Have you ever "caught" yourself almost making a big mistake?

I was going through my paperwork and realized I stuck the wrong paperwork in the wrong folder, noting the date did not match. I stopped everything, went on-line and indeed had stuck the wrong paperwork (meaning I would have went to the wrong location on the wrong day) in the wrong folder.

Thankfully, I caught it. This is why I go over my paperwork on the night before and make sure everything matches...It was on a day where I had grabbed a bunch of shops and some of these were the same location but set for different days. (This was for one shop only, but I kick myself because it would have caused a problem, you know--as in not getting paid for a dumb mistake).

Have you almost made an error but caught it in time before the shop?

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

I can't say I caught a mistake in time. I actually did a drive in instead of a drive thru and went back to re-do the shop. I went online to do the report and saw my error. I saved and exited and drove like a banchee to do it again!!

I drove a total of 240 miles that day for this one client. My mistake but I corrected it.

I highlight everything to death now with a yellow pen and make sure I'm doing the right shop.

I'm quite sure I have "caught" myself often enough that it no longer is noteworthy to me.

twice i didn't catch myself -- wrong branch once, drive thru instead of walk in once. I couldn't correct the first but the second was in my town and I just went back the next day. Another I "caught" too late, literally, was doing a shop 20 minutes early. I realized it right away but going back right then would have been too much of a tipoff. Who buys $5 worth of gas twice in 20 minutes for the same car?

I've had plenty of "whew! Almost blew that one" moments but since I did catch the error before I made it, I don't remember any specifics.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

@Canuck wrote:

I can't say I caught a mistake in time. I actually did a drive in instead of a drive thru and went back to re-do the shop. I went online to do the report and saw my error. I saved and exited and drove like a banchee to do it again!!

I drove a total of 240 miles that day for this one client. My mistake but I corrected it.

I highlight everything to death now with a yellow pen and make sure I'm doing the right shop.

This happened to me too!

I was eating in the Drive-in and something made me check my paperwork. It said Drive-thru! Awwkk! So, I practically spit my food out, suddenly losing my appetite (lol) and drove out of the location.... I went back and drove through the Drive Thru and the day was saved

I should mention this was a long distance job with a nice bonus. (I had some other shops I routed in the area so I guess I was not paying attention) I felt so bad that I almost messed up the shop! Whew...

I shopped the wrong Turkey Hill and didn't notice it until 10:30pm. Luckily the "right" location was in a town 6 miles away so I shot off a quick email rescinding my email saying I would have to be cancelled and did complete and report it. I was up WAY late that night, but it was my dopey mistake, so all is fair.

Yes, I drove 65 miles one way and caught myself auditing a Dairy Queen when I was supposed to be next door at a McDonald's. I got the McDonald's in the time window by the skin of my teeth.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Hahahaha!!!!!!!!!

I wish I would have caught my mistake. I purchased the wrong tickets during a recent phone shop. $30 out the window.

I'm betting everyone has a story on your question.
I confess I did the drive in instead of the drive thru. I caught it before I left the location thank goodness.

I have never made a mistake. There is no one like me and that is why they call me Lonely. I'm Mr Lonely.

But seriously I recently @#$%& up a shop so bad I had to redo it the next day. I was supposed to hold cash in my hand so the associate would see it and pay in cash. I also was not supposed to purchase a watch band. While I not only paid credit I didn't even take cash. I also purchased you guessed it a watch band. All ended ok I got a 10 on the shop as I re did it correctly. I returned the watch band at a later time.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

I once did a yellow gas station shop (must wear the safety vest) and after finishing it, I went directly across the street and did the Pegasus shop (sans vest).

Upon the reveal at the Pegasus, the attendant asked why I only wore the safety vest at the yellow station and not hers. Obviously, she saw me at the yellow station; hence the 'mystery' portion of the shop was not a 'mystery'.

I said it was not required.

However, I was so distracted that I wrote the same information of the yellow shop on my Pegasus cheatsheet.

Thankfully, I caught it as I was entering the report!

I have caught myself just in the nick of time using an alias that did not reflect my first name or nickname at an apartment shop where my ID would be checked. This is force of habit from doing too many new home and assisted living shops.

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.

@Canuck wrote:

I can't say I caught a mistake in time. I actually did a drive in instead of a drive thru and went back to re-do the shop. I went online to do the report and saw my error. I saved and exited and drove like a banchee to do it again!!

I drove a total of 240 miles that day for this one client. My mistake but I corrected it.

I highlight everything to death now with a yellow pen and make sure I'm doing the right shop.

I got a good laugh reading this post as I sat in the Sonic drive in. Then I drove 80 miles home to enter the report, and, guess what?

What? Do tell?

it was supposed to be a drive through shop. I've done dozens of sonics and never had a drive tbrough before. Had to go back to redo theshop. Must start checking the cpis.

You did good. Going back and doing it again. You will never make that mistake again, like me.

Sure, I have made a few "almost" mistakes.

Forgetting a receipt - and going back in to get it.
Almost bring an "A" package for a PO shop for a "B" shop. Caught that one before getting inside.

Singing up for a shop for Freeman - Not!

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut

I went to the wrong location for a burger shop. Figuring to have just wasted $12, I unwrapped my burger only to find out there were no burgers in it! I went to the counter and asked for a refund. Then I went to the correct location and did my shop.

It was a win-win. I didn't report them and I didn't waste my money.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

@vlade5394 wrote:

Almost bring an "A" package for a PO shop for a "B" shop. Caught that one before getting inside.

Ha! I DID make that same mistake last week. Didn't catch it until I got home to enter the report. DOH

One time I drove 120km away and almost forgot to take a required photo. Another time I caught myself telling the cashier to throw out the receipt.. No wait don't throw that out! I never take receipts when I'm not shopping, horrible habit

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

@mystery2me wrote:

@Canuck wrote:

I can't say I caught a mistake in time. I actually did a drive in instead of a drive thru and went back to re-do the shop. I went online to do the report and saw my error. I saved and exited and drove like a banchee to do it again!!

I drove a total of 240 miles that day for this one client. My mistake but I corrected it.

I highlight everything to death now with a yellow pen and make sure I'm doing the right shop.

I got a good laugh reading this post as I sat in the Sonic drive in. Then I drove 80 miles home to enter the report, and, guess what?

Done a series of shops at Sonic one day, five all total. Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack and then dinner. Two of them I had done a couple of weeks previously. The dinner one was a drive thru. That's the first Sonic I have seen with a drive thru. Didn't catch it till later that night when I was doing the report after they had already closed. I was able to reschedule it for the following Monday. On one of the ones that I had done a couple of weeks previously, I forget to check the bathrooms and they called me on it. As they should have. On another shop, I forgot to check the Meat department; lost that one and the bonus. Maybe I need to actually work up some cheat sheets.

Yes, you do.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

I had to do a reshop because my 13-month-old decided to play with my tablet and managed to check me in at the store I was shopping the next day. Only time I've hated living down the block from that location.

Personally, I've forgotten to get an address photo for an exterior audit I was doing. I reviewed all of my shots before leaving the area, thankfully, so I was able to get it without having to make another 4-hour drive back to the location.

I never caught my mistake in time. I'm the lucky chick that has an extremely understanding scheduler.

Stuck in a one way construction H E double hockey sticks, I called her. Told her what probably happened. Then said, Oh I may get why the other shopper doesn't want to do these locations right now. I was sitting in front of a prison, AGAIN! She just made the shops incomplete so I could fix them when I found a McDonalds.

I digress, tell your scheduler the truth. I sign up for the money, but I definitely will do grunt runs for schedulers that understand; we all make mistakes.

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning; the devil shudders...And yells OH #%*+! SHE'S AWAKE!

I ate my homework before taking the required picture of the meal... Twice. Had to buy it again...

I forgot to visit the washroom of an upscale retail store. It was specifically stated in the Guidelines. It was a purchase and return. I thought I would go back but there was no time. I decided to own up to my mistake when I made the report. I completed the report, but guess what? There was not a single question regarding the washroom. I decided not to mention it in the summary. I got 10!

Early on I did fast food shops and threw out the receipts, had to do them all over again.

I've had to go back and take more photos. Even when it's a revealed audit, I always manage to get those surreptitiously so I don't appear idiotic.

Recently I did three bank shops where I thought I was supposed to do overdraft protection but turned out they were supposed to be credit cards. Came up with a valid excuse why I was returning to each branch within an hour for more info.... and all three bankers were at lunch and I got new people at each one. Whew.

When I accept shops, I enter them immediately in Google Calendar with times and addresses and variations (Phone, Drive Thru, Combo, Audit, etc...) and double-check before going in. On busy days, I print everything out the night before.

I took a last minute shop today and needed to rush to do it before dark. I knew in advance it was probably closed, but was asked to go anyhow and take a pic to confirm. I walked off without my purse and phone, which would have been an issue if the store was open (purchase required). Thank goodness I keep a cheap, spare camera in my glove box so I was still able to get the pictures to prove the location was closed.

@bluejacket636 wrote:

When I accept shops, I enter them immediately in Google Calendar with times and addresses and variations (Phone, Drive Thru, Combo, Audit, etc...) and double-check before going in. On busy days, I print everything out the night before.

Exactly what I do.

In the notes section of the event, I put in the MSC, the name and phone number of the person I'm meeting with if it's an appointment type of visit, the salient points from the guidelines, and anything else that I need to know. Then when I'm conducting the assignment, I edit the event to enter times, names, descriptions, etc that are necessary for the report. Smartphones are just the best thing since sliced bread.

I went to one special event where the entrance fees, dinner for two and parking fees were reimbursed. There was also a fee for the shop. Although I read the whole Guidelines, I completely forgot that I had to know the name of a cleaning staff. I could not believe it. I knew everyone's name but the cleaner's. Who bothers with a cleaner when you are going to a show?

I asked my companion if he encountered a cleaner as I did not see any. He said he saw a cleaner in the washroom and described him to me in detail. He said he did not have a badge and he did not ask his name. Saved by the bell! I wrote it on the report and I was full paid for the shop. I was so thankful because that was my very first shop for that MSC which proved to have interesting shops.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Have you ever "caught" yourself almost making a big mistake?

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine