@jlovesnyc wrote:
I'm seeing more and more shops in which the reimbursement amounts are under
$5 when a mandatory purchase is required. This may be ok at a fast food joint, but, If I'm shopping a specialty retailer or a shoe store, it is dumb to have the shopper purchase a bag of candy so as to remain under the reimbursement amount. If I'm doing a shoe store shop and spend $3 on a sock after spending 20 minutes in the store, I am asking to be outed as a mystery shopper. MSC's raise your ridiculous reimbursement amounts when it makes common sense. I recently shopped eddie bauer and the checkout lady even said "wow so your just buying an air freshener?" I won't mention names but another MSC had a $3 reimbursement for a grocery store and "encouraged" the shopper to make a large grocery purchase (not reimbursed) in order to not stand out -- are they stupid?
No, that requires having my car repaired.@ShopWhisperer wrote:
she went out and vandalised the shopper's car? Now that deserves a bonus!
@walesmaven wrote:
As for the grocery store example.... that is easy to do, since most of us need enough groceries on a regular basis to "mask" that required purchase. In that case, I interpret "large" to mean "larger" purchase. Shoe store? Time to hone your "ordinary shopper" portrayal. It is very easy to claim that one pair of shoes was too (wide/narrow, short/long) and the other was the opposite, or not quite the color that you had needed to go with an outfit. BUT that pair of sox is exactly what you keep forgetting to put on your shopping list, so you will take that. Remember, the "part" that you are enacting needs some interpretation, by you, to fit the setting and context. The guidelines aren't going to give you everything you need to excel. That bag of candy from the retail store? Gee, your daughter/son niece/nephew, grandchild will be glad that you remembered to bring a treat when you meet later today!
One year, early in my MS career, I shopped Radio shack at 8-10 different locations. At each I exclaimed how the little flashlight on a key chain would make a great stocking stuffer and that I like to accumulate such things year 'round for friends and family. As I recall, I was net out-of-pocket about 8 cents apiece and really did give them away as parts of Christmas stockings.
So let your imagination work for you, tell the cashier your "story" with verve, and smile as you exit stage right.
@Tarantado wrote:
Does it matter though? I don't flinch when I ask the gas station attendant for a receipt for my $0.20 Tootsie Roll to maximize my profits
@jlovesnyc wrote:
I'm seeing more and more shops in which the reimbursement amounts are under
$5 when a mandatory purchase is required. This may be ok at a fast food joint, but, If I'm shopping a specialty retailer or a shoe store, it is dumb to have the shopper purchase a bag of candy so as to remain under the reimbursement amount. If I'm doing a shoe store shop and spend $3 on a sock after spending 20 minutes in the store, I am asking to be outed as a mystery shopper. MSC's raise your ridiculous reimbursement amounts when it makes common sense. I recently shopped eddie bauer and the checkout lady even said "wow so your just buying an air freshener?" I won't mention names but another MSC had a $3 reimbursement for a grocery store and "encouraged" the shopper to make a large grocery purchase (not reimbursed) in order to not stand out -- are they stupid?
@shoptastic wrote:
@jlovesnyc wrote:
I'm seeing more and more shops in which the reimbursement amounts are under
$5 when a mandatory purchase is required. This may be ok at a fast food joint, but, If I'm shopping a specialty retailer or a shoe store, it is dumb to have the shopper purchase a bag of candy so as to remain under the reimbursement amount. If I'm doing a shoe store shop and spend $3 on a sock after spending 20 minutes in the store, I am asking to be outed as a mystery shopper. MSC's raise your ridiculous reimbursement amounts when it makes common sense. I recently shopped eddie bauer and the checkout lady even said "wow so your just buying an air freshener?" I won't mention names but another MSC had a $3 reimbursement for a grocery store and "encouraged" the shopper to make a large grocery purchase (not reimbursed) in order to not stand out -- are they stupid?
This is a question for everyone.
I've read about (not sure if urban legend, forum jokes, or real) Five Guys break rooms with mystery shoppers' faces posted like criminals on police board. I heard someone talk about computer screens with our customer account data having stars next to our names saying mystery shopper.
If you encounter this stuff, do you report it to the mystery shopping company and put it in your shop report? Doing so would obviously potentially have you barred from shopping there.
But, at the same time, if a store's staff already knows who you are, then that defeats the purpose of a lot of mystery shopping. We're there to find flaws and strengths and report on them so that the manager/client can improve their business. If we're being treated superficially, because they know we're shoppers then this defeats the purpose. Shouldn't the client know?
And what's up with store managers who allow this? Seriously, how is that a good idea? Do they get bonus points from corporate if their stores rate high on reports? Is it worth it, though? Because if you do it just for bonus points or a good corporate reputation, but you interfere with the mystery shopping process that would normally improve your business, then you could be losing out big time overall. You could have poor performing workers that you don't hear about and who hurt your business. That's the main thing I don't understand.
If a break room with our faces really existed, then presumably the manager has to know about this. He'd be the one to show them footage of our faces right? Or, even if the the pics were taken by suspicious staff themselves, the manager would have to approve of this "break room line-up" right? If he/she knowingly lets it happen, then the manager seems guilty here of sabotaging shoppers if the staff know who we are and don't out/report us.
I guess if the use those pics to out/report us, then that's one thing. But if they're using those pics to sort of "game" us for good reports, then that's bad for the company.
Hypothetically, if this situation occurred, what should the proper shopper response be? Tell the mystery shopping company - even at the risk of not being allowed to shop them anymore? Keep quite?
In case anyone was wondering again, no, I'm not writing a book.
@edawn wrote:
Can't you purchase something more expensive and return it? I have a shop coming up that I really didn't want to do because it's an hour away from my location but the scheduler gave a large bonus and wouldn't stop texting me. I'm sure I'll be able to find something for the meager reimbursement amount but if I purchased something more expensive, could I return it? I'm new at this so I'm not sure of all the rules.