cubbiecat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> nycrocks Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I would never say anything to an MSC about
> > thinking you may have been outed as a shopper,
> > unless you are flat out asked if you're a
> shopper.
>
> Even if they flat out ask, I would look puzzled,
> say no and ask them what a "mysterious" shopper
> is. I would definitely not report it to the msc.
Of course, I would never admit while on a shop that I was mystery shopping. That's MS 101.
It only happened to me once that an employee accused me, and I screwed myself because the shop required a pre-visit call and appointment and I forgot to hide my caller ID on my cell phone. The number was already in the computer system at the gym since I'd shopped 3 other locations previously and had to give out some contact info. The employee got my number from his caller ID and looked my number up in the system. When I arrived, I gave an alias name, and he asked almost immediately if I was a shopper and said he'd found my number and threw my own name in my face! LOL I was mortified but I kept my cool. I just denied that I was who that number belonged to and the employee gave me the gym tour anyway. I was fairly new to MS when this happened and have learned a lot since then. Now I have 3 extra Google voice phone numbers and email addresses, several aliases, and I keep track of which ones I use, and I block my caller ID whenever possible. I did report what happened to the scheduler right after the shop, and I got paid by the MSC anyway, at their expense, which is probably pretty rare, and I didn't have to do the report. The scheduler said, had I sent the report and if it came back to them that I'd been recognized by the employee as a shopper then I'd never have been able to work for that client again.
You run a risk by not telling, as well as telling the scheduler. If an employee tells their boss, "I thought she was a mystery shopper and I said so at the time," what would happen? I feel it's better to forfeit just the shop pay (if necessary) than lose all future opportunities to make money from the client. I haven't been back to any of the gym's locations since then, but only because I think it's too much work for the pay. I guess I'd feel it out and then make my decision.
I sent one of my friends to this MSC and she did some of the same gym shops. She was identified even though she said she wasn't ever accused at the time, and she couldn't do any more shops for the client. I wonder if she didn't hide her caller ID too on a 3rd or 4th shop. These particular gym employees are very savvy at checking on phone numbers to see if someone has been to the gym at any of their locations before. Maybe they do it because people try to get multiple guest passes when they're not entitled to them, rather than checking to see who's a shopper. Or maybe not -- because out of 4 shops I did for this client, this was the only one where the employee looked up my cell number.
Personally, I think any employee who outs a shopper during the interaction or to their employer should be penalized in some way by their employer. They are told they will be shopped and should be told not to question anyone they suspect, because if they are wrong, it's bad customer service to be confrontational! But since the client doesn't lose anything except a little time in getting the employee evaluated by another shopper, they don't care about getting a shopper banned for being called out, and the client gets a free report on the employee who cries "shopper" that they claim they can't use and don't have to pay for. So it's a win-win for the client, as long as the MSC can supply someone else. Pretty crappy all around for the shopper!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2014 12:58AM by nycrocks.