You are all awful people
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Are we all a little full of ourselves? Is there no possibility that we, in our mere human condition, missed something? Could an editor have made an inadvertent error in the improvement of our work which caused "our" report to be different than what actually happened?
If this ever happens, and according to some posts here it does, then we do need forgiveness.
Maybe we all need a little forgiveness, after all. Just sayin'...
If this ever happens, and according to some posts here it does, then we do need forgiveness.
Maybe we all need a little forgiveness, after all. Just sayin'...
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
No reputable employer fires on the basis of ONE negative phone shop report, unless there was clear (recorded) evidence of lying or discriminatory conduct. So, if the OP's story is as told, the problem is with the personnel policies of that employer. Even if an editor screwed up the report, it should not have resulted in a firing offence as far as I can determine. Ergo, neither the shopper, alone nor the editor alone should have caused the employee to be fired by a reputable employer.
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.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
I mean, did she actually get fired though? She does say “I’m a hardworking, loyal employee” which leads me to believe she still has her job.
She also doesn’t say the shop reported the interaction incorrectly, or that any part of the report was false.
This sounds like an employee who felt embarrassed & belittled by her boss, so she is now taking it out on the mystery shopper... rather than working with her boss, or taking the opportunity to look at what she did wrong.
She also doesn’t say the shop reported the interaction incorrectly, or that any part of the report was false.
This sounds like an employee who felt embarrassed & belittled by her boss, so she is now taking it out on the mystery shopper... rather than working with her boss, or taking the opportunity to look at what she did wrong.
Cut out all the "we" crap. The OP had a problem with one mystery shopper and one report. Instead of putting on his big boy panties and dealing with his own employer he chose to go off on an uninformed tirade against thousands of people. You also seem to be missing all the holes in the story which means it is fabricated anyway. "We" deserve an apology. .
@Shop-et-al wrote:
Are we all a little full of ourselves? Is there no possibility that we, in our mere human condition, missed something?
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.
"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.
Thanks for additional information. Now we know that we are full of ourselves and some of us are defensive and in attack mode. We all are subjected to the same possibilities of error by ourselves or by others, whether we acknowledge it or not. It is at least a little callous-- and possibly awful-- not to care about any unintended results of our efforts which have harmed or might do harm in future.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
First off, as many have said, it is much harder for us, as mystery shoppers, to write a negative report than it is a positive one. We like when things go smoothly and the employee does everything right, it makes our job easier.
Use this as a learning experience and be prepared. In a company I used to work for, if our branch had a very bad shop, we would be shopped again, very soon. Brush up on what you did incorrectly, so you will be prepared for the future.
Good luck to you.
Use this as a learning experience and be prepared. In a company I used to work for, if our branch had a very bad shop, we would be shopped again, very soon. Brush up on what you did incorrectly, so you will be prepared for the future.
Good luck to you.
Forgiveness for someone that calls us awful....assuming is not truth, take OP for what he is saying, not putting your words in his mouth.@Shop-et-al wrote:
Are we all a little full of ourselves? Is there no possibility that we, in our mere human condition, missed something? Could an editor have made an inadvertent error in the improvement of our work which caused "our" report to be different than what actually happened?
If this ever happens, and according to some posts here it does, then we do need forgiveness.
Maybe we all need a little forgiveness, after all. Just sayin'...
Live consciously....
You do realize Charles Manson died today? I am in mourning, please be more sensitive to my grieving process.
I am almost positive that he is wondering around in outer darkness and recruiting people for his new cult.
Don't want to give the devil my time....
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2017 08:17PM by Irene_L.A..
Live consciously....
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2017 08:17PM by Irene_L.A..
Agreed, Positive reports are so much easier to write.
But we are most certainly not all awful. We try to be objective, and I am sure for the vast majority of us, we delight in giving the 'propers' when the employees do their jobs correctly. I was vastly impressed by a certain gas station that I had noticed had really cleaned up their collective act, in both facility and customer service, and wrote an absolutely glowing report last week. That young lady will be glowing all week when she hears how she performed.
See, it swings both ways, this mystery shopping on your end. This time you did not fare so well, but now you know what to do next time. If you hear those weird circuitous queries, and trust me, we know they can be weird sometimes, smile and say 'I got this' inwardly and nail it.
But we are most certainly not all awful. We try to be objective, and I am sure for the vast majority of us, we delight in giving the 'propers' when the employees do their jobs correctly. I was vastly impressed by a certain gas station that I had noticed had really cleaned up their collective act, in both facility and customer service, and wrote an absolutely glowing report last week. That young lady will be glowing all week when she hears how she performed.
See, it swings both ways, this mystery shopping on your end. This time you did not fare so well, but now you know what to do next time. If you hear those weird circuitous queries, and trust me, we know they can be weird sometimes, smile and say 'I got this' inwardly and nail it.
I rarely open Member Introductions and never open DavePi's posts. Having some time to kill and reading the above 45 posts re-enforces my judgement.
Noticing the title on this thread..... That's exactly what I tell my calculus students about myself - just before assigning homework or announcing a test.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.
Sho-et, what are you asking forgiveness for, please don't encourage OP, what are you sorry for, doing your job.
Making business better is what we're doing or trying to do, sometimes it works. I went into this as it gives me purpose. I've always loved Independent business in all forms.....we all work honestly, what the heck is the OP really talking about, and you all know this is a one time pony, to take OP seriously is in itself a joke. My human side says just feel sorry for the person, my MS side says, someone that only needs to be heard, no substance..
Apology, kiss my....whoops, it's a holiday, i promised I wouldn't swear.
Making business better is what we're doing or trying to do, sometimes it works. I went into this as it gives me purpose. I've always loved Independent business in all forms.....we all work honestly, what the heck is the OP really talking about, and you all know this is a one time pony, to take OP seriously is in itself a joke. My human side says just feel sorry for the person, my MS side says, someone that only needs to be heard, no substance..
Apology, kiss my....whoops, it's a holiday, i promised I wouldn't swear.
Live consciously....
Or, we can agree quickly with our adversary and move things along so that we can avoid being bogged down in issues... It is just another way. 
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
@goodhonestperson wrote:
You fall prey to this capitalist system that pits brother against brother
You wanna live in socialism, see how you like Venezuela or North Korea.
A lot of aspects of MS do bother me. Many times we waste staff's time when we have no intention of buying. I dislike the idea of reporting someone who was perfectly friendly and helpful because they didn't thank me at a specific point. I detest shops with "scenarios" that require me to put on an act, so I avoid them. I have a lot of complaints about the industry from my own perspective, and how it's a pain in the ass with little reward, which is why I'm cutting back.
I'm sure if OP were actually fired or even put on some kind of probation, s/he would have said so. So probably it was just some harsh feedback. I feel kind of badly that some people here would not feel some empathy toward him or her. Everyone can have an off day. I think it's worthwhile for OP to listen to the call if it was recorded.
I have never worked in a job where my behavior was clandestinely tested, nor would I want to. I would probably feel the same way as OP, minus the capitalism stuff. And if I owned a store or restaurant, I would not hire mystery shoppers.
If I owned a business I would use mystery shoppers, buy I would train them myself.
@ShopWhisperer wrote:
@goodhonestperson wrote:
You fall prey to this capitalist system that pits brother against brother
You wanna live in socialism, see how you like Venezuela or North Korea.
A lot of aspects of MS do bother me. Many times we waste staff's time when we have no intention of buying. I dislike the idea of reporting someone who was perfectly friendly and helpful because they didn't thank me at a specific point. I detest shops with "scenarios" that require me to put on an act, so I avoid them. I have a lot of complaints about the industry from my own perspective, and how it's a pain in the ass with little reward, which is why I'm cutting back.
I'm sure if OP were actually fired or even put on some kind of probation, s/he would have said so. So probably it was just some harsh feedback. I feel kind of badly that some people here would not feel some empathy toward him or her. Everyone can have an off day. I think it's worthwhile for OP to listen to the call if it was recorded.
I have never worked in a job where my behavior was clandestinely tested, nor would I want to. I would probably feel the same way as OP, minus the capitalism stuff. And if I owned a store or restaurant, I would not hire mystery shoppers.
If I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing, even if it is an off moment, and someone reports me to my supervisor it's basically the same thing and it's perfectly logical that I should be called on it. If I go to the person's 'house' or 'place of business' or 'forum' where they gather and complain to them that they shouldn't be telling my boss that I didn't say thank you or I asked "Anything else?" 5 times in a row then that is a reason to rumble!
I recently completed a restaurant shop. It was for a older pizza chain where I supposed to order a personal sized pizza and 1 soda to dine in. Okay, here's what went wrong. After I paid for my order, I asked for the receipt. The cashier informed me that she threw away my receipt. She then fished it out of the trash can and checked to see if it was mine. She handed the receipt to me from the trash can. I received my personal sized pizza after 35 minutes with no explanation or apology offered or offered to check on my order. Of course, I just sat there and took my lumps in order to observe what else that needed attention. If I was the owner/manager, I would like to know how often similar situations had occurred.
Why do you need a mystery shopper to learn this? If you were the manager, maybe you should be in the restaurant a little more, observing. I have been to some restaurants dozens of times without ever seeing a manager.
Maybe have other ways of determining how long a pizza takes, not difficult to do. This just luckily happened to a mystery shopper. If you were not a MSer, you could complained to a manager, or posted this on Yelp, or taken the survey on the back of your receipt, called the customer service number, etc. And if a customer doesn't take the time to give feedback, it probably doesn't bother them much.
I did a coffee shop where I had to ask for dark roast, which needed to be brewed. The guy then forgot my drink and it took like 13 minutes after I finally had to go ask for it. I guess you'd want to know that happened if you were the boss, but it really only happened *because* I was a MSer. In reality a real customer would have either taken what was available or not waited so long because they aren't trying to be inconspicuous; moreover they aren't timing the guy. A lot of the things that matter to corporate are not the things that customers care about.
Maybe have other ways of determining how long a pizza takes, not difficult to do. This just luckily happened to a mystery shopper. If you were not a MSer, you could complained to a manager, or posted this on Yelp, or taken the survey on the back of your receipt, called the customer service number, etc. And if a customer doesn't take the time to give feedback, it probably doesn't bother them much.
I did a coffee shop where I had to ask for dark roast, which needed to be brewed. The guy then forgot my drink and it took like 13 minutes after I finally had to go ask for it. I guess you'd want to know that happened if you were the boss, but it really only happened *because* I was a MSer. In reality a real customer would have either taken what was available or not waited so long because they aren't trying to be inconspicuous; moreover they aren't timing the guy. A lot of the things that matter to corporate are not the things that customers care about.
@ShopWhisperer
The client is the middle and upper management and part of what they want to know is if the manager on site is doing his/her job well. A manager is largely judged by the performance if his/her employees: Did s/he train them well? Does s/he have high standards? Does s/he deal with issues that arise appropriately? Etc. Moreover, some of the locations being shopped are franchises and the corporate office has a need to know if the individual franchise owners are doing right by their branch.
The higher level management cannot physically check every location - otherwise, they would need a whole lot more highly paid executives needing travel expenses,etc. Instead, they hire folks like us to be their eyes and ears. Moreover, if they were to visit a particular location, everybody would be on their very best behavior. The client wants to know how the stores are doing when they are not being watched by "the boss."
If I owned a single store, I would not need mystery shoppers and I would always be there. If I owned a thousand stores, I would likely use a mystery shopping program.
The client is the middle and upper management and part of what they want to know is if the manager on site is doing his/her job well. A manager is largely judged by the performance if his/her employees: Did s/he train them well? Does s/he have high standards? Does s/he deal with issues that arise appropriately? Etc. Moreover, some of the locations being shopped are franchises and the corporate office has a need to know if the individual franchise owners are doing right by their branch.
The higher level management cannot physically check every location - otherwise, they would need a whole lot more highly paid executives needing travel expenses,etc. Instead, they hire folks like us to be their eyes and ears. Moreover, if they were to visit a particular location, everybody would be on their very best behavior. The client wants to know how the stores are doing when they are not being watched by "the boss."
If I owned a single store, I would not need mystery shoppers and I would always be there. If I owned a thousand stores, I would likely use a mystery shopping program.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.
@prince
You would personally train all the mystery shoppers needed to check all your businesses' stores nationwide? How would you have time to actually run the business? We exist because what we are doing is valued by corporate executives and they do not have the time to do it themselves - and still run the business. Moreover, we can do it for far less money than they could.
You would personally train all the mystery shoppers needed to check all your businesses' stores nationwide? How would you have time to actually run the business? We exist because what we are doing is valued by corporate executives and they do not have the time to do it themselves - and still run the business. Moreover, we can do it for far less money than they could.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.
I'd never own more than one local shop; if I were ever to own any business at all.
@MFJohnston wrote:
@prince
You would personally train all the mystery shoppers needed to check all your businesses' stores nationwide? How would you have time to actually run the business? We exist because what we are doing is valued by corporate executives and they do not have the time to do it themselves - and still run the business. Moreover, we can do it for far less money than they could.
Why not, Prince? There's a couple here who started out with one McD. Now they own 14 in the area, all profitable. Being the boss is the way to go.
"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams
If I was a regular customer and complained to the manager, it would not be noted through corporate/headquarters. Since it was reported to the MSC's client, they would probably look into the situation more closely since it was a franchise location. If you had the right staff to handle the location, there shouldn't be any issues. Many factors are considered when corporate/headquarters look at their overall sales figures. 1) they want to know why this location was lacking in sales compared to other nearby locations. 2) was the staff friendly and helpful? 3) did the customer receive their orders in a timely manner? 4) was the staff attentive?
I did a bank shop when I overheard the bank manager speaking to the assistant bank manager and was talking about their latest mystery shop report. The bank manager wanted to go over the report to see what they needed to improve on to get all high scores on their next report. Of course I didn't include that information in my report but waiting to see what the banker would do on her interaction with me.
I did a bank shop when I overheard the bank manager speaking to the assistant bank manager and was talking about their latest mystery shop report. The bank manager wanted to go over the report to see what they needed to improve on to get all high scores on their next report. Of course I didn't include that information in my report but waiting to see what the banker would do on her interaction with me.
Sounds like a lot of work!
@iShop123 wrote:
Why not, Prince? There's a couple here who started out with one McD. Now they own 14 in the area, all profitable. Being the boss is the way to go.
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