Do the locations know the name of the shopper?

I had a really uncomfortable thing happen last week that I wanted to present for discussion to see if anyone else had this happen. I ran into a former co-worker at a retirement party. She now works for a retail establishment that I have shopped a few times in human resources. She came up to me, nudged my shoulder and said, "I saw your name on some reviews of our store." She gave me a "wink, wink." I knew where she worked now, but did not put two and two together. After a few minutes it hit me and I felt really strange about the entire situation. I have not shopped that location in a few years and have no idea how she would know it was me unless the company supplies that info to the client. Does anyone else think this is strange?

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This is a good subject. I haven't had that happen to me, but read if you know someone working at the store,
you shouldn't shop it....I could be wrong, funny thing, I shop Krogers over and over and many employees feel they know me and I them. i am not giving a good report because of that, being objective is our business.
Do they put our names on their reviews, I haven't heard much about this.

Live consciously....


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2017 07:08PM by Irene_L.A..
It depends. Some MSCs provide reports with shopper names on them. Other companies keep the name of the shopper confidential. Still other companies do it both ways, depending on what the client wants. Some clients want the name of the shopper. And, if you make a purchase, with the receipt provided as a part of the report, the company can easily identify you unless you have paid cash. Even then, you may be viewed on video.

One client I specifically know about is Five Guys. I have not shopped them in several years because one of my friends is a FG Regional Manager. He receives reports for all FGs in his region, and the reports do contain the shopper name. He watches the video taken during the shop time, matching the reported details to the video. He does not provide the shopper info to the store managers or to any of the employees, but it is conceivable to me that his personal assistant and anyone in Human Resources may also have access to shopper names and may even have viewed the videos. I mystery shopped Five Guys several years ago, before he worked there, and he knows that I was a past mystery shopper, and we've discussed it.
This is a great topic! I never thought what goes on behind the report that I submit. I'm not sure that I want my name plastered all over some bank report that slams a condescending dimwit.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
I was under the (mistaken) assumption that our names aren't given to the clients. That's interesting and bothersome. I know that the MSC that shops my bank does everything possible to protect the shoppers' identities, especially since they shop the tellers on an ongoing basis. I figured the locations got our reports, or at least a synopsis of them, but didn't realize they sometimes get our names, too....

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
@HonnyBrown wrote:

This is a great topic! I never thought what goes on behind the report that I submit. I'm not sure that I want my name plastered all over some bank report that slams a condescending dimwit.
why R U slamming bank employees? msing is neutral facts not calling people dimwits.
I would suspect that each msc handles it diffrently but some clients probably want to make sure it's a legitimate mystery shop report. And that we are filing an accurate report so they watch the video to match up with our report. I even had an instance where the client liked my work and they invited me back for followup work.
I am slamming the bank employees who were condescending and dimwitted.

Why do you ask? Do you need specifics?

@MSNinja wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

This is a great topic! I never thought what goes on behind the report that I submit. I'm not sure that I want my name plastered all over some bank report that slams a condescending dimwit.
why R U slamming bank employees? msing is neutral facts not calling people dimwits.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
Speaking of which, has anyone looked at MF's Shopper Privacy Statement? They share our info with www.salesforce.com, among others
I guess I don't like the giving out of names, due to retaliation possibilities over a negative report, if a regular employee got hold of it (esp. if they know our faces like in the Five Guys break rooms where photos of shoppers are posted - not sure if this is urban legend or truth).
I've spoken to this and shared this story before in another thread, but seems appropriate here. I had a shop for Consumer Impressions where the manager for the FF restaurant I shopped actually emailed me and thanked me for the feedback. It was not a positive visit. Only time it has happened.

proudly shopping in the D.
Paul, YIKES! That seems very inappropriate. The manager IMO should not have been given your contact info. Having it, he should not have used it. Just as MSers are prevented from contacting the client, the client should not contact us . Did you inform the MSC?
No Chris, at the time I honestly didn't give it much thought. I replied to the sender and told him I was happy to be of help. That was probably about 6 or 7 years ago when I lived in Dallas. I continued to shop for that company and for that client and it was the only time it has happened. Seeing this thread just reminded me of that and makes me wonder how much personal information gets passed along with our reports.

proudly shopping in the D.
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