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Specific target shops

September 04, 2014 04:00PM
Helly everyone!

I have been shopping for about two months, and I'm trying to figure which shops/companies I work best with. I currently have a shop (with a company I will not name) in which I have to call a business for a specific person. However, I am not able to ask for that person until after four attempts. What type of excuse do you use in a situation like this? I have already used "wrong number", and I am afraid if I call that many times, by the time I do reach my target, they may catch on that I am a MS. I have learned from this that I would rather do shops where I can shop anyone, not a specific person.
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September 04, 2014 04:40PM
Many of us have stopped doing shops such as that for that specific reason. As you shop longer you will discover that many scenarios do not change and grow quite stale. I remember us laughing about a particular named individual from Braintree, MA that for years we were inquiring about her baby registry. Unless she was an elephant with 4 year gestation, the monthly inquiries for her specifically by name and then purchasing nothing on her list must have made being a shopper obvious to all but the totally brain dead.

And with the specific target, often you are given the target's work schedule. I have never found those to be up to date enough to be useful. And there have been just too many tales of setting up an appointment with the target, driving a substantial distance to meet, only to find the target is not there. When you have been shopped monthly for many years and someone asks for you by name who is not being referred by someone you know was a legitimate former or present customer, you make the appointment and let your colleague take it if it is legit while you go have a late lunch. If they won't talk with your colleague, they were the shopper.
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September 04, 2014 05:08PM
First, dial *67 before dialing the number. If your target does not answer, put on a fake accent and very slowly and carefully say, "Who?' or ""Walmart?" Wait at least 3 hours before making another attempt.

OR, have a friend, or your helpful scheduler call to tie up the receptionist or coworker so that your target might answer when you count to 10 and call the number.

Excuse for asking for apartment rental associate by name: "I drove there last xxx and walked around to see if I liked the area. I stopped someone who was going into the building to ask how they liked it. They told me to ask for you, Eve." Eve may ask who referred you and you can say, "Gee, I did that for several apartments last xxx. Maybe she had a brown ponytail? "

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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September 04, 2014 07:36PM
Thanks for the replies! Flash, I thought as mystery shoppers, we are supposed to "act natural". This scenario of calling four times didn't seem natural at all! Those are very good ideas walesmaven. I didn't know schedulers would help out in that way. Luckily, I was able to get my target on the second try! After completing this shop, I will hold off on the target specific shops until I am a more seasoned shopper.
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September 17, 2014 02:47PM
peach, I've been trying to reach a target for 10 days now. The apartment office is only open Mon, Tue, Thu, and Fri. I've called a total of 15 times, and have only reached a warm body twice. Both of those times were before the scheduler authorized me to ask for the target by name. It's frustrating when I plan to do a shop like this on my days off (usually Mon and Tue), but can't reach the target.

The latest is that my scheduler told me to leave a message on the answering machine asking for my target to call back, which I did yesterday morning. No call back.

I'm beginning to wonder if the target even works there!
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September 17, 2014 05:54PM
I don't do the wrong number thing multiple times. I'll waste a bit of time on the phone just to pull off being "natural."

Call 1: "Sorry, I think this is the wrong number."
Call 2: "How late are you guys open?"
Call 3: "I was thinking of dropping by, but can't seem to find the right directions. I'm coming from (Place)"
Call 4: "Is Tina there? No? Isn't this Brownley and Associates?"

After I'm given the green light to hard-target my target, I leave a voicemail saying "Hi, this is (Name) I'm calling for (Target) We spoke a few weeks ago and I've just now been able to get back to you. Please call me back at (Number)"

Doing it that way, they just think their memory is a bit fuzzy, but they'll never say they don't remember you. They'll try to fish in that first phone call, what your previous interaction was, but that's it.

------------------------------------------------
Plan the work. Work the plan.
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