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Tuesday, June 11th
AboutFace is proud of its 20-plus years as a female-led mystery shopping company. Some of the brands you may encounter as you mystery shop with AboutFace include Bass Pro Shops, Centex Homes, and Shiseido.
Mystery shopping and more
A really good reason to choose AboutFace is the fact that they offer multiple ways to participate. Not only can you be a mystery shopper here, but you can consider opportunities as a field researcher, survey panelist, product demonstrator or focus group participant - or apply to work with mystery shoppers as an editor or scheduler.
Check out social media for current jobs
AboutFace does a terrific job of keeping their social media channels active. In fact, their Facebook page is one of the best ways to see what kinds of jobs they're currently assigning, even before you jump on board as a secret shopper. During this review, some of the opportunities included hotel audits, pest control, even court-ordered drug test scenarios.
Lots of info before you sign up
Another great pre-application resource is AboutFace's FAQ section. Want to know how much you can expect to make, how you're paid (psst... it's via PayPal within 30-45 days after you've completed a shop), or how many mystery shops might be available? You guessed it: just read up on the FAQ.
Simple online application
Ready to apply? You'll enter your name, birthdate, address, phone number and email to create an account. Next, read through AboutFace's contractor agreement and sign it digitally. Once you've confirmed your account through the verification email you'll receive, you're good to go.
Mystery shopping jobs
Some of the mystery shopping opportunities offered by About Face include Women's Lifestyle (Beauty, Health, Goods, Services), Retail (Boutique, Big Box, Grocery), Trades (Home Improvement, Commercial), Oil/Gas/Convenience, Technology, Education, Automotive (Dealers, Service), Real Estate, Health/Pharma, Food & Beverage, Transportation, Telecom, Residential (Home Services/Electronics), and Luxury (Goods, Services, Retail).
High praise from mystery shoppers
Whether you choose to be a mystery shopper, evaluator, or editor, you can expect a professional, reliable experience with AboutFace. We really respect their transparency: on some reviews when shoppers left complaints about late payments, AboutFace reps responded apologetically and took responsibility for the delay. Those kinds of complaints are few and far between, though: most of this company's contractors - including those who have been part of the team for years - say that this is the best choice out there, with ample support, generous payments, and easy scheduling.
#1 among mystery shopping companies
We agree. The best mystery shopping companies make it super-clear what you can expect before you sign up, make it easy to apply, and even easier to find assignments and (most importantly) get paid. AboutFace has a top-notch reputation in all of those regards, and we're pleased to give them yet another first-place finish among today's most popular mystery shopping services. There's nothing saying you can't sign up for all of the top companies in our review, but we definitely recommend starting with AboutFace.
In today's economy, everyone's got a side hustle, from making crafts to sell on Etsy to delivering people's takeout meals. What if you could get paid to eat at your favorite restaurant, get your oil changed, or scope out the newest coffee shop in town? That's what hundreds of thousands of mystery shoppers have been doing - for decades.
This is no "here today, gone tomorrow" gig: companies have relied on the intel gathered by mystery shoppers to get first-hand perspective on their signage, customer service experience, product quality and more. What does it take to be a "secret shopper" ? Attention to detail is crucial: some evaluations may have just a few aspects to track (like cleanliness of an entryway and a particular ad's signage), but others require more.
For example, some mystery shopping programs require you to keep track of specific times and names of salespeople while discreetly snapping photos and not blowing your cover as an everyday customer. And yes, a little bit of acting skills can go a long way when doing a mystery shop, since you may have to pretend to be very interested in that new cell phone plan, hot menu item, or fancy new construction home. Other than that, as long as you look at mystery shopping as a fun way to make some money and not as a career, you should have no trouble succeeding as an evaluator.
A word of caution: mystery shopping companies' names are often used to target victims in money laundering scams. Most of today's secret shopping platforms make payments via PayPal, and never in advance of doing a shop; you won't be "invited" to be a mystery shopper with a $1900 cashier's check in the mail. If you receive anything like that, you should contact the company through the toll-free number on their website and ask how they would like you to go about reporting it to the authorities (such as the Federal Trade Commission or the police department). And, whatever you do, DON'T CASH THAT CHECK.
It's also important to realize that you should never be asked to pay to be a mystery shopper. In the past, some less-than-reputable websites have offered to "unlock the secrets" of mystery shopping for a membership fee or one-time payment - when in reality, all you get is a list of secret shopper companies (like the ones we've evaluated here, for free).
Enough about the tricky stuff: let's move on to choosing a mystery shopping company to get you started. Here are several factors to help you pick where to begin:
TopConsumerReviews.com has sorted through today's most popular mystery shopping programs, to give you the information you need to get started on your new side gig. We hope this helps you choose a company that's the right fit for you. Have fun being a "secret shopper" !
Select any 2 Mystery Shopping Companies to compare them head to head