Did a shop today where you get waited on by a carhop. I think I followed all the guidelines: pushed the button, no response so after 5 minutes, moved to another slot, tried again. I waited 7 more minutes for a response. Response was not good. Twenty-three minutes later, yay, here comes the carhop! Nope. She delivered an order to a car that parked and ordered after I did. Five minutes later, yay, finally, here she comes again! Nope. Delivers an order to a second car that arrived and ordered after I did. As she is sauntering (no, I won't use that word in the report, but it's what she was doing!) back to the restaurant, she saw someone she knew. Right next to my car! They exchanged hugs and started a lengthy personal conversation (I could hear it).

Thirty seven minutes after placing my order, I went inside and checked the restroom. And I cancelled my order.Then I left. I did tell the person I spoke to "I've been here since 2 o'clock, and now it's 2:45 and I haven't received my order. That's utterly ridiculous."

The guidelines say I can leave after 20 minutes of waiting, if I don't get my food. It doesn't say anything about cancelling the order, or saying anything to anyone.

And, of course, no receipt, no photo of food.

I have a long relationship with the MSC, but I'm a little worried. I hope they'll take my word, as I have absolutely no proof of visit.

But I'm afraid, too, that cancelling my order and telling the person the wait was ridiculous was something I wasn't supposed to do. But I was thinking, "I'm a regular person, really pissed off after waiting 45 minutes, seeing patrons who ordered after me get their orders, and the carhop STILL visiting with her friend -- if I wasn't "shopping" this location, what would I do? What would an ordinary customer do?" Well, I really wanted to throw a full-on hissy fit, get an apology or a coupon for a free meal for later, or complain to the manager. SOMETHING. ANYTHING.

I'm not a rude person. I think, under the circumstances, I was quite reasonable. While I did say the wait was ridiculous, I did say "please cancel my order". I probably LOOKED impatient. And I was STARVING, LOL!!!
A starving, angry redhead? Not on your bucket list of things to deal with, let me tell ya!

I thought cancelling the order was the polite thing to do, rather than have the carhop take it out to deliver it and just find me gone.

Anybody run into this before? How did you handle it on-site, and on the report? If I put every detail in the report, won't I be "outed" as the shopper?

Thanks for any insight.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2017 11:53PM by ceasesmith.

Yes, yes and yes. You should reschedule and reshop! It was my experience, very similar to yours that caused them to take me off of that program. I don't miss it as much as I thought I would, but every now and then I would love to have them pay for my burger. However, now when those A$$hats mess up my order I have control and boy do I make sure that burger is FRESH as though they just killed the cow and put it on the grill just for me. And NO MORE watery shakes and full cups of ice in my soda! And NO MORE sitting there for 30 minutes just to leave with no food.

I can't. Today was last possible date for the month, AND it's 100 miles away.



The report was a bear to complete. I had no food photo, no receipt, and it just kept telling me to upload my receipt and photos......

Well, at least the guidelines cover your situation...if you're not attended to in a certain period of time you can leave, report the shop and still get paid. At least you didn't throw them the finger on your way out! Don't go into every detail, keep it unbiased and factual, you know. You can click on "I don't have a receipt" and take a picture of the floor for these.

Sometimes capturing a pic of the retail comes in handy as you arrive at the shop. To more or less verify your time in. When we no longer are in control of the circumstances than other reasonable factors can come in play. While the retail cannot tell anyone, WHY, the carhop did not attend to you. You can verify what you saw and what the carhop said and did, while you were there..

You waited your 20 minutes and check the restroom. Only, out of respect, you cancelled your order. Which was not necessary. The most the retail would have to defend is a meal that was being prepared, but for no-one.

Perhaps writing/submitting the report would ease some of our discomfort. I would not re-shop. You had or would of moved your car after the 20 minutes, "after 37 minute with no food. I checked the restroom and left the retail".

After the restroom check, your shop was over. While still hungry, you preformed the shop as guidelines permitted. And you are be factual.

Submit the report and perhaps you will get a "closed shop fee". or full fee. If anything. QC will come back and asked, "what was the carhop doing, while you were waiting" or "what kind of car were you driving?"

As much as a MSC will throw in our faces, "The Client has video to record". Now would be the time for the Client to check his video surveillances. .

As an additional point, take a picture of the retail when we leave, especially if the shop goes off guidelines.
Never think, We have "no proof" of being at the retail..

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2017 06:08AM by sojo917.

Right. What Sojo said. However, they will likely ask you what kind of car you were driving and to give a description of yourself. That's what they did to me. I told them, all the while thinking "yea, now they'll see" and maybe make needed changes at that location. Instead, or maybe in addition, I don't know, they cancelled me from the program entirely, not just the one location. Since they didn't say why they cancelled me, I can only imagine. I imagine they gave the information to the district manager, who then viewed the video. Thereby identifying me as the MS. Since most of the franchises in the area of owned by one company, I'm sure the franchisee uses the information to their advantage and assists employees in identifying the shopper so they score well on future visits.

I vowed, since then, to adapt myself to the true nature of "shopping" the larger companies with the larger clients (chains). It was not that long ago. I chalked some of it up to living in the big city I live in now. Whereas, I was living in Hawaii and you can't just screw people over and remain in business. If a shop goes terribly awry and I can re-shop it, I will choose that instead of reporting such an extreme anomaly such as not being attended to on all points of an assignment, even with verbal and non-verbal insistence. I feel I must. I could afford to loose that location but not the entire program and that mirrors my mystery shopping altogether.

I mean, I don't feel that way about this "Client" anymore, but I sure did when it was happening! The more questions they asked me, the more I knew they were gunning for me. I shopped mostly smaller and boutique mystery shopping companies in Hawaii and they protected me as much as they protected the client. This is not the case at all with these larger $5 companies. They can afford many mistakes and can afford to use you up and spit you out. Sounds bitter, but it's not. It's just a reality pill we all have to take with the bigger companies and bigger clients.

If I remember correctly, you are supposed to check the outside restroom, not the one inside.

I stopped shopping the client due to my opinion of the low quality of the food. I asked for a large bonus recently and was ignored, probably a good thing.

I'd have taken a picture of the menu and maybe one of the building, with a date/time stamp for the two pictures and submitted them. Since you ordered food within the time allotted, I would have dug through the guidelines looking for anything allowed. I would have pressed the button after 10 minutes of no food delivered.

The guidelines I had said not to press the button a second time so that would have invalidated the shop.

Spicy is right. And it says if you don't see a restroom, ASK. Doesn't say anything about interior/exterior restrooms.

I must have a low culinary threshold -- I think their burgers are just about perfect. They have a charbroiled flavor, and put the same toppings on them as I do at home. Several years ago, they'd get my order wrong half the time; now, they mostly get it right.

I submitted my report. I would truly hate to be outed, as this is a bread & butter client for me! I shop them between 3 and 11 times a month, some over 200 miles from home.

You took the shop to evaluate the service. So evaluate it, report it and get your fee. If the guidelines state you can leave after 20 minutes of waiting, you can leave. If the guideline state you must have a receipt for reimbursement, you stay until you get it. The life of a mystery shopper can have some challenges and sometimes the shop does not go as planned.

I think outing is a risk you have to take, however much it may suck,and this coming from a person who would hate to lose any food shops, as they are my bread and butter too.
But always remember the main purpose of shopping is to help the client (or so we are supposed to believe), not score ourselves free food. Rescheduling wouldn't help the client at all. They need to know about it, and from a legit shopper's standpoint.
It is possible that if you are outed it's just that location. I know MF has me down for one location I can't shop, but all others are OK. So hopefully you'll have the same luck.

I'm not based in the US and can't eat gluten so it doesn't sound like a shop I would be able to do anyway - the only thing that springs to mind to me from your description is to take a photo of the outlet and submit an image of that as proof you were at the right place. I'm now curious if that would generally be enough proof for the US MSC's.
If you followed the brief, especially as they gave instructions for that scenario, they must be used to it happening. If you have a contact email for the MSC I often email to "give a heads up" if I encounter a situation where the visit experience doesn't fit with what the form is asking me to upload/ chose an option with no comment box to explain.

I had one of these. I pushed the button and placed my order, but food didn't come. Fortunately, a carhop stopped to see if I needed anything (check back) about 10 minutes later and when I told her I didn't have my order yet, she went to check and found it had gotten overlooked. Brought the food, abject apology, coupon good for free super sized drinks forever, etc. AND the MSC had to change the guidelines to give direction for what to do when this occurs, which is why you have the guideline to leave after 20 minutes. I would have been angry at leaving without food, since I had paid with my credit card. A regular customer would have raised a stink. There are several guidelines for that customer that were written in response to situations that occurred to me - I've been doing them for 17 years now.

I always take a picture of the location, with a time and date stamp in the photo, so I have proof of visit should things go south.

There is a way to have your say and still not be outed. For the MSC, reschedule the assignment so you don't have to provide the specifics of this disaster (and then hope the client does better on the second visit!). For yourself, go the the client's website, raise Cain about your bad experience, and ask for any compensation you want. Since the original visit is not reported, there is no connection to the MSC and no outing.

I love the ideas that silver12 mentioned, I say a great big AMEN to that!

Hers was 100 miles away and due that day so she couldn't have.

But, that will be my philosophy for sure!!!!!

I had the same thing happen to me. Placed the order, it never came. I checked the guidelines and followed them to a T. Then checked the bathroom and went home and filled out the report being very detailed about exactly what happened. There was zero pushback on that report and I got paid without complaint. I would say don't worry.

If i recall correctly if you press the button once and do not get a reply in 10 mimutes you can leave and report the shop. I don't think you are supposed to move to another spot. It has been awhile since i read those guidelines though.

email helpdesk and call the 1-800 MSC number. I've done that for two shops that got extra weird. Communication can't get you problems. As for pictures... take a picture of the location. to suffice. Send it twice (receipt and burger)

@silver12 wrote:

There is a way to have your say and still not be outed. For the MSC, reschedule the assignment so you don't have to provide the specifics of this disaster (and then hope the client does better on the second visit!). For yourself, go the the client's website, raise Cain about your bad experience, and ask for any compensation you want. Since the original visit is not reported, there is no connection to the MSC and no outing.

Not to beat a dead horse, but no. Rescheduling because the shop was a disaster on the client's part is a terrible idea. We going to keep rescheduling until the client gets it right? MSC should be better than that. Yes the OP took actions that could possibly get them outed, and if those actions went out of the guidelines, then yes, maybe reschedule. But if the shop is done to the MSC and the Client standards, it does no one any good to reschedule a bad shop. The client needs to know, from a MS, not from a customer complaint (which most of the time they blow off by providing the complainer with free coupons and never do anything else, cuz customers complain...a lot...which is why they hire MSCs to obtain objective reviews).
And if the OP didn't get a bonus for this shop to begin with it's not worth it it becomes a lose money proposition. Two meals, one reimburse, one shop fee (which is ridiculously low for this shop).

To reschedule a bad shop, to ignore and not report things gone amiss for fear of being outed on a bad shop, to me is dishonest and not living up to the agreement we sign in our ICAs.
I did a fast casual a while back that asks if all the employees were acting properly. Well no. There was one guy in there yelling, several times to another employee who yelled back. It was all just them two having fun, but it was loud and unprofessional. I had it all recorded and sent the report with the exact words they were yelling and the description of the two yellers. Everything else was fins and I could have ignored that, knowing the descriptions would give them and me away (especially since there was just one other customer there). I haven't been outed, still do shops there.
We have to do what we are assigned to do. If it goes bad, it goes bad. That's part of why they want us there.

@bgriffin wrote:

If i recall correctly if you press the button once and do not get a reply in 10 mimutes you can leave and report the shop. I don't think you are supposed to move to another spot. It has been awhile since i read those guidelines though.

Press Button. Wait 5 minutes. No Answer: Switch Stalls. Press Button. Wait 5 minutes. No Answer, evaluate cleanliness and POP. Leave location. (I would take a picture of the location if this were to occur)...

I was close! Either way the shop should have been done 5 minutes after the second button was pushed.

That seems way less aggravating than 45 minutes.

Slightly.

I do these when they call and offer a bonus. Otherwise, no way. I took 2 of them a while back. Both were park and hit the button. I gave the first one ample opportunity even moving to the second spot. Didn't help. Went to the second shop and same thing. The report is pretty simple - just follow the instructions and the questions take you through the report fast. You get the pay - just not the reimbursement for the food, since there was no food. Also did not need any pictures. My husband and I went to the 3 in our area a couple weeks ago as normal people. The first place was not answering the call buttons at all and the drive-thru was long so we left and went to the second location. They were out of strawberry (for my husband's banana split and my milkshake). So we went to the third location and they were out of ice cream!!! Went back to the first one and sat in the line - didn't move for almost half an hour so we went home. What a waste of time. These places are terrible! Writing them bad reviews doesn't seem to have helped at all.

@bgriffin wrote:

I was close! Either way the shop should have been done 5 minutes after the second button was pushed.

Not really, because they DID take my order after I changed stalls. Then the guidelines say give them 20 minutes to deliver. So that's what I did -- and I generously gave them a few more minutes, because I was STARVING.

It was an $80 bonus shop. Significant. Since it was 100 miles from home, I also picked up another shop in the same area for $100. Gotta make the day worth while!

I always take a picture of the location, with a time and date stamp in the photo, so I have proof of visit should things go south.
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Nevertheless, no matter how long you've been in this business, when you have a volatile combination like a bonus for a shop that is very long distance, and you're hungry and you like the food and the shop suddenly goes south it's a shock to the system!

Although it was a "successful shop", as the guidelines cover this very scenario so it must happen (as confounded as it is!!!), our minds don't conceive it as a successful shop. And in this industry, you can NOT be paid depending on the interpretation of the guidelines by the MSC and/or the client and that is very sad!

With every shop that I do, I enter it like I do the Casino. I don't risk anything I can't afford to loose. With every shop that I do, I enter it knowing that I actually may not get paid for it.

<whispers> I don't know for sure, but had it been me, I may have tried other means (under the circumstances) to get the skaters attention to get me my food!

@ceasesmith wrote:

Not really, because they DID take my order after I changed stalls.

Your OP stated you waited 7 minutes at the second stall but the guidelines state you should only wait 5. I would have bailed 2 minutes before the order was taken!

I was HUNGRY! Also, the place was the busiest I'd ever seen it -- about 20 cars parked -- and I was willing to give them a little break. Oh, and my report has been approved.