Publix

The town that I work in is getting a Publix. I am very excited about this new addition. This is the only Publix within 75 miles of me. Are they shopped? I am signed up with lots of companies. Since there is not one anywhere close to me, I have never seen any on the job board. How long typically do places wait before they add a new location to the mystery shopping program? This town has not had anything new in over 5 years, so I have never encountered this before in the area that I do shop. Thanks!

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Mod note: Post removed as it breached the Forum guideline which states, "Do not reveal the clients of mystery shopping companies". Additionally, it is usually also an ICA violation to name both the MSC and client.

jlove - please remove the MSC name from your post as it is against the rules to list both the MSC and their client!

Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.

Please don't break IC agreement and name company. I just wanted to know if they were shopped. I guess they are. I am sure I am probably signed up with the MSC that does them. I am signed up with almost all of them. Thanks.

Yes, they are shopped heavy where I live.

You will LOVE shopping Publix. The required questions are ridiculous and peg you as a shopper, but the report is super easy. I haven't paid for groceries in about 3 years.

@FrugalCat wrote:

You will LOVE shopping Publix. The required questions are ridiculous and peg you as a shopper, but the report is super easy. I haven't paid for groceries in about 3 years.

Thanks for the info. I shopped one while I was on vacation and I loved it. I can not wait for them to open. In my area we have 2 regional grocery stores that have lots of locations and no competition- until now! I shop those stores as well. It saves me so much money on groceries!

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

Yes, they are shopped heavy where I live.

Thanks! I am hoping that this location does well and that we may get some more locations close to me soon.

Great thread. My bad on the minor ICA violation. Thanks for the reminder, and yes!, you may refrigerate your tomatoes.

Yes they sure are. The company with which I've shopped them would pay for a snack or two, but it won't pay for much. But I love shopping there. Everyone is insanely nice and the store is really clean.

Publix subs are awesome. And part of one of the shops out there is to order a sub.

I miss being in Florida and my Publix stores...In Michigan we have Meijer..which I miss when I'm in Florida. Why can't I have both??

Ditto @LeslieKay111! I miss Publix's Chicken Salad....

@Jk1nole wrote:

Publix subs are awesome. And part of one of the shops out there is to order a sub.

At first, I used to get upset that the $5 sandwich cut into my grocery bill but now the reimbursement was raised to $11 bucks. I do enjoy the sandwich though!

Do the Publix shops guidelines still require you to say you bought an item (when you did NOT) and had a problem with it, such as sour milk, or stale bagel??? I HATE those scenarios and have stayed away from those stores for fear of getting one! (Although I do take their competitor shops, which don't have that scenario).

@guysmom wrote:

Do the Publix shops guidelines still require you to say you bought an item (when you did NOT) and had a problem with it, such as sour milk, or stale bagel??? I HATE those scenarios and have stayed away from those stores for fear of getting one! (Although I do take their competitor shops, which don't have that scenario).

Yes, they do. They also have the dreaded "complaint at customer service" for their competitor shops. I REALLY hated lying and saying I bought something I didn't, then being asked for a receipt I did not have. I felt like they must have thought I was lying...

One time I had a Publix complaint shop and I picked a stale bagel scenario. They told me to go to the bakery and tell them my bagel was stale. You would have thought I had threatened to blow up the bakery by their reaction!

They kept calling other associates over and scratching their heads how I could have had a STALE bagel. Then they would look at me funny (like they thought I was a trouble maker) I will NEVER do any complaint in the bakery again!

While I would not do the competitor shop with that scenario I would have no problem doing the normal shop with it. Publix knows you will be getting a free item that you didn't purchase. How else are they going to test that the associates do the right thing? Send you a bad carton of milk to take in? I mean seriously.

Now, the stupid verbatim questions you have to ask in the meat department are another subject.

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

I have been doing Publix competitor shops for a few months now. This year, in my area, there have not been the Customer Service complaint for competitors, nor special requests in Bakery, Meat, Seafood or Grocery. Rarely, a time or two a year, they still have these scenarios in Publix stores.

SunnyDays2, what happened to you is so opposite the Publix motto "it's my pleasure". Anytime I have done this scenario, Customer Service has never directed me to take my complaint to the Bakery. I have been advised to go get another bagel, proceed to checkout when I'm ready, and tell the cashier that there is no charge for the bagel, as it was a replacement for one that wasn't good. Maybe you want to rethink your NEVER stance

Every time I shop Publix I think... Things are really good here I should be shopping walmart instead

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

@guysmom wrote:

Do the Publix shops guidelines still require you to say you bought an item (when you did NOT) and had a problem with it, such as sour milk, or stale bagel??? I HATE those scenarios and have stayed away from those stores for fear of getting one! (Although I do take their competitor shops, which don't have that scenario).
Yes, they do. They also have the dreaded "complaint at customer service" for their competitor shops. I REALLY hated lying and saying I bought something I didn't, then being asked for a receipt I did not have. I felt like they must have thought I was lying...

In my area, the competitor shops NO LONGER require the Customer Service complaint....they USED to, up until about two years ago....so I will happily do a competitor shop, but NOT the Publix Customer Service complaint. I feel like you do, Sunny. Yet others have no problems doing them, which is what makes MS so interesting!!

What problem do you have with doing them?

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

@bgriffin wrote:

While I would not do the competitor shop with that scenario I would have no problem doing the normal shop with it. Publix knows you will be getting a free item that you didn't purchase. How else are they going to test that the associates do the right thing? Send you a bad carton of milk to take in? I mean seriously.

Now, the stupid verbatim questions you have to ask in the meat department are another subject.

Agree on the Publix response to cs scenerio. I have done competitors w it and get varried answers. I don't feel guilty, I have purchased bad products vefore and wouldnt keep my receipt.

However, I thought these scenerio questions were bad until I started shopping a competitor w a different MSC.

Ask a 16 yr old produce associate how to cook an obscure vegetable...I have gotten some really interesting answers. I had one even ask what kind of vegetable it was... Lol

I will take the Publix questions all day!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2017 08:54PM by foodluvr.

@bgriffin wrote:

What problem do you have with doing them?

Well, grif, and this is just me now, I just don't feel right lying about getting something that I never got. It bothers me internally. But like I said, others have no problem with it, so that's why MS fits a wide variety of shoppers!

I have been doing the Publix shops for almost a year. The bad milk situation was only expected for about a month. I haven't seen that scenario for quite a while. It might be different depending on where you live.

@guysmom wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

What problem do you have with doing them?

Well, grif, and this is just me now, I just don't feel right lying about getting something that I never got. It bothers me internally. But like I said, others have no problem with it, so that's why MS fits a wide variety of shoppers!

Let's say I owned a store. One day you go in to shop and I stop you in the parking lot. I say hey guysmom, I own this store and I want to make sure my employees are doing what they are supposed to. I'll give you $10 if you walk up to one of my employees at my widget store and tell them you bought 8 widgets yesterday but when you got home there were only 7 widgets in the bag. My employees are supposed to give you another widget and I'd like to make sure they do. If they give you one you can keep it, just let me know what they say. If they don't give you one I want to know so I can retrain them. I understand that you didn't buy 8 widgets yesterday, I don't really care, I just want to test my employee. Either way you get to keep the $10 and possibly a free widget.

Would you do that?
Because that's basically what that scenario is.

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

Me, personally, grif??? I probably wouldn't do it.....it's just that internal thing inside of me. But I know there are plenty of others who would do it. I have no problem with that whatsoever. It's just a thing with me. But you provided a great example, I will say that!

I find that hard to understand honestly.
Do you also refrain from doing bank shops when you're not actually in the market for a new bank? Or any of the other myriad of shops where you have to make untrue claims? I know I'm sounding critical, I'm not trying to be, I honestly just can't wrap my head around it.

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

@bgriffin wrote:

I find that hard to understand honestly.
Do you also refrain from doing bank shops when you're not actually in the market for a new bank? Or any of the other myriad of shops where you have to make untrue claims? I know I'm sounding critical, I'm not trying to be, I honestly just can't wrap my head around it.

Please don't try to wrap your head around it! It's just one of those things. I understand mystery shopping is acting, and I've done my share since 2005. It's just that I don't want to end up being given something I haven't paid for after claiming that I had, and had a problem with it, just to see if the store follows the protocol. It doesn't work for me. Now don't laugh, but the last time I actually did a bank shop was when I actually WAS in the market for a new bank!! And I signed up with them, and am still with them! We're not all made of the same stuff inside, and again, that's why I think mystery shopping is fascinating, and fits the need for a wide range of personalities!

@guysmom wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

I find that hard to understand honestly.
Do you also refrain from doing bank shops when you're not actually in the market for a new bank? Or any of the other myriad of shops where you have to make untrue claims? I know I'm sounding critical, I'm not trying to be, I honestly just can't wrap my head around it.
Please don't try to wrap your head around it! It's just one of those things. I understand mystery shopping is acting, and I've done my share since 2005. It's just that I don't want to end up being given something I haven't paid for after claiming that I had, and had a problem with it, just to see if the store follows the protocol. It doesn't work for me. Now don't laugh, but the last time I actually did a bank shop was when I actually WAS in the market for a new bank!! And I signed up with them, and am still with them! We're not all made of the same stuff inside, and again, that's why I think mystery shopping is fascinating, and fits the need for a wide range of personalities!

Just curious, what kind of shops do you typically do?

I do grocery shops for several different companies, post office mailing shops, convenience store shops, Goodwill donation shops, light merchandising work, and once in a while I'll do some other retail shops if they interest me. Back in the day (2005-2012) I did between 800-1000 dollars a month in MSing. Now I only do about
125-180/month, so I've cut way back.

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