If the shop requirement asks that you rate the quality of the food (often temperature and taste) and you do a lot of food shops in a single day (let's say 8 -10), but don't actually taste the food or just take a few bites, would that be cheating?

I've seen people talk about doing lots of food shops in a single day and that seems implausible if asked to rate the food.

If one doesn't bite into at all, then he/she would have to lie on the report. But if you only take one or two bites, what if the area you bite is okay, but there's a piece of plastic in another area or a raw center, etc. What if there's something wrong with the food that you don't get a chance to encounter from just one or two bites? Are you in essence cheating the client?

As long as you can write an accurate report, you are not cheating anyone. (except your stomach)

I don't eat the entire meal when I do food shops. I will take a few bites to make an evaluation, and make sure I stay in the restaurant for the required time.

The client gets a great report, and I'm not overloaded with calories.

@FrugalCat wrote:

As long as you can write an accurate report, you are not cheating anyone. (except your stomach)

How much of the meal needs to be eaten to make an accurate report?

One bite seems too little.

The entire meal is obviously not necessary, as most humans probably don't eat every last drop/crumb.

1/4...1/3....1/2 the meal?

And, of course, it depends on the item. If it's a large pizza, then 1/8th could be enough!

I think I just feel like it's probably cheating the client if a shopper does, say, 12-15 food shops a day and makes a lot of fee profit, but never eats the meals or eats just a bite or two.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I don't eat the entire meal when I do food shops. I will take a few bites to make an evaluation, and make sure I stay in the restaurant for the required time.

The client gets a great report, and I'm not overloaded with calories.

Do you just box it for home?

It seems like a waste of time doing a food assignment and not eat the food. After all the value of the food is often much more the shopper's fee unless three is a mega- bonus.

Post removed because it contained personal insults against another forum member –– Admin

Oh c'mon Ninja. Leave the OP alone.

It has long been standard advice that, if you do not like/wish to eat the food, you must simply taste it and report on your findings based on that. end of story (one would hope).

I agree with the OP. You might not have to eat the whole meal, but you certainly should eat at least half (except large pizzas anyway) unless there is something seriously wrong with it. Just because you can get away with eating less and writing the report, doesn't make it right.

I second that -- Ninja, leave her alone.

Guidelines often say "taste" or "sample" the food. After all, you don't need to eat more than one tot or fry to tell if they are limp, overdone, underdone, cold, or greasy.

As shoppers, we are expected to have ready a scenario that easily explains any anomalies, such as, "Oh my. I just heard some very bad news that has upset my tummy. I cannot eat another bite." (But I would like more (tea/coffee/wine/water). Then sit there and sip the beverage while the required time elapses.

Also, for certain hotel/resort shops that require a LOT of drink orders during the evening, seasoned shoppers know to order a clear liquid (vodka or gin and tonic comes to mind) and discretely dispose of most of the second or third (or both) drink(s). This is not cheating; it is smart MSing. And, quite a few shopper seminars endorse both such way of working when the shopper does not or cannot consume the entire portion of food or drink.

Why do you think that most guidelines state that you may take the uneaten portion home with you? (And/or that you can take that last drink back to your room, to dispose of as you see fit, on a hotel/resort shop.)

We are playing roles, so unless the director (aka shop guidelines) states how much of a meal is to be consumed, we are free to taste and report. End of story. Ever see shop guidelines asking to see a picture of your "clean plate?"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2017 02:08PM by walesmaven.

The shops that I've seen require a "taste," which to me means two bites of a burger, burrito, or sandwich. If it's a salad or stir fry, then taste each ingredient and the sauce. However, not eating enough is not my problem.

You don't have to eat half of a burger and half the fries to know if they are hot and fresh and whether the food tastes good. That said, I'm like ChrisCooper, I seldom stop at half a burger.

The odds are astronomical that there is any issue with the burger in the first place, not to mention that if there IS an issue with a burger somewhere in the U.S. across many many chain locations, the chances of the lone mystery shopper being the one to get that burger are next to impossible. The shopper has a better chance of winning the lottery. I am not a big meat eater, I taste it for temperature, and whatever else they want me to assess and then I take it home for my dogs or throw it out if I"m going to be out awhile.
Don't look for problems where there are none, and don't accuse mystery shoppers of "cheating" the client when they are following guidelines.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Oh c'mon Ninja. Leave the OP alone.

While I agree with you to a point, haven't we delved into the realm of ridiculousness? I mean no insult, although I'm sure I will get reported anyway, but I just can't imagine a rational, intelligent adult asking this question seriously.

Im trying to figure out hoow someone does 12 to 15 restaurant shops a day.

Eat how much ever you want to eat, as long as you eat enough to properly evaluate the food for the shop. Not tasting the food at all, would not be appropriate. If you can't eat at least the minimum amount to evaluate the food, as per the shop guidelines, don't take the shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2017 01:55PM by spaztck.

I believe this topic to be deliberately inflammatory and have reported it as such. Calling mystery shoppers "cheaters" when we are doing nothing wrong is practically guaranteed to start a flame war.

@bgriffin wrote:

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Oh c'mon Ninja. Leave the OP alone.

While I agree with you to a point, haven't we delved into the realm of ridiculousness? I mean no insult, although I'm sure I will get reported anyway, but I just can't imagine a rational, intelligent adult asking this question seriously.

This is just more drama and rudeness toward other posters coming from the OP. The OP has a long, unpleasant history here. This is a followup to her Deleted thread. I also reported.

I think it foolish and a waste of time to take a restaurant where you don't like or won't eat the food. Usually it is reimbursement, waiting the time to get that back doesn't make sense, so enjoy the meal or forget about it. The question raise's suspect as to WHY one would take the job since it is a small fee (if any). I do many restaurant jobs and eat the whole thing, as finer dining requires dessert as well as a full meal. Who would not eat it after going to the restaurant for a meal, (give away shopper). What kind of meal is the OP talking about. How can you write a good report if you don't like or want the food. sorry, but this is the dumbest question yet...at least the OP is consistent. How old is the OP? I totally agree with above post, and the question is soo stupid, I believe it was written on purpose after that delete thread...OMG #we're played again.

My wish is OP gets professional help.

I seldom do any food shops, but 2 months ago I did one for MF....had to order a huge burger and side and drink. I only ate about 1/3 of the burger, 2 pieces of my side, but did drink all of my diet soda. That was plenty for me to judge the quality of the food.

Shoptastsic asked a perfectly valid question. It is a shame some here feel the need to pile on or raise accusations regarding her intent or motive. Simply answer the question if you feel you have something to offer, otherwise, just ignore the thread. I've seen previous posts made by a lot of the posters on this thread that I did not reply to simply because my opinion would be so opposite, or the question had been answered already. @Shoptastic, I think a 1/4 would be enough to make a valid observation.

Irene, you're in agreement with the OP! She was wondering how/why shoppers could do 20+ food shops in a day -- as a shopper stated in a different thread. That prompted the question of what's the minimum one eats for a food shop.

"Cheat" is a negatively charged word; maybe OP will substitute a more neutral word?

Shoptastic, I advise thoroughly reading the guidelines for each shop. If you still have questions, email the scheduler for clarification. Your question is too vague and broad to answer correctly. Requirements will probably differ by client - McDs, Papa John's, Panera, etc.

And I'd like to add that ff is a whole different world from fine dining. No way would I take a fine dining assignment without the intention of thoroughly enjoying the entire meal -- including the wine, if required!

If I had to eat at least half of the food in all my mystery shopping, I won't be doing any restaurant shops. I taste them and can honestly say I have done the job of evaluating the food. Most of them especially the upscale fine dining, you have to evaluate the drinks, appetizer, entree, dessert, etc. I am not a big eater but I am still qualified to evaluate the food. I eat them but not all of them, nor even half of them. I don't consider it cheating or I would be going to my confessor after every restaurant shop.

A question may be valid, but the OP asks questions with caveats implying or outright accusing other shoppers of cheating, lying and/or being unethical. If the OP is lacking experience in this business, he or she obviously does not know enough about the wide variety of shops and the guidelines specific to each.

I have completed video food shops for several different clients. At least one did not require a single bite of the food. The client was not looking for me to be a food critic. However, they did want temperatures to ensure the food was safe. The food had no value to me. The $40 payment per shop did. Based on the way the OP makes assumptions and jumps to conclusions, knowing my route included four to five of these over the course of 90 minutes, he or she would accuse me of cheating the client.

@PaulinMI wrote:

otherwise, just ignore the thread.

Pretty hard to do when the thread title takes up 3/4 of your phone screen!

Seriously though. I agree with you for the most part, but doesnt there come a time where we're discussing if using a phone timer is fair to the client because a track and field quality stopwatch is more accurate?

I like this place because of the intelligent discussions and legitimate disagrrements. This type of thread seriously lowers the standard of that.

@PaulinMI wrote:

Shoptastsic asked a perfectly valid question. It is a shame some here feel the need to pile on or raise accusations regarding her intent or motive. Simply answer the question if you feel you have something to offer, otherwise, just ignore the thread. I've seen previous posts made by a lot of the posters on this thread that I did not reply to simply because my opinion would be so opposite, or the question had been answered already. @Shoptastic, I think a 1/4 would be enough to make a valid observation.

Yeah, when I was trying to come up with a "rule of thumb" type of figure, 1/4 (or 1/3) came to mind.

re: intentionally imflammatory question

Not the intent at all. I've asked this - in almost exact same wording - in someone else's thread a while back (shall try to find it), but it was probably ignored as that thread was about to finish anyways and probably not relevant to the OP topic. So, I wanted to ask it again here after some recent discussion of people possibly doing 10+ food shops a day.

I agree it's a very legitimate question, because as a worker you need to fulfill your boss' expectations on any project/task. It's legitimate to ask what would constitute an adequate food evaluation. There may be differences in opinion (ultimately the boss should decide probably), but it's not at all out of the realm of serious talk consideration.

There's no explicitly stated universal standard - as there are many bosses - but I would imagine that if I were the owner of a company/restaurant and ordered a mystery shop that would involve food evaluation for quality, taste, and temperature, that I'd personally want 1/4 of the meal to be consumed at minimum. Unless it was a very large item like a full/large pizza, 1/4 sounds "about right" to me personally. That way, you can avoid a situation where someone eats just a bite of like a steak and the center is completely or partially raw and I wouldn't know it.

Or, maybe someone takes a bit out of a taco's edge, but the other 80-90% of it has something wrong with it (food is cold in the middle, food has a hair in it, the food is burnt somewhere, the food has too much salt, etc. etc.).

One bite definitely doesn't seem enough. Mayyyyybe two bites if it's a very small food item. I know it's totally subjective, but for me personally, I do like a 1/4 rule of thumb. I kind of just feels about right as a minimum for many meals to get a sense of things. I'm talking the entree, btw.

For side items and drinks, I'm not sure....maybe a few bites or a few sips would work there.

@adamaimeemom wrote:

Im trying to figure out hoow someone does 12 to 15 restaurant shops a day.

I could probably do it if I took half a day to schedule things, adamaimeemom.

That's with applications required. With self-assign, I could probably do it in a few hours. I know of enough food shops around me to route 12 a day. There are a lot of sub, drive-thur, burger, and pizza shops near me that are franchise types with many locations in the surrounding cities.

@sassymmmm wrote:

I agree with the OP. You might not have to eat the whole meal, but you certainly should eat at least half (except large pizzas anyway) unless there is something seriously wrong with it. Just because you can get away with eating less and writing the report, doesn't make it right.

I was thinking something along these lines (just off-the-top-of-my-head numbers):

entree: 1/4 minimum
appetizer: 1/6 to 1/5 minimum
side items (like some steamed broccoli or fries): a couple of pieces is fine
drink: a few sips?

I think if something was wrong with a drink you'd know it right away. Although, I could see a situation where there was something weird at the bottom or middle of a drink too. But I tend to think drinks are more easily evaluated, because you can see "through" them (visually) oftentimes and there seems less ways to mess a drink up.

The thing that seems to need more bites is the entree.

With appetizers, often they are shared, so you'll only get a few pieces anyways.

These are just guestimates. I'm totally open to other subjective opinions.

But I guess my main point was that it felt ONE bite was not enough and if I were a client/boss and knew this was happening that I wouldn't feel my job was being done right. People should put themselves in the shoes of the client too to get a sense of what is reasonable.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2017 07:32PM by shoptastic.