01Rules
What is expected, and exactly when payment changes.
Nobody should be surprised by a deduction. Every rule that can affect a shopper's fee is published here, in the same words the shopper sees when it is applied.
Check in through the app when you arrive
GPS has to match the location. Check in as you walk in, not from the car park.
Behave like an ordinary customer
Order normally, pay normally, leave normally. Nothing you do should be memorable.
Take the photos in the app
Gallery uploads are flagged. Capture as you go — it is far harder to reconstruct later.
Keep the receipt
No receipt, no reimbursement. Photograph it before you leave the premises.
Write what a manager could act on
Times, words used, names on badges. “Service was slow” is worthless; “eleven minutes before anyone came” is not.
Submit within the deadline
Reports are due 24 hours after check-out, while you still remember it.
Declare any connection before you claim
A friend works there, you are a regular, you reviewed them online — say so and take a different job.
Never say you are a mystery shopper
Not to staff, not to anyone at the table, not afterwards on social media.
Do not photograph staff faces
Premises, product and receipt only. People are not evidence.
Do not reuse a photo
Every image is hashed and compared against every other upload on the platform. It is always caught.
Do not leave early
Each template has a minimum time on site. A visit far below it cannot be verified.
Do not write the report in advance
Writing before you arrive produces generic answers that reviewers spot immediately.
Do not spend beyond the cap
Anything above the reimbursement cap comes out of your fee, not the business's.
02Payment
Four things can happen to your fee.
Reimbursement follows the fee: if a visit is cancelled, what you spent is not returned either. That is why the deadline matters more than anything else on this page.
The report passes review.
Fee plus reimbursement is released within 24 hours of approval.
Something needs a human look.
Not lost. The money stops moving until a reviewer clears it, usually within a few days.
The work was thin, but usable.
The business still gets the report. Your fee is cut by a published amount and you are told which rule applied.
The deadline passed, or the evidence failed.
Nothing is paid, including reimbursement. The visit is reposted for someone else.
Deadlines
- 24 hours
- Report due after check-out
- Paid in full if it lands inside this.
- +12 hours
- Grace window
- Still accepted, but the fee is reduced for lateness.
- 24 hours
- To resubmit after edits
- A reviewer sent it back. Miss this and it cancels.
Narrative below the required length
−30%Your written narrative was under the minimum for this template. The business pays for detail — a report that only says what happened, not what it was like, is worth less to them.
Optional photos not captured
−10%Some photos that were requested but not mandatory were missing. These are often the ones that settle a dispute later.
Submitted after the deadline, inside grace
−25%Your report arrived after the deadline but inside the grace window. Businesses buy on turnaround, so a late report is worth less.
Answers lack specifics a reviewer can verify
−20%Several answers were too general to act on — no times, no names, no specifics. A reviewer could not verify them against your evidence.
A withheld fee is returned to the business, not kept by Mysterly. They paid for a full-quality report and received a reduced one — we do not profit from a shopper underdelivering.
The business opened a dispute
The business has questioned something in your report. Your payment is held, not cancelled, while we re-check the evidence. Most disputes resolve in your favour within a few days.
An automated flag needs a human look
One of our checks flagged something that a reviewer has to look at. This is routine and usually clears.
Identity check not finished
We cannot pay out until your identity check is complete. Finish it and the payment is released.
Report never submitted, past grace
The report was not submitted within the deadline plus the grace window. The visit is reposted and nothing is paid. Your reimbursement is not paid either, so do not spend on a visit you cannot write up.
Evidence failed verification
The evidence did not pass our checks — GPS outside the geofence, a reused photo, or a visit far shorter than the template requires. Nothing is paid and your quality score drops.
Report appears fabricated
The report could not be matched to a real visit. Nothing is paid, and the account is suspended pending review.
Undisclosed relationship to the business
You had a relationship with the business that was not declared when you claimed. The report cannot be used.
03For businesses
What you can and cannot ask for.
Give an accurate map pin
GPS verification is matched against it. A pin on the wrong side of the street fails honest shoppers.
Set a date window, not a time
A window is what keeps the visit unannounced. An exact slot tells your staff when to perform.
Write the scenario you actually want tested
If you want a complaint handled, say so. Shoppers follow instructions literally.
Fund a realistic reimbursement cap
A dinner-for-two template with a $20 cap cannot be completed honestly.
Rate the report
It feeds the shopper's quality score and decides who gets sent to you next time.
You cannot choose a named shopper
The platform assigns. This is not negotiable — it is the entire product.
Do not try to identify the shopper
Asking staff to spot them, or requesting the name after the fact, ends the account.
Do not use a report for disciplinary action alone
One visit is a sample. Patterns across visits are evidence; a single bad night is not.
Do not dispute a report to avoid paying
Disputes are investigated on the evidence. Repeated bad-faith disputes end the account.
Appeals
A shopper can appeal any reduction or cancellation within 7 days. A second reviewer who did not make the original decision looks at it. If the appeal succeeds the difference is paid immediately and the quality-score penalty is reversed. We publish the reduction rules precisely so that an appeal is an argument about facts, not about judgement.