EyeSpy

Being an evaluator for EyeSpy has been a fun and tasty experience! You sign up online, go to a restaurant (eat for free!!), and then write about it on their online form. I got to try out different places, and they are adding new restaurants all the time. The staff is really friendly and accomodating in case you have to reschedule and great about getting back to you quickly if you have any questions. I have even recommended becoming an evaluator to my friends and they have signed up too!

I’m an evaluator for Eyespy and I love it. It’s so simple and I get to enjoy a nice meal out for free! I receive a giftcard so I don’t have to come out of pocket and the company has been really wonderful to work with. I highly recommend taking advantage of this great company!

As an owner of five café’s I have used Eye Spy with great satisfaction. They are professional and very knowledgeable. I would recommend their services to other restaurant owners. From mystery dining to consulting on everything from hiring to menu evaluation, I have been thoroughly pleased.

Being an evaluator with EyeSpy has been a great experience! Their team is amazing and very professional. I was a server for many years and it’s nice to be on the other side of helping restaurants improve their customer service. EyeSpy works with popular restaurants, hotels and bars. So where ever you get sent your going to have a great meal and a great experience. Making the evaluations very easy and enjoyable.
The EyeSpy team is awesome! If you ever need to reschedule for any reason, they work with you and are very understandable. They are very helpful and quickly respond to any questions or concerns you may have. I’ve only had great experiences with this company and would recommend anyone to join the team!

The whole Eye Spy team truly took our business to the next level, with their help we were able to create systems and structure that we never had before. Our service was elevated, leaving both our staff and customers happier than ever. Eyespy created clear Steps of Service so our serving staff was given the tools to best assist our customers. This in turn was rewarding for the serving staff as more happy customers resulted in more tips. Their website was easy to use, and each and every time I reached out to a member of their staff the response was prompt, warm and extremely helpful. I cannot say thank you enough, they made a huge difference in my personal approach to the business as well. Thank you Eyespy!

I have been an evaluator for a little more than a year now and I have to say I do enjoy it despite the amount of work it takes. Being on a tight budget, I have little money to spend on going out, but I do have some time to write up the reports.
Some things to note/​tips if you are considering becoming an evaluator:
— You will not get big budget restaurants until you get plenty of practice with smaller scale /​small budget assignments, which is totally understandable. (Some of the smaller assignments are my favorites because they are less work.)
— I prefer to do jobs that offer gift certificates because I cannot afford to front the money for a meal. I have always been reimbursed, though sometimes later than promised. So don’t front $ unless you can afford it and can be patient on repayment.
–The evaluation reports are tedious, often times redundant, and do take up time. It is better to just do them right away when everything is fresh in your mind and get it over with. You will hate it if you don’t enjoy writing about everything from cleanliness of the bathroom to management. In my book it is a small price to pay to try out new restaurants and order drinks that I normally would not :)
–Eyespy staff is always responsive and accommodating. I am picky about the restaurants that I will attend due to dietary restrictions and they are always understanding and try to offer me places I can eat at
–Scheduling is really flexible and I never feel obligated to do an evaluation
Overall, I recommend trying it out. It DOES take time and energy to do the reports, and it does take some diligence while dining out (can’t get too distracted by conversations because you need to pay attention to what is going on around you), but if this doesn’t bother you then it is something fun to do.

I just read some of the reviews and couldn’t keep quiet! I have used Eye Spy for about 5 – 6 years. The company has conducted «secret shopper» services several times per month. They have always been professional and helpful. They have conducted Sexual Harassment certification classes, trained our staff with guest/​conflict resolution as well as conducted staff training regarding «steps-​of-​service». They are highly knowledgeable, are on-​time, professional and are always looking out for the clients’ best interest. If you are a restaurant looking to hire this type of service — for spot checking bartenders, service staff, keeping an eye on management, etc — I can give my full stamp of approval without hesitation. We’ve been using them for years and years without any glitch whatsoever.

EyeSpy provides outstanding consulting services for the restaurant industry. We have had a great and professional experience with their staff and services and would highly recommend them to others in the industry. Their breadth of knowledge and the consulting services they can provide literally cover all challenges you could face in the restaurant business. Their evaluators are well trained and provide critical feedback for your business. Contrary to other reviews, I found the web portal to function properly. We are happy to continue using their services for our business on an ongoing basis.

I have been an EyeSpy evaluator for 3+ years. This has been on of the most rewarding «jobs» I have ever had. I had the opportunity to eat at some of the most exclusive restaurants in the Bay Area with large enough budgets to really enjoy myself.
In return for these opportunities, I was required to write detailed evaluations of my experience in actionable, fun to read prose according to a fairly standardized format. As a scientist and consultant with an MBA, I found it very easy to write such evaluations, and I quickly moved up the ranks as a result.
During my experience, the EyeSpy staff met me with the professionalism I brought to the table. It is true that reimbursements could take longer than promised, but I always received them given time. I also noticed that if payments were late, I was offered more certificate assignments (ones that were paid in advance). On balance, I was treated very fairly.
Most importantly, my experience with EyeSpy vastly increased my quality of life in a tough economy. I am only leaving because I now have 2 full time jobs and my free time has become short. If ever that changes, I will quickly return to evaluating. I’ve been told that I would always be welcome to return.
If you are a reliable person, a good writer, and a foodie with some patience, I strongly recommend that you work with EyeSpy.

My experience with Eye Spy has been incredibly wonderful!
The staff at Eye Spy is prompt and responsive. They have been extremely capable of assisting whenever assistance is needed– even after typical business hours. Processing submissions through their new web portal is a breeze as well! They offer example reviews so you can see what is expected and give notes after every evaluation to help you grow and learn as an evaluator.
The restaurants that they work with are top notch. Whether it is a quick serve location or fine dining, they work with restaurants that really care about their customer experience and strive to improve it by seeing it through a (very articulate) guests’ eyes.
I can enthusiastically recommend working with Eye Spy!

Been reviewing for this company for almost a year, and I have to say, it’s fun! I love to eat out (especially for free) and it’s cool to go to restaurants that I probably would never have gone to on my own. This company has a lot of really good restaurants that they «spy» for and most of them are paid for with a gift card that Eye Spy sends you before you go. Only down side is that the reviews area little time consuming cause you have to put a lot of details, but it’s worth it to me. Also, you have to finish the review pretty quick after you go out, but again, it works for me. I Plan to keep eating for free and spying for fun for a long time!

It’s really hard to believe that this company does not pay back its own evaluators. I have written evaluations for Mistie and Eye Spy for over five years and they owe me hundreds of dollars.
Stay away.
They say they will pay you back but they don’t.

I am not sure about the professionalism of this company. I have not been reimbursed and after the time and attention that I have paid to this organization, they are very ungrateful to their evaluators and not forthright with their clients.

I have been writing evaluations for EyeSpy for over four years. I have worked with other mystery shopping companies and have found EyeSpy to be the best. The feedback and quality of service provided by this company go far beyond any other mystery shopping service.
I did have a bit of trouble with my reimbursements last year, but the owner and staff were in constant communication and I received checks when promised. The gift certificates are the easiest way to go, and it seems like more and more establishments are starting to use them.
Working with EyeSpy has enabled me to visit numerous restaurants I would not normally be able to try. I have learned a great deal about the customer service industry as well as enhanced my journalism skills. It has been a pleasure working with the company, and I look forward to continue working with them in the future.

The Eye Spy has a responsibility to reimburse quickly and dependably when evaluations are done to standards. This is not what happened in my case. I warn against working with this company.
I spent my time and money to complete their evaluations. Unfortunately, they consistently did hold up their end of the deal and I was only reimbursed after a long, drawn out battle.
The whole experience has been, and continues to be, a very negative one. I recommend avoiding this company at all costs.

As an Eye Spy evaluator I have enjoyed many dining experiences at Bay Area restaurants and bars. With Eye Spy I have visited many new places that I would not have known about as well as old favorites that I had forgotten about.
My experiences with Eye Spy have always been very professional, timely and enjoyable. The staff has continually been very prompt in responding to my questions or needs to reschedule. They take the time to match me with the right locale – so it really ends up being a win-​win for both of us. In addition, they are very service oriented and approachable making the overall experience very pleasant.
When I write my reviews, I feel that they are so detailed and specific that my experiences will really be taken into account by the establishment’s management. Although it takes time to fill out the review, the evaluations are very valuable and in the end I feel they do make a difference and lead towards making every time out more enjoyable.
I wish more businesses would monitor their service in the way that Eye Spy’s clients do. It’s valuable and in a tight economy service makes the difference or returning to a business or putting them on the list of places not go back to visit.
I would recommend Eye Spy to businesses and to people who are interested in becoming evaluators.

EyeSpy has been a lot of fun and a really great company to work with. As a life long Foodie I have had the opportunity to work with several «evaluation» companies in the past and this one definitely sticks out.
I am always talking to the girls in the office and they have allowed me to eat out at some really great restaurants from Los Gatos to the East Bay and up to San Francisco! Some of the places I would never even be able to afford in this economy but with the great reimbursement process its a snap.
I love the fact that they offer each restaurant with a professional but honest opinion on how they are doing rather than some canned cookie cutter type of review. The review process is challenging but I think that is what makes them special. I can’t wait to see each month where I am going to eat next and they add new place all the time so the list stays fresh and current.
Over all I have had an incredible experience and can’t wait to see what there is in store for me in the coming months!

After careful consideration and the passing of time to melt away my frustration and anger, I’m raising my review to 2 stars. The bottom line is that I was paid which alone warrants a bump in the rating. Things could have been a lot worse.
That being said, I take pity on a struggling company in this downturn economy. I wish EyeSpy the best and sincerely hope that business will pick up for them.
I urge EyeSpy to take the high road during these low times… to weave more honesty into their communication, be more forthright about their financial situation and ALTER their written contract if need be regarding the payment timeline so independent contractors KNOW what they’re getting into. But that all begins by being honest with yourself about your business’ standing. So take a close look, EyeSpy, and make sure you can live up to your end of the deal.

The Eye Spy is an agency that sends people to restaurants to dine undercover. The agency is hired by the corporate headquarters of the restaurant, whose desire is to have evaluators scope out the service and report back so they can get tips on improving service and ambiance. Payment is sometimes through reimbursement, sometimes through a gift card.
You have to be one unique character to stay an evaluator for as long as I have (hmm, I think six years now)?
Firstly, you must LOVE to eat, and preferably drink. They want feedback, so it won’t help them if you’re on a diet.
Secondly, you must like writing, or at least not mind it, and have lots of perseverance. You won’t start out at the best spots, but if you do well, you’ll make your way up there.
Thirdly, you must be observant and diligent. You will need to remember and report back on many details — that too, within a pretty narrow time frame which is aggressively enforced.
Lastly, granted that you’re not a complete high-​baller if you would spend this type of effort for food, but in many cases, you do need to have the money to spend upfront, and the patience to wait potentially much longer than contractually promised to get reimbursed — unless you go for the gift certificate ones, which I would recommend. This is frustrating, but to their credit, EyeSpy is extremely responsive and communicative when asked for updates.
So, measure it out and apply accordingly.

So I love working a third «job» for Eye Spy. It’s like secret shopping… except for food! The staff working here are amazing to communicate with. A nice big shout out to Felicia and her mad scheduling skills! It’s a consulting company for restaurants to «send in secret diners» to critique them on the service and other aspects of the restaurant. Granted I do have to write up evaluations post review, but I love getting the opportunity to try out new places and get reimbursed for it!