Apartment Mystery Shoppers Resources

MSPA Certification: Gold and Silver through the Msytery Shopping Providers Association
You can achieve MSPA Gold and MSPA Silver Certifications from the convenience of your own home or office.
To learn about these online and DVD classes, visit www.mspa-americas.org.

NEW to apartment mystery shopping? Check out the Mystery Shoppers Manual by Cathy Stucker www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com
Learn about the “ins and outs” of the mystery shopping industry, how to get organized as a mystery shopper, what to file your taxes for your business, and other wonderful resources. Cathy has been in the mystery shopping industry for over 20 years as a mystery shopper. She is the go to girl you will want to connect to. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Mystery Shopper Invoicing: Mystery Shoppers can create their own invoices but it may be easier to use a template. Click here for a sample invoice. Save as a PDF and send to shopperinvoices@remysteryshop.com for processing.
All invoices should include:

Shopper’s name
Name of who the check should be made payable to
An invoice number for tracking purposes
Address where you want the check sent to
The job ID number(s)
The community shopped
The target shopped
The base shop fee
Turnaround bonus fee if earned
MSPA GOLD bonus fee (include your GOLD Certification # please)

Job board login

Mystery Shopping Scam Alerts

SCAM ALERT - Consumers have been receiving via USPS Priority mail from someone using the name "Brian Anthony" who claims to be a "co-ordinator" from Remington Evaluations. He is sending a letter for a survey assignment for WalMart as well as a high-dollar check. This is a SCAM. This is NOT from Remington. The check is no good. He is not from Remington and has stolen our name and address as well as our logo. Consumers who receive this MAIL FRAUD should immediately report it to the POSTAL INSPECTOR by visiting http://www.postalinspectors.uspis.gov Under REPORT MAIL CRIME, click on FILE A COMPLAINT. Then, click on Mail Fraud. Fill out the request as prompted. Under the Complaint File Against column, it will ask you to document the company name. Please document it is 'claiming to be from Remington Evaluations', as "Brian Anthony" is not from Remington nor has he ever been. Create your own Evidence File and KEEP the envelope you received, the letter sent to you, and the check. If you called "Brian Anthony" at his 650 number, he now has your phone number. If he texts you, save screen shots of the text messages. Do not reply to his texts. If he calls you, save the voice messages for evidence. Do not call him back. If he emails you, print the email for your evidence folder. Do not email him back. Do not destroy the evidence. If you have accidentally deposited the check with your bank, contact your bank immediately to notify them of the fraud. They should have a process in place to resolve this issue for you. To report this scam and learn about other scams currently hitting consumers, review the SCAM ALERTS page on the MSPA website as well as Cathy Stucker’s Website. These websites are updated frequently, and we urge all shoppers to save those websites as favorites so that they can stay abreast of the scams.
MSPA Shoppers - http://www.mspa-americas.org/getting-started-contractor
Mystery Shopper’s Manual – Scams: http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com/category/mystery-shopper-scam
NBC12 News story on Scams: http://www.nbc12.com/Global/story.asp?S=13027272.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of this scam, please visit www.ftc.gov or call (877) 382-4357

For a list of State’s Attorney’s offices visit www.naag.org and also visit the USPS to report mail fraud. Use this link as well: http://ftc.gov/opa/2010/04/moneygram.shtm. It helps our industry when scams are reported!

DON’T Pay to get assignment leads

You will find a wealth of information about companies that charge shoppers a fee to see a job board by visiting websites like the MSPA’s www.mspa-americas.org or www.volition.com. Both will provide you with detailed information about avoiding these kinds of sites as well as giving you access to legitimate job boards you do not have to pay to view. You should not have to pay to shop!

How to Maximize Your Earnings as an Apartment Mystery Shopper

Look for opportunities to “bundle” jobs that occur near each other and can be done on the same day.
Apply for projects that carry a bonus. Most of our assignments offer bonuses
To save time and gasoline, take projects that can be easily added to your regular routine, like a quick stop on the way to or from work.
Schedulers want to assign shops as quickly as possible, so respond immediately if you become interested in an assignment. If you have applied and you really want the shop, contact the scheduler by phone and email to let them know your availability.
It takes about 2 hours to complete an apartment mystery shop: making your call, visiting the location, completing the email evaluation, and writing the report.
All Apartment Reports require detailed narratives/story telling of what exactly happened. The more details the better. If you are not detail oriented or a good writer, consider other forms of shopping outside of apartment shops.
Read through all of your guidelines – we offer tips on how to best maximize your time when completing an assignment.