A Closer Look, found online at A-Closer-Look.com, is a marketing and mystery shopping company that gives businesses the necessary customer feedback they need to expertly improve their services and stay competitive within their industries.
According to their website, this company works with businesses in the Restaurant, Hotel, Retail Store, Health & Wellness, and Professional Service provider industries to help them get a better understanding of their customer relations and services.
They do this by employing “expert” mystery shoppers, who they say will provide their companies with detailed reports of their experiences as well as with suggestions for improvements or changes.
What is Mystery Shopping?
Mystery shoppers are employed by A Closer Look and then given an assignment to interact with a specific client of theirs. For example, they may be told to go to a local pizzeria for dinner, with optional specifics like ordering certain menu items or “experiencing” certain issues or problems during the meal.
The mystery shopper then provides a professional report on their experience, including specific details and feedback and opinions on their experience and what could be improved. It is important that this report be as clear and accurate as possible, so companies know they are receiving the most reliable information.
How to Sign Up
People who are interested in becoming one of their mystery shoppers must submit a valid email address to their website and they will be emailed an application as well as be given access to their “Pre-Application Information Guidelines” which explains their company guidelines for shop assignments.
The application will include questions about spelling, grammar, math, and logic, as well as a section of the application where you will have to provide a written narrative about your most recent fine or casual dining experience “in a clear and concise manner.”
Finally, you will also be asked to provide all relevant contact and demographic information and complete a “Shopper Qualifying Test.” Applicants must pass their test with a score of 7 or better in order to be eligible for hire.
A Closer Look also regularly hires both schedulers for their mystery shopping experiences, and editors to look over submitted reports. Unfortunately this website does not publish payment or rate information for their employees at this time.
Customers who are interested in additional similar opportunities may want to look at our related articles on Mystery Shopper Jobs and Mystery Shopper Jobs – Part 2.
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Is this legit??
Brand, 36, of Ladson, S.C., filled out a questionnaire to become a secret shopper and received a check and a letter in the mail for nearly $3,000. He was suspicious about the check, but went online to look up the company, A Closer Look. He says after reading through the website and seeing they had been around for 15 years, he decided it was legit.
Brand took the cashier's check to the bank, then called the toll-free number on the letter to get his assignment. He talked to an operator who told him to spend a small portion of the money at a Walmart and to wire the rest to England. He was told they were testing their international rates, so he didn't think twice about sending the money out of the country.
Two days later at lunch with his daughter, Brand's credit card was declined and he found that he owed $2,711 to the bank. Sensing a scam, he called a number he found on the Closer Look website. He was told the company had recently learned a scam was being run using the company's name. It is typical for crooks in these types of schemes to use the reputation of a real company to convince people to fall for the scam.
Though he's notified the FBI and the FTC, Brand is responsible for paying back the money he lost in the scam.
"What I'm being told now is the paper wasn't good and with the watermark, it should've been caught. The check was cashed at the (bank) and if they can't tell it's fake, how am I supposed to be able to tell?" says Brand.
Attorneys general are warning people to beware of secret shopper checks and money orders received through the mail. The scam takes many forms, but usually, the consumer is hired to evaluate a wire transfer company as Brand was. Victims receive a money order or checkto deposit into a personal bank account, which they then are told to wire out of the country. The check or money order, which could be for thousands of dollars, is worthless -- something that might not become apparent for a week or more. But when the check is found fraudulent, the consumer is responsible to the bank to pay back the amount that they withdrew.
In Nebraska, officials said scammers have used actual U.S. Postal Service money orders that have been doctored from their original $50 purchase to appear to have a higher value, such as $950. The code on the money order reveals the true amount. The U.S. Postal Service will check any money order for fraud.
Once the money is sent overseas getting any back is pretty much a lost cause.
"We refer most of these fake check scams to the Secret Service for investigating and unfortunately it is impossible to recover any money lost in this scam because the perpetrators are untraceable and are often located overseas," Molly Butters, spokeswoman for Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller told Consumer Ally. "Bottom line: Don't wire money anywhere for any reason if you are solicited by a stranger."
Other signs of scams you should look out for, according to the Federal Trade Commission:
Companies that sell certifications.
Guarantee a job as a mystery shopper.
Charge a fee to be a mystery shopper.