I shopped a retail store and it was a horrible experience. HORRIBLE. A week after I submitted my shop, the scheduler emailed me and said that the client would like clarifaction. The clarification were the shopped employee's responses to my report. There were outright lies, fabrications and misleading information by the employee. The employee stated that I "must have been in a sour mood that day" and took it out on her in my report. I basically had to rebutt the lies of the shopped employee.

I restated what I had entered into my report and gave VERY detailed, objective responses and tried not to take it personally, but seriously? It left me with a bad taste in my mouth for this MSC. I did tell the scheduler that I stand by my report 100% and that if this store had video surveillance to pull the surveillance because it will back up my report 100% (no tapes the scheduler told me later).

Has anyone ever had this happen to them?That you had to respond to the employee's responses to your report?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2014 01:59PM by dmh426.

I've never had this happen to me fortunately. Let us know what happens, okay?

Mine was similar but not quite this bad. I did a storage shop and I had to bomb on them just a little. The guy was a manager having personal convos while I waited and with no name tag.
Anyway, I stated that he did not follow up with me and this guy tells the MSC that my phone was broken or disconnected and couldn't reach me. So the MSC calls me to make sure my phone worked and wasn't a fake number. Asked me a few questions and said okay he's lying, thanks.
End of story

That punk!

I have never had this happen, but I would certainly respond, and I would be glad I was given the opportunity to respond. I've heard many complaints on the forum (although it has never happened to me) of clients denying reports because their employee responded to the report and the client accepted the employee's version and declined the report. I was once contacted after a negative report I wrote was used to fire an employee. I was told if the employee sued, the client would subpoena me to testify. I would much rather comment on the employee's statements in advance, in writing.

I like the idea that the report was discussed in detail with the employee. If the experience was truly horrible, the employee either needs training or needs disciplinary action. If the client wanted the MS to see the employee's responses and respond, it sounds to me like the result is disciplinary action, which could include either a serious "warning" or termination. In that case, documentation would be essential to the client's case. As long as your report was true and correct and you stand by it, there should be no problem. Try not to be defensive or take it in a personal way. You were paid a small fee to perform an assignment and report. The results of that report may affect the employee's life and employment.

Although we may not be told quite so exactly what the target had to say, I am willing to bet that most of the requests that indicate that the employee rebuts the report would be pretty much like what you encountered. But not all MSCs would have given you that much detail.

I have had some email dialog going back and forth with the scheduler. This same employee got shopped last round, and also got not so great reviews. I think their job is on the line. The scheduler said that the client was very happy with my thorough, forthcoming responses that remained objective. It took all I had in me not to respond subjectively!

Good job! You are helping a client improve customer service. I'm proud of them for moving forward to work with correcting poor employee performance and I'm proud of you for objectively providing documentation.

I had a car shop where the salesman went crazy...including driving over 100 mph on an open interstate. When I reported it he denied it. I sent the audio recording of the shop and it was accepted. The joy of living in a single party consent state.

I record everything too and live in a one party state! So far I haven't had to produce any recordings and I usually delete them soon after my shop report is finished but I may have to start uploading them to my computer from my phone.

AustinMom,

Really poor customer service I think should be reported. But I think some clients expect too much sometimes. All the greeting and smiling they expect must be hard for the employees who may deal with hundreds of customers every day. I had a job where I had to answer the phone Good morning/after, the name of the attorney, and say who I was, with a "smile." Most people cut me off at good morning! All they want to know is if they got the right office or not. I couldn't care less if someone kisses my butt while I'm a normal retail customer. Politeness is good enough for me. Anyone who relies on salespeople to make them feel "special" needs therapy, IMO! LOL

The bright side is we get paid to observe employees' compliance or noncompliance with business policies.

I totally agree with you, nyrocks. I think sometimes employers expect way too much .... and sometimes they expect way too little. But I don't get the point you are making relevant to this thread. Are you saying that you believe the company is wrong to follow up on the negative report that dmh426 filed with them? Or that the company should take no action (actually, we don't know whether or not the company is taking action) with an employee based on a shopper's report? dmh was not specific in his post about the "horrible" experience he had, so we don't actually know whether or not we would agree with the horrible-ness or not. dmh did not mention that the visit was "horrible" for him simply because the employee did not smile or was not friendly, although that may have been the case. Did you see something in his post that led you to believe dmh's only complaint was that the employee was not "friendly" to him? If that is the case, I would say the negative report would not be deserved - and all the more reason it would be good for the company to verify the points in dmh's report.

My point is only that, if asked to respond to an employee's answers after making a negative report about that employee, I think dmh was right to respond honestly and objectively to the company's questions. And I think if the report was discussed with the employee, who apparently vehemently disagrees with the report, that the company is behaving in a fair manner by verifying the situation with the shopper.

I actually also don't expect more than politeness from a service person. Whether they smile and act in a friendly manner is actually irrelevant to me, unless the guidelines of an assignment require that it be reported. And then I report it objectively.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2014 10:34PM by AustinMom.

James Bond 007.5 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had a car shop where the salesman went
> crazy...including driving over 100 mph on an open
> interstate. When I reported it he denied it. I
> sent the audio recording of the shop and it was
> accepted. The joy of living in a single party
> consent state.

You could have been killed. That salesman needed shopped, and reported.

I once did a car shop where I did 115 on an open interstate and the saleswoman got pissy that I had to slow down for a car. Not sure what the problem is.

Did anybody have issues with the "Benihana" shops like when the managers fight back the report and you have to provide a lot of back up? They are ridiculous.

I had a shop from Marketforce that I did for them because of the urgency. I got a hefty bonus for it because it was 20 minutes away from me and it was urgent that it needed to be done. I got back the report with multiple questions, then when I answered their questions, I got back more questions, most of which were "are you sure that...". I wrote back a nasty note saying that if I didn't get paid for the report I would send them to the state for fraud. They accepted the report and paid me in full.

If you want to endanger yourself go ahead without the salesman in the car.

That would be something the employee would remember. You must have missed the
memo of the job rules, remain anonymous.....


bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I once did a car shop where I did 115 on an open
> interstate and the saleswoman got pissy that I had
> to slow down for a car. Not sure what the problem
> is.

The saleswoman kept encouraging me to go faster.

Edited to add that apparently you missed the part that you quoted where I said the saleswoman got pissy when I had to slow down.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2014 02:25AM by bgriffin.

This particular company did have a concentration on the friendliness and helpfulness of their staff. The reason I said that my shop was horrible was for numerous reasons, including a conversation the employee had on the phone which was obviously personal (how else would I know her child "Billy" was suspended for bullying and that it was an inconvenience for her to have to take time off from work). This conversation took place while I was trying to ask for a different shoe size. It was actually much longer than that and there were many more details. I also did not appreciate getting "the hand" when I walked up to the counter and she turned around like I wasn't there. She walked away from me to answer her cell phone again after bringing me the wrong shoe size and the wrong shoe! I thought I was on candid camera and that this was a joke it was so bad.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I totally agree with you, nyrocks. I think
> sometimes employers expect way too much .... and
> sometimes they expect way too little. But I don't
> get the point you are making relevant to this
> thread. Are you saying that you believe the
> company is wrong to follow up on the negative
> report that dmh426 filed with them? Or that the
> company should take no action (actually, we don't
> know whether or not the company is taking action)
> with an employee based on a shopper's report? dmh
> was not specific in his post about the "horrible"
> experience he had, so we don't actually know
> whether or not we would agree with the
> horrible-ness or not. dmh did not mention that
> the visit was "horrible" for him simply because
> the employee did not smile or was not friendly,
> although that may have been the case. Did you see
> something in his post that led you to believe
> dmh's only complaint was that the employee was not
> "friendly" to him? If that is the case, I would
> say the negative report would not be deserved -
> and all the more reason it would be good for the
> company to verify the points in dmh's report.
>
> My point is only that, if asked to respond to an
> employee's answers after making a negative report
> about that employee, I think dmh was right to
> respond honestly and objectively to the company's
> questions. And I think if the report was
> discussed with the employee, who apparently
> vehemently disagrees with the report, that the
> company is behaving in a fair manner by verifying
> the situation with the shopper.
>
> I actually also don't expect more than politeness
> from a service person. Whether they smile and act
> in a friendly manner is actually irrelevant to me,
> unless the guidelines of an assignment require
> that it be reported. And then I report it
> objectively.

I was just responding to your statement that dmh246 was helping to improve customer service because what you said made me think about retail employers' customer service expectations. I just felt like venting over some employers' unrealistic expectations for minimum wage fast food workers and thinking, "Oh man, what people have to go through just to have ANY job today!" I didn't mean to connect with dmh246's situation.

It was purely an associative digression on my part.

Dmh246 did the right thing, of course!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2014 05:27AM by nycrocks.

A MSC banned me from a client after giving them my description. There is no way except for timing, that my report would indicate I was the mystery shopper. An unusual occurance occured at the drive in. I could not understand what the cashiier was saying. After a few attempts to give my order I thought the cashier said to move forward. When I got to the window the cashier had no idea why I moved forward without giving an order.

It definitely has happened to me and I have posted about it. As a matter of fact, it happened
not only once. And I am still working actively for the MSCs. They backed me up and asked me to continue mshopping for them. One claimed that the associate provided a lot of 'embellishments' which they did not believe.

The very first one happened when I was a rookie of less than half a year mshopping in my belt. The
MSC suddenly stopped sending me any email. I asked my favourite scheduler. She said the client
strongly demanded that I be removed from their d/base. They very kindly sent me a copy of the letter from the assistant manager who was very upset about the slightly negative report. She accused the
MSC of hiring illiterates who barely spoke English to mshop for them. Granted my companion had a very strong accent, and we belong to minority groups; as professionals, we earn our living with English as our business and personal medium of communication. She claimed we looked like thieves. It was laughable because we just came from work which had strict dress codes.

In my rebuttal, I asked what would the store do if they actually had customers who hardly spoke English, given the fact that Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Would they not sell to them?

We had sold our home and I had a large amount of money to invest temporarily, so I took the bank shops as a learning experience.

I listened intently as the branch manager gave her demonstration, in between her gazing out the window and obviously having other things on her mind. She did not ask me the investment questions, not even hinted at them.

My report was rejected as she claimed she completely covered them. The MSP did not back my report and I didn't get paid.

I mean, why would I lie?

I had responses from a Loehmann's shop years ago where the manager totally lied and disputed most of my report. I stood by everything I had written and suggested they pull the video based on my checkout time. There was a very long wait at the register and she claimed there was no wait at the time I was there. I rechecked my times and they were correct. There was no Fitting Room attendant and she claimed there was one. I never heard back and was paid.

That's why it's always important to report details and facts and then stand by what you've written. I was so thankful the MSC believed me and stood by me. It was an eye opener as I never expected a manager to actually lie over a mystery shopping report... okay I'm a Pollyanna.

James Bond 007.5 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had a car shop where the salesman went
> crazy...including driving over 100 mph on an open
> interstate. When I reported it he denied it. I
> sent the audio recording of the shop and it was
> accepted. The joy of living in a single party
> consent state.

Texas where I am is also a single party consent state so I record with my digital audio recorder. Don't want to get involved in a "he said, she said" conflict and want to stay out of court.

I have and it was basically when the person tried to get out of the trouble they were in. That is why I gladly believe in video. I wish McDonald's would start video shopping. It would cut out a lot of the foolishness they have going on in there.

I audio record everything and have yet to delete any of the recordings in over two years of shopping. I suppose I should start cleaning them out after they are six months old. They're all in folders on my computer by shop date. It's appalling what people will do to hurt others rather than accept responsibility for their own actions. Make excuses if you want, about having a bad day or whatever, but blaming someone else is unconscionable.

Hi dmh426,

Welcome to the forum! It's a great place to learn and ask questions.

I think you did the right thing by responding with more details that essentially backed up your original observations and had the right reaction to the MSCs question. Something similar happened to me once when the MSC asked about the name I reported from a name tag saying that there is no one with that name at the location. Like your situation, I knew when I did the shop that that particular report would get special scrutiny because that employee was observed in conduct that could have placed their job in jeopardy. My response was that I was certain I reported the name on the tag correctly. I also responded that I had no idea what name their real name was or how the name tags are printed. I could only report what I observed. Furthermore, I knew that there were a limited number of employees on duty at the time and my descriptions submitted with the original report and/or videotape could definitely determine who it was. The MSC took that with no further comment and I got paid.

Like you, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth when questioned. At least you had feedback from the MSC and client that complimented your efforts. That's more than I got in my instance. That should leave you with an improved relationship with that company and scheduler. In my opinion, they owe you a favor or two. Hopefully, you can call it in when needed.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2014 03:22PM by vlade5394.

Just thinking out loud here...for those of us with the proper video equipment, and in single party consent states, if we're shopping a location where our reports have been questioned before, might it be worth recording the shop in video? Then, if there are any questions, the video can speak for itself.

I had a McDonalds once where a manager in the back was shouting so loud he could be heard throughout the restaurant. The report was questioned. I sent the audio recording, noting the times where his voice could be heard, and it was accepted.

I, too, have driven over 100 while shopping for cars…. Possibly 120... KM/h! When I first moved to the states I used to have so much fun with my car clocked in klicks. Some unsuspecting passenger would see that I was going 100 in a 65 zone…

Wouldn't it be "refreshing" if the employee said:

"Yes. I ignored the customer (shopper) for a good 10 minutes while I talked on my cell phone with my boyfriend. When the customer (shopper) tried to make eye contact with me, to get my attention, I ignored her and continued talking to my boyfriend. When the customer (shopper) motioned for me now, because she needed help, I told her, "You need to wait!" and I continued to talk on my phone. I eventually hung up the phone and reluctantly waited on the customer (shopper)...