When you first started mystery shopping, you may have signed up to work with the first provider that you could find. You may have been so thrilled to stumble upon a mystery shopping provider and to walk through the easy application process that most have that you jumped head-first into working with the provider. However, not every provider will provide you with the amazing work experience that you may have been looking for. You may have lucked out and found a great provider right from the start. If you are like so many other mystery shoppers, however, you did not. Now, you may be looking for a better provider to work with.
Don’t Jump The Gun
The fact is that not every mystery shopping provider is the same, and you may have found that out the hard way. After spending time working with a provider that gave you a less than desirable work experience, the last thing you want to do is to repeat that scenario all over again. Rather than jump the gun and randomly choose another provider to work with, consider taking some time to thoroughly research different providers to work with.
Using Online Forums
If you are like other mystery shoppers, you know very few other mystery shopping providers. In fact, you may not know any at all. If you do know a few others personally, you can also call them up and ask them for feedback directly. However, without those personal connections to other mystery shopping providers, you will have to use online forums to research providers. Other mystery shoppers have already posted many things about different providers, and you only have to read through the posts left online about the providers to gather the information that you need. Take time to make notes as you read through the forums. Note which providers generally have positive comments posted about them and which generally have negative comments posted about them. Keep in mind that not every mystery shopper will be happy with every provider. Because of this, avoid making a judgment about a provider based on one random comment. However, if you see a trend in the comments, you can likely assume that you may enjoy the same results when you work with that provider.
Sign Up
After you have done your research, why not sign right up to work with your new provider? Most providers have a fast and easy application process, so this process may only take a few minutes. Soon, you can be experiencing first-hand how great your work life may be with the new provider. Keep in mind that you can sign up to work with multiple providers, so don’t feel limited to only selecting one. If your research indicated that many people are enjoying working with several providers, why not try them all out and see which one you like best?
Your work life can be miserable when you work with the wrong providers. Thankfully, there are dozens of providers that you can work with. Follow these tips to find the best providers, and try them out today!
I found what works best for me is to apply to as many mystery shopping providers as possible. I then try to get assignments from them, if they service my area of Florida. I am the type that wants to make my own bad choices. I have gotten work from some companies that others have slammed in the forums, and they were the best lucrative jobs I have ever had in my whole working career.
I am hesitant to use the forums to make my decision about one company over another. Just the same as I don’t use other people’s review on people, food, movies, or various other things in life. I have found that some people give a terrible review of something that I absolutely love!
I am not foolish enough to totally dismiss the reviews. I just need to see for myself. Proverbially I; Eat the meat and spit out the bones!
Can’t agree more about utilizing the forums. I recently received an e-mail from a scheduler I’d never worked with for two shops for a provider I’d never heard of. These paid $100 each, by far, at the time, the highest commission I had ever received for a single job. Excited? Yes! Wary? Absolutely! So, I went to the forums, explained what I’d received, and asked for input. Within minutes I received several replies praising the company. So I took the jobs and everything about the company was stellar. I would never have taken the chance on the company had it not been for the forum input. Now, if only that company had more work in my area!
Shawn, please share that company’s name. I’m in New Mexico, so no shop stealing from me.
I agree that shop forums CAN be helpful. However, I wish you had posted some links to the forums. I found one a few months ago but am afraid to post in it. Usually a newby to the forum posts an innocent question (a mistake made by many newbys) and the regulars come down so hard on them that they won’t dare ask another question. I’ve seen it happen over and over. They back off eventually (in some cases) when someone says hey you guys are being a bit rough. I’ve come to the conclusion that is why the same people are the ones who post in the forum (of course accept for the newby’s who are making the mistake of seeking help.)
And yes you can’t trust the comments in the forum. Like the previous poster, I’ve gotten good work with companies that were slammed in the forums.
The key is applying to many companies. Create yourself a spreadsheet to track who you have signed up with. I’ve signed with many companies that never, ever have shops in my area but I don’t find that out until I have signed up with them. I also disagree with the statement… easy application. There is nothing easy about it and it is getting harder and harder all the time. The last company I applied for required a copy of my driver’s license, a W-9, a 100% pass on a 20 question quiz along with the standard application. (Than I had to take a quiz for the $10 job!) Others have asked for resume’s along with the application.