I heard about a mystery shopping opportunity that works like this. Everything is done online. I would purchase an item on my credit card then contact the company a couple of hours later to cancel the order (so my credit card is charged, then credited, and the product is never shipped). There are no reports to complete. The back and forth communication between the company and me (via email) is forwarded to the company. The goal for the company hiring me is to assess the quality of their customer service employees. Is anyone familiar with this and if so what is the name of the company? Thanks.

I kind of doubt it. You may have heard an incomplete story. There are some mystery shopping companies (MSC) with assignments that require you to purchase something online and charge it to your credit card. Accepting an online order is only one part of the customer service necessary when one orders online. If the order were canceled in a couple of hours, there would be no way to measure the customer service of actually filling the order and the delivery service offered to the customer. E-mail correspondence that might be relayed to a client dealing only with placing an order and then canceling does not sound very professional, and I have not heard of a mystery shopping company that works that way. If you learn the name of a MSC operating this way, please come back and post the name.

The online ordering assignments usually require that you place an order, either by telephone or by internet, and use your credit card, so the client can assess the customer service offered by their telephone/internet order staff. Then the item ordered is shipped to you so that the client can assess the customer service delivery offered by their company. The report is generally a two-part report. You complete the first part after you order the product and you complete the second part after you receive the item.

Although there may be some mystery shopping company that credits your credit card, it has been my experience that you are reimbursed for your purchase 4-6 week later. OR, in some cases, you are required to ship the item back and you are then reimbursed and paid.

Thanks for your response. You've given me more to consider. I will try to get the name of the company.

Yes I have done the order, cancel and forward emails shop before. It's been awhile but I remember I had to do them in a weird time frame ( like 10 to midnight). They paid 25 each and I did three online retailers at the same time so it was an easy 75.

Liz