I think I saw my first secret shopper!
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I have also noticed another secret shopper while I was at a restaurant. Turned out she had the wrong date and was not supposed to be there according to the scheduler.
holliscary Wrote:
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> Just yesterday I saw a woman walking in Manhattan
> reviewing her paperwork. I couldn't talk because I
> was in a rush to get to my shops....also she was
> rather unfortunate in appearance
Maybe she was dressed approprately for her shop? How do you know she wasn't dressed right?
My husband has a t-shirt that says, "I am NOT the Mystery Shopper!" Never wears it with me, of course. I would love to see the reactions he gets.
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> Just yesterday I saw a woman walking in Manhattan
> reviewing her paperwork. I couldn't talk because I
> was in a rush to get to my shops....also she was
> rather unfortunate in appearance
Maybe she was dressed approprately for her shop? How do you know she wasn't dressed right?
My husband has a t-shirt that says, "I am NOT the Mystery Shopper!" Never wears it with me, of course. I would love to see the reactions he gets.
NOTE: I'm not on the forum every day. If someone comments on my post, I might not reply right away. I've been a shopper since 1991. I've never done any work for a MS company in any other capacity.
I do a lot of grocery pricing shops. A while back I was shopping the wine department when I saw another shopper, with the printed out list, showing it to the wine steward and asking him for pricing help. I was astonished to see her being so blatent. The next week I ran into her at another store, with the same type of list. I think she is the person that my scheduler told me was thrown out of the first store because they figured out what she was doing. No big surprise there!
Siamese-If you followed my son around a store you would see him doing a lot of checking out expiration dates, etc. He would not put those items in his cart. He takes 3 X as long as anyone else to shop. So much so that he gets followed by store detectives. He is not a mystery shopper or a shoplifter, just someone fanatical about what he is going to spend his money on!
My mother-in-law does this. If there is a fingerprint on the door she asks them to come over a clean it, ...as she watches. It's a power "spy-cological" issue. 
She may have been a mystery shopper indeed! Or, maybe a bit off center.
Don
She may have been a mystery shopper indeed! Or, maybe a bit off center.
Don
I work for a company that uses mystery shoppers from a MSC that I work for. I know when they come in because they do the same things: check out our information table and ask questions, go to the snack bar and order a pretzel and ask for a receipt, go to the restroom. Only one time was I fooled: the shopper actually stayed in the location and bowled!! lol
Hey, who has BROWN teeth anymore, really?????
janalou Wrote:
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> I had a scheduler tell me that "sometimes" a
> shopper is shopped. Never heard that before.
> Hmmm...
I was told I would be shopped one day when I was doing interviews all day at a convenience store.
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> I had a scheduler tell me that "sometimes" a
> shopper is shopped. Never heard that before.
> Hmmm...
I was told I would be shopped one day when I was doing interviews all day at a convenience store.
stilllearning Wrote:
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> I've sometimes suspected that MSCs might have an
> assignment double-shopped, perhaps to gauge the
> integrity and/or reporting skills of the
> shopper(s). I have no knowledge if this is the
> case, however, one time, for example, I remember
> sitting at a Medicare presentation and swearing
> the person across the table was also shopping the
> event. Another time, I watched a female in a car,
> parked facing mine, carefully reviewing some
> paperwork before she entered the business I had
> just exited.
>
> (heart)
Yes, we do sometimes spy on each other. And I've seen owners of franchises watching their properties, either in person or hiring me. Who watches the watchers? Why, more watchers, of course, layer upon layer upon layer upon....
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> I've sometimes suspected that MSCs might have an
> assignment double-shopped, perhaps to gauge the
> integrity and/or reporting skills of the
> shopper(s). I have no knowledge if this is the
> case, however, one time, for example, I remember
> sitting at a Medicare presentation and swearing
> the person across the table was also shopping the
> event. Another time, I watched a female in a car,
> parked facing mine, carefully reviewing some
> paperwork before she entered the business I had
> just exited.
>
> (heart)
Yes, we do sometimes spy on each other. And I've seen owners of franchises watching their properties, either in person or hiring me. Who watches the watchers? Why, more watchers, of course, layer upon layer upon layer upon....
laura007 Wrote:
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> Don't schedulers know when shoppers are scheduled,
> and make sure they don't overlap? I can't imagine
> a company/client hiring more than one MSC.
Mystery shopping companies are sometimes hired by product manufacturers I suspect. Therefore, you could have two mystery shoppers at the same location on the same day. One might be hired by a mystery shopping company who has the store as a client. The other shopper could be hired by a mystery shopping company who has a product manufacturer who wants a shopper in the store testing the placement of their product.
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> Don't schedulers know when shoppers are scheduled,
> and make sure they don't overlap? I can't imagine
> a company/client hiring more than one MSC.
Mystery shopping companies are sometimes hired by product manufacturers I suspect. Therefore, you could have two mystery shoppers at the same location on the same day. One might be hired by a mystery shopping company who has the store as a client. The other shopper could be hired by a mystery shopping company who has a product manufacturer who wants a shopper in the store testing the placement of their product.
"Evolve thyself and lose all hate...." Orphaned Land
Just recently I showed up for a gas station audit, and the person ahead of me in line was there for a gas station audit! We kept crisscrossing each other's path. I finished before he did, but it looked as though he might have been entering as he went, on a tablet, which would slow him down. My guess is, that since I was there for the oil company, he was probably there for the convenience store.
And the owner, who was there, must have wondered what he had done to deserve all this!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2014 04:08AM by Ishmael.
And the owner, who was there, must have wondered what he had done to deserve all this!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2014 04:08AM by Ishmael.
The first mystery shop I ever did, I was an assist (it was a restaurant alcohol compliance shop, shopper + guest; the coworker/friend who took me was over the required age and I was under), and my coworker told me that as per the instructions for that shop, we were to sit in a highly visible place because they would have a "verification shopper" there to make sure I was actually under the required age and that we did the shop. We actually spotted the verification shopper--if you're going to sit there for an hour toying with a dessert to make sure we stay in the restaurant the whole time, order another drink or something, and stop staring at our table!
I observed my first one today.
I was in line at the grocery store, there's only one checkstand open and a long line of customers. People are grumbling about only one cashier and another lane is finally opened. I'm the next in line so I go first and the lady behind me lets the guy behind her go ahead as he has only a couple of items. He thanks her and proceeds to tell why he doesn't shop XXX (not the store we are in) because their lines are to long. She responds that she does (shop XXX) cause she gets free groceries. He asks how and she says..... drum roll..... I'm a mystery shopper. He of course asks how and she proceeds to tell all about the fee, the form, areas to check etc.. She says she does all the grocery stores around here, and proceeds to name them. He asked if she was mystery shopping where we were and she said no, they don't do it. (Well, they do but it's in house.)
Anyway,.... I couldn't believe all the (specific, proprietary)) information she was loudly saying.
I was in line at the grocery store, there's only one checkstand open and a long line of customers. People are grumbling about only one cashier and another lane is finally opened. I'm the next in line so I go first and the lady behind me lets the guy behind her go ahead as he has only a couple of items. He thanks her and proceeds to tell why he doesn't shop XXX (not the store we are in) because their lines are to long. She responds that she does (shop XXX) cause she gets free groceries. He asks how and she says..... drum roll..... I'm a mystery shopper. He of course asks how and she proceeds to tell all about the fee, the form, areas to check etc.. She says she does all the grocery stores around here, and proceeds to name them. He asked if she was mystery shopping where we were and she said no, they don't do it. (Well, they do but it's in house.)
Anyway,.... I couldn't believe all the (specific, proprietary)) information she was loudly saying.
eveb-I'm wondering how this person qualified as a ms. Not that the tests are very difficult...but really if anyone who wants to be a ms looks at the material on each site that states specifically what is expected, he or she would know better-or at least should know better-and if that person doesn't know any better what ms company could actually believe that person's report has any credibility? Just sayin' !
Saw a shopper pull out the evaluation form while checking out at a grocery store and fill it out in her purse (some of it was sticking out) in front of the cashier. I contacted the MS Company only because shopper misconduct affects the rest of us when it comes to altered restrictions and lowered pay.
It's funny you mention your husbands shirt. I have different sort of outfits I wear, depending on the type of shop. I have often wondered if the best way to go undetected is to be brazen with a t-shirt that says I AM A MYSTERY SHOPPER. I mean, who would have the audacity to actually wear said shirt while mystery shopping? <grin>
TeriW Wrote:
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> Sometimes shoplifters and mystery shoppers act a
> lot alike.
That is SO true. There is one shop I do that you have to stay at least 20 minutes, well the store is about 10'x10' and there are only so many things you can look at to fill up the 20 minutes so I always feel like I'm casing the joint when I do those
.
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> Sometimes shoplifters and mystery shoppers act a
> lot alike.
That is SO true. There is one shop I do that you have to stay at least 20 minutes, well the store is about 10'x10' and there are only so many things you can look at to fill up the 20 minutes so I always feel like I'm casing the joint when I do those
.
Wouldn't the MSC/client alter the 20-minute rule if they were aware of the small size of the shop? It does seem logical to ask for that, doesn't it to you?
...Eeeeek!!! Like really, I'll happily spill the beans to recruit more shoppers, IF I have permission from the MSC, and I'm talking specific, explicit, no nonsense, class A, Number 1, clear as a bell permission. Now, if I'm working for one of my clients or otherwise see or hear an opportunity to recruit someone for my team, then that's between my client, the prospective shopper for us, and myself. That being said, I positively DO NOT mix the two, unless a MSC likes the idea, and that's only happened once, and that was years ago, like in the mid 00's... A few folks know what I do, but literally NOBODY knows that I both have my own clients and work for MSC's directly. Conflict of interest is something I avoid like the plague, of course, and yacking about job specifications and who shops for who in public... whoever it was should be arrested, perhaps?
Feldercarb, really....
Feldercarb, really....
You go girl, it's shoppers like you that protect all of us, and our clients, and consumers, hey, in a way, you help save the world, thanks!
techman01 Wrote:
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> I've also been known to scout locations in the
> past knowing which day
> the shopper was coming(and hoping they didnt flake
> or reschedule)
> just so I could talk to the shopper to help
> motivate them to
> do the shops for a higher fee so we all could get
> more in the future. It's paid dividends
Now, that sounds psycho to me.
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> I've also been known to scout locations in the
> past knowing which day
> the shopper was coming(and hoping they didnt flake
> or reschedule)
> just so I could talk to the shopper to help
> motivate them to
> do the shops for a higher fee so we all could get
> more in the future. It's paid dividends
Now, that sounds psycho to me.
I had a shirt made that says, "Pretend I'm your mystery shopper!" I only wear it in Vegas since I can't shop there. I get a lot of comments from casino dealers there. Lol
Today I Will Choose Joy!
"Finally, whatever things are good, true, noble, lovely, of good report...if there be any virtue, if there be any praise...think on these things." ....It's a command, not a suggestion!
"Finally, whatever things are good, true, noble, lovely, of good report...if there be any virtue, if there be any praise...think on these things." ....It's a command, not a suggestion!
I know I saw another mystery shopper fairly recently. It was pretty obvious. We were both in the same line at the gas station register, both clutching a camera, clipboard, garish vest, and LOA. I assume he was there for the convenience store. The poor gas station owner must have wondered what hit him. (And of course, I'm using 'mystery shopper' in a generic sense, since there's nothing mysterious about a revealed audit.)
I have been in those tiny stores where you are supposed to spend 20 minutes. So uncomfortable and really a stupid requirement. Picking up items and looking for expiration dates - 10 of them. How could they not know that I was the mystery shopper? Luckily there were 2 other people in line so I looked at expiration dates while waiting in line to return my purchase. But in reality that store is too small to spend 20 minutes in - I did feel like a shoplifter or a pervert - haha.
I was working retail when I had a lady walk into the store, go into each section (men's/ladies/kid's/suiting), pick something up (not even looking at it really), ask me a question and drop it on my cashwrap. Someone was really undercover.
Talking about too long in a location, I did one of those "high end purse shops" and I had to spend 20 minutes in the store. Well, basically the brand has about 8 purse styles, 3 sizes and 4 colours. Each purse comes in the same 3 sizes and the same 4 colours. Spending 20 minutes in this store looking for a "gift for my mom" was challenging. Oh, and I had to make a purchase for me. The lady takes me over to the "mens' section", which was a drawer she pulled open from below the woman's clearance wallets. Yup, I was out of there in exactly 20 minutes....had to walk VERY slow out of the stores to hit the 20 minute mark.
Talking about too long in a location, I did one of those "high end purse shops" and I had to spend 20 minutes in the store. Well, basically the brand has about 8 purse styles, 3 sizes and 4 colours. Each purse comes in the same 3 sizes and the same 4 colours. Spending 20 minutes in this store looking for a "gift for my mom" was challenging. Oh, and I had to make a purchase for me. The lady takes me over to the "mens' section", which was a drawer she pulled open from below the woman's clearance wallets. Yup, I was out of there in exactly 20 minutes....had to walk VERY slow out of the stores to hit the 20 minute mark.
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Kyle Bonnyman
Independent Scheduler-Editor-Recruiter-Project Manager
kyle@shopperscheduling.com | (647) 932-7468 |
Facebook: Scheduler Kyle Bonnyman
Kyle Bonnyman
Independent Scheduler-Editor-Recruiter-Project Manager
kyle@shopperscheduling.com | (647) 932-7468 |
Facebook: Scheduler Kyle Bonnyman
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