Dreading writing a negative report
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I hate those too. The hardest part for me is wondering if A) they will ever find out I was the shopper and 
I will ever have to go back to the location.
This is how I do mine. Take a deep breath, and just start writing. Sometimes in the heat of it I take a break and get a drink, then continue writing. If there are a lot of questions with separate narrative involved, I'll break between questions then come back to it.
The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll be able to put it behind you and forget about it. Dwelling on it will just make it worse. Oh, and after it's done, take a Xanax before you go to bed so that you don't dream about it.
I will ever have to go back to the location.
This is how I do mine. Take a deep breath, and just start writing. Sometimes in the heat of it I take a break and get a drink, then continue writing. If there are a lot of questions with separate narrative involved, I'll break between questions then come back to it.
The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll be able to put it behind you and forget about it. Dwelling on it will just make it worse. Oh, and after it's done, take a Xanax before you go to bed so that you don't dream about it.
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Some times you just have to turn around, give a little smile, toss the match, set the bridge ablaze, and walk away.
Silver Certified on the Carolina Coast. You want fries with that?
Some times you just have to turn around, give a little smile, toss the match, set the bridge ablaze, and walk away.
Silver Certified on the Carolina Coast. You want fries with that?
Be very careful. Don't stress the negative. Be very non judgmental in the report. If it doesn't specifically ask if there were employees doing something other than their jobs, don't mention it. Stress the positive, gloss over the negative. There are companies that will kick back your report for being too negative. Don't elaborate on the goofing off, just answer what the reports asks. It all depends on the MSC, which is a shame, as an owner should know what is going on in his restaurant, but some MSC's just don't want to give a client bad news. I saw employees having a game of catch in a sub shop with a bun. This was removed form the report as too negative. They were only concerned with how well lit and clean the place was, were the bathrooms clean and stocked, and did my sandwich look appetizing. Acting like a buffoon wasn't an activity that needed to be reported, according to the MSC..
The MSC is GfK and they asked for my rating of the shop in the report. I am writing my narrative (positives and negatives to explain my rating) and instead of submitting my shop (I have 12 hours to do so), I will speak with the scheduler about the contents and I'm sure she will advise me of the right path to take. If corrections need to be made, I will take care of it.
I have always been truthful in my shop reports and this whole situation kind of makes me feel slimy.
I have always been truthful in my shop reports and this whole situation kind of makes me feel slimy.
Arguing with fools is like playing chess with a pigeon...
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
Ah, GFK is fun. Did a wing shop for them a while back that went not so well. I just wrote down exactly what I observed, which was a bunch of employees who really wanted to be somewhere else, and submitted it.
Believe it or not, that is the kind of stuff that MOST clients actually want to know about. Plus, while it's easier for us to write good reports, the bad ones are the ones that justify our existence (as shoppers).
Believe it or not, that is the kind of stuff that MOST clients actually want to know about. Plus, while it's easier for us to write good reports, the bad ones are the ones that justify our existence (as shoppers).
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Some times you just have to turn around, give a little smile, toss the match, set the bridge ablaze, and walk away.
Silver Certified on the Carolina Coast. You want fries with that?
Some times you just have to turn around, give a little smile, toss the match, set the bridge ablaze, and walk away.
Silver Certified on the Carolina Coast. You want fries with that?
If I were the client i would want to know these negative things. Isn't that the point of hiring companies to evaluate your restaurants? But as a shopper I myself get nervous about sending in a very negative report. On the few shops that have had issues, I always email my scheduler first. Then I go in and fill out whatever survey questions I can, such as the time in/out and upload my receipts. That way it doesn't look like I just took forever to enter my results. I give the scheduler so long to get back to me, usually overnight, then I finish my report. That covers you on report time, and if the scheduler or editor doesn't like what you've written its on them for not returning your communication in a timely manner.
Floating around like a feather hoping the wind will set me down somewhere awesome.
The report is written and saved, but not submitted.
Arguing with fools is like playing chess with a pigeon...
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
cindy55's post makes me wish there was a frowny-face to click for a post. That's horrible that the client didn't want to know the truth. Sheesh! Those types of things leave a lasting impression with most customers.
Practitioner of the Nerdly Arts.
Cindy, How did you find out it was taken out? What MSC's send you back copies of the edited report?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2014 11:23AM by Hoju.
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Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2014 11:23AM by Hoju.
Report the facts. When something bad happens I remind myself that that's part of the reason why I mystery shop. I've been lucky and have not had a report challenged to date, though I do understand others have not been as fortunate...
I had one gas station owner (very rural) say to me, "Oh, so you're here to judge us, huh? Who are you to judge us?"
To which I responded, "Nope. This isn't one of those types of jobs. If it was, you wouldn't know I was here."
It was for a POP audit.
To which I responded, "Nope. This isn't one of those types of jobs. If it was, you wouldn't know I was here."
It was for a POP audit.
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Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
I have read posts about clients not wanting to know about the negative stuff. Why spend the money for mystery shopping then? Makes no sense.
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What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. -Henry David Thoreau
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Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. -Frank Clark
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What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. -Henry David Thoreau
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Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. -Frank Clark
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rsglenn Wrote: I have read posts about clients not wanting to know about the negative stuff. Why spend the money for mystery shopping then? Makes no sense.
I think in most cases it's not that they don't want to know the truth, it's that sometimes the truth hurts and nobody wants pain. Think of how we feel as MS-ers. We go out and do what we do. We think we do a good job. We write a report, and, again, we think we do a good job on the report. Sometimes we get a 10. Do we ever argue with a 10 grade? (Does anybody contact the editor to ask why they got a 10 ...... because they thought their report should have actually been a 9?) When we don't get a 10, we are troubled. We want to know why. We want an explanation of why our grade was lowered. How many threads have we recently discussed how we think the editor was wrong in how she graded our report? How many posters have asked if they should contact the editor to argue? How many posters have argued here that a couple of typos and grammar errors shouldn't be enough to lower a 10 to a 9 ....."after all, I did great on most of it......" Human nature - we are human and so are the clients we shop. We need great, unbiased, detailed description of negatives, while giving credit for positives.
I think in most cases it's not that they don't want to know the truth, it's that sometimes the truth hurts and nobody wants pain. Think of how we feel as MS-ers. We go out and do what we do. We think we do a good job. We write a report, and, again, we think we do a good job on the report. Sometimes we get a 10. Do we ever argue with a 10 grade? (Does anybody contact the editor to ask why they got a 10 ...... because they thought their report should have actually been a 9?) When we don't get a 10, we are troubled. We want to know why. We want an explanation of why our grade was lowered. How many threads have we recently discussed how we think the editor was wrong in how she graded our report? How many posters have asked if they should contact the editor to argue? How many posters have argued here that a couple of typos and grammar errors shouldn't be enough to lower a 10 to a 9 ....."after all, I did great on most of it......" Human nature - we are human and so are the clients we shop. We need great, unbiased, detailed description of negatives, while giving credit for positives.
The difference, Austin, is that we provide detailed explanation (by force) when someone does something wrong.
Editors don't always give feedback, and it's those times where we feel slighted or confused and choose to speculate on why we received the grade we did.
Editors don't always give feedback, and it's those times where we feel slighted or confused and choose to speculate on why we received the grade we did.
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Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
That's what I'm saying. I'm not comparing the crappy feedback we get from most editors to our reports. I'm saying we want more information when we get a lower grade and we are more likely to argue. We don't necessarily get the increased explanation (the client is paying the bill so he asks the MSC when he wants more ....we don't necessarily get more when we ask for it). I'm trying to explain why clients are disappointed and ask more questions when a report is negative than when it is positive.
There is an art to writing a report of a very negative experience the same way that you write a report of a very positive experience. But, it still takes me about three times as long to write about the negative one. Just finished a looooong report on the hotel from purgatory. All during the shop I was rolling my eyes and hoping that someone at that near-top-of-the-line hotel would please, please, get something right! The only positive interaction was with a housekeeper who used her limited English to carefully apologize that she could not unlock my room for me, and sent me to a house phone to get help. (Yes, folks; that means that the fellow at the front desk issued a new keycard without asking to see ID, among other problems with every other interaction.)
I dreaded the writing of that report. But I really don't worry about the client's reaction or that of the editor. I did my "Joe Friday" best and provided detailed facts, times, exact places, background, and names for everything. That's all anyone can do. Then I had a glass of wine; one for each hand.
I dreaded the writing of that report. But I really don't worry about the client's reaction or that of the editor. I did my "Joe Friday" best and provided detailed facts, times, exact places, background, and names for everything. That's all anyone can do. Then I had a glass of wine; one for each hand.
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.
That front desk clerk was a true moron. Several years ago one at the Ritz here issued a key card without checking ID or the room number. The guest was also drunk as skunk. He not only ended up in the wrong room, he was found passed out in a bed with a 12 or 13 year old girl.
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.
That's one reason I love shopping in single party consent states...I audio record every shop.
Over a year ago I had the BMW shop from hell...the salesperson took me on a test drive at over 100mph on an open interstate. The scheduler helped me with the report and, when the client questioned it, they got the audio recording.
Yeah, a negative report is harder to do. I recently completed 40 bank shops in a two day period. The negative reports took longer than the positive ones.
Over a year ago I had the BMW shop from hell...the salesperson took me on a test drive at over 100mph on an open interstate. The scheduler helped me with the report and, when the client questioned it, they got the audio recording.
Yeah, a negative report is harder to do. I recently completed 40 bank shops in a two day period. The negative reports took longer than the positive ones.
.
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
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
The scheduler read my report and the scheduler said what I wrote was helpful and didn't come across as vindictive or as a personal attack, so I submitted the shop report. Hopefully, crisis averted. I will let everyone know how it was handled.
Arguing with fools is like playing chess with a pigeon...
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
I have never had any reports come back to me as being too negative. I simply state what happened. My reports are generally good for the employees, but not always. There was this one McDonald's I won't even go into. If any of them were going to kicked back, it most certainly would have been that one. Never heard a word about it.
If clients want to pay good money for mystery shoppers, I supposed they can do whatever they want with the reports they receive. That sounds ridiculous, but it also sounds accurate based on some things I have read on this forum.
If clients want to pay good money for mystery shoppers, I supposed they can do whatever they want with the reports they receive. That sounds ridiculous, but it also sounds accurate based on some things I have read on this forum.
Like others said, you're not giving a negative or positive report. You're reporting the facts, and that's it. How the client interprets them is up to that party.
cindy55's post makes me wish there was a frowny-face to click for a post. That's horrible that the client didn't want to know the truth. Sheesh! Those types of things leave a lasting impression with most customers.
The report was not accepted until I removed the negative stuff. It was one of the MSC's that does sub shops. Don't want to break ICA.
Be positive!!! with exclamation points was all over the email the editor sent, so I had to edit it, being positive on all points. I did get paid. I will never accept another assignment with them. Opinions are one thing, that is subjective, acting like a fool at work is hard to gloss over and make positive. "Employees have a strong sense of camaraderie" is how I would put it now. This is why I don't do much MS'ing. That and the pay!
The report was not accepted until I removed the negative stuff. It was one of the MSC's that does sub shops. Don't want to break ICA.
Be positive!!! with exclamation points was all over the email the editor sent, so I had to edit it, being positive on all points. I did get paid. I will never accept another assignment with them. Opinions are one thing, that is subjective, acting like a fool at work is hard to gloss over and make positive. "Employees have a strong sense of camaraderie" is how I would put it now. This is why I don't do much MS'ing. That and the pay!
If they ask about customer service and employees behavior in the report, I write about it. It is a job, where I have to report both positive and negative observations. The employees are paid to do their job, I'm paid to observe them, if one of us is not following the guidelines than we shouldn't do it in a first place.
Sometimes companies don't ask about customer service like recent Subway shops, where they only cared about quality of sandwich.
There are also times when MSCs remove negative observations from the report and low the grade, well, in this case it's on editor, I did my part following guidelines from A to Z.
As for feeling bad reporting inappropriate behavior, I don't feel bad. It's a job, I don't think police officers feel bad arresting criminals although it hurts criminals' families.
I personally like when reports have a section asking my personal opinion about a shop, I share my thoughts there, and the rest of the report is written in neutral nonjudgmental language, just pure observations.
Sometimes companies don't ask about customer service like recent Subway shops, where they only cared about quality of sandwich.
There are also times when MSCs remove negative observations from the report and low the grade, well, in this case it's on editor, I did my part following guidelines from A to Z.
As for feeling bad reporting inappropriate behavior, I don't feel bad. It's a job, I don't think police officers feel bad arresting criminals although it hurts criminals' families.
I personally like when reports have a section asking my personal opinion about a shop, I share my thoughts there, and the rest of the report is written in neutral nonjudgmental language, just pure observations.
My report was received and I got a 10 on the report.
Arguing with fools is like playing chess with a pigeon...
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
I just had a shop rejected because I used a derivative of an alias I had used in the past. I used Johnson as a name and had used John as an alias three months earlier. As Johnson, I had to report that my contact never followed up with me, over a couple of weeks, after more than ten call attempts and five different messages . The MS company called me late one evening to tell me that the client rejected my shop because I had used the name derivative on a shop before. I wondered whether my report would have been accepted had it been positively glowing summary. I will never know for sure, but I think not.
I wanted to send a quick thanks to everyone on this post who helped calm my nerves a little early this morning; Thank you for being there for me!
Arguing with fools is like playing chess with a pigeon...
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
...No matter how good you are, the pigeon will s@^t on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
Not scheduling for ANY company.
Glad it worked out, Dante!
Those negatives are especially hard to write when it concerns the employees. But I did an arches
shop once, and wrote that the ladies room was dark; so poorly lit that it could be a safety problem.
It also stank (NOT a subjective opinion!), and that I thought it was a plumbling problem, as the
sink did not drain after I washed my hands.
The next time I shopped it, they had installed a dropped ceiling in the ladies room with up-to-date
lighting; the entire sink assembly had been replaced and drained properly, and there was no odor.
I felt that someone, somewhere read my report!
cease
Those negatives are especially hard to write when it concerns the employees. But I did an arches
shop once, and wrote that the ladies room was dark; so poorly lit that it could be a safety problem.
It also stank (NOT a subjective opinion!), and that I thought it was a plumbling problem, as the
sink did not drain after I washed my hands.
The next time I shopped it, they had installed a dropped ceiling in the ladies room with up-to-date
lighting; the entire sink assembly had been replaced and drained properly, and there was no odor.
I felt that someone, somewhere read my report!
cease
ceasesmith, the manager probably thanked you!
(heart)
(heart)
I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
I agree, anything negative is difficult to write objectively and still get the point across. I was at a USPS last week where no clerk was at the counter. As I stood there waiting for over one minute, I could see a guy sitting in the back sleeping on a stool. Instead of saying he was sleeping, I said I observed an employee seated with head down and eyes closed while I waited. I finally coughed or did something to make some noise and another clerk caming running, with a soda in her hand. Geesh. The report was accepted with a 10. If only it would make a difference, but doesn't seem to help the USPS employees.
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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
I have had a few really negative experiences at shops and it's important to give that feedback. If you make sure to describe it without giving your opinions, it usually comes out well. The business ought to appreciate it. I've had some harrowing experiences where I didn't even feel safe during one shop. I later wrote that I felt that this is a management issue because the management was not giving a strong enough presence on what they thought was a slow night. BOOM. I hope the manager got fired.
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