Revealed audit - she will be fired for no up-sale!

Such an uncomfortable shop today. Sweet little clerk, all of 20 years old did not up-sale but was nice and when I did the reveal a little nervous but no big deal. Everything going peachy, the shop is hitting all of the marks and out comes the nervous owner/manager asking me about the audit. She then asks me if the clerk up-sold. I told her no but also stated how helpful she had been. The owner/manager then tells the clerk "you have to up-sale, especially to her" - points in my direction. Then she proceeds to tell me that she will be fired if that goes into my report. What the hell, half of the clerks don't up-sale. Just told her politely that I could not discuss the findings, finished and left with the little girl giving me bambi eyes. Would you have mentioned that in the report??

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Some companies require their sales clerks to up-sell. If that is the case with the store you were at today, the cashier didn't do what she had been trained/instructed to do. I would be surprised if a clerk was fired for that infraction unless they had been wrote up for it previously.

If the report asked if she up-sold, I would answer truthfully. If there is no question abouit it on the survey, I wouldn't mention it.

I would have said the manager was rude and inappropriate to say something like that to the employee and in front of you...

If the store cared they would retrain the clerk (which they did when the manager interacted with the clerk present). If the store fired the clerk, those jobs are a dime a dozen. The clerk does not need a job that stresses her out.

I would have told the manager, in front of the clerk, they would be crazy to fire the clerk over that issue. The clerk learned the lesson and will remember it. Replace her and hire someone new and they will not have that experience. Your loss.

I would mention in my narrative that the manager attempted to influence my report slightly hinting that the manager needs retraining. There are times managers have to be professional or their actions will bite them deservedly so. The report would be more valuable to the client to know the manager should be spoken to.

I would report truthfully if the clerk upsold or not if that was one of the required observations.

I would also report the manager's actions as well even it those had to go in a separate email. Why? The fact the manager made those comments to you in her presence was certainly unprofessional, definitely bad management, and probably contrary to the manager's training regarding the audit. They need to know this. Additionally, I would consider stating how uncomfortable the manager's actions made you feel as an auditor. The MSP needs to know this.

Good luck.

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut

you have a job to do and emotions should never be involved. I hear that excuse
all the time. If you put xxx in report we are going to get fired or lose our bonus.
Well, if it's that important to you, do what your suppose to. I've also done shops that involved
the employee being fired if certain things werent done and I had to be present in the manager office to ensure
proper procedure was followed.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody

IF this particular manager was this nasty, there have already been past problems, and chit, is probably already on the line. That type of attitude is fear generated. This manager has already been reamed, a few times.

And ultimately, my consolation is, that sweet 20 year old will find a better job. If the manager is putting that much pressure on her now, it's probably not the best place for her to work anyway.

Edit - And that's if she even will get fired. The manager could have just been saying that to influence the audit, which as we both know, is a big no-no.

Somewhere in the Midwest, shopping / auditing full time since 2014. Will use PV-500 for food!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2015 03:53PM by AlexG.

Report all of it. Maybe the Manager will be the one to be fired!

This is semi related.

Did MSC's always do the Fast Food inspections? I had managed a BK eons ago, and I was wondering, because the owner usually got some sort of advance notice, when an "inspection" was going to be done. When I was with them, they were borderline over getting their units yanked.

I do my best to avoid the manager at all costs when doing an audit. If I have a question about the audit as to where something is, I will look for the youngest and most inexperienced person in the store to ask. Then if they don't know the answer, I will ask the manager. The last thing you want is the manager hovering or even worse trying to shoulder surf your clipboard. The more inexperienced employee is likely to be the most honest and candid about what really happens.

If you ask the manager, your going to get the answer that corporate wants to hear and not the answer of what the training was to the front line employee. If a manager is following or attempting to shoulder surf me, it's time to go check the restrooms to shake them.

Not to nitpick, but couldn't you have said you couldn't discuss the findings before you told her the clerk hadn't upsold? The manager should have known that you couldn't discuss it. She was out of line to even ask.

@Watching the Wheels wrote:

This is semi related.

Did MSC's always do the Fast Food inspections? I had managed a BK eons ago, and I was wondering, because the owner usually got some sort of advance notice, when an "inspection" was going to be done. When I was with them, they were borderline over getting their units yanked.

Some fast food companies such as Jack in The Box did their mystery shops in house. They would hire mystery shoppers and have them do routes. Not sure if any of them still do it that way.

I've heard Dunkin Donuts does this. I wouldn't mind being in on that but I'd just get fat. Also an inquiry to their corporate office did not elicit a response. :/

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

WTW, there are many different types of inspections a pay food outlet may have over the course of a year. Some will be scheduled while others will be a surprise. I prefer to think health inspections are not scheduled in advance. Inspectors need to see how the outlet operates day to day, not all spiffed up because they were given a head's up.

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.

The box was checked no that I was not offered an upsale. I did not put any comments about the manager but in retrospect I wish I would have been polite but not engaged with her. She was just a crazy lady with a gas station in a bad part of town. I will not be back there for any audits.

Just answer the questions in the report honestly. No emotion, no bias. Just the facts as you were hired to do.

There are two types of people in this world: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.

The report has to be honest..you already told the manager there was no upsale. You could be deactivated from the MSC if you are caught lying.

The manager may have been putting on a show to make you feel bad so it you wouldn't put in the report..obviously stores usually don't fire people if all they do is fail to upsell...since most employees don't....they would never be able to keep the store staffed...

only if there were many other issues with this employee do I think she would actually be fired.

Since training reflects on the manager as well as the employee, it's more likely she was trying to intimidate you into filing a more positive report.

@teriraia wrote:

The box was checked no that I was not offered an upsale. I did not put any comments about the manager but in retrospect I wish I would have been polite but not engaged with her. She was just a crazy lady with a gas station in a bad part of town. I will not be back there for any audits.

Perhaps it is not too late to do so. Use a separate email to the scheduler. Explain you have been thinking about adding some information to the report.

Good luck.

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut

Report truthfully and include the manager's reactions.

A Dad shopping the Ark-LA-Tex and beyond.

I've been the employee in a situation similar to this one. I didn't upsell to the shopper... or suggestive sell... or something. It's been years, so I don't quite remember. Anyway, I was relatively new (within my first month) and I screwed up.

They suspended me for a week without pay. I was young and dumb, and thought "Hey, sweet! I get a week's vacation out of this!"

But I learned my lesson, and I never forgot any of the required steps after that suspension.

My point being, if this is something that the employee will actually be fired for, it's most likely something that has been an ongoing issue. Most reasonable employers won't jump straight to firing an employee who's otherwise good for something that's seemingly so minor and easily correctable.

1. The manager should not discuss the employee's status in front of others. That is a personnel matter and it is not our business. It may be hostile.

2. Even if this is an ongoing issue with the given employee, it is not our business.

3. My personal peeve: as my real self, I have had enough of up-sell. I do not want suggestions for more of stuff I do not need. This sales patter needlessly lengthens the duration of transactions, and sometimes I want to get my purchases quickly and move along quickly. If I do this type of shop, someone who does not up-sell or suggest what I do not need and delights my real self could have trouble with their employer for not meeting a corporate goal, which is to irritate my real self, I mean, try to sell me stuff I do not need and lengthen the duration of my transaction. Even if I do not do this type of shop, employees who do not up-sell may be dinged for doing what delights me-as-real-customer-who-does-not-like-up-sell.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

I don't think there's any question that the manager was unprofessional in this situation, or that it's a personnel issue that shouldn't be discussed as it was.

As far as the upselling is concerned... yep, it sucks, but they're going to do what they think is necessary to increase their profits. It doesn't matter if they chase off a few customers who would come back more frequently if the upselling didn't happen. As long as they get the occasional extra quarter or whatever, they're happy. Seems short-sighted to me, but I'm not the one running the businesses. :\

@frugalmommy wrote:

I've been the employee in a situation similar to this one. I didn't upsell to the shopper... or suggestive sell... or something. It's been years, so I don't quite remember. Anyway, I was relatively new (within my first month) and I screwed up.

They suspended me for a week without pay. I was young and dumb, and thought "Hey, sweet! I get a week's vacation out of this!"

But I learned my lesson, and I never forgot any of the required steps after that suspension.

My point being, if this is something that the employee will actually be fired for, it's most likely something that has been an ongoing issue. Most reasonable employers won't jump straight to firing an employee who's otherwise good for something that's seemingly so minor and easily correctable.

Personally, I think a week's suspension was overkill, and nastiness. If it had been me, I wouldn't have gone back. I've done the boss thing, and there are all sorts of creative ways to working in the upselling aspects without being offensive to either an employee or a customer. It's all about presenting VALUE, as opposed to giving every single proof that all the company is interested in is the almighty $$$.

Wanna make more money? Eliminate the free refills on drinks. Give customers loyalty cards, Have enough faith in your product to give samples. Take the time to get to know your customer and concentrate on quality. IF companies would put their focus on "getting things right", people will come back voluntarily.

The manager's action should be reported.

Willing to travel, Alberta, Canada

I did one of those vitamin audits and the manager tried to offer me free pizza

(guidelines said accept nothing from the store) ..I was hungry but I stayed professional!

The one thing that is hard for me to turn down is a free car wash. You know when you do the gas station reveal and they offer to wash your car. Have never accepted but I do like a clean car for free and what is wrong with bribes anyway - isn't that the way our government runs?

@bgriffin wrote:

I've heard Dunkin Donuts does this. I wouldn't mind being in on that but I'd just get fat. Also an inquiry to their corporate office did not elicit a response. :/

Dunkin Donuts did not do there own in 2007-2009 I did them.

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Revealed audit - she will be fired for no up-sale!

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