I was doing a shop, and spotted a friend. He stopped and said hi.

He came by my house a few days later and said he told his boss I was there "mystery shopping".

I didn't even know he worked there. He's not a "close friend" -- I maybe bump into him 2 or 3 times
a year. Never bumped into him there, before. His "boss" is the manager of the entire facility.

Since he told me he told his boss I was a mystery shopper, I feel I must report this to the MSC.

Opinions? And yes, I wish he hadn't told his boss; or even that he hadn't TOLD ME he'd told his boss!

I would regret (deeply) the loss of these highly-bonused, easy, and convenient shops!

cease

Never volunteer.

Why must you report it to the MSC? Just don't accept shops at that location anymore. It should have no affect on shopping other locations of the same client so it's irrelevant.

I agree, never volunteer. And how did he know you were there "mystery shopping" as opposed to "regular shopping"?

<sarcasm>What a cool friend!</sarcasm>

cherubino3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree, never volunteer. And how did he know you
> were there "mystery shopping" as opposed to
> "regular shopping"?


Because my friends and neighbors know that I mystery shop!

And unfortunately, it's the ONLY location that I shop for this MSC. I get 3 shops a month there,
highly bonused, and right on my way to work. I just leave for work an hour early, and do the
shop on my way.

cease

Some friend.

Let the boss out you if he wants. Could be your friend only said, "I know that guy who was in here and he was mystery shopping" but that doesn't mean the boss knows who you are or would remember what you looked like. The boss knows people are mystery shopping them.

And don't shop that store where your "friend" works again, even if the boss doesn't tell the MSC.

But if the "friend" is the clerk you were shopping, and knew what you were doing, and you knew while you were doing the shop that he knew what you were doing, you should tell the MSC. If you were done with the shop and bumped into him as you were leaving, I wouldn't say anything because it didn't affect your behavior or opinions and wouldn't have affected the person you were shopping. But you can't go in there again because he'll be inclined to make points with the other employees by pointing at you an mouthing "Mystery shopper" to alert them so they do everything right.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2014 05:31PM by dspeakes.

Why would someone you only run into 2 or 3 times a year know that you mystery shop? It's one thing to tell your family and close friends, but a casual acquaintance, so casual an acquaintance that you don't know where he works, but he knows what you do?

Yeah that's just odd all the way around. Just because you are a mystery shopper doesn't mean that every time you go somewhere you are mystery shopping. I would kick the crap out of that friend. I wouldn't tell anyone I mystery shop. And I would ask your "friend" exactly what he told his boss and make a decision from there, explaining to them that they may have ruined that work for you and need to know exactly what was said to determine if you can still shop that location or not.

As mystery shoppers, the only real asset we have is our integrity. IMO, I think you should notify the MSC. I just finished a shop where one of the assistant managers remembered me from a visit about two months ago. I don't think he knows I'm a shopper. I've emailed the scheduler to ask that I not shop that location for about 9 months--the particular store usually has a high managerial turnover as they expand locations.

Good answer from bg. Except, I wouldn't bother to question the Big Mouth. Now that you know the friend works there, it would be a conflict for you to accept further jobs at that location regardless of what he said to the boss. I would not tell the MSC......if the boss tells them, I'm sure they'll let you know.

Oh yes, I wouldn't shop the location anymore either. But I'd sure as heck ask the person what was said just so they would know what they did. But I'm kind of a jerk like that.

I just heard back from my scheduler and we're going to hold off my shopping that location for about 9 months. He said I made the right call.

I also tend to agree with BG about letting the so-called friend know what he ended up costing you.

dspeakes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why would someone you only run into 2 or 3 times a
> year know that you mystery shop? It's one thing
> to tell your family and close friends, but a
> casual acquaintance, so casual an acquaintance
> that you don't know where he works, but he knows
> what you do?

Because I've been mystery shopping for years. One time at my home I had
6 or 7 people over for dinner, and he was one of them. Somebody asked me
how the mystery shopping was going, and we talked about it in pretty
general terms. It surprised me that he even REMEMBERED talking about it
like three years ago! And I KNEW he worked in that tiny town, but I had
never seen him at work.

OK, it's a mall. He works for the MALL. I was shopping a vendor in the food
court area. I do, in fact, shop 3 vendors in the same mall, usually once a month,
and normally on different days (although I did all 3 in one day once, with 3
different MSC's!). The boss he told was the mall manager, not the manager of
any of the vendors that I shop.

Part of me feels that it's a conflict, part of me feels it isn't. But I think I'd
better tell all 3 MSC's, let them decide if it's a conflict.

But I do wish he hadn't told the manager.

cease

Ummmm. It's not a conflict at all. I would suggest to your "friend" that he not tell anyone else or it would cost you work, and I might nicely let him know it would be appreciated if he passed that information along to the mall manager, but no, it's not a conflict in the least bit. The mall management usually has nothing to do with the tenants in the mall.

@ceasesmith I can understand you mentioning to your friends and neighbors that you mysteryshop yet I would be selective in your conversation. You never know who is listening (i.e., your friend that told on you) nor who you will run into out in public while working. Why subject your anonymity from being compromised?

James Bond 007.5 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As mystery shoppers, the only real asset we have
> is our integrity.

While I'll agree that our integrity is an asset, I hate to think it is anybody's only one.

I had somewhat a similar problem when I was attending a huge affair for an organization. I was an officer of a member entity and I met someone who assisted me in a high-end mshop about 2 months before. She was very friendly and told me she had not seen me for a while in her store. My president saw us and asked if we knew each other. The lady said, "She shops in my store." My President said, "Oh, that's where she mystery shops." I was flabbergasted and shocked that she would reveal that. The only reason she knew about it was I had to decline a project one day and had to tell her I could not possibly make it on time because I would be coming from very far. When I explained, she said, why couldn't I cancel it. I told her that I never cancel any assignment and sort of explained what I partly do aside from my regular job. I mystery shop...

Anyway, she apologized after she realized the damage she had done. I did not say anything more but decided never to accept any shop for that store. To this day, I never had. But tell the MSC? I did not lose an ounce of my intergrity by not doing so. I had not been outed by the client. I did not do anything wrong. I did quit the organization I was involved with because the president's integrity was the one greatly damaged in my eyes.

It is in my opinion that I would be going overboard by telling the MSC. By doing so I would be more popish than the Pope.

I like your analogy -- out-Poping the Pope!

I live in such a remote area that most of my shops are 100 miles or more from home. This mall is my only shopping venue within 50 miles of where I live.

Usually when I bump into people I know when I'm out mystery shopping (and you wouldn't BELIEVE how often it happens!), they'll walk up and whisper "are you working?" and if I whisper back "yes",
they'll just smile and go away. Or they'll just call me at home later and say, hey, I saw you at
XXXX today -- but I thought you might be working, so it wasn't that I was ignoring you. LOL!!!!

Now when people ask me if I still mystery shop, I just sort of say, yea, I do.

But I went through a phase a few years back when I was trying to RECRUIT other mystery shoppers, and I talked it up a LOT. Now that "Mystery Diners" and shows of that ilk are on TV, people are
really curious about it!



cease

Cease...now that you've given a full explanation, that does change things.

I wouldn't notify the MSC<s> involved.

I would find your friend and tell him the potential damage he has caused you, after all, that's why it's called MYSTERY shopping.

I might ask him to ask the mall manager to refrain from mentioning it to any of the tenants. That would have to be your call and would be a function of how active the mall manager is in meeting with the tenants. I've been in malls where the manager stops by each location once a month and others where you're lucky to even see the manager in passing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2014 10:02PM by James Bond 007.5.

James, James, James, please share how you did all of that crossing out.

(heart)

I had [ s ] (without the spaces) after MSC...fixed it.

I would not notify the MSC but I possibly wouldn't shop that location again for a while. Depends on how desperate I was for the work. My feeling these days is to just continue shopping until I receive a note from the MSC that I have been identified. In my many years of doing this I think I've been outed three times and most likely because of my strong accent.

As for the friend I would be absolutely livid and make sure they knew how they had hurt my business. Boy that would just make me so mad... sorry, but what an idiot that person is.

Whoa, James, it works. Thank you!

(heart)

Now that I know the whole story, I also wouldn't say anything to the MSC. I can't imagine why the mall manager would give a rat's patootie if you were a mystery shopper, and unless the mall manager also knows you why would he even know who your friend was talking about?

Sounds like he didn't out you on the job, only commented about it to someone not involved with the shop you did, after the fact.

And if he doesn't work for any of the stores themselves that you might shop, that wouldn't be a conflict either.

But I would tell him that he put your livelihood at risk and tell him in no uncertain terms that what you do is confidential, undercover work and he put you in a very awkward position by running off at the mouth about it.

Wear a disguise the next time you go.

Personally, I "cool my heels" for a few months at locations where I feel that I have been spotted, even if the MS doesn't seem to care. I have never reported being spotted, but I have reported practices that put shoppers in harms way in that regard.

I agree, Cease ~ once you gave the full explanation, it doesn't damage your ability to do those shops at all. I wouldn't worry about it.

But I would let that turd of a friend know just how much of a turd he really is! Sheesh!

My friends & family would never do that to me... for one thing, they're generally not jerks; for another, I think it's generally known I'd kick their ass. And the "do unto others" thing... they know I'd never 'eff' with their livelihood.

Another good example of why it is important not to tell the world what you do. In four plus years of MSing, still only my immediate family knows what I do. My little world thinks I am a shopaholic because I am always shopping. That's fine with me. So far no one has staged an intervention hahaha Why do you need to tell everyone you MS?

Maybe because our modern society has changed the focus and definition of us from "who we are" to "what we do."