Has anyone ever...? - secret shopper?

boyohboyohboy wrote: I had neard on the radio some women that were involved in secret shopper. I was told that it was a way for the consumer to report back to a company how a store did on certain things, like customer service, store cleanliness, and ext...
you were paid to do a report on what you found, and got to keep the merchandise you shopped for...
well I sent out an email of interest a few months back, and today got a reply asking me to see if there was a need for it in our area, it said there was! so I entered the info, and it says the site is retailreportcard.com..
It seems ligit, I just wondered if anyone else had ever heard of it, or tried it?

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I've been getting a lot of these e-mails lately and they are not for legitimate secret shopper organizations. They pretty much just want your information so they can sell it I read the fine lines and I'm glad I did.

Boo&BugsMom replied: My mom signed up for this and didn't even start because they fail to tell you numerous things about it. They make it seem really fun and easy, but in the end you feel like you are in the middle of a scam. Read the fine print and get all the information you can. She ended up getting her money back that she put forth in the begining, but she felt very betrayed. It's not all it seems to be.

C&K*s Mommie replied: I agree. Although what turned me off initially years ago about it, is that while you are shopping, or browsing you are spending your own money, in return they will reimburse you for it. I did not like that idea. Who was to say that they could take as much time as needed to repay you, when I may have made a purchase on something I did not need or want to begin with.

Jamison'smama replied: Someone on here----I will have to look back at my PMs does this and she gave me a bunch of sites that look pretty good. They do have you spend your own money but many times it is under a dollar and at the most 5 dollars. I'm sure there is no other way around that--they can't really send out cash and expect everyone to do the right thing.

Jackie012007 replied: retailreportcard.com is one of the websites where you have to complete an endless amount of "offers" (aka sign up for a credit card or service) in the hopes that you will recieve a "free gift". They are not what they are claiming to be. Basically they collect info and when you sign up, you give them permission to advertise to you based on your answers to survey questions and if you open their emails. They also mention using "outside sources" to pinpoint marketing to you... and that could involve using spyware or adware. Not a good thing to sign up for... for the most part, secret shopping really is a scam and not nearly as lucretive and they claim it to be. I wouldn't trust any sites unless you get a direct referral from someone you trust. HTH

Our Lil' Family replied: I am a secret shopper and I love it. I mostly do restaurants. Yes you do usually have to pay for your meal but they all have reimbursment policies and I've never had a problem getting paid. They typically pay out the following month for whatever shops you completed the month before. DO NOT EVER PAY TO BE A SECRET SHOPPER! Those are the scams.

I can answer more questions if anyone wants to PM me.

ions_momma replied: I have heard of it before, but I have never done it. They did it in the stores in my hometown every once in a while. I knew a girl that had a secret shopper that she was supposed to help, and didnt do a good job on it so she got suspended from working there because they said she was rude and didnt help very well.

I never realized though that you had to spend all your own money buying items. I guessI never really thought that deep into it though. That wouldnt be worth it to me in the long run, unless I got to be a secret shopper on a day that I actually needed to go shopping!

Nina J replied: I've never heard of it, sounds interesting if it's legitimate though.

luvmykids replied: I don't know how to find them but I do know there are legitimate secret shopping companies, I used to work in retail and we got comments forwarded to us all the time from them.

3_call_me_mama replied: I'm a secret shopper and have been so for over a year. (I think I'm teh one tha tsent the list to Brenda. Try mysteryshop.org that is where you will get most of your info adn legit companies. As someoen said, nebver pay to mystery shop, legit companies will hire you for free. I have done restaurants, theme parks, hotels, stores, grocery chains, bars, retail, you name it. Gas stations were especially nice since you got free gas and paid to do it!! I havent' done much shopping lately as I took a position with one company doing mainly merchandising, pays 10-15 per hour or job (the ones less than 1 hr still pay teh 10) and i do audits and stuff like that. I LOVE it cause it fits into our family schedule, go out once a week or less and work. Plus it brings home about $350-$500 a month only working one day per week. Sometimes i go at night after Dennsi is home and i have a shorter tiem frame ot work so it might be 2-3 nights for 2 or 3 hours. As Brenda said most expenses aren't big, and you get reimbursed within 30-60 days most places. They tell you all teh info up front when you take a job and therefore you know when to expect a check. I got a bunch of cute maternity clothes at Motherhood for FREE when I did shops . (A lot of places let you keep what you buy and reimburse you others ask you to return stuf and rate the return purchase as well) SO if you have time and energy to invest looking through all teh companies and filling out online applications then I say go for it.

Jeffs Wife replied: It sounds like something I would like to do to make some extra spending money if I find the right one. I just went and bookmarded the site so I can check it out when I have more time. Thanks for the info...Michelle

moped replied: Yes I have done it before............it only paid about $10 per visit/store.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Right, then add that on top of your gas to get you there. Doesn't seem worth it to me.

holley79 replied: The merchandising company I use to work for had secret shoppers. It is very legit and can be kind of fun.

ashtonsmama replied: I've thought about it, sounded too good to be true, so I never really investigated it further, but if you find out anything, let me know!