@dspeakes wrote:

oh, and I heartily agree that the cookie-cutter scenarios do not provide a true customer experience to evaluate and are more likely to blow our cover. Some of the questions we have to ask are ridiculous.

Some of the scenarios I see are more than ridiculous and would do more than just blow a shoppers cover. True, the questions normal shoppers would never ask and the scenarios than normal shoppers are asked to do scream, “I am the Mystery shopper.” If we were truly "independent contractors" the client would not be allowed to give us "cookie-cutter scenarios" but rather have us use our own personality and intelligence to obtain the information the client is attempting to obtain.

Observing from a background of being an entrepreneur and building businesses from scratch I am very grateful for the unsolicited, proactive feedback I received from people who experienced the value I was offering. It was very valuable. I am “paying forward” by observing and reporting as the clients require.

The forum has many posts where older male shoppers stare at female's chest area to view a name on a tag that is too small to be readable. The client wants a older male shopper to ask a female employee who is a teen what her name is when they are buying an ice cream treat. I never had the burning desire to ask a young lady for her name except when I was a young guy and it was appropriate. An older male appears to be either a pervert or the mystery shopper and makes both older male shoppers and teen servers feel uncomfortable.

Having a shopper go into a retail store to do a competitor shop (commercial espionage) in a location that shoplifting is practiced on a frequent basis requires more experience on the part of the person who writes the scenario. Many of those people who write scenarios should walk a mile in the shoppers moccasins before asking a shopper to enter a store where security will be on that shopper and ask questions that the shopper can not answer.

If the shopper is looking at items to collect price data on a list of 50 items the security person will ask, “can I help you?” It is another way of saying I saw you looking at many items and not putting any in your shopping basket, what are you doing? Because the shopper signed a confidentiality agreement they can not say, “I am mystery shopping for your competitor!” The mystery shopper will not have anything on their person that was shoplifted but the security person can plant something and let the shopper explain to the police what the shopper was doing as the police views the video tape of the shopper acting suspiciously. Is a possible criminal record worth the fee the shopper is being offered?

The shopper signed an agreement to hold the client harmless and indemnify the client should the client be sued for the shoppers actions. We are not just talking blowing one's cover we are talking serious issues caused by a faulty scenario.

@Piled Hip Deep, PHD wrote:

The mystery shopper will not have anything on their person that was shoplifted but the security person can plant something and let the shopper explain to the police what the shopper was doing as the police views the video tape of the shopper acting suspiciously. Is a possible criminal record worth the fee the shopper is being offered?

Someone's got an active imagination!

@Piled Hip Deep, PHD I can see your point about a mature gentleman asking for a young lady's name; that just takes a little extra finesse to not come off as a pervert.

Your other scenario about being accused of shoplifting because of looking at, but not buying several items is not even conceivable.

The bank shops are the worst. They never change scenarios. I was clueless at first but then noticed that things were just weird and uncomfortable. Some bank employees even got angry for being mystery shopped. I stopped doing them: the same scenario, the same prompt questions. What's the point when all the bankers know they are being shopped?

Ahhh, I'm glad I saw this post...I was spotted and thought I was the only one. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what I did wrong. I guess it's not me, it's just the system, that makes me feel better

@Piled Hip Deep, PHD wrote:

If the shopper is looking at items to collect price data on a list of 50 items the security person will ask, “can I help you?” It is another way of saying I saw you looking at many items and not putting any in your shopping basket, what are you doing? Because the shopper signed a confidentiality agreement they can not say, “I am mystery shopping for your competitor!” The mystery shopper will not have anything on their person that was shoplifted but the security person can plant something and let the shopper explain to the police what the shopper was doing as the police views the video tape of the shopper acting suspiciously. Is a possible criminal record worth the fee the shopper is being offered?

I've gone into stores many times to gather prices for paper goods and/or edibles for events I'm hosting (both for myself and non-profit groups) and never been questioned.

Piled Hip Deep, PHD, why would a security person plant something on a shopper to get them in trouble? That seems very strange to me. What would be the purpose in that? And wouldn't the video that the police are watching show the security guard doing this if for some very bizarre reason this did indeed occur?

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

Hey he fixed it. It's an interesting topic so can we get back on? Those pizza shops sound like a pita. I have never taken one because I don't do pita for just reimbursement. I need some actual income for that.

Hey Coffee Queen, I don't do them for just reimbursement either. I actually get pretty nice bonuses for doing them. Many times I have made an afternoon round of picking up pizzas (about 3 or 4 locations) within a 30 mile radius of my home and making over $100 doing so (near the end of the month deadline). Of course, I had to do a few in the very beginning that were reimbursement only or had just a small fee to "cut my teeth" but after proving that I could take the correct photos and write a decent report, I had no problem negotiating bonuses.

What on Earth do you do with 3 - 4 pieces of cardboard with ketchup? Oops, I mean pizza.

@Piled Hip Deep, PHD wrote:

The forum has many posts where older male shoppers stare at female's chest area to view a name on a tag that is too small to be readable. The client wants a older male shopper to ask a female employee who is a teen what her name is when they are buying an ice cream treat. I never had the burning desire to ask a young lady for her name except when I was a young guy and it was appropriate. An older male appears to be either a pervert or the mystery shopper and makes both older male shoppers and teen servers feel uncomfortable.

As a mature female who sometimes cannot read the name tags of employees beyond a certain distance, I've had to get creative and be willing to be a bit of a harmless fool. I don't know if this would work for a mature man or not...

I'll act like I know the employee and tell him/her that I haven't seen him/her since my grandson's graduation party. Of course the employee will be confused. Then I'll say something like, "Aren't you [a guessed name]? I'm sure you've been to our house. Maybe I'm just getting your name wrong." The employee will usually say he/she is not [the name I said] then TELL me his/her name.

I just have to be ready with a couple details about my non-existent grandson. [I've never even had children, much less grandchildren!] And then I'll let them off the hook -- I'm sorry, I must be confused, it's been a few years ago, I don't remember too well, maybe you just look like him/her, your smile must remind me of my grandson's friend, etc.

I had one young woman (probably around 22 years old) absolutely wracking her brain trying to remember my grandson whom she had supposedly dated in high school, LOL

I consider mystery shopping a license to ACT A PART, so I just take the acting a little further to get the info I need. I've never NOT gotten a name that I needed. Of course, it really helps that young people generally pay absolutely no attention to the adults in their friends' lives, and for all they know, they really have been to my house!!! It also helps to practice first, and you've got to be able to think on your feet.

If any of you "mature gentlemen" try any of these ideas, let me know how it works out for you.

@Piled Hip Deep, PHD wrote:

@dspeakes wrote:

...Many of those people who write scenarios should walk a mile in the shoppers moccasins before asking a shopper to enter a store where security will be on that shopper and ask questions that the shopper can not answer.

If the shopper is looking at items to collect price data on a list of 50 items the security person will ask, “can I help you?” It is another way of saying I saw you looking at many items and not putting any in your shopping basket, what are you doing? Because the shopper signed a confidentiality agreement they can not say, “I am mystery shopping for your competitor!” The mystery shopper will not have anything on their person that was shoplifted but the security person can plant something and let the shopper explain to the police what the shopper was doing as the police views the video tape of the shopper acting suspiciously. Is a possible criminal record worth the fee the shopper is being offered?

...

"Oh, no, I'm just taking note of some of your prices for my spreadsheet. My husband just lost his job and things are tight. My friend told me that she keeps track of everyone's sale prices so she can get the best deals and have an idea of when something will go on sale again, and I thought it was such a fabulous idea I just HAD to try it myself! Oh, could you tell me where (random embarrassing item) is while you're here?"

And then just be a complete motor mouth until they scramble to get away.

@Sybil2 wrote:

What on Earth do you do with 3 - 4 pieces of cardboard with ketchup? Oops, I mean pizza.

I give most of it away. College and high school kids generally aren't as picky, and any homeless panhandler who is really hungry doesn't care, either.

Ditto Frank 860! The MSC under client approval needs to give repeat shoppers flexibility to VARY their pizza orders beyond just the 1-2 topping 14 inch regular crust pizza shop standard they've had for years under this mystery shopping program. The local franchisee keeps RECORDS of what each customer orders so if they see the same order again and again from the same shopper -- HIT! They sunk your (the shopper's) battleship (as a previous shopper reported.) This happened to me due to no fault of my own other than accepting the shops when the MSC called and pleaded with me to accept. When the franchisee / local client identified me and shot me out of the water as a shopper, I felt betrayed because my identity could easily have been kept secret had the guidelines given more flexibility as to size of pizza, crust, ingredients, and add-ons allowed. The guidelines and shop set-up are the problem causing excessive shopper turnover -- not shopper performance.

I deliberately order the same thing for several months. My experience is that children tend to be creatures of habit, and that families often order the same thing over and over again as long as the kids will eat it.

For those of you who don't think that they do a lot of business, they reset the order number everyday. I have seen order numbers close to 200, and that is not a late night shop.

I don't think any order is ridiculous. I have ordered (no MSing) cheese pizzas - my personal pizza is mushroom pepperoni. Not sure what you all are ordering.....

The downside to being ID'd as the MS is not doing any more shops. The up side is getting awesome PJ pizzas from my local guy.

@Piled Hip Deep, PHD wrote:

Having a shopper go into a retail store to do a competitor shop (commercial espionage) in a location that shoplifting is practiced on a frequent basis requires more experience on the part of the person who writes the scenario. Many of those people who write scenarios should walk a mile in the shoppers moccasins before asking a shopper to enter a store where security will be on that shopper and ask questions that the shopper can not answer.

If the shopper is looking at items to collect price data on a list of 50 items the security person will ask, “can I help you?” It is another way of saying I saw you looking at many items and not putting any in your shopping basket, what are you doing? Because the shopper signed a confidentiality agreement they can not say, “I am mystery shopping for your competitor!” The mystery shopper will not have anything on their person that was shoplifted but the security person can plant something and let the shopper explain to the police what the shopper was doing as the police views the video tape of the shopper acting suspiciously. Is a possible criminal record worth the fee the shopper is being offered?

The shopper signed an agreement to hold the client harmless and indemnify the client should the client be sued for the shoppers actions. We are not just talking blowing one's cover we are talking serious issues caused by a faulty scenario.

Is it illegal in and of itself to gather price data? I know Wal-Mart makes a big deal about this, posting signage to that effect, but in absence of this I would have to assume it's legal. Suspicious and likely to attract unwanted attention from security, sure, but still technically legal nonetheless.

And if the client is asking us, through the MSC, to do something legally risky, or likely to attract unwanted attention from security even if technically legal, they should be the ones indemnifying us. Depending on the store, the loss of my shopping privileges there may be worth quite a significant amount of money, whether I have a valid "shop" before getting kicked out or not.

All the knowledge of the world at our fingertips and we watch videos of cute cats and get into arguments with strangers.

"I'll act like I know the employee and tell him/her that I haven't seen him/her since my grandson's graduation party. Of course the employee will be confused. Then I'll say something like, "Aren't you [a guessed name]? I'm sure you've been to our house. Maybe I'm just getting your name wrong." The employee will usually say he/she is not [the name I said] then TELL me his/her name. "

This week I needed an off-duty employee's name so I told him he resembled someone who was a friend of my nephew and gave him a name. He asked his last name so I made up one in his ethnic group. He thought a while, and then said he thought he graduated two years behind him.

PHD, stores check out other's prices all the time, not just advertised prices. A local grocery store and Walmart do it all the time. Sometimes the employee is in full uniform. So when I see an employee of the other store carrying a notepad and making notations while looking at products, I greet them and tell them they are doing corporate espionage again. They always give me a half smile and move on.

@BillBryaninCarthage wrote:

@Sandra Sue wrote:

"I'll act like I know the employee and tell him/her that I haven't seen him/her since my grandson's graduation party. Of course the employee will be confused. Then I'll say something like, "Aren't you [a guessed name]? I'm sure you've been to our house. Maybe I'm just getting your name wrong." The employee will usually say he/she is not [the name I said] then TELL me his/her name. "

This week I needed an off-duty employee's name so I told him he resembled someone who was a friend of my nephew and gave him a name. He asked his last name so I made up one in his ethnic group. He thought a while, and then said he thought he graduated two years behind him.

I avoid these type of shops because asking those questions is pure BS and not ethical (as in not good/right). You are lying outright to someone. If I need a name I just introduce myself and wait for the employee to do the same.

Mystery shoppers frequently have to lie in order to do the job, although I guess we prefer to call it "acting." For example, going into a bank and telling them you want to open a checking account, when you don't. Visiting an appliance dealer with the story that you are remodeling your kitchen (when you're not) and want to find out about stoves and refrigerators. Going to a fancy outdoor clothing store and telling a salesperson that you are looking for a present for whoever (when you're not). Visiting a mobile phone store and telling the associate you're interested in a new phone/service (when you're not). ETC. Almost every time you have to follow a "scenario" required by an MSC you are lying in some way. I don't see how figuring out a way to get an employee's name is any different. It's all part of the same context.

I always tell the bank I'm "interested" in a checking account. Not a lie, I am interested in finding out about them in order to submit a report. I have been considering remodeling my kitchen for years now, so that's not a lie. Phone shops were what helped me decide on my last three phones so I am always interested in learning what everyone has to offer. Again, not a lie.

I lie on a daily basis and my bank accounts like it.

My parents laugh at how easy it has become for me to lie with a completely straight face.

I dis-agree with BillBryaninCarthage who says that we are lying. I am firmly convinved that we are acting. Actors on stage, in movies, or on TV are not lying, they are portraying a role. For many mystery shops, I am acting. My stage is much smaller, and often there is only a single person in the audience, but I am portraying a role that has been assigned to me. I am an actor in a play.

Edited to correctly reflect what BillBryaninCarthage said.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2015 07:51PM by myst4au.

I follow the approach of LisaSTL. I'm always interested in obtaining new information. I try to the best of my ability not to lie. We live in a world full of liars and I do not want to be one of them. There are ways to gather information needed without lying. If I feel I have to lie I will not do the shop. I guess that's why I like gas station audits.

There are lies that hurt people and lies that don't. How is anyone harmed by being falsely told they resemble someone you know? I had to ask a waitress her name (her job standards require her to introduce herself, and she didn't) so I looked at her quizzically and said, "I think I know you. What's your name?" and after she told me her name was Kelly I just said, "I guess I was mistaken because the person I knew was named Julie. But you look a lot like her." Didn't cause her any pain, cost her any money, or even make her uncomfortable.

Bottom line, role-playing is part of most of these jobs, and necessary to preserve our anonymity. If you can't come up with a back story that is convincing you won't be doing this for long. How can you do an apartment shop without lying about the fact that you're looking for an apartment? How can you do a car shop without lying about being in the market for a new car? How can you do a cell phone shop without lying about being in the market for a new cell phone? If all you want to do are revealed audits, fine, but you're limiting yourself. But that's fine because whatever shops you refuse to do are just more shops for me and other people who know the difference between being paid to role play and walking into a store on our own and making stuff up just to see how gullible someone is.

@dspeakes wrote:

There are lies that hurt people and lies that don't. How is anyone harmed by being falsely told they resemble someone you know? I had to ask a waitress her name (her job standards require her to introduce herself, and she didn't) so I looked at her quizzically and said, "I think I know you. What's your name?" and after she told me her name was Kelly I just said, "I guess I was mistaken because the person I knew was named Julie. But you look a lot like her." Didn't cause her any pain, cost her any money, or even make her uncomfortable.

Bottom line, role-playing is part of most of these jobs, and necessary to preserve our anonymity. If you can't come up with a back story that is convincing you won't be doing this for long. How can you do an apartment shop without lying about the fact that you're looking for an apartment? How can you do a car shop without lying about being in the market for a new car? How can you do a cell phone shop without lying about being in the market for a new cell phone? If all you want to do are revealed audits, fine, but you're limiting yourself. But that's fine because whatever shops you refuse to do are just more shops for me and other people who know the difference between being paid to role play and walking into a store on our own and making stuff up just to see how gullible someone is.

Because of the way I view lying I know that my options are limited. At the end of the day I have to stay true to my values and my principals. This is the beauty of shopping a shop I will not do someone else will gladly take and visa versa. To each his own. In the seven years that I have been doing this it has enriched my life and I have received many benefits for which I'm thankful. I also do more than just revealed audits. There are many shops out there that don't require any acting at all.