Has anyone worked for these companies and are they legit? I've received emails from them asking me to join.

Yes, there are legitimate companies by those names. Just as a 'heads up', no company will be sending you money prior to a shop. Many companies' names have been used as part of scams. Make certain that for Secret Shopper you sign up at [www.secretshopper.com] and for Strategic Reflections you can start at [stratreflections.shopmetrics.com]. This way you will KNOW that you are signing up with a legitimate company rather than with someone jusst using their name.

I have done plenty of shopps for Strategic Reflections. They pay on time and their forms are easy to do. I have not shopped for Secret shopper all though I am signed up with them. Good Luck and have fun.

My favorite buffet is through Strat Reflectins. Yum! They do call me often and forget when I tell them I'm in the hospital, but a gentle reminder generally gets them to staop calling for a while. lol

NO this Company is not ethical. Once you make contact and your identity is stolen, you will be at a loss of income. After reporting to authorities, Strategic Reflections will merely reply "TOO BAD".
DO NOT become a member of an organization that does not claim responsibility for the mishandling of your identity.

rippedoff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NO this Company is not ethical. Once you make
> contact and your identity is stolen, you will be
> at a loss of income. After reporting to
> authorities, Strategic Reflections will merely
> reply "TOO BAD".
> DO NOT become a member of an organization that
> does not claim responsibility for the mishandling
> of your identity.

Strategic Reflections is an actual company. Chances are the scam company was just using their name or information.

Im have worked for Stragetic Reflections for over 1 year and they are legit and they have good shops and they pay like clockwork. This other SCAM COMPANY has taken their name and they are aware of the problem and are trying to get it resolved.

I've only done one shop for SR but it was tasty food and the report was simple and straightforward. It's fairly recent so I've not been paid and didn't expect to be yet. But I do wish they had more shops in my area. They do NOT handle the well-known buffet dining concern in my area. It must be owned by different franchisees, alas.

rippedoff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NO this Company is not ethical. Once you make
> contact and your identity is stolen, you will be
> at a loss of income. After reporting to
> authorities, Strategic Reflections will merely
> reply "TOO BAD".
> DO NOT become a member of an organization that
> does not claim responsibility for the mishandling
> of your identity.

No, they are not trusted. Your identity is at risk once you make contact with them and they will not assume responsibility. DO NOT do business with this Company or any Company that cannot take responsibility for the loss of your identity at their hands.
In the past, AT&T, Bank of America and others have had identities stolen and faced up to it and compensated the victims. Strategic Reflections does not have this type of ethics or morals.
I have filed with the FTC, US Postal Inspector General, US Attorney, and BBB against them. Also, with Western Union, which is the payment process I was given by them, or as they claim an imposter. Nevertheless, my identity was their responsibility and was stolen by the imposters after making=g contact with Strategic Reflections.

rippedoff, since apparently you registered with the forum for the sole intent of bashing the company and have posted this information on another thread I felt obliged to also post the same response twice.

My guess is this had nothing to do with information stolen from a database. It is an unfortunate and common circumstance that scammers use the names of legitimate companies and many of the companies we all work for and love have also been victimized. It sounds as if you were a victim of the check cashing scheme involving depositing a check and sending the lion's share to a third party. You have to ask yourself a few questions when receiving an offer like this.

Q: How many companies will pay an IC or employee prior to them completing work and/or providing a service.
A: NONE
Q: How many companies are going to pay you $200 plus for a job which involves approximately 1 hour a week.
A: NONE

I understand you are focused on yourself as a victim, and rightfully so. But please remember the company has also been victimized. Their good name is being impugned not only by the scammer, but also by shoppers posting information linking the two. Mystery shopping companies are sympathetic to those who have been scammed, but the reality is this, they are not legally or morally responsible to reimburse you.

As soon as you are mentioning Western Union I can tell you the "Strategic Reflections" you got involved with. You were sent a bogus check for big bucks, promised payments that were too good to be true, deposited the check, wired away your money and in short were scammed. While I regret this happened to you, it has nothing to do with Strategic Reflections the mystery shopping company and only the scammer. If your other information was compromised in the process, that just goes with the scam. I assume you did not register at the actual Strategic Reflections website but rather submitted your personal information via email.

Sorry that you got scammed, rippedoff. This is an old scam where a crook uses a legitimate company's name. But it is an obvious scam. We've discussed this type of scam on the forum many times. It's too bad you didn't seek out the forum to read and learn before you were ripped off .... instead of joining just to bash the company whose name was used by the crook who scammed you. Nearly anytime a company contacts you before you sign up, it is not legitimate. And anytime you receive money before doing the work, it is definitely not legitimate. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Learn from it and move on.

You guys are being bias. I registered with Strategic Reflections Website directly! How else would I be registered shopper on that website.
Not until then, was my identity stolen as a result of Strategic Reflections database or emails being stolen. Get real.
I am not bashing Strategic Reflections, only trying to get them to be as others have in the past and face up to the identity theft and make a compromise with the victims. AT&T, Bank of America,even our own Social Security Administrations has fallen victim to this type of theft. Be responsible.
I have never been a Secret Shopper, so yes I did believe I was following instructions from Strategic Reflections. But, only the first time, next I filed charges and turned the fraudulent Money Orders into the US Postal Inspector General's Office. I was responsible at that point, but still get a defensive stand from Strategic Reflections.
That is unethical business.
I will offer to work legit with Strategic reflections to attempt a recovery of my lost money. How is that a bashing? That is a responsible compromise/offer to be ethical in my practices.
Flash and Lisa are apparently part of the defense, and probably have a good outcome with the Company. I am merely trying to accomplish the same results. Now, why do you bash me?

AustinMom, I researched Strategic Reflections Website and the BBB. Forums are not always right and have too many different opinions.

Rippedoff, say that someone stole from their neighbor and gave them your name.

Should you pay the victim for what was taken from them, even though you had nothing to do with the crime and were no way involved?

Same thing here.

Actually I'm not even registered with them, but was commenting because it is a common occurrence. If by saying we "have had a good outcome" and you are "trying to accomplish the same results" you are implying the same thing has happened to us you couldn't be more wrong. I won't speak for Flash, but I've certainly never been the victim on any of the e-mail scams although I have received hundreds if not thousands of the same offers.

lisams901, your in left field. Come home, that made no sense.
My neighbor had nothing stolen and did not give my name. Stick with the subject, please.

LOL, did you just finish reading the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People?" The correlation between Lisa's example and your situation is spot on. Based on other postings there is no reason to believe the SR database was compromised. It appears someone stole their name and is using it to wreak havoc.

Some people are 'Out To Lunch'. Enjoy yours, Lisa, lol.

Most of us try to be supportive of victims. Nobody has insulted your intelligence and there is no reason for you to insult ours.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2011 03:23AM by LisaSTL.

rippedoff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lisams901, your in left field. Come home, that
> made no sense.
> My neighbor had nothing stolen and did not give my
> name. Stick with the subject, please.


I can't tell if you're serious or trolling. Of course your neighbor is not involved. It was a fake scenario to give an example.

The actual Strategic Reflections company was not involved in your being ripped off so they can not be expected to pay you back.

It is unfortunate that you found the forum after you were burned, rippedoff. All shoppers need to be mindful of clicking on false links, and too good to be true claims.