I'm currently going back and forth with the msc and have tried everything I can think of to resolve this. I did a shop where the employee name is an absolute requirement. The employee wasn't wearing a name tag, but introduced themselves to me before I needed to ask. (Great--got the name, I'm thinking...) So I was really surprised when my shop was reviewed and the msc said that the person I named did not work there. I confirmed that it was the correct location, and I asked if they could check again and try to match up the physical description I gave with someone whose name might sound like the one I gave. They responded and said they tried that too. So, now I'm totally confused by this... I thought I clearly heard the name, and I gave a specific physical description. What would you do at this point?

I was considering going back to try to get the name again or re-doing the whole shop, but it was put back on the board and the bonus went way up, so I think it was probably already re-shopped by another. I didn't even think going back would have been fair to me, but I would have taken the loss of extra mileage to at least break even. I guess it's not fair to the msc either since they had to pay extra money for someone else to do the shop. So I don't know how to feel about this.

That is certainly a situation of being between a rock and a hard place. I have never had a name questioned. I have indicated that 'the name sounded like Des-real' when I had no idea whether that was a name, but it was all I had, and I still got no question.

In your situation I would seriously reconsider whether I wished to work with this particular MSC further.

Sorry to hear that they are making this an issue.

Not to touch on a sticky subject, but this is why I choose to record everything.

That being said, once someone says their name I use it when I respond back to make sure I heard it correctly. This helps me remember it. I am in sales so this comes natural to me anyways.

How about calling the location and asking to talk to the person about something that happened during the shop. . That would verify that the name is correct or not. Also, sometimes a worker is temporarily assigned to the store to fill in for a worker that is sick. In that case the person you named may not show as actually working there. Good luck.

1. Did you report anything that seems negative, such as a serious employment or liability issue, that the client might want to exclude from any documentation of, or even reference to, its business practices or locations? Is this name issue an excuse to reject your report and avoid having a dated and timed indicator of potential problems?

2. Could the employees be playing a name game, such as wearing someone else's name tag?

I am familiar with these conditions. They have happened to me on different occasions. I have no advice. I took a defensive action. I changed my work and finances drastically and do not need to be in situations where I can easily be the messenger or the sap. You have options, too.

I would call and ask to speak to the name you were given. If they tell you that nobody by that name works there, let them know that sure he/she does, you just spoke with him/her last week, and then give a description. Hopefully they'll give you a name. If I were in your shoes, and if this didn't yield a name or a confirmation of the employee's presence, then I would probably obsess about it to a very unhealthy degree and wind up stopping in the store every time that I could, just to try to catch a glimpse of the person and then get their name, if not to get paid, then at least to try to find out if I screwed up or if they lied.

@isaiah58 wrote:

Not to touch on a sticky subject, but this is why I choose to record everything.

But some shoppers live in two-party states where recording them without their knowledge is illegal. Like you, I will repeat the name in the conversation. If it is a very unusual name, I will make a comment about how different that name is or use word association to remember the name until I have a chance to text it to myself.

Something like that happened to me. I gave the name and description of the SA. The client claimed there was no such person or such name and I was accused of visiting the wrong store. The manager said I did not even count her among the employees around, in my report.

I was a rookie and I felt just giving up. But I had already successfully submitted a few shops for this MSC. The saving grace was they were fair. They asked me to describe the store and give my side.

First, I told them if the manager was there during my stay, she must have arrived after I had counted the associates and possibly she did not acknowledge my presence nor did she offer any help. After all, the survey asked, "How many associates were present when you entered the store?" It did not say, while you were in the store.

Regarding the name, the associate was not wearing a name tag and that was name I heard from her. If she gave me a different name, it was not my fault.

Then to prove I visited the right store, I told them where the store was located in the big mall. I told them it was in the corridor of Holt Renfrew, actually at the back of the mall and across another store I named and a few stores after the Coat Check. I told them why I noted that the merchandise were displayed in overcrowded clothes display racks because it took me a while to return a blouse in its hanger. Then I described exactly what were on display beside the cash counter. I was paid! The MSC gained my loyalty forever.

Edited to add that I agree with Flash. If they do not accept your report, you should consider whether that MSC deserves your service.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2015 06:28PM by risinghorizon.

This happened to me too -- years ago at one of the mall gift certificate shops - the employee even spelled her name for me - no tag but lets say her name was Samieoria and I replied it back saying what a beautiful name and she spelled it, I got the info that the shop was declined but because I had a receipt I would be paid so I didn't push it but I am absolutely positive that whatever name that person told me is what I put in the report.

Liz

Wow-- Thanks for all the support. Very funny, elcarev68. That's my mindset exactly!

I would be hard pressed to give up this msc entirely, as they are very responsive, professional, kind, and provide a large portion of my work.

Shop-et-al, I understand where you're coming from. The companies, at various levels, do tend to try to exclude negative shops whenever possible, but the shop was average. They missed a few points, but nothing that would cause a lawsuit for sure.

I have a feeling it would not be good to call them and mention anything about me having done a shop there. You're never supposed to contact the client regarding a shop. But, perhaps I could do it like some of you described and act like a regular customer. BUT apparently the msc has already done the calling *twice* to try to make a positive identification, even using the physical description I gave.

I'm inspired by risinghorizon's experience of providing more and more detail until they accept it. I offered to describe the employee better, but even if I could get them to agree, would they pay me after another shopper has gone out and done the shop? I do have a receipt, but the name is apparently such an important requirement that it overrides the proof that I was at the location....like the whole report is useless without knowing who I interacted with.

I appreciate everyone's tips for obtaining a name accurately. From now on, I will definitely use the one of repeating it back.

Fortunately, I haven't really had this issue where it's been a problem. I always note in the narrative or email the scheduler if there is something with the name that I'm concerned about. Without name tags, if the name is not straightforward, I actually ask them to spell their names. No one has questioned that and sometimes I just say that it helps me to visualize their name if I know how to spell it. I do that in non-shopping situations as well. Also, I have done shops where a temp worker was there. Who knows if it would have been an issue, but I included in my narratives that the worker volunteered they were only there for the day or that they were a floater. Of course, this assumes they mention not being a regular worker. It also goes to the 'always get a business card' thing. Even if they don't have a business card, have them write their name on something and include the store phone number.

A couple of possibilities:

1. Could you have simply misunderstood the name? I can't tell you how many times I have done the hardware phone shops and what I though that person said, was something else.

2. Could you have possibly gone to the wrong location? Nobody seems to recognize that name at all in the store.. Is it "at all" possible this happened? To be sure, google the name of the store and go to the store website. In there, you might find they have 2 stores on the same street!

3. Could you have reported something in the report, as another poster suggested, that was inflammatory, so to get the report thrown out, everyone is denying that person works there? (not as likely... but certainly possible).

As we all know as mystery shoppers, "anything" is possible. Bad reports can trigger a denial by the entire team, although I have never experienced that. Even if the store denies that person works there, the DM knows every employee in that and all his/her stores.

This happened to me recently at a bank. I did not quite understand the name. I spelled the name the best I could with a notation in my report. The MSC did question this. I did have a receipt from the location, so I got paid. The receipt did not have a name on it or tracker number. Did you get any type of receipt?

@shopper8 wrote:

This happened to me recently at a bank. I did not quite understand the name. I spelled the name the best I could with a notation in my report. The MSC did question this. I did have a receipt from the location, so I got paid. The receipt did not have a name on it or tracker number. Did you get any type of receipt?

When they don't have a name tag on and you ask them their name, and they quickly say, " Adliopghoxiska Quchishdinaky" and you say, "Okay, thanks!"

Shame on the MSC that didn't side with you. If you shop for them again, wait until the end of the month and ask for a huge bonus -- one big enough to make up for the amount they screwed you out of.

My husband has a customer service job in which they're not required to give their names. Each employee has a fake name that they use. This is endorsed by their management (it's a public service job, not retail, and it's not shopped), but I wonder if there may be employees who give false names without management knowing.

Ever called Amazon or Comcast (etc) and gotten a CSR in the Phillippines, Costa Rica, or somewhere in Mexico or Asia? They give their names as David, Michael, Jennifer, etc. Ah, don't think so, especially when their accents are so thick you can't understand them.

I recently shopped a C-store. I started just chatting with the guy "hi, I stop here often, don't think I ever saw you here before". "Nope, I work in XXXXX county, and they asked me to fill in here because they are short handed". Saved my shop, because he had no name tag and (male, 5"7", short hair greying) is so generic
it could fit almost any male. But I was able to put in the shop report that he was only there for the day, from
xXXXX store in XXXXX county.

But then, I'm a silly old woman who can chat with anyone, any where, under almost any circumstances. I am
sure I often leave the other person feeling "geesh, what a dingbat!"....but that actually doesn't bother me -- as long as I get the info for my report!

The thing is, the store knows who they employ, even the temps, so a generic description does go a long way, especially if your report includes what department or area the employee was in. Sometimes if the narrative allows, I'll pinpoint as much intel as possible for them to determine who the person was, from the time of the encounter and anything that might describe his/her activities or description.

I think I'm just going to have to eat this one and learn how to never let it happen again. I suppose that if the name is that important to the MSC, the best policy would be to require the shopper to obtain a business card, which I will do from here on out. Working as an IC means you have to cover yourself on all fronts. Lesson learned.

I don't want to push it because they've been really good with me before. I got a name wrong a while ago but they worked with me to find out who it was by asking for more physical descriptors, and we eventually got the right person. This time they did the same thing, and it was just a dead end. So, I think they're genuinely interested in making it work. I have to say that I understand their perspective. They didn't get the required information (regardless of fault), so they can't use the report. Frustrating for me, but it's nothing personal.

I'm totally going to stop in there on my own time and try to figure out who this person is anyway! :-)

One tip for the future (if it is legal in your state) is to run a voice recorder during every shop. I use it for my own notes and help with writing the report but I also have had situations where I was able to offer the recording to an editor as evidence to corroborate my story.