This essay is based on a conversation with Cliff Smith. Smith is based in Palo Alto, California and has been an evaluator for EyeSpy Critiquing & Consulting since 2003. The piece has been edited and condensed for clarity.
I started working as a mystery restaurant with EyeSpy more than 20 years ago. Our friends knew founder Mistie Boulton, so they were among the first to do it, and when they told us about it, we thought it was too good to be true: having meals paid for at nice restaurants in exchange for writing about the experience. We didn’t jump at the opportunity right away, but when I lost my job and started tutoring for GMAT prep, I picked up the side hustle so I could continue dining out.
Typically, I complete about three assessments a month, and work takes me to fine dining venues and more casual restaurants; sometimes the evaluation will also concern a takeaway order. One Saturday last month, my wife and I did a brunch evaluation at The Village Pub and our brunch budget was $250, and we needed it. We actually went slightly overboard with the tax and tip. The following Friday we received pizza delivery. So it remains a mix, and that’s one of the benefits: This side hustle takes you places you otherwise couldn’t go.
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The process usually starts when you receive an email, then you go to the website and see that you have an assignment. You can negotiate when to do the assignment within the month, and if you can’t do it that month, you can explain why and potentially take the assignment the next month, but you may not get it again. It depends on what’s going on: sometimes, if they already have someone for the next week, it doesn’t work.
For each assessment there is an online survey form and they differ. Different restaurants care about different things. For example, The Village Pub cares a lot about how they handle wine. Do they observe the correct protocol? Do they keep filling your glass? Other places don’t care as much, but they might care how many people say hello to you. So before an assessment, you really need to look at the form. Even though it’s a similar type of restaurant, management may care about different things for different reasons. And you should remember when they did different things. I take photos, so I have a timestamp for everything.
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You must turn in your assessment within 24 hours. When we started, it was two days, but they changed it to the next day. And in a way it’s reasonable because you have to remember a lot, and that fades away. The time it takes to complete an assessment depends on the location. For the pizza place I mentioned, I completed it that night and maybe took me two hours tops. But I probably spent about six hours evaluating the Village Pub. I wouldn’t do it all in one day for a place like that.
We also have to send photos. I use Photoshop to crop them because I take photos secretly, although it doesn’t have to be too secretive because a lot of people take photos these days, but I take so many that I don’t want to be too secretive. obvious about it. I don’t always take great photos. For food yes, but for the rest less so. But I could take a photo of the table to show the place settings if they care about their positioning. Next, when I send the photos, I have to crop them so they look better and reduce the rest so I don’t bring the EyeSpy server to its knees.
Since July 2008, I have kept track of the projected budget for each assessment and the total comes to $40,000. Of course, the real number is higher because we started the parallel business in 2003. And, of course, the cost of dining out has increased over the years. My favorite part about being a mystery restaurant is the ability to go places we otherwise wouldn’t; it takes us to restaurants like The Village Pub, where we simply wouldn’t spend that much money on dinner, let alone brunch. We also try places we might not normally try. We always go to Oren’s Hummus, owned by founder Mistie Boulton, but before working with EyeSpy, I’m not sure we had ever eaten Middle Eastern food.
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I also appreciate that I actually have a voice. Generally, if you go to a restaurant and they treat you badly, you might ask to speak to the manager, and maybe you get a free gift or get a free dessert. But I have a nuclear weapon. If I notice something is wrong, there will probably be a change. He wasn’t vindictive, but we once went to a nice bistro in San Francisco and our waiter wasn’t very skilled. It wasn’t a deal breaker that would keep us out of that restaurant in the future or anything like that, but things just weren’t good or good. A few months later, we went back to the same restaurant and the same waiter was there, but now he was an assistant, not the main server. So I thought, Well, they listened. And she seemed fine with doing so; he was better suited to her abilities. It’s gratifying to know that I will be listened to because restaurant management has paid to listen.