Ratings: How Do Mystery Shopping Companies Measure Up?
Each of the mystery shopping reviews on this site includes some general ratings. Here is more information on how these companies are evaluated.
Volume of Jobs: How many shops are typically available. This will vary dependent on area, but if the mystery shopping company only covers specific areas, this will be described in the Pros/Cons section.
Number of Individual Clients: Some mystery shoppings have many different clients, or businesses who use the service, but some will have only a few individual clients.
Type of jobs: What industries this MSP tends to cover; for example, retail, restaurants, and so on.
Rate of Pay: The typical pay range compared to industry standards. This is not based on shop fee but based on amount of effort and time compared to compensation. For example, a $20 shop fee for a five minute shop and a five question form would be comparatively high-paying; a $40 shop fee for a four hour shop with an extremely long and detailed questionnaire would be below average when one considers the hourly rate to be under $10 per hour. As a general rule, the bigger the company. the lower that pay tends to be.
Speed of Pay: How fast the company typically pays for assignments.
Method of Pay: How you will be paid: for example, PayPal, check, or direct deposit.
Bonuses available? Does the company offer bonuses for shops needed at the last minute, or in other circumstances?
Software: What software is used to maintain the job board (if any) and report entry functions on their website. Typical software would be SASSIE or Prophet. Not all companies use outside software applications.