Hi,
I am just now starting this as Mystery Shopper and have been reading allot of these forums (which have been very helpful). But I noticed everyone is saying get with at least 100 different companies and make sure you keep track of there websites etc. My question is: Are you putting all of the co's. in your favorites file and then each day checking each one to see if there is any jobs in your area? Or do you just type each one in and do it that way?
And another question is I have been seeing this silver and gold certification on allot of them. What exactly is that?

Thanks

Hello, deegood, welcome to the forum. I put all my companies in my bookmarks (favorites) but I don't check any of them everyday. I'm signed up with a lot of companies, but I actually work for about thirty of them. You need to be signed up with 100+ so that you have maximum exposure to shops in your area. Which companies have certain shops will change over time and you need to be ready for the clients to move around. Many of the companies will send you emails when they have shops available anywhere near you.

Lots of companies will ask if you have silver or gold certification, which is available through the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association). In almost all cases, certification will not be required to shop. There have recently been some issues at MSPA with the certification numbers not being uploaded by all websites and I don't know if these issues have been resolved or not. The silver certification costs about $15 and the gold costs about $100. You must do the silver before you are eligible to do the gold, or at least that's how it was when I certified.

I suggest that you initially spend your time signing up with companies and reading the many threads on this forum, especially the first few threads in the New Shopper section. If you want to certify, the best course would be to certify for the silver and consider later whether you think the gold might be helpful. Many busy and well respected full time shoppers are not certified, so it is definitely not a requirement. I read somewhere that MSPA is planning to update and improve the gold program, and if that's true it would certainly be wise to wait.

You will discover in most cases that each company you sign up with will provide instructions and tutorials. You can learn a tremendous amount by reading all that is available to you on each website. Please post any additional questions you have or issues you want to discuss. Good luck with your new business.