What is the Mystery Guest Program?
Grass Roots Performance Measurement is a part of a global organization which administers the Mystery Guest Program.  The group provides mystery shopping services for select Fortune 500 companies. Check out the “About Us” section to learn more.

How can I contact Grass Roots Performance Measurement about the Mystery Guest Program?
Please refer to our contact pages for details on how to contact us.
For Diners and Shoppers
For Businesses

When can I reach a “real person” about Mystery Guest Program?
We do receive a high volume of calls and some may be routed through our voice mail system when the operator is busy, but if you leave a detailed message with your area code and telephone number and the best time to return your call we guarantee a response no later than the next business day.

Please refer to our contact pages for our hours of operation.
For Diners and Shoppers
For Businesses

What is mystery shopping?
Mystery shopping is a common practice in many industries to assess customer service performance. For the Mystery Guest Program, we recruit individuals who meet our clients’ specified profiles to enjoy a typical customer experience. The only thing “unusual” about your mystery shopping experience compared to any other time you might visit the establishment is that after your visit you will answer specific questions and share your impressions about the experience in the observation survey. Mystery shoppers NEVER reveal their identity as a participant in the program as this anonymity ensures you are receiving typical service. Our clients use multiple observations on different days and at different times of day to develop an overview of how specific employees, locations and their company are performing.

How do I register to be a mystery shopper?
How do I refer friends and family to mystery shopping? To be part of the Mystery Guest Program, all interested individuals are required to log on to our Web site at www.grassrootsmeasures.com to complete the shopper registration process in full. You must have e-mail to participate.

Why does Grass Roots-Mystery Guest limit registration to one (1) adult per household?
Grass Roots-Mystery Guest limits registration to one (1) adult per household. All eligible adults per household MUST participate under the same registration. This is necessary to maintain standards for assignment frequency.

When do I get my PIN, username and password?
Your PIN (personal identification number) is an exclusive number assigned to you for the Mystery Guest Program at the time you register. You do not need to remember it. You can select your own username and password (something easy for you to remember) during the registration process. Your selection will be honored as long as it is not already being used in our system (if already taken you will be prompted to try another).

When and how often will I be called?
Most registrants will be emailed within a few weeks to welcome you to the program. After your profile has been activated, a Mystery Guest Program scheduler may call to learn your availability for a mystery shopping assignment in your area. Please keep in mind that Mystery Guest participation may be limited in frequency pending our clients’ directives.

How do I know if there is a location in my area for mystery shopping?
Are all mystery shopping assignments at restaurants? We’ll contact you when your profile matches one of our assignments, but a quick visit to the Close Locations option in your profile will also provide you with some details in this regard. Our client industries and locations are expanding rapidly…so be sure to update your profile when your address, telephone or e-mail changes.

Do I need to fax in my observation form and receipt?
We no longer require the routine faxing of receipts and all observation surveys are completed on the Web site using your username and password for access. Some shoppers may be asked to fax in their receipt as verification and all shoppers are cautioned to keep their receipts handy until after they receive their Mystery Guest Program compensation (typically within 6 weeks following the correctly completed observation received on deadline).

What should I do if I can’t complete my observation visit?
Contact us immediately! We are required to complete observations at nearly every location daily. Your inability to complete the assignment requires us to quickly find a replacement. Please note that any cancellation without reasonable cause will affect your Mystery Guest Program profile and dramatically lowers the odds of future assignments.

How will I be compensated for my time and purchases related to a Mystery Guest Program assignment?
Mystery Guest Program participants are advised of compensation type and amount for any assignment in advance of their acceptance. This advisory may be made by a telephone representative, via e-mail invitation or by reading the guidelines on line when you schedule via the automated tool found in your Mystery Guest profile on our website. Every assignment has unique requirements and compensation. The types of compensation include:

• Gift cards to client establishments (such as restaurant gift cards)
  


• Reloadable Visa debit card (issued in your name and re-loadable for future assignments, use anywhere Visa is accepted as well as ATMs; with associated fees per your ATM vendor)
  


• Bank checks in US Dollars for Canadian participants only.

In order to protect our participants, the Grass Roots-Mystery Guest does not utilize PayPal or direct deposit systems for banks.

All compensation is sent via US Postal Service within 6 weeks of assignments and is contingent upon following all assignment guidelines and deadlines. Note that re-loadable Visa debit card holders may receive their compensation more quickly.

Is my compensation “taxable”?
Will I receive any travel expenses? Mystery Guest Program shoppers are not employees and travel expenses are not provided. The reimbursement is like a “coupon” to underwrite the experience they might have enjoyed even without the assignment. Tax documentation is not required for reimbursements of this nature and dollar amount.

Why must I check the guidelines before my observation visit?
What time should I go to the restaurant or store and whom should I take?
The guidelines are very important! You will learn requirements for where to go, when to go, what to look for, what to do and other essential tips that ensure you complete your observation and survey correctly to be compensated. Note that MOST assignments require a “guest” of a certain age. Unless specifically required, please leave small children at home so that you can focus on the details of your experience to share in your observation survey. Remember, no one under the age of 21 may sit AT a restaurant bar.

Why must I complete my observation by 10:00 a.m. the next day?
What are the “best practices” for completing my observation and the observation form?
How much should I write about my visit?
It is important for you to meet the observation completion deadline for two reasons: (1) so that the visit details will still be fresh for you to share and (2) to provide our clients with feedback in a timely manner that supports their training efforts. The guidelines, which you should always review in advance of your visit on this Web site, provide you with all the details necessary to complete the observation successfully: arrival time, who to take, items to order/purchase, details to observe etc. If you follow these guidelines, remain observant during an otherwise typical dining or shopping experience and then promptly complete the observation survey, you’ll find it easy to provide the appropriate detail in the text portions of the survey. Expressive adjectives and specific details greatly enhance your observation survey. For instance, if your service was particularly quick and attentive you should state that and provide an example “our server brought our drinks out quickly and refilled the water glasses regularly without being asked”). A “ great meal” might be a fair assessment of your visit, but “We enjoyed a great meal because our server anticipated our needs and the quality and preparation of all our entrees was exceptional. The presentation of each plate was so attractive and unique. I have never enjoyed a better portion of grouper.” provides the reader with a fuller picture of your experience. If something was less than ideal during your observation, it is important to detail those issues too. Writing in complete sentences, using proper grammar and correct spelling and using upper and lower case letter also enhance your observation text.

What is "Self Scheduling"? How does it work?
The Mystery Guest Program offers a self-scheduling option for NEW observations!
Just log onto your Mystery Guest Program account.
The self-scheduling tool will be viewable near the top right of the Observation page ONLY when you are eligible for new assignments AND observations are available.

ItÆs easy! Directions for using the self-scheduling tool are provided on each screen.
Decide wisely! You may only select ONE observation per offering. Detailed guidelines, including reimbursement amounts, for each observation should be viewed before making a selection.

Check back often! Updates are made throughout the month so check your Mystery Guest Program account to view available observations. Mileage preferences and waiting periods between observations and few assignments in some areas may limit options.

The Mystery Guest Program team will still be contacting program participants by e-mail and telephone for some observations, but your best opportunity to be scheduled for an observation will be to check your account frequently for self-schedule opportunities.

What is Grass Roots Performance Measurement’s privacy policy for registered shoppers in the Mystery Guest Program? Grass Roots Performance Measurement will not sell, rent or trade its lists of shoppers. Shoppers' personal information, such as addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses are held in a secure database that is accessed only by Grass Roots Performance Measurement.  Similarly, demographic and habit/frequency information such as date of birth and household income are confidential with data considered "in total" to describe our shopper database as a whole (i.e. 55% of our shoppers eat out at tables service restaurants more than 7 times each month). We never request banking or credit information.

For anyone visiting www.grassrootsmeasures.com, our web server does automatically collect some general information about your visit to our site. If you do nothing during your visit to our web site but read pages or download information, we will record your domain name but not your e-mail address. Other information we collect (such as the number of hits, pages visited, type of browser and length of user session) is used for statistical analysis and to help us make our site more useful. Like most sites, we use "cookies" to help you use our web site interactively. A cookie is a small file that a Web site temporarily transfers to your computer's hard drive to help us identify you while you are visiting the site. The cookies on our web pages do not collect personal information about you, but rather, about your browser session. The cookie expires as soon as you close your browser. It is not permanently stored on your computer.