It is actually quite easy to find companies that DO have shops in your area, whether you live in the middle of nowhere Nebraska, or in a giant city like New York.
In the past two years I’ve talked to hundreds of mystery shoppers, and I’ve experimented with dozens of ways of finding companies with assignments in a specific area….all with the goal of making it as quick and easy as possible.
There are several good options. If you want to have the most assignments offered to you with the least amount of effort, I recommend doing all of them.
First, sign up for ShadowShopper. Yes, I know some people hate that they are a ‘for-profit’ company, but they also have a very comprehensive scheduling service. That means they automatically connect you with companies that have assignments in your area.
Second, register with Kern Scheduling. They are another big scheduling company. They’ll be pretty likely to find assignments in your area.
Third, scour the job boards. The biggest job board is run by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. They’re the trade organization that represents 200+ mystery shopping companies. You can easily search for assignments in your area. Don’t worry if the assignments you find are out of date — register with the companies anyways. It’s likely they’ll have assignments for you next month.
Fourth, read the forums. I own and operate MysteryShopForum.com, and it has turned into a great community of active mystery shoppers. It is also a great source for finding new mystery shopping companies. You can get feedback about the good ones, the bad ones, and the ones that have assignments in your area.