Blog

Inc. Magazine recently interviewed Elaine Buxton, Confero CEO of Confero and other industry experts in a piece on how to set up a mystery shopping program. 

Many organizations train employees to use a step-by-step method for problem resolution. This is an effective way to ensure that employees handle customer issues according to company standards and prevent customers from leaving.  

We would like to remind consumers about the fake check scams that have been attached to the mystery shopping industry for the past couple of years.

In this post, we are combining all the information and revelations from the past few months. Many consumers have received checks in the mail along with a letter on official-looking Confero letterhead. These checks are fake. The scam artists take the names of reputable companies in an attempt to fool unsuspecting consumers into cashing these fake checks. Always remember:

• Confero does not send checks to shoppers as payment to shoppers.
• Confero does not issue certified checks for shoppers to use during mystery shops.
• Confero does not shop Western Union or Moneygram.

• As the Fakecheck.org website states, “There is no legitimate reason why anyone would give you a check or money order and ask you to wire money in return.”

In recent months, the scam artists have also started to pose as Confero schedulers. The following names have been used by scammers: Melissa Cole, Timothy Reeds, Robert Preston, Michael Thomforde, James Clayton, Paula Moore, Carlos Burnett, Chris Jordan, Alexander Hopkins, Mark Dwane, Kevin Jones, Melissa Hillman, Jimmy Bruce, Michael Hislap, Ashley Coleman and Dwayne Fox. It is inevitable that the scammers will continue to change names, so please remember, any check sent to you by anyone claiming to represent Confero is a scam. None of these persons work for Confero, Inc. These are made-up names used in official looking email messages or regular postal mail.

Often times these scammers will use email addresses from public domains such as yahoo, gmail, msn or aol. Legitimate Confero staff members will only contact you via their @conferoinc.com email address.

Contributed by mystery shopper Jennifer X

Mystery shoppers must remember all sorts of client-required details to fill out their reports. With pages of questions to answer and narratives to write, mystery shoppers can use all the help they can get recreating their experience.

There’s an app for that! Shoppers who have invested in Smartphone technology are at least one step ahead. There are apps to take notes, pictures, videos or audio recordings. Most voice recorders have time stamps, so coughing at the beginning and end of your shop can help determine how long it took. Don’t have a Smartphone? Can you text yourself? How about just calling your voicemail; you can leave your cell phone on during your shop and you’ll have a full account when you get home.

Confero Data Services Manager, Paul Jacobi, Account Executive Rob Barry, and President, Elaine Buxton recently attended the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) North America Annual Conference held September 21-23 in Chicago, Illinois.