HGEM - Bath

Justin Y.

Terrible MSC. Very strict staff with no people skills. We fell ill with norovirus so couldn’t visit a venue however was heavily penalised and told this would affect future visits, rather than trying to find a resolution (eg new date) there was no discretion and no people skills. It appears that HGEM would rather we infected the venue with the virus and be uncomfortable rather than be civil.

Rebecca B.

I have been with HGEM since January 2022 and they are one of my favourite dining companies, the website is great and up to date unlike other dated mystery dining websites, theres always a great range of dines to choose from, there is also a forum to post any question or queries and an online chat with staff. 10/10 company, have never had an issue - would highly recommend!

Duane O.

HGEM are a great company to work with. I've done mystery shopping off and on for over 10 years with a number of different companies, and HGEM are without a doubt the best of the lot.

I only started working with HGEM about 14 months ago, however I've been impressed by the dines I have been able to do for them. These include simple sandwich shop lunches, casual burger restaurants, pub meals, and the occasional fine dining restaurant as well. There is a status system that you move up through as you complete dines, and the higher your status the more choice of dines you are likely to see.

Their website is easy to use, with an easy to understand job board. The briefs for tasks are very clearly defined and easy to follow. This is in contrast to other companies where the brief reads like a stream of consciousness that leaves you more confused than at the start.

The reports ask very detailed questions which make them easy to complete (e.g. "As you finished paying your bill were you thanked for visiting?"). The amount of questions can sometimes make the reports feel long, but I appreciate the specificity because it ensures that everything required is covered. You receive feedback on each report. Sometimes the feedback can be critical, however I approach these as learning opportunities to improve my reports for the future.

Finally, payments are made on-time and I've never once had a problem in over 100 dines.

If you are either new to mystery dining or an experienced mystery diner looking for a new company to work for, HGEM is for you.

mark A.

I have worked as a mystery diner / shopper for HGEM for about 6 years. It has been a great experience. Their standards and expectations have been high but feedback is positive and I feel confident I will get helpful support if needed. They instil a sense of responsibility to the Client. Remuneration is fair and look forward to a resurgence in assignments when we come out of lockdown.

Sharon T.

I’ve been doing assignments for HGEM for over four years now. Once you prove yourself as a reliable diner who can consistently submit high quality reports you have access to some fabulous dines such as luxury hotels and also if you’re very lucky some “invite only” assignments to events a bit beyond your normal hotel or restaurant visit.

I’ve found the team really fair, even back in the early days when the quality of my reports were not so great. It’s about taking on board the feedback and striving to get a better report rating the next time!

Sure, some of the visits are to counter service places but I’m still happy to pick these up if the location is convenient as the reports are so quick to do.

Unlike a lot of other mystery shopping companies, HGEM also operate a reward points system, you receive points for visits completed and also regular surveys. Points mean prizes with HGEM. I work for around ten different mystery shopping companies on a regular basis and HGEM are by far my favourite, the reporting interface is the best.

I’d recommend to anyone who loves to eat out and has a good grasp of English and grammar.

Beverley W.

HGEM are one of the best mystery shopping companies! I have carried out visits for them for a number of years and I have always found them to be helpful, honest, reliable and reimbursement is always made on time. They require accurate and detailed reports and in return offer a range of interesting visits, I have done a wide variety from takeaway sandwich chains to five star hotels. I hope to be undertaking visits for them for many years to come.

Helene R.

I have used HGEM’s guest experience dashboard for a number of years. They have consistently provided us with rich data giving us actionable insights to evolve our guest experience. I’m thoroughly impressed with their customer service, and they are a delight to work with. I could not recommend HGEM highly enough!

Bronni H.

Most of the time the reimbursement you get won't even cover what they require you to buy, they'll reject your review for the most trivial reasons, meaning essentially you paid to buy and write a report on food you don't even want. They'll delete your account if you say you're going to give them a bad review. Truly HGEM/Mystery Dining Company are the worst mystery shopping company out there. I have no idea how they managed to delete their TrustPilot page, but they did. Really awful company, I did well over 30 jobs for them, but still they'd rather delete my account than pay me the piddly £5 they owed me. I'd never recommend using them, enjoy attempting to delete this HGEM!