Spouse shop the same restaurant I did?
Check with msc. It was denied when I checked for ours.
My husband and I have done this before. He's not interested in heavy narratives but is willing to do his favorite casual restaurants. I have not seen any guidelines that prohibit this. Our writing styles are as different as night and day, so it would be clear they weren't done by the same person.
Kristie,most of the MSCs I shop for do not allow that. If your husband dined with you when you performed a restaurant shop, and you would accompany him to do a shop of his own, in most cases, the 90-day restriction would apply to both of you together. If you performed a shop without him, he could then perform it the next month without you. But some do not care. Best to contact the scheduler and ask.
Some of the guidelines specifically exclude that situation. LindaM has it right. If you check with the MSC, it may save you a lot of hassle. :-) Good Luck!!
Thanks for your feedback. I'm just going to drop it, unless he tells me he's really craving a steak dinner. 
re: MS jobs in general.. i was told my 'husband' could sign up on his 'own,' and 'perform a job himself' .. it was very distinctly hinted 'I' could perform it... hth
The general purpose in a rotation is so they "forget" who you are. If you rotate with your spouse, you are defeating the purpose.
I asked the scheduler this exact question about a steak restaurant that had a 90 day rotation. She has a hard time filling both slots in my area so I asked if my husband could do the other one and she said it was ok. Not sure if she made an exception because my area is hard to fill or not...
Guidelines always prevail. Followed by, if the stated guidelines do not prohibit, I do not seek permission. I make no assumptions, and go by the written word.
I have shopped since 2007, my husband started many years later. We are registered with some of the same companies. We share the same physical address, different phone numbers, email addresses, bank accounts, URLs, and last names. We are independent contractors.
Unless the MSC otherwise states, rotations are independent. Restaurants, oil changes, travel service, prescriptions, car wash shops. . . 30, 45, 90, 365 days? The rotation, again - unless otherwise stated, is incumbent only on the Shopper.
I shop according to rotation. Some locations, with daughter, son, husband, neighbor, friend, I frequent more often on my own time and dime.
I have shopped since 2007, my husband started many years later. We are registered with some of the same companies. We share the same physical address, different phone numbers, email addresses, bank accounts, URLs, and last names. We are independent contractors.
Unless the MSC otherwise states, rotations are independent. Restaurants, oil changes, travel service, prescriptions, car wash shops. . . 30, 45, 90, 365 days? The rotation, again - unless otherwise stated, is incumbent only on the Shopper.
I shop according to rotation. Some locations, with daughter, son, husband, neighbor, friend, I frequent more often on my own time and dime.
Perhaps you will be paid because you did not violate the "written word." But, by spirit, it is not good practice. But it's up to everyone how they manage/view ethical behaviors.
If I was the client and I find out this is happening, I would be quite disappointed with the MSC for allowing this sort of behaviors to happen.
If I was the client and I find out this is happening, I would be quite disappointed with the MSC for allowing this sort of behaviors to happen.
@Mert wrote:
Guidelines always prevail. Followed by, if the stated guidelines do not prohibit, I do not seek permission. I make no assumptions, and go by the written word.
I have shopped since 2007, my husband started many years later. We are registered with some of the same companies. We share the same physical address, different phone numbers, email addresses, bank accounts, URLs, and last names. We are independent contractors.
Unless the MSC otherwise states, rotations are independent. Restaurants, oil changes, travel service, prescriptions, car wash shops. . . 30, 45, 90, 365 days? The rotation, again - unless otherwise stated, is incumbent only on the Shopper.
I shop according to rotation. Some locations, with daughter, son, husband, neighbor, friend, I frequent more often on my own time and dime.
By the time you and your husband visited the location a second time, the client would have received the review, gone over it with its staff, and the staff would have played the monthly game of, "Oh, I remember those guests." And your face and your husband's face will most likely be recalled by them.
Your primary responsibility as a mystery shopper is to fly under the radar at all times.
Guidelines cannot cover everything and most MSPs would not allow you to participate in a mystery shop until the rotation period is over.
Do not assume anything. Ask the scheduler. You will gain definite brownie points for being totally above board about this.
Your primary responsibility as a mystery shopper is to fly under the radar at all times.
Guidelines cannot cover everything and most MSPs would not allow you to participate in a mystery shop until the rotation period is over.
Do not assume anything. Ask the scheduler. You will gain definite brownie points for being totally above board about this.
Joan Gingras
Senior Project Director~BarStoolie Mystery Shopping
Barstoolie@insideevaluators.com
Senior Project Director~BarStoolie Mystery Shopping
Barstoolie@insideevaluators.com
Thanks again for the feedback but like I said, I am not going to contact the scheduler nor am I going to pursue having my husband do the shop. Although I am registered with over 50 companies, it is slim pickins for shops in my area so I am anxious to do them, but won't do anything unethical.
Hi Joan. I hear what you're saying, but
There are restaurants I regularly frequent because I enjoy them. My husband and/or I may dine at them a couple of times per month. I have no trouble flying under the radar, on assignment or otherwise. Is my face recalled? Maybe. Am I suspected of being the shopper? Why is that a problem? In these restaurants, the majority of the time, neither of us is the shopper.
I have shopped for years and enjoy positive relationships with schedulers. More than one MSC, trying to book a shop, has called or emailed asking if I have a friend or relative who would be interested in shopping. There is no impropriety involved.
I have been identified only once at a restaurant, or I thought I was. I went home and submitted the report, then emailed the scheduler that I believed the manager and bartender suspected me. The MSC paid me for the shop, did not publish my report, and sent in another shopper. That's just an example of "being totally above board", both by me and the MSC.
There are restaurants I regularly frequent because I enjoy them. My husband and/or I may dine at them a couple of times per month. I have no trouble flying under the radar, on assignment or otherwise. Is my face recalled? Maybe. Am I suspected of being the shopper? Why is that a problem? In these restaurants, the majority of the time, neither of us is the shopper.
I have shopped for years and enjoy positive relationships with schedulers. More than one MSC, trying to book a shop, has called or emailed asking if I have a friend or relative who would be interested in shopping. There is no impropriety involved.
I have been identified only once at a restaurant, or I thought I was. I went home and submitted the report, then emailed the scheduler that I believed the manager and bartender suspected me. The MSC paid me for the shop, did not publish my report, and sent in another shopper. That's just an example of "being totally above board", both by me and the MSC.
@Mert - You, as an experienced shopper, have earned the relationships you have in place with the MSPs you work with and you have the know-how to fly completely under the radar and be forgotten as soon as you walk out the door of the establishment...99.99% of the time.
A shopper without that experience needs to always ask their scheduler when in doubt of anything shop related. The last thing a shopper ever wants to do is to put a MSP in a compromised position with their client.
A shopper without that experience needs to always ask their scheduler when in doubt of anything shop related. The last thing a shopper ever wants to do is to put a MSP in a compromised position with their client.
Joan Gingras
Senior Project Director~BarStoolie Mystery Shopping
Barstoolie@insideevaluators.com
Senior Project Director~BarStoolie Mystery Shopping
Barstoolie@insideevaluators.com
Since so many employees apparently play a regular game of guess the shopper, perhaps too much information is being shared at the store level.
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.
@Mert wrote:
Guidelines always prevail. Followed by, if the stated guidelines do not prohibit, I do not seek permission. I make no assumptions, and go by the written word.
I have shopped since 2007, my husband started many years later. We are registered with some of the same companies. We share the same physical address, different phone numbers, email addresses, bank accounts, URLs, and last names. We are independent contractors.
Unless the MSC otherwise states, rotations are independent. Restaurants, oil changes, travel service, prescriptions, car wash shops. . . 30, 45, 90, 365 days? The rotation, again - unless otherwise stated, is incumbent only on the Shopper.
I shop according to rotation. Some locations, with daughter, son, husband, neighbor, friend, I frequent more often on my own time and dime.
yet another reason I have never taken my married name, or used my address............
@Kristie6923 wrote:
I did a restaurant shop a short while back and have to wait 90 days before I am allowed to do another. Can my husband do the shop? (I would be with, just like he was with me) I don't see anything in the guidelines stating that a spouse cannot shop the same restaurant.
At least one MSC I shop for would call this a rotation violation.
I do restaurant shops for three MSCs and all three would consider it a violation as well.
Perhaps Mert could share the MSC that allows such practices.
Perhaps Mert could share the MSC that allows such practices.
Odd business we are in. On the one hand the contract is everything, on the other it is nothing and we need to look for the "spirit" lest it be unethical.
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.
Linda, one of my favorite books from childhood was Hie to the Hunters.
If he really wants another steak at the line dancing place and you live in a metropolitan area, most likely there is another location that you could shop as well. It may not be super close but could be a nice drive for a way to get out. In my area, there is one right in town that I go to with my boyfriend as a shop and another is in the town about 45 minutes away that he used to live in. If bonused or if he wants a second steak within the rotation period, we will go to the second one and we enjoy the drive out (seems like we can talk better during drives out like this).
Shopping across Indiana but mostly around Indianapolis.
The return guidelines I'm most familiar with are written in one of two formats for restaurant shops:
"You cannot have shopped the same location within xxx days"
"Shoppers May Revisit After 4 Months"
I'd say that for both of those examples it's pretty clear to me the intent is that the shopper shouldn't try to skirt rotation guidelines by shopping with someone else. I'd say the first statement lends itself a little more to interpretation as it may be interpreted as speaking only to the person applying. The second (used by ACL and maybe others) seems less open to interpretation. But for both I'd suggest obeying the intent of the law and not just the letter of the law.
"You cannot have shopped the same location within xxx days"
"Shoppers May Revisit After 4 Months"
I'd say that for both of those examples it's pretty clear to me the intent is that the shopper shouldn't try to skirt rotation guidelines by shopping with someone else. I'd say the first statement lends itself a little more to interpretation as it may be interpreted as speaking only to the person applying. The second (used by ACL and maybe others) seems less open to interpretation. But for both I'd suggest obeying the intent of the law and not just the letter of the law.
My spouse would make a lousy shopper so he isn't signed up with any companies. However, there have been times in the past where I wasn't eligible to complete a shop due to rotation and I just emailed the scheduler, who happily waived the rotation since she was having a hard time filling the shop.
Whenever I have doubts about an instruction I always call the msc and ask. I figure if i think the rule might be vague or I might be infringing in some way I would rather make that call and make sure instead of finding out later I am out the cost of 2 steak dinners and the time to write up the report. From my way of thinking the rotation only applies to the shopper but throwing in a guest who was there as a shopper not long ago and who also is a spouse might be a stretch so I would make the call. Better safe than sorry later.
Kristie if your husband gets an itch for a steak after all, go ahead and call. You may be pleased with the answer.
Kristie if your husband gets an itch for a steak after all, go ahead and call. You may be pleased with the answer.
saacman5033, advising that shoppers abide by the intent of the law is tricky, will differ among shoppers, and will not hold water. I prefer to be on solid ground. Precedents have been set.
If I took each of your quoted guidelines literally, I would assume the intent would be that I not be allowed to visit My Favorite Awesome Seafood Place more often than the stated rotation of every 365 days. Even if I had a truckload of money to spend on special occasions, and was not wearing my shopper hat.
I do not believe that is the intent of the client or MSC. I am unfamiliar with any MSC that feels powerful enough to dictate such to me.
If in doubt, check with your scheduler.
If I took each of your quoted guidelines literally, I would assume the intent would be that I not be allowed to visit My Favorite Awesome Seafood Place more often than the stated rotation of every 365 days. Even if I had a truckload of money to spend on special occasions, and was not wearing my shopper hat.
I do not believe that is the intent of the client or MSC. I am unfamiliar with any MSC that feels powerful enough to dictate such to me.
If in doubt, check with your scheduler.
@Mert wrote:
If in doubt, check with your scheduler.
Absolutely agree!
@Mert wrote:
saacman5033, advising that shoppers abide by the intent of the law is tricky, will differ among shoppers, and will not hold water. I prefer to be on solid ground. Precedents have been set.
This goes back to the point above. If there is any room for doubt, go back to the point above and contact the scheduler. I'm just advising caution which your initial posts seemed to suggest isn't necessary. But it's good to hear you say that you should check with the scheduler, that's absolutely true.
@Mert wrote:
If I took each of your quoted guidelines literally, I would assume the intent would be that I not be allowed to visit My Favorite Awesome Seafood Place more often than the stated rotation of every 365 days. Even if I had a truckload of money to spend on special occasions, and was not wearing my shopper hat.
I don't think anyone would believe the intent of any MSC guidelines would be to restrict how often a shopper were to frequent an establishment on their own time and on their own dime. At no point did I say what a shopper should do on their own time. But accompanying someone else on their shop while within their own personal time restriction is a different story entirely.
Interesting! I thought the purpose was to get different perspectives.
Here's something to keep in mind though: In my area, there aren't many shoppers. Some restaurants like this go untouched all month. Would a restaurant rather have just one shop a month or two shops a month (same/similar perspective but different dining experience as it would be with different staff). I have seen BWW and TR both go untouched all month even with the highest bonus they allow on them. I wouldn't assume to know the client's desires. This is why I always ask the scheduler in circumstances like this.
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