Mystery dining for free food or drink

For the last couple years I have been doing mystery dining but I really ramped it up in the last year and just calculated that I got $1700 in free food and drink since last January.

I use the mystery dining company: http://ift.tt/1eMdbOC But I have also signed up for marketforce and some other ones but I never seem to get the same quality of dines.

How it works To sign up you have to pass English exams which usually include grammar. After being approved, you have access to the various dines that are available. The good ones go quickly so it's just chance if you sign up for them on time. Each mystery dine comes with a brief which includes the time you have to go, what you have to order (3 courses, main and side, sometimes specific items), and anything you have to do (ask a question, visit the toilets). Then, you go and do what the brief says. You get reimbursed for the food and drink up to a certain amount. Some come with a small fee as well.

When you get home, you have to write up your experience based on the questionnaire. It usually takes an hour or two to write it. It includes things like "were you greeted when you came in?" "Did the staff offer you starters or sides?" "Was everything clean and tidy?" "Did the staff look presentable?" They are different each time but in general want to survey how well the staff did their job.

Perks Free food and booze. I have had dines up to £100 in an evening! I have gone on some which are only booze, they want you to try and review a number of cocktails.

Downsides Usually the venues are chains, but if you don't want to go, you don't have to sign up. There are no minimum requirements or forced dines. With the Mystery Dining Company you get points based on how many dines you have done and the quality of your reports. If you have a low score, then you won't be able to see the best dines. They get released to people with high scores first and then to lower scores later. If you haven't followed the brief or if you missed something in one of your answers you won't get full marks on your reports.

One of the major downsides is that you can't bail. You usually have to go in a group of 2 or 4, so you can't invite friends that bail. If you cancel, you lose a lot of points. There is also an alcohol limit because they don't want you wasted when you complete the report. The reports can sometimes take a long time to write. If, when asked how to food was, you can only say "It was good" then you will struggle to write 200 words on the taste, texture and presentation of the dish.

I am in the UK but there must be similar programs in the US or other places. You should check it out!