopping company,” including Reality Based Group, it is fake! Do not deposit it. Do not wire any money. Pretty simple.