<\/p>\n
From fast food places to sit down restaurants, companies send mystery shoppers to a variety of different eateries.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s you\u2019re a Starbucks or Subway mystery shopper, you can get paid for visiting food establishments near you.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s great about mystery shopping, just like online surveys<\/a> and paid focus groups<\/a>, is that it\u2019s a super flexible job. So, not only do you get paid or compensated with free stuff, but you can also fit in mystery shopping assignments around your schedule.<\/p>\n And, many of these companies offer jobs in pretty much all states and in other countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom \u2013 just check with the company you\u2019re applying to where it offers jobs.<\/p>\n Mystery shopping jobs involve a company paying you to pretend as though you\u2019re a regular customer and then you provide feedback to the company on various aspects of your experience, such as cleanliness, how well the employees treated you, and the quality of a product or service.<\/p>\n When most people think about mystery shopping, the grocery store and other retail stores come to mind.<\/p>\n However, mystery shopping companies often operate across a multitude of industries, from hotels and resorts to, of course, restaurants.<\/p>\n Many mystery shopping companies work with clients in the restaurant industry, meaning you can get paid to eat<\/a> and drink at:<\/p>\n If you love a good hamburger, pizza, or a meal at a fine-dining restaurant, then restaurant mystery shopping is definitely the job for you!<\/p>\n You\u2019ll visit the eatery and eat there, as a normal patron would. The difference is, you\u2019ll then need to give your feedback, on things like how the waiter was, how the food was, and just how good the service and the whole experience was in general.<\/p>\n Each client will likely ask you to comment on different things.<\/p>\n And, some companies will give you restaurant secret shopper checklist.<\/p>\n In exchange for offering your opinion you\u2019ll receive compensation. You can get compensation through payment, or with free stuff (reimbursement for your meal).<\/p>\n Join Smart Panel Now<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some companies will offer both payment and reimbursement for food, whereas others will only offer one type of compensation.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need to make a purchase, and then the company will reimburse you a set dollar amount.<\/p>\n Basically, you help restaurants to improve and provide a better service to customers. Since this is so valuable to companies, they\u2019re willing to pay you.<\/p>\n Now that you know what the job entails, we\u2019re going to cover companies that offer work opportunities.<\/p>\n There are a lot of them out there.<\/p>\n Some mystery shopping jobs are, unfortunately, scams (but more on that below!)<\/p>\n In our list, we\u2019ve tried our best to only include legit companies.<\/p>\n All of the companies below feature on the MSPA website<\/a>.<\/p>\n The MSPA, the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, is the professional trade association for the mystery shopping industry. Its members are legit companies.<\/p>\n Many of the companies on our list are also accredited by the BBB and have decades\u2019 worth of experience.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at some restaurant mystery shopping jobs.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve included our top 15 legit companies, so give them a try.<\/p>\n Coyle Hospitality hires Mystery Shopping Evaluators.<\/p>\n The company works across a wide range of industries, such as travel and tourism, luxury retail, hotels and resorts, and of course restaurants.<\/p>\n So you could work as a restaurant and bar mystery shopper.<\/p>\n It only takes 5 to 10 minutes to become an evaluator \u2013 once you\u2019re approved you can select the jobs that you want. The company\u2019s clients are in more than 70 countries. All jobs pay a fee plus fee plus reimbursable expenses.<\/p>\n This is a legit company that has more than 20 years\u2019 experience in the industry and is a member of MSPA.<\/p>\n Market Force works across a range of industries.<\/p>\n So, you could get paid to visit gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores. The company also offers restaurant mystery shopping jobs at fast food establishments and sit-down restaurants.<\/p>\n In exchange, you\u2019ll get paid and\/or reimbursement for purchase or meals.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an app available as well so you can take jobs on the go.<\/p>\n Get the iOS app here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get the Android app here<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Closer Look is another one to find work with \u2013 you\u2019ll just need to fill out a shopper application.<\/p>\n The company has been named an Elite Company by MSPA in 2017 and 2018, so it\u2019s a legitimate mystery shopping company and one of the best secret shopper companies around.<\/p>\n Become a secret shopper with Reality Based Group, and get paid to visit restaurants. You could secret shop at burger places, pizza places, casual and high-end dining venues, theme restaurants, family game centers, steakhouses, and sports bars.<\/p>\n The company has an A+ rating with the BBB, was founded in 1992, and was a founding member of the MSPA \u2013 so it\u2019s a legit company!<\/p>\n BestMark offers mystery shopper jobs for shoppers and exit interviewers. BestMark has clients in a range of industries, like retail stores, casinos, and, of course, restaurants.<\/p>\n According to the company, each month, it offers more than 10,000 mystery shopping assignments across more than a dozen industries.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a BBB accredited company too, so it\u2019s a legit place to find restaurant mystery shopping jobs.<\/p>\n This is another company that offers jobs for mystery shoppers. You work with the company as an independent contractor, and then choose the assignments that you want to apply for on the company\u2019s job board.<\/p>\n Confero Inc. works with companies in a range of different industries, such as retail, banking, automotive, and of course food service.<\/p>\n The company works with foodservice companies that offer casual dining, quick service and fast food.<\/p>\n Confero Inc. not only offers jobs to shoppers in the United States but also in some places in Canada too.<\/p>\n Second To None offers restaurant mystery shopping jobs to people in the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n For restaurant assignments, you\u2019ll get meal, tax, and gratuity reimbursement.<\/p>\n The company has more than 30 years\u2019 worth of experience, it\u2019s a member of MSPA, and it has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. So it\u2019s another legit company you could make money with.<\/p>\n Become a shopper with Sentry Marketing and get paid. It\u2019s looking for field evaluators to carry out mystery shops.<\/p>\n The company works with a wide range of restaurants, such as:<\/p>\n So, consider signing up and get paid to eat in restaurants.<\/p>\n Become a mystery shopper at Northwest Loss Prevention Consultants, and earn money.<\/p>\n The company serves a wide range of industries, like retail, hotel, and, of course, restaurants.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been named as an elite company by MSPA.<\/p>\n Sinclair Customer Metrics is another company that\u2019s featured on the MSPA website.<\/p>\n Just fill out a simple mystery shopper application form and you could become one of the company\u2019s mystery shoppers. You\u2019ll work as an independent contractor.<\/p>\n IntelliShop works in lots of different industries, including foodservice and restaurants.<\/p>\n You can sign up to be one of the company\u2019s shoppers and get paid in return!.<\/p>\n Also, if you\u2019re required to purchase anything, then IntelliShop will reimburse you for the cost.<\/p>\n What\u2019s great about IntelliShop is that it provides jobs in tons of different continents, from the Americas to Asia.<\/p>\n The company has been around since 1990, and it\u2019s a charter member of MPSA \u2013 so it\u2019s certainly legit.<\/p>\n About Face serves a wide range of industries, such as automotive, hospitality, and restaurant.<\/p>\n When you sign up to be a mystery shopper with About Face, you work as an independent contractor.<\/p>\n This makes it a super flexible job, as you can take on as many or as few jobs as you want.<\/p>\n Working with brands like Starbucks and Dunkin\u2019 Donuts, Confidential consumer is definitely a company to check out.<\/p>\n It hires mystery shoppers to visit restaurants and other places, like resorts, hotels, banks, car dealerships, and retail outlets.<\/p>\n In return for completing a mystery shop, you get reimbursements for the dinner check. In some cases, you are also paid a fee.<\/p>\n Management Consultant Group pays mystery shoppers, called auditors.<\/p>\n In return for a mystery shop, you get paid and are reimbursed for any purchases you made.<\/p>\n The company is an MSPA member, so it\u2019s another legit one to consider.<\/p>\n Customer Impact is another MSPA member that offers restaurant mystery shopping work.<\/p>\n Working with the company, you\u2019ll get reimbursed for food and drinks \u2013 the company does not reimburse for mileage.<\/p>\n When you complete a shopping report, you\u2019ll also be a paid a set fee.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unlikely that you\u2019ll get rich<\/a> doing mystery shopping work \u2013 but you can actually make a decent side income<\/a> from it.<\/p>\n Most mystery shopping companies don\u2019t state how much they pay.<\/p>\n Secret Shopper is one of the few that does \u2013 it says<\/a> it pays between $12 and $25 per assignment, but that payment differs from place to place.<\/p>\n According to Secret Shopper, the payment you\u2019ll receive for some restaurant shops is reimbursement for the cost of your meal.<\/p>\n BestMark reports<\/a> that general baseline pay for secret shops is between $7 and $20, but that more experienced shoppers have the ability to earn jobs with higher pay rates.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tough to give an exact figure for what you\u2019ll earn. It depends on which mystery shopping company you work for.<\/p>\n Also, each client that works with a mystery shopping company could pay differently.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s say that you work with Market Force, for example, a pizza place might pay you $20 and reimburse you for your food, whereas a steakhouse might pay you $50 and reimburse you for your food. It really just depends on the company that you work with, and the jobs that you take.<\/p>\n Also, the number of assignments that you take on will affect your income.<\/p>\n Well, some companies will simply reimburse you for your meal. So you\u2019ll get your meal for free<\/a>!<\/p>\n Others will also pay you a set fee. This varies from company to company.<\/p>\n Handily enough, most mystery shopping companies, such as IntelliShop, Reality Based Group, and Northwest Loss Prevention Consultants, pay you through PayPal<\/a>.<\/p>\n This means that you don\u2019t have to wait to get a check in the mail, which can be annoying!<\/p>\n Some companies pay by direct deposit.<\/p>\n Most companies will pay you monthly, but others pay more or less frequently than that.<\/p>\n It really varies from company to company.<\/p>\n While a great way to make extra cash<\/a>, mystery shopping is a target for scams.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to be aware of scams so that you don\u2019t become the victim of one.<\/p>\n While we\u2019ve done our best to include only legit companies in our list, not all mystery shopping opportunities are in fact legit.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there are a lot of fraudsters out there.<\/p>\n People pretend to have legit mystery shopping jobs, but really they\u2019re looking to scam money from you.<\/p>\n Here are some tips to avoid these mystery shopping scams:<\/p>\n A legitimate company would never ask you to pay a fee to sign up. With legit companies, sign up is free. Mystery shopper jobs have no fee for starting out or participating.<\/p>\n So avoid any company that asks for payment to sign up or participate.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve talked about scams in detail here on Money Pantry \u2013 you can check out our list on common scams<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n We talked about fake check scams in our top scams post, which is linked above.<\/p>\n This is a common scam with mystery shopping.<\/p>\n Basically, you get a letter in the mail and a big check in advance of a mystery shop.<\/p>\n Then you\u2019re asked to cash the check<\/a> by depositing it and wiring funds back to the company for the difference.<\/p>\n The check is fake, and it will bounce.<\/p>\n Mystery shopping jobs will not require you to wire transfer any money to them.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t signed up with a legitimate company directly, then be very wary of unsolicited emails.<\/p>\n Sometimes, these emails claim to be from a legit company, but they have an email coming from a Gmail or Yahoo account, rather than a real company email account.<\/p>\n Always be wary of these types of emails \u2013 they are usually a scammer pretending to be a legit company.<\/p>\n Pretty much every legit mystery shopping company will pay you after the mystery shop is complete.<\/p>\n So always be avoid companies that claim to pay you in advance of shop completions.<\/p>\n Always be very wary of jobs that claim to offer huge payments and rewards \u2013 these are often scams.<\/p>\n Just proceed with caution, and do be aware that scammers will often pretend to be a legit company, even using the company\u2019s name and logo in their correspondence.<\/p>\n Make sure that you always go directly to a company\u2019s official website to sign up.<\/p>\n For more tips, check out our post on mystery shopping scams<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been wondering, \u201cwhere can I find mystery shopper jobs near me?\u201d <\/em>then give some of the above places a try.<\/p>\n And start making money<\/a> from restaurant mystery shopping!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\nJoin Smart Panel and share your experince on how you use the internet. They pay you $5 for installing their free app & $5 a month just for keeping it, plus loyalty bonus every three months! .<\/p>\nCompanies that Offer Real Restaurant Mystery Shopping Jobs<\/h2>\n
1. Coyle Hospitality<\/h3>\n
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2. Market Force<\/h3>\n
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3. A Closer Look<\/h3>\n
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4. Reality Based Group<\/h3>\n
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5. BestMark<\/h3>\n
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6. Confero Inc.<\/h3>\n
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7. Second To None<\/h3>\n
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8. Sentry Marketing<\/h3>\n
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9. Northwest Loss Prevention Consultants<\/h3>\n
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10. Sinclair Customer Metrics<\/h3>\n
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11. IntelliShop<\/h3>\n
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12. About Face<\/h3>\n
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13. Confidential Consumer<\/h3>\n
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14. Management Consultant Group<\/h3>\n
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15. Customer Impact<\/h3>\n
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How Much Do Secret Shoppers Make?<\/h2>\n
How Do You Get Paid?<\/h3>\n
How to Avoid Mystery Shopping Scams<\/h2>\n
Don\u2019t Pay to Become a Mystery Shopper<\/h3>\n
Be Aware of the Fake Check Scam<\/h3>\n
Beware of Unsolicited Emails<\/h3>\n
Avoid Pay in Advance Scams<\/h3>\n
If the Pay Seems Too Good to Be True, Then It Probably Is<\/h3>\n
Closing Thoughts<\/h2>\n