What to Avoid in Mystery Shopper Companies

Posted by Ethan Hunter

There are literally hundreds of mystery shopper companies out there and not all of them are as genuine as they claim to be. The need for mystery shoppers has increased dramatically over the past few years which is why so many mystery shopper companies exist today. Typically in America there are around 400 different companies that you can apply to. In order to find a decent company you will want to look at their customer satisfaction and how long they have been running for. To put it into perspective, in the year 2003-2004 mystery shopper companies increased by 11%. It is thought that the value of the industry is over $600 million.

Most people have a good idea of what to look for in good mystery shopper companies but we wanted to dedicate an article about the specific things you should avoid. Unfortunately, some people become greedy, always looking for ways of making money but without putting in the time and effort to do it the right, or even legal way. This means that customers are ripped off, often for large sums of money, and shoppers are paid with bogus cashiers or standard checks. You need to all you can to protect yourself when making a decision about mystery shopper companies.

The most common issue that pertains to some mystery shopper companies is the issuance of fraudulent payments. This is most commonly done by using classifieds to find individuals willing to work, offering to pay them quickly, offering a cashier’s check or some other fraudulent payment and requesting an immediate forward of cash to a foreign address.

The way that these mystery shopper companies get you to cash the checks involves telling you that you get a percentage of what the check is worth. However you will usually find that a couple of days after you have cashed the check, you will get confirmation from your bank that the check bounced and you will owe them quite a lot of money - usually thousands of dollars. If you take a look on one of the top mystery shopping companies known as GFK, you will see that they are trying to let people know about this type of crime as they want to ensure that people know that they can be trusted.

While there are some bad companies out there, there are many more great ones to consider partnering with. The true dedication of the best mystery shopper companies is to provide the highest quality customer service and the most valuable information for the clients that are served.

Some of the tips provided by the executive director of MSPA include never paying a fee, even a small one, to become a mystery shopper. If you are asked for anything more than $10, red flags should be raised. The real, mystery shopper companies are happy to hire on quality shoppers free. Additionally, mystery shopping companies that make a promise to pay for services using money transfer or some type of check cashing service, run! As with GFK, the professionals at MSPA have worked diligently in building their 200-member base company, servicing the world and they will work just as hard to stop fraudulent attempts on customers and shoppers alike.

Tags: Business and Marketing

Under Business and Marketing Tags: Business and Marketing