I managed to keep a straight face-I deserve an award!
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Had 3 really funny situations:
One was a gas station. Gas was $1.30/litre. The man in front of me at the pumps said, lady use silver. The price on the pump was $0.13 for silver. Someone had screwed up the pricing. The attendant in the store was a teenager. He rang in sale after sale for under $4 and seemed oblivious to the entire situation.
One was a cosmetic shop in a department store. The two associates at the counter I was to shop were having a very loud verbal fight when I walked in. This lasted over 5 minutes. When they were finished I approached the counter and the clerk acted as if nothing had happened.
One was a cell phone shop. The clerk told me some people did not like flip phones because they smelled bad. I looked at him and he continued that they got food stuck in the phones and then they did not smell very good.
Don't you just love some customer service.
One was a gas station. Gas was $1.30/litre. The man in front of me at the pumps said, lady use silver. The price on the pump was $0.13 for silver. Someone had screwed up the pricing. The attendant in the store was a teenager. He rang in sale after sale for under $4 and seemed oblivious to the entire situation.
One was a cosmetic shop in a department store. The two associates at the counter I was to shop were having a very loud verbal fight when I walked in. This lasted over 5 minutes. When they were finished I approached the counter and the clerk acted as if nothing had happened.
One was a cell phone shop. The clerk told me some people did not like flip phones because they smelled bad. I looked at him and he continued that they got food stuck in the phones and then they did not smell very good.
Don't you just love some customer service.
Ok gang this is a true and hilarious story regarding a telephone apartment shop.
After numerous attempts to contact my target, I was given the okay to ask for him
Leasing Professional: Good Afternoon ABC apartments, this is Lisa
Me: Hi there! Is Juan in today?
Leasing Professional: who?
Me: Juan
Leasing Professional: There is no Juan here
Me: there is no Juan there?
I couldn't help myself I just had a laughing attack and hung up!
After numerous attempts to contact my target, I was given the okay to ask for him
Leasing Professional: Good Afternoon ABC apartments, this is Lisa
Me: Hi there! Is Juan in today?
Leasing Professional: who?
Me: Juan
Leasing Professional: There is no Juan here
Me: there is no Juan there?
I couldn't help myself I just had a laughing attack and hung up!
So here is one more for you all
I had to do a shop at Office xxxx at the print shop
I told the associate that I needed a bleed
She looked at me like I was stupid and said "What is that?"
I answered her "you don't know what a bleed is?"
She replied in a snarky voice "I know what a bleed is! When I get a paper cut it bleed!"
I had to do a shop at Office xxxx at the print shop
I told the associate that I needed a bleed
She looked at me like I was stupid and said "What is that?"
I answered her "you don't know what a bleed is?"
She replied in a snarky voice "I know what a bleed is! When I get a paper cut it bleed!"
Reading all your funny stories reminds me of the ff shop I did a couple years back...first I did the drive thru, then I parked and went inside. It was lunch, the place was packed, but I finally found an empty table.
It seemed people were looking at me. I had a book to read, and was munching my burger and fries, but I just kept feeling eyes on me. I looked down to see if my clothes were on backward or inside-out...nope. Finally, when it became obvious that everyone in the place actually was staring at me, I went to the ladies' room -- did I have spaghetti in my hair? Had my mascara given me raccoon eyes? WHAT??
I could find absolutely nothing to explain the intent stares, so I made my way back to my table...that's when I noticed I had seated myself under a (muted, but large screen) TV -- and a bowl game was playing!!!!
It seemed people were looking at me. I had a book to read, and was munching my burger and fries, but I just kept feeling eyes on me. I looked down to see if my clothes were on backward or inside-out...nope. Finally, when it became obvious that everyone in the place actually was staring at me, I went to the ladies' room -- did I have spaghetti in my hair? Had my mascara given me raccoon eyes? WHAT??
I could find absolutely nothing to explain the intent stares, so I made my way back to my table...that's when I noticed I had seated myself under a (muted, but large screen) TV -- and a bowl game was playing!!!!
Years ago, I was doing a coffee shop. Part of the objective of the shop was to see if the employees were knowledgeable about a new coffee beverage and would recommend it to customers. After giving the order-taker the suggested opening to talk about the new beverage, "I'm tired of the same old thing. What do you suggest I try?" The order-taker (who was also the barista), gave an audible sigh and said, "Lady, I don't know. I just pull the lever and dispense the s**t."
Believe me, I really wanted to say, "Dude! You are sooooo busted!" but I somehow managed to keep a straight face. Yeah, that was a fun report to write!
Believe me, I really wanted to say, "Dude! You are sooooo busted!" but I somehow managed to keep a straight face. Yeah, that was a fun report to write!
I had a shoe store shop where I was supposed to as for comfortable shows for my new job standing all day. The girl said, "Our shoes aren't made for comfort, you should try X across the street" (partner brand, but still). She did proceed to show me the one sort of comfortable pair in the store, and I bought them and love them!
I did a teller shop at a local bank (it is a fairly large CA chain, but I live in a small town). My family, kids, wife, and friends all have accounts here. I always use the internet or (rarely) the ATM, so I really don't know any of the staff. The shop went poorly (for the employee) and I reported exactly what happened. Then the employee cried FOUL! and insisted I had rushed the report to meet my wife for lunch (who was in Germany on a business trip!). I got canned by the MSC, and despite my protests, they eliminated the shop. I didn't get paid. This was all a year ago. Blah, blah, blah, right?
Yesterday, I needed a cashier's check so I waltzed into the bank and whattya know!... The same employee helps me.... She remembers me and fell all over herself trying to apologize but still deny the authenticity of the shop and give me good service. It was hilarious. I wish I had a camera!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2017 03:46PM by winemaker.
Yesterday, I needed a cashier's check so I waltzed into the bank and whattya know!... The same employee helps me.... She remembers me and fell all over herself trying to apologize but still deny the authenticity of the shop and give me good service. It was hilarious. I wish I had a camera!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2017 03:46PM by winemaker.
Is it true that the staff is given a heads-up? I thought the whole point of mystery shoppers is that the employees aren't supposed to know when they will be visiting.
I once did an airport restaurant shop that had a bar. I asked my scheduler if I could bring my family, including 2 children. The scheduler said it was fine. When I entered the shop the only employee working greeted me with "what do you want?" I told her we were there for dinner and she responded "there's a Chili's down the way. You should go there." I told her we'd like to stay, and she suggested we go to Chili's again. She gave us poor service the entire time we were there, and to top it off she charged me wrong for my wine and I had to have her reverse the transaction. It was so hard for me to keep it together.
I've got another one. I was about 7 months pregnant, and conducted a cell phone shop. The employee was totally clueless and asked me out for a beer. I told him I was pregnant, and he responded "how about I call you in 52 weeks?" Yes. He actually said 52 weeks. That was a fun report to write.
It depends on the client. Some clients give a heads-up and some don't.
@ChelseaGirl wrote:
Is it true that the staff is given a heads-up? I thought the whole point of mystery shoppers is that the employees aren't supposed to know when they will be visiting.
I have worked with folks who are awful at their jobs and make $50-$200 per hour. $15 is not much to ask for at all in my opinion. Maybe if they made a little more, they'd be more motivated to learn about their products.
During a FF shop in which I was supposed to place an order which would include an entree, side, and a shake, part of the requirement was that I make one "special request" for some part of the order. I placed my order and asked that they leave the whipped cream off the shake. The order-taker invited me to go ahead and find a seat and told me that someone would bring me my meal in a few minutes. Soon, a young teenie-bopper came over to my table and although she nearly dropped my whole tray of food in the process, she managed to ease it down onto the tabletop. As she started to walk away, I noted that the whipped cream hadn't been left off the shake, so I politely called after her and explained that there had been a mistake with the order. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "Let me fix that for you." She grabbed the shake and the long-handled sundae spoon that had been provided with it, walked over to a nearby trash can, and proceeded to spoon off all of the whipped cream from the top into the garbage. She spun around, plopped the shake back in front of me, laid the now-used spoon on the table, and smiled sweetly. "There you go. Anything else?"
Needless to say, it went in my report.
Needless to say, it went in my report.
More than once I have gotten a BOGO (drinks at happy hour, promotional dinner entree, etc) and my companion has tried not to pay their share, stating "I had the free one"!
My son works at a FF chain and they always know what day, but not what time. I was at a Fitness place the other day to work out. The manager said they have to be nice to all new people who came in that day asking for a tour and info as they were expecting their shopper. When I did the shoe store that I posted about way up above, they were expecting a shopper that day. At least some seem to be aware.
I do a certain fast Italian mall shop where the MSC wants photos of the pizza display and they are supposed to be covert, LOL. I nearly always get caught taking that photo, but the employees still do not suggest additional items to make it a combo or otherwise change their behavior as if they thought I might be the shopper. Maybe they never see the reports and don't know that photos are part of it.
@CindyWho wrote:
Recently at a low income apartment shop I was told by the apartment manager that I could not have an application because it was "too complex for me to fill out, and I would need to bring my husband back to fill it out!"
Sad but true when not on a mystery shop..My husband and I went to a local car dealer to actually buy a car for ourselves. We asked about test driving the car we were coming to see. The salesperson had another car he really wanted us to test drive. After coming back from that drive I asked if we could now test drive the one we had come for and he told us we would be too confused if he showed us more than one car.
At another time I went with my daughter to take a tour of a local high school she was thinking of going to. When we arrived the lobby had several police who were arresting two of the students. For several other reasons we decided not to go there.
And I did report the we would be confused statement to the manager of the car dealer.
What,employees not seeing the reports? I know that sometimes management sees reports and the employees don't actually see them and are merely advised on what needs improvement. The fact that this mall restaurant's employees don't know that photos are taken as part of the report is not too surprising. And how many times have you been somewhere on a shop and had to give a lot of "no" answers, only to come back month after month and notice no improvements made? It is, however, highly gratifying to see when improvements ARE made and to know that your report likely influenced the changes.
When I was in high school my first job was at BK. I know that our manager saw the reports but we never did. Also, Chipotle upper management see the knowledge questions and other areas of the report that individual restaurant managers do not get to see.
When I was in high school my first job was at BK. I know that our manager saw the reports but we never did. Also, Chipotle upper management see the knowledge questions and other areas of the report that individual restaurant managers do not get to see.
I don't think taking pictures is that rare today. With yelp a lot of people take pictures. I was doing a restaurant shop the other day and had to take a picture of my food. On the door of the restaurant it had "yelp", so I imagine they liked picture taking.
Yes, taking photos of your food is quite common. But taking a photo of the overall restaurant and then taking closeup of the displays? I dunno. The kids working in the food court might not have given it too much thought. Plus they likely aren't thinking of making a career out of that job so might not really care.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
Yes, taking photos of your food is quite common. But taking a photo of the overall restaurant and then taking closeup of the displays? I dunno. The kids working in the food court might not have given it too much thought. Plus they likely aren't thinking of making a career out of that job so might not really care.
I did that very same Italian fast food mall place just the other day and got called out by the person behind the counter for taking a pic of the display. She told me corporate does not want people taking pics of their food. I sent an email to the scheduler telling him of my reply (taking a pic to show my daughter what is avail so I can see if she would like a slice) and he said that was a good reply he would let other shoppers know about. So evidently this is an issue for this particular shop. If corporate has this rule, why make us, the shopper, get in trouble by asking us to break their rule. They say stay discreet but on my shop that was really difficult as I had to move right and left and right again over and over to avoid all the kids standing right in front of the display waiting to be waited on. This shop is now on my 10 foot pole...plus the pizza was not great anyway.
I like the stromboli and their meatballs and breadsticks. I generally don't get their pizza. I only do it if I have a handful of shops at the mall already and I know I am going to be there awhile...rather get paid to eat than pay out of pocket. But interesting info, thanks! It is hard to be discreet sometimes
I was doing a hotel shop and I was using a fake name and fake address. One requirement was to send out clothing for dry cleaning. The next day, the front desk called me and apologized that the dry cleaner ruined my slacks; however, they found the slacks on the Internet and were shipping them to my home!
Some years ago I was doing a car shop and the car I test drove was a nice shade of dark blue and had lightish blue material for seats. I asked the salesman if there was an option for leather for this specific car and he said to me while laughing "Are you serious, have you ever seen a blue cow?"
.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2017 04:21AM by MysteryMuse.
Shopping the Ohio Valley and all around the tri-state area (Pittsburgh, PA; Parkersburg, WV and Columbus, OH.)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2017 04:21AM by MysteryMuse.
Having had lots of mini-wage jobs when I was in college, I have can say with certainty that $15 an hour is not a living wage. If the top brass put their bonuses into staff training rather than into their Cayman accounts then the folks who work for them would know the answers. Or maybe the brass should pay taxes so that the public education system was equal to that which their kids are getting in private schools. Education Cures Ignorance.@Wentra wrote:
They probably are among the ones who think they should get 15.00 an hour.
Shopping SoCal and Maui.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2017 04:57AM by PuaM.
Wait until you walk in one that not only are you told you're in the wrong part of town... but you're also told "we can't show the model because this (expletive) we evicted last week burned it down"
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2017 05:06AM by kpmccord.
Video Route Shopper - MSPA Gold Certified _ Shopping since 1990s
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2017 05:06AM by kpmccord.
@ChelseaGirl wrote:
Is it true that the staff is given a heads-up? I thought the whole point of mystery shoppers is that the employees aren't supposed to know when they will be visiting.
I was shopping at a grocery store where I shop as a regular shopper and as a mystery shopper. I heard one cashier call out to another employee "When is the mystery shopper coming?". Due to my cashier telling me my total, I could not hear the response. It took all my energy to not say or do anything. LOL
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