I know this topic has been brought up before, but I had some good ones back-to-back in only a few hours.

-Checked into the hotel. Everything's great. Call the front desk to ask for a light bulb replacement because the lamp is burned out (it isn't).
-Would rather be absent from the silliness of maintenance man coming to exchange one perfectly working light bulb for another, so get ready to go out to dinner.
-Call the restaurant. Navigate touch-tone menu past where it says "Press 2 to make a reservation" and press 4 to speak with a person. Ask them if they take reservations. They try to be patient, but I can tell they think I have brain damage.
-Arrive at restaurant which is 10% full, with empty tables everywhere you look, and insist on telling them I made reservations, as if it mattered. I could have brought thirty people to this place and gotten seated immediately.
-Go back to hotel. Lamp in question is blazing forth in righteous illumination. Call front desk again to ask for wake-up call. Same guy I talked to about the light bulb. Ask for 7 am wake-up call. Nice guy; doesn't say, "Hey, genius, if you look at the phone you're speaking on right now, there's a huge sign on it saying, 'AUTOMATED WAKE-UP CALLS: DIAL *33.' See that huge black box right next to it? That's an alarm clock. It works perfectly, but if you want I'll have maintenance bring you up another one."

Oh well--it's what the client wants, so it's what we do. I followed the instructions exactly, and got a perfect score on my report. I know you guys have got some good stories too, so let's hear them.

Some people don't like automated systems. Many people don't. I'm fairly young and a former IT professional. Now I stay in 100 or so hotels a year. I get a wake up call 90% of the time and have never hit the automated wake up call button. I always call the front desk and ask for one. I would have done the same making dinner reservations.

Also a burned out bulb is the absolute WORST. Next time disconnect the chain from the flapper in your toilet and complain that it won't flush.

I guess for the lightbulb you have to bring a dead one with you...or maybe if you loosen in enough it will go out..or unplug a lamp.

one of my favorites is the grocery store where you have to put an item on the shelf under the cart....and often you only have a few items in the cart itself....it makes no sense

The light bulb was one of those fluorescent bar types. I loosened it so the light wouldn't come on before calling.
I always use the alarm clock. I just don't see many people actually calling the front desk for a wake-up call when you have that, the automated option, or for 95% of us, an alarm on your phone. BTW, the wake-up call I received was automated and came at 7:13 am instead of 7:00. Looks like even if you call the desk, that's what you get anyway.

My excuse is "I'm sorry, I'm old and forgetful. Thank you for helping me."

pinchers,
I think that you are over thinking this. I have done tons of hotel shops over 10 years and it was never the wake-up call that tripped me up the one time that I was identified as a shopper. The client wants to know how the many, many guests who use a live operator for requests that "could have been" handled by an automated system are treated. If the employees who answer the phones shared your attitude they wouldn't work there for long. These hotel clients want to know how the HUMAN service works.

Also, try to avoid the light bulb ploy unless you actually remove the light bulb and hide it. The flapper chain, loose toilet seat, sliding/folding door off its rail and the pixalated/missing TV picture scenarios are pretty reliable. Also, it helps to carry a multi-purpose, folding hand tool to unscrew the back of the remote control or loosen a hinge on a cabinet door, etc, to expand your repertoire of mechanical needs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2015 04:33PM by walesmaven.

If the restaurant is nearly empty, I still have no problem mentioning my reservation. I just tell them to cross me off the list so they know I actually showed up.

@walesmaven wrote:

pinchers,
I think that you are over thinking this. I have done tons of hotel shops over 10 years and it was never the wake-up call that tripped me up the one time that I was identified as a shopper.

I hear you. I'm not worried about shopper detection; I wasn't discovered here and I doubt that I ever have been. I would think that as far as the hotel staff was concerned, my performance was more that of the average Joe who is less travel-savvy than myself. The purpose of this thread was just to share funny things that I wouldn't really do when calling a restaurant or front desk IRL.

Good idea about the other maintenance requests. I'll be using some of those.

From the freak people i see irl, there are no normal customers.

I don't know, most of these things don't seem out of place. As a regular guest (not a shopper), I've called maintenance if there was a burned out light bulb. Hotel rooms are usually pretty dark, so I need all the lamps on at times. I've also called to request a wake-up call to a live person as opposed to an automated system. Mentioning that you have a dinner reservation simply means that you showed up and can be crossed off their reservation list. I'm doing a hotel shop tonight and have no qualms about these kinds of scenarios.

I prefer that they limit the number of security tests in an extended stay hotel, like Homewood Suites, especially if you are only scheduled to be in the hotel for 12-18 hours max. The security guard one is okay, if they have guard, the front desk one is okay, but you need to spread them out. But in an extended stay hotel they might have only a couple housekeepers and they may not be on your floor or in your building (Residence Inn). I have stayed until noon time trying to find a housekeeper (with no luck), then I get a note from the MSP that they will decline the shop if I miss the housekeeper again. If there is no housekeeper, there is no housekeeper.

I think the asking for a itemized receipt for a small coffee and pastry purchase when the credit card receipt is provided is odd, yesterday right away the cashier then asked me if I had the loyalty card... she must have felt she just got shopped.

It's really not odd if you're on an expense account. I travel for one company that wants an itemized receipt for every reimbursable purchase, even when the meal is at my hotel and will be on the portfolio.

@aayaey wrote:

I think the asking for a itemized receipt for a small coffee and pastry purchase when the credit card receipt is provided is odd, yesterday right away the cashier then asked me if I had the loyalty card... she must have felt she just got shopped.

I would possibly disagree. If businessperson asks for a receipt for tax purposes, or for the work reimbursement (meaning not mystery shopping), chances are they travel a lot, or stop at those locations on a regular basis, they may have the loyalty card. If those people don't have the loyalty card, then they should open one.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2015 09:29PM by Kakita987.

Well pinchers you gave me a good laugh! Thanks for that! I needed one today! I really thought it was funny to insist you have reservations when the dining room was 10% full!

I love this topic. There are so many requirements that I think totally give away mystery shoppers. Some of my favorites are below.
- I have a friend that used to work in property management. She says that they ALWAYS knew that they were being shopped when a potential tenant would ask a Fair Housing question. I've tried all kinds of crazy things to avoid asking this question.
- There's a shop in my area for parking structures right next to the baseball stadium. The MSC wants you to go to these lots on an at-home gameday, pull up to the ticket person, and tell them that you don't have any money. Come. On. The signs advertising the $30 price to park in the lot could not possibly be any larger. Who in the world would pull up to that structure, blocking all traffic into the lot, knowing FULL WELL how much it costs, and say, "duhh. . . it costs to park here? I don't have any money." No way.
- I've done a couple of shops using the Ground Control app. *sigh* Both times, it was CLEAR that the person who wrote the tasks has very little knowledge of the stores. One of the shops required that I ask for a specific shirt in a very specific fit and size. Of course, I couldn't find it in the store, so I asked an associate. He immediately gave me a very "knowing" look, while saying, "yeahhhh. . . that shirt doesn't come in that fit. . ." So I just know that isn't the first time he's got that stupid question. On another GC shop, there were a bunch of tasks to time other customers doing certain transactions. Well, the way that the restaurant is set-up, there's no way to see all of these transactions from one seat. So, I got more than a few strange looks from employees as I moved to 5 different tables during a one hour period, for better sight lines.

Good times. . .

I do not find any of the op's scenarios to be odd. If I were to stay in a pricey hotel I would be upset if they did not offer these services. I can understand a hotel that is 59.99 a night not doing the mentioned requirements but what else am I paying extra for other than getting a human to help out when needed? And in fact that in a nutshell is why I do not stay in more expensive places if I can help it. For the extra price savings I do not mind setting my own alarm.
And the not having money when leaving a parking lot whether the parking charge is $2 or $30? Really, if I saw that job I would add it to my 10 foot pole list. Unless the fee was $100 I will leave that scenario to someone else.
Now I will have to think of the weird ones I have come across but I do not find the hotel ones obvious you are a shopper at all. Some of you might find the ones I find unrealistic to be very realistic.

Well, tonight at the hotel I had to take out a battery from the television remote control, and call maintenance. Te problem is, the screw for the battery cover is a kind that takes a special tool to unscrew. I even brought my teeny tiny eyeglass screwdriver and it didn't work. It's a round type of screw. Crap. Instead, I unplugged the cord and played stupid. Anyone else have this type of issue with the hotel remote controls?

Love your lightbulb story. A few days ago did a hotel. I had to request an extra blanket. Outside temps 95. I had to look at the floor when I talked to the desk person.

Funny thing is I wouldn't consider that odd. So many people like a room to be really cold when they sleep. Since hotel thermostats are so bad, rather than get up and down it would be easier to have an extra blanket if the setting ended up too cold.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Funny thing is I wouldn't consider that odd. So many people like a room to be really cold when they sleep. Since hotel thermostats are so bad, rather than get up and down it would be easier to have an extra blanket if the setting ended up too cold.

Totally agree. I bet you wouldn't have to be a hotel employee for long before you had some crazy, whack-a-doodle stories about nutty people. The lady who wanted an extra blanket in July in Dallas probably wouldn't even crack the top 500.

But I love hearing the awkward stories, keep 'em coming! I saw a shop for a high end restaurant where they wanted you to send a food item back... that would feel awkward to me. Anyone have to do that? I would feel terrible making up something wrong with the food item, but again, I'm sure the employees get food sent back all the time and would barely blink.

@aayaey wrote:

I think the asking for a itemized receipt for a small coffee and pastry purchase when the credit card receipt is provided is odd, yesterday right away the cashier then asked me if I had the loyalty card... she must have felt she just got shopped.

My job requires all itemized receipts to prove I did not buy alcohol or any other non-approved items. My phrase at all stores is "The boss needs an itemized receipt so he knows what I bought" and that works pretty well.

@pinchers81 wrote:

I always use the alarm clock. I just don't see many people actually calling the front desk for a wake-up call when you have that, the automated option, or for 95% of us, an alarm on your phone. BTW, the wake-up call I received was automated and came at 7:13 am instead of 7:00. Looks like even if you call the desk, that's what you get anyway.

And see I actually think using the alarm clock is probably very odd, especially from the number I see that are either not plugged in or do not have the correct time. It takes longer to figure out how to set an alarm on an alarm clock you are not used to than it does to call the front desk. You are correct that an overwhelming majority now use a phone, however there are many, many people (like me) who use 2 alarms. I almost always have a cell phone alarm and wake up call set 5 minutes apart.

Also, it really isn't odd. I can't tell you how many times I've been checking into a hotel and someone calls for a wake up call. A fairly significant amount of time they write it down instead of entering it into the system. Almost always they have a long list of wake up call requests.

Making a simple deposit with no conversation and having to ask for the teller's name at the end.

@Marj1912 wrote:

Love your lightbulb story. A few days ago did a hotel. I had to request an extra blanket. Outside temps 95. I had to look at the floor when I talked to the desk person.

Looking down is sign of guilt.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2015 01:47PM by MSNinja.

@bgriffin wrote:

You are correct that an overwhelming majority now use a phone, however there are many, many people (like me) who use 2 alarms. I almost always have a cell phone alarm and wake up call set 5 minutes apart.

AGREE. two is better than one. failure happens all the time.

I say my husband is on a budgeting kick and wants me to justify ALL my purchases, or the accountant has asked me to do the same thing.

@siamese5555 wrote:

My job requires all itemized receipts to prove I did not buy alcohol or any other non-approved items. My phrase at all stores is "The boss needs an itemized receipt so he knows what I bought" and that works pretty well.

New shoppers: help us all out by ALWAYS asking for a receipt, even when not on the job. The more accustomed the employees are to lots of receipt requests, the better for us!

The only place I don't ask for a receipt is Starbucks when I use my card because there is a record of my purchases and only when I'm not being reimbursed. If a company is reimbursing expenses I get a paper receipt.

Sometimes I think the people in Home Depot must be shaking their heads, "That crazy woman NEVER remembers her wallet."