Hello,

I've keep getting offered to do a reveal shop, where I reveal my identity as a mystery shopper at the end of the shop(if it goes well!) and I wonder if its worth it?

Has anyone done one before?

What was your experience?

Jacob

I have done a few of the shops that I had to reveal my self like Del Taco or Denney's and Carls jr. is was good for me I liked it.

I have done several reveal shops, and I LOVE THEM. This may sound silly but if the shop is successful it makes you feel good to make someone else happy. If you are shy I would say no, but other wise you may like them as well.

Yes, they are fun, I even had two people kiss me and thank me! puwee! They did good on their scores, called their boss right there. They said "My boss is bitchin about the sales, hummff, I will show him we are kickin'"
Mine were subways, Dollar General Audits. They turned out well!
Tip: You usually have the option to use your comments, that gives you a voice for the people you reveal/audit. I like being in control and/or their voice to let the company know why they failed. And I let the reveal shops know I have that option! It makes them happy!
Keep smilin'
Alice

I know I do audit for Valero stations and you have to go to the manager and tell them who you are and you have to take about 8-12 pictures for them and I do shops for Carl's Jr's. They are all fun and you don't have to sneak around as much. My most challenging shops are for Cenex because you have to be discreet at all times and you have to take at least 6 pictures for their shops but you can't let the employees know that is what you are doing. But they do have a form if they catch you and ask why you are takiing pictures. So far I have done about 20 cenex's and haven't got caught yet. If I do I will just say I bought new batteries for my camera and wanted to see if they worked. And see if that works. But so far it has been good they pay 12.00 per shop sometimes if they are in a hurry for the end of the month they go to 20.00.

Yes I have done several reveal shops. its always nice to make someones day. i did a reveal for a McDonalds the manager sent for the girl in the drive thru window so I could congratulate her on a job well done. She started crying, said that she had finally done something right.
its not good if you have to tell the manager that you are sorry his team or store did not pass the test. Ive had to reveal if they failed to.

I have completed reveal shops for Carl's Jr. I loved it. It made me feel really good to make someone else happy and let them know that they did a good job.

Yes, I was excited to do my first reveal mystery shop this week. I thought it would be fun to reward a company for a job well done. I went to the shop with this anticipation. I was very unhappy when the company, a sports bar type restaurant, didn’t complete one of the requirements for the shop. For a successful shop the waitperson was supposed to suggest a particular brand of soda and suggest that I purchase a store gift certificate. The waitperson upsold me the particular brand of soda but did not suggest the gift certificate. I was disappointed when I had to reveal to the manager his staff member made an “oops” and so was the manager. He told me he would have to put the employees name on the board. Also they lost out on a lot of cash and prizes which I had to return to the Mystery Shopping company. I know they were shopped again during a different meal time and I hope they did better. Sooo… I have yet to feel the “reveal thrill” from doing this kind of shop. I would say they are worth it. I bet these types of shops increase store profits by suggesting products customers might not otherwise purchase. After all that is what product placement marketing is about "subtle yet suggestive selling."

I have done one reveal shop for a BJ's Wholesale Club. The shop/audit itself was really not fully described before I accepted it. If it was I would have not taken the job. But I committed to it so performed it as requested.

It took me FOREVER (literally 2 1/2 hours) to do everything that was required. Hard to be discreet when you are there that long.

At the end of the shop I had to reveal myself to the Manager and review my findings.

In this instance, it was the best part of the assignment. I didn't have any awards to give them, but this individual was very welcoming and a pleasure to talk to. I had a couple of issues with the service, and he thanked me for bringing them to his attention.

So even though the pay for this job was pitiful at $20, the reveal part made it seem a little more palatable as you get immediate gratification for helping the store improve.

I think that a mystery shop/audit is worth it. I love interacting with people anyway. I have 7 dollar generals to do on the 26th for their after christmas sales and looking forward to it. And I also a field merchandiser for their trac-phones and it is fun they don't know what I am up to from month to month. so I think it keeps them on their toes even when I am just a plain old shopper.because I frequent a few of them just on regular days.

I have done a few reveal shops and I think that they are quite worth it. I did one on Tuesday and I was really disappointed that I was not able to reward the employees. They were absolutely charming but they did not follow through on what they were trained to do. I ended up having to give the manager an "Oops" because the criteria was not met.

I have also done a reveal shop that was very confusing. The client was no longer providing services at the location and their signage was not available. After I made my observations, I had to reveal myself and ask about the signage.

I have 2 more reveal shops to do this week at a restaurant. The pay is not great and I will be reimbursed for my meal. The other one is about merchandise and signage.

I find them to be a bit of a Mystery Shopping "change of pace." I liek to stay flexible and not get bored.

I have done a few reveal shops, it is great when you give the associate an award for things done right, but the other side of the coin is when they get a failed report. I enjoy them, it makes a change for the better while shopping, it also gives a reward where one is due.

Mike

I have two problems with reveal shops.

The first is having to tell a company that they failed. I have learned to tell them the good things first, then that they failed, but not to leave them hanging too long. I've had two managers thank me. If I just come out with "you failed", their faces fall and I don't think they really hear anything else I say.

The other problem is that the second time I introduced myself to a manager of one store, she remembered me from the last time, even though she'd had others come in since then. At least she didn't recognize me until I introduced myself. I had to tell the company that I can't go back to that site anytime soon.

I did ten reveal shops last week. Only one of them failed. I never feel bad if they fail. What the company wanted was so easy I felt it pathetic the employee couldn't accomplish it. I do feel good when I get to award something. I like reveal shops because there is no paranoia about being found out. I have learned to read the instructions very well before accepting because like JoJo, I want my shopping to be worth it.

I have done several reveal shops and I love them. It is really a good feeling when you can go in and let someone know they have done a good job. I usually do a couple reveal shops a week just for a change of pace. I have done several audits where I have to go in and count the appliances for a certain brand and it is really fun. I have also done some where I went in and took 50 prices randomly off the shelves and then have the manager go through the register with me and make sure the prices on the shelves are the same as the register. This is usually a fun job. So far the managers have been very cooperative and even go with me while I get the prices off. I can do about 50 items in a half and hour and it is good pay.

I like doing revealed shops and have done them for several companies.

Subway was fun because the employee who did the CORRECT job received a congratulations certificate plus was getting a $20 bonus from Subway.

BP stations are detailed and require many photographs but still are a nice change from secret shops.

I've done a few reveal shops at movie theatres which have been easy and fun.
It's nice to be able to reward and does make you feel good as has been said above. I do feel bad when I have to an 'Oops!' card.

Of course, these shops are great when the report is good, but half the time they do not qualify.

This sounds like an odd suggestion, but I find that dressing professionally makes the transition from pseudo client to auditor smoother; they accept you as having made an inspection, and giving them the corrective material is easier and quick.

Also, audits are good and pay well, but you have to learn your stuff ahead of time, or you come off as a fool. I do these for one particular company, and I have done it often enough I know the script by now. So it is a very professional feeling, and the report is short.

First off, you do not tell them that the findings were failure... you state to them that they were unsuccessful. Most companies will send out another shopper for the associates to have another chance at winning. By stating that the associates were unsuccessful, they seem to take it a little easier, and before you leave the store, they are already stating what made the associate unsuccessful. They are well worth it, especially when the management hears the "Winner" part. This is a great team booster, while making one feel good also.

I like the reveal shops when they have a positive outcome. If it is negative, it can get pretty uncomfortable.

I did a few of those. I learned real quick to have a very positive attitude, praise first and then drop the other shoe. They always knew by the type of praise they were getting that they didn't make 100. One of them just wanted me to drop the commentary and give her the information. No one got really upset, but it was upsetting for me to see their faces drop when they realized they failed on just a few things. I always followed with, "Better luck next time" and the comment that I'm not the only one who will come out. Since one of them was just down the street from me, I also let the manager know that just because I am local and I might shop there (actually, I didn't like their food but I remained positive) does not mean that I would be doing this again. If it happened to them again, it might be an entirely different person. I might just be a customer. I wanted them to forget the idea that I might be working as a "mystery shopper" and think of me as someone they have seen somewhere before.

Where do you get the reveal shops?

Try GFK mystery shopping.

Although I was annoyed at first that I was going to have even more emails to read, this notification was a good idea, Jacob. None of the other forums have this. I don't have to keep checking the threads I'm mostly interested in.

Confero also offers a few.

Reveal shops make me crazy (er)!
I love when they pass, and I am soooo psyched and hoping they will...but, quite often, it just doesn't happen.
I did one last week where I don't reveal unless the employee passes. If they pass they get a $100. gift card. The shop was in an area of town that wasn't very nice, and I SO wanted this guy to do it. He didn't even come close, and I was bummed over that.
Otoh, I had to do one a couple of years ago, where you reveal no matter what. You really want the employees to do well, because it's so much more fun to award prizes than to tell them they didn't meet the requirements. I had a lady argue with me, and basically call me a liar. Well, I was listening very carefully for the key question she was required to ask, and, she so did not say it. This is another good reason for having a digital recorder, I think.
I may consider doing the reveal shop I did last week again, though. It was decent money for the work involved.

~Christina

It's all in how you handle it. In a shop that was a reveal from the beginning, I talk to the manager first, tell them what happens if they pass, what happens if they fail. It is all in their own paperwork, it is required. But it takes the edge off of their anxiety.

If they miss a point, I ask them what they think. What I say goes, but they will be honest if it is really wrong.

I had to fail this sweet old thing today. I made sure he understood it was just one point too many, as I gave him his copy of the survey, and I went over his corrections book with him so he knew EXACTLY what to do. Yes, they could turn on me. and if I do this long enough one will bite me on the.... But a little compassion goes a long way.

But the funniest reveal shop I ever did was a large department store you have all been to. The first part was a mystery shop, then you contact the manager and go back and take some pictures (lots of pictures). Well my daughter and I didn't make it up the escalator, when people were coming up to us, "How are you? Can I help you?" I asked the manager for discretion, and it was as internally requested shop, but she had a pipeline to her people that was faster than the speed of light, "Auditor in the building." I'll bet she is a great manager, and my report reflected that. They were so sweet, but it reminded me of that scene in "Annie" where Daddy Warbucks comes home, and each of his employees in turn bow. It was amusing and a little startling at first. But of course, they would put forward their best foot. And I got outstanding pictures (I had already seen the small amount of "bad" stuff before they converged.)

You just have to love people; the boy with the nose ring (I can't even look at that) and the man with as many folds in his face as he has stories to tell. The young woman whose voice is so screechy it sends needles up your spine and the old curmudgeon that hasn't smiled since 1987, who has a trouble for each of his fingers each day.

But that is life. Maybe shopping just makes us notice. We certainly don't do it for the money. (smile)

I don't mind doing reveal shops as they are probably the majority of my shopping experience and pay for that matter. I usually get lots of these in the same area so I don't have to spend so much in travel and can do many in one day. Most of mine require at the least 6 pictures and some up to 30 depending on the no answers on the check list.
It is fun to give prizes but I also when not giving prizes tell people as I have been instructed that I cannot comment or converse with them about the outcome of the report. I report online and the company will send them a copy of their report and findings. Also I have pictures to back up what I find wrong. Also lots of times they pay bonuses or PAD the payment to accommodate the travel time and miles.