Photographic evidence

I went on a shop recently where I had to check the bathroom. This particular bathroom needed a good scrubbing. The toilet had rim stains and a few other bits. The back up roll of paper toweling was in a vertical holder on the floor. The corners and edges of the floor were covered with grime and dust. The drinking fountains were really bad. There were dried goober spots, green around the drain, and lots of water lines in the basin. I took pictures of it all.

Question: Is it okay to take photos even if they don't ask us to do it?

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I can say I've done it if I couldn't be seen doing it. I've offered the evidence but was never taken up on it.

The time that stands out in my mind was a BJ's where there were cockroaches everywhere. The MSC that had the account at the time did not care.

These days now that I have thousands of shops under my belt, I'm less likely to do it unless I know it is a picky client who will challenge me. But once I quit working for the MSC that used to have BJ's, I don't think I have ever been challenged on another report. That particular MSC seems to have its share of "picky clients," or perhaps, anal retentive reviewers who don't want to submit a bad report.

If it was convenient I would take photos that I would intend to share only if questions arose. So lets say that the questionnaire asks, "Was the restroom clean and fresh?". That would be an obvious 'no'. "Was it well supplied?" Now you need to decide whether the backup roll of toweling on the floor was part of 'well supplied' or 'clean and fresh'. If there was toweling in the holder and soap and tissue, I would say 'yes' to 'well supplied'.

The shop goes through with no problems, my photos are useless. The location contests your claim that their restroom was not clean, you supply the photos of the grime including the towels on the floor.

As a generic set of criteria, for me if a restroom is basically okay, it is okay. I don't expect perfection, though I am delighted to see it when it is there and will comment on it if there is the possibility. If a restroom is grubby and trashed, it is a 'no'. If it is gross, I would take pictures if possible.

Customers take photos of anything and everything these days so I always feel free to snap off a few shots.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2015 05:37PM by Flash.

I often take photos of things to back up my report if things are really gross. Also if it's something somewhat unusual that the client OR MS company could bicker about to try to get out of paying for the shop. Last winter was a doozy with cold temperatures off the charts (we're looking at wind chill of 40 below zero) and not surprisingly all windshield washer fluid was frozen solid at the gas stations. I snapped extra photos just in case because the seashore people did indeed argue the point that it couldn't possibly have been frozen solid.

Disgusting bathrooms are also things I will photograph even if not required.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain

I ALWAYS take photos of something that I think is an issue, just in case I need to back up my report with a recalcitrant editor. If you didn't take 'em, you're S.O.L.

Kona Kathie

Similar experience to whiterosie: I shopped a pub-style restaurant in Tennessee where the dining room was immaculate, but the restrooms would absolutely turn your stomach. As horrible as the men's room was, the ladies' was even worse: my wife texted me a photo of a gigantic cockroach twitching on its back in the middle of the floor.
I described the conditions in the report, and when I got to the cockroach, I added, "Photo of this is available upon request." They never asked for it or said anything about it. It wasn't the same MSC who shops BJ's, but they evidently took me at my word. The client either did the same, or already knew they didn't have a leg to stand on.

"The future ain't what it used to be." --Yogi Berra

Kinda like that cockroach.

@pinchers81 wrote:

they didn't have a leg to stand on.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

The pest control folks say your roach poison is the correct strength if they die on their back but people and pets should be cautious if it is strong enough they die with their feet still on the floor.

It was the size of a football.

"The future ain't what it used to be." --Yogi Berra

I have on occasion. Like one time, I did a Five Guys and the burger was about medium/medium-well. I like my burgers like that, but we all know the client expects burgers to be cooked fully. I took a picture of the inside of the burger when I got to my car so I'd have proof, just in case the MSC/client challenged me.

Likewise, this is why I always audio record my shops, as long as I'm in a single party consent state. And yes, I have had to provide the recording on one occasion to prove what a car salesman said and did.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei

I always take a picture of a disgusting bathroom. I may not need it, but i'd rather not need it than need it and not have it.

This came up just last night. My normal shop drag along does not read the shop instructions and I usually just give her the ordering requirements and tell her what my entree will be so she knows not to order that item. Since I'm writing the report, I always get first pick on the menu.

I have told her to take photo's in the past and she snapped a photo of a small feminine waste basket that was disgusting. She has shown me photos of the ladies room that make the men's room appear not so bad. I always assumed that the mens room would always be worse, but when I'm writing the reports, on average the ladies room is more likely to be messed up then the mens. And the worst things I have reported about the RR have always ended up being up being in the ladies room. I think it has something to do with squatting over the seat, where men will lay down a few pieces of TP and sit down if they must.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2015 05:47PM by scanman1.

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