Just curious - does anyone else ever do this?? Sometimes when I'm in the store just making my regular personal purhases, I catch myself making a mental note of the description of the cashier, the cleanliness of the restroom, etc. Then I have to remind myself . . .I'm not here MSing!!! I can't be the only one who does this - AM I ??

Yup Seriously you probably aren't. When I'm off the clock I don't notice anything!

I just returned from Vegas, and the shuttle driver was so exceptional,
I wanted to write about him, but he wasn't my evaluation. I do look at
my watch to see how long it took to bring my meal...kinda in my blood.

The busdriver never takes a vacation, he doesn't want to drive, the builder
never completes his own house, so, I'm not going to work when I'm not, my
new resolution.

What I should have written is that I catch myself doing this but wish I wasn't in the habit of always evaluating when I dont need to be!!!

Sometimes I wish I was evaluating if it's bad customer service.

Yep, I do it too!

sun&fun Wrote:
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> Just curious - does anyone else ever do this??
> Sometimes when I'm in the store just making my
> regular personal purhases, I catch myself making a
> mental note of the description of the cashier, the
> cleanliness of the restroom, etc. Then I have to
> remind myself . . .I'm not here MSing!!! I can't
> be the only one who does this - AM I ??

on a slightly different note: i used to be a corporate manager with 400 employees. that means that i used to evaluate which employees to terminate from employment. whenever i go mystery shopping, i ask myself in the back of my mind if the employee who i am shopping is worthy of termination. just a habit. but i don't mention anything about it in my shop report.

What geauxcj said. If it's poor or excellent service, I wish I could report it.

Yes, especially if the employee isn't doing a good job. I just think to myself how lucky this person is I'm not doing a shop.

If it is poor or excellent service, you can report it. If the employee violated food cleanliness rules, you can call the manager later or draw him/her aside on the spot. If the service is excellent, a letter in the person's file would be wonderful.

Yesterday, I called a manager in the afternoon after a lunchtime visit to report that the employee did not know about washing her hands. When I asked her why she did not, she said she was only touching the bottom of the cup. As I explained to the manager, I touch the bottom of the cup and then the hamburger, then the French fries.

A friend and her crowd received bad service in a restaurant. Their food was not prepared well. I asked why she didn't send it back but she said they were afraid it would be spat on. I told her she could call!

We can always send a note or phone call to the Manager or corporate office about good or poor service etc. We can also mention that they should hire mytery shoppers as a suggestion....would increase our business.

I started mystery shopping because I notice "EVERYTHING" because I'm so Obsessive Compulsive. It is impossible to turn off and on so YES I mystery shop when I'm just eating out or shopping on my own dime.

I took Ken out for Chinese with part of my BINGO windfall tonight. There was a big sign on the buffet saying children under 11 had to be supervised by an adult at the buffet. This group of three little girls about 7 years old were running loose at the buffet without am adult. I watched them drop plates on the floor and then put them back in the pile, eat ice cream sprinkles with their fingers going into the bowl of sprinkles and even out of the spoon in the sprinkles and picking up things off the dessert trays and then putting them back with thier fingers. I pulled the server aside and pointed these things out and all of a sudden those children were grabbed by adults and put in their seats. lol The sprinkles were replaced and the top plates were taken to the back. Speaking up solved the problem.

I'm just that way. I don't want to argue or cause trouble. I only want to solve a problem. I'm a regular at that restaurant. Not listening would have lost my business. Whem I'm mystery shopping I don't always speak up because I can put my complaint in writing in the report. But when I'm out, I'm still a consumer and will speak up to hopefully redeem a bad situation or to brag on an employee that is doing well.

Even more than solving problems though, I'm a firm believer in catching people doing something right and then telling everyone about it!

I've written up so many men's-rooms I don't think I'll ever be able to take a pee somewhere without noticing *something.*

All the time...sometimes my husband has to remind me that I don't have to go home and write a report.

Yes yes. It is a habit after 6 years, but I try to shut it off right away and just be a customer, otherwise you are working all the time and who wants to do that? Not me.

I always try to act the same when I visit a location that I shop. I think it is a good idea to try to appear to be the same when shopping and not shopping.

I caught myself acting differently one time such as not seeming interested when they were talking to me about the specials and fixed this before I got "made".

I still usually always catch myself casually glancing at the name tag though, ;-o

There's one retail shop that I do where I AM just a "regular" customer. Ha, in fact, so regular that the girls told me I need to apply and get a part-time job there. The Manager even gave me her name and told me to use it WHEN (not IF) I fill out the online application!

Sometimes I think it is a good idea to be a "regular" customer in stores we shop - whether we have to fill out a survey or not. For myself, and particularly this shop, the last time I went I actually had bad service (very surprising). The report was hard to write since I didn't want to get anyone in trouble! I still wrote it all down, but I also sent a note to the Editor - and Scheduler - that the store was very understaffed as I counted over 23 people in there when I first walked in and only 2 employees. Normally there are four girls in there; 2 on registers and 2 on the floor.

In addition to noticing and noting descriptions and behaviors when not on assignment, I do something that seems to be common among video shoppers. That is, I cover my button cam when encountering mirrors and other highly reflective surfaces, whether I have the cam or not!

On that note, I had an audio shop the other day and caught myself trying to keep my purse out of the way of the non-existent camera and squaring up with the sales associate, LOL!

i am constantly looking at nametags, noticing if the associate is wearing glasses, and if they greeted me upon entry.

Lisa,
I have that happen with audio shops as well. Thought I was a bit nutty, so am glad I'm not alone.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2012 12:49PM by walesmaven.

I had a "date" for lunch and service was awful, took 10 minutes to put our order in, 15 minutess to get it (place wasn't nearly full). I kept looking at my watch, and said, if I were doing a report, this wouldn't be good. The entire meal went like that, and finally, my date said, "Will you be writing a report on me".....haha. Yes, I am always msing especially in a restaurant.

ALWAYS!!!! That's actually the reason I started mystery shopping because I love to see employees get recognized for their great work. Also I think business owners need to know the truth about their customer's experience. So I'm always shopping even when I'm not paid for it. I will call a manager or owner when I see outstanding service. I will also call a manager when I have had a horrible experience. My money is important to me so I believe in always getting what I pay for. Letting businesses know when I am and when I'm not is the only way it can happen. Even if it's for free sometimes.

Mystery shopping has also led me to always ask for any name that I cannot get from a name tag, so that I can address the salesperson by name. It has proven to be good for memory training (to always use the person's name in any interaction) and, I am sure, has caused some "non-targets" to think that I might be a shopper, lol.

sun&fun Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just curious - does anyone else ever do this??
> Sometimes when I'm in the store just making my
> regular personal purhases, I catch myself making a
> mental note of the description of the cashier, the
> cleanliness of the restroom, etc. Then I have to
> remind myself . . .I'm not here MSing!!! I can't
> be the only one who does this - AM I ??


I went to a cell phone store last week because my phone needed a battery. As I stood there in my carrier's store I couldn't help but feel terribly weird that I was NOT shopping. I have done so many phone shops that I was thinking that I didn't belong there. So weird.