If its 5 guys, youre asked to give them a chance to fix it first before reporting it bunk. If its Sonic youre SOL edited to capitalize sh!t out of luck

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2017 11:00PM by spicy1.

I woud have done the same thing no one wants a wet bun.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Don't you wish there was a way to capture odors other than with words? Oh that would be too funny. The MSC editor opens the report and says, Oh wow, this one REALLY stinks."

I laughed so hard when I read this post, stuff I was drinking came out my nose.

There is a c-store that is shopped about 2 miles from my home. We're out in the country and have septic systems. The store's system is not large enough to handle the business anymore. It doesn't need to rain for the place to smell like backed up sewage. The store has a small branded taco stand and I know I don't want to purchase food from the stand because of the stench.

I called a scheduler this afternoon for help with a shop that, the representative did very little to get any positives. She asked what happened and I told her the sad story.

Her advice was write the report as the visit happened. Do not get emotional. Do not lie. And if possible try to describe the far and few positives of the sales person accomplished.

I will say it out loud, that report is one of the ones that make me nuts.

I'm not the mystery shopper who has a goal of nit-picking the representatives and business I evaluate. I'm also not the mystery shopper who will blatantly lie on a report to make it easier on myself.

Negative reports happen, it's part and parcel in this industry, But, I will repeat myself and say they are the hardest reports I write; whether it's a c-store or high-end sales.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

My reports are mostly good, now and then like when the pretzel guy's pants were literally falling off and I could see the tat on his tush....he wasn't wearing gloves, and believe me that was one pretzel i wasn't looking forward to eating. Still have picture in my mind.....

Maybe he wasn't wearing gloves but good thing he was wearing underwear.

@sojo917 wrote:

Maybe a description, so detailed, that when the editor is reading the report, she is actually getting sick from the "smell", just reading the report. That would beat a scratch and sniff.

I once did give such a detailed report that described the horrific condition of the restroom that the editor emailed me and said that I did not need to be so graphic in the future. It was in my early shopping years. I had written that there was dried fecal matter in the bowl, on the back part of the seat, on the tank behind the toilet, and splattered on the tile wall behind the toilet (how does one get their poop on the wall, really?). She said that in the future I could just say that there was dried residue in and around the toilet and on the wall and leave it at that.

I had to write a very negative report tonight about a business I have previously shopped that got an excellent report. I have even told friends how good the store was and today they crashed and burned. The large puddle of rotten strawberry juice on the floor below the strawberries was so disgusting I took a picture of it. Over 30 containers of strawberries had mold on them. There were many other problems and it took a long time to write that report.

In my experience when there is a bad report they investigate the shopper as completely as they investigate the location.

@cmor12 wrote:

In my experience when there is a bad report they investigate the shopper as completely as they investigate the location.

I beg to disagree. If you have a solid relationship with a great MSC and their schedulers; in my personal experience they will go to bat for you.
I didn't get paid for a report because I lost it and got emotional. The vice president of the MSC called me because my reports are normally 'just the facts, mam, just the facts' Yeah, my narratives for the report were that bad and over the top. I was going to be kicked from that MSC because of the report.

I was bent. I will stand by the report which will be about 2 years old in a couple of months. I did not report anything that wasn't true. I unfortunately didn't report the shop in an unemotional voice. I was bent and had big fun with my sarcasm, sardonic and passive aggressive voice. I took a nap, so I would calm down. When I woke up, I was angrier.

Quite a few on this forum know I do not write funny well. Sadly, my writing style comes off as sarcastic, sardonic and passive aggressive to the majority of the world. In person, I may be able to make you laugh so hard you will cry or any liquid you might be drinking comes out your nose. My writing skills do not get the funny done.

Negative shops happen. If you are brand new and have the bad luck to get a bunch of negative shop; Yes the editors will look at you more than maybe another shopper. If you can back your negative shop with facts & write the narratives unemotionally, you'll be just fine.

Remember unless asked, for emotional feelings; report the 'facts, just the facts'.

I did a negative report on a salesman in an electronics store. I was to shop for a new camera. There was no one present in the camera area so I went looking for the first associate I could find. I said that I was still using a Nikon F and a Hasselblad film camera, both of which are high-end cameras. I always get a positive reaction from people who know their cameras when I mention that I own a Hasselblad. This associate said nothing. He did, however, ask me how many Pixels my cameras had. STRIKE ONE. Film cameras don't have pixels, they use film. I asked for a camera with a "fast" wide angle lens. Fast lens allow you to take pictures in low light situations without a flash. STRIKEs TWO two THREE. He presented a camera with a telephoto lens that would require supplemental light from a flash in low light situations. I could go on with more examples of his ignorance of photography, but I won't.

This retailer, his employer, offered extended warranties. This company offered extended warranties on EVERYTHING. I asked the associate to tell me about relevant warranties. STRIKE FOUR He did not mention extended warranties. The associate told me he owned this particular camera model. I asked him why he had purchased this model. Which features of the camera impressed him the most. He evaded answering me. I pressured him to answer my question. STRIKE FIVE He bought that camera model because it was on sale and his boss owned one. He had not told me about the sale.

FIVE STRIKES and he's out.

This retailer asks mystery shoppers to offer their subjective opinion of the associate. My comment was that the associate was incompetent, he knew next to nothing about cameras and didn't have the common sense to ask for assistance from another associate. He should be retrained or at least barred from talking to camera-buying customers. I suggested that dismissal might not be out of line. This associate was that bad.

I dread really bad experiences. I can usually tell how a shop will go early into the shop and start thinking about the time its going to take to debrief my visit and respond to the clarification requests. I keep an open mind though and continue with the shop hoping to find something positive. I normally can, but not always. I remember doing a cell phone shop at a popular nationwide retail store that was the worst. The rep was on her cell talking when I entered. While browsing it was obvious they were talking to their boyfriend. She didn't acknowledge or offer assistance when she hung up. Instead, it looked like she started texting. After a couple of minutes and asked if she could help me. I inquired about cell phones and asked if she could recommend one. Her response was. "The phones are over there and they are all good." Long story made short. this 10 minute shop turned into 45 minutes. BTW I was the only customer. I spent a total of 3 minutes with her. My report was rejected even though I wrote a very detailed summary of what happened. It was rejected because I did not collect all of of the required information. Not POV, but information. I eventually I got paid for the shop, but it took up a lot of my time. I didn't care about the $10 pay, I was mainly concerned about my rating.

The MSC then, mainly did cell phone shops. Tenured shoppers probably know which one.

Mystery shopping is never boring.

My first task on the mystery shopper I want sent to a E-Z Mart and as I was pulling up there were police everywhere the store had been robbed and I was terrified I've never had that happen to me I was never ever able to go in and do what the assignment was told to me and their loss prevention was pretty high and that was the third time in one month of getting robbed so I was pretty scared how this happened to anyone

I LOVE doing Negative Reports. This helps me because most I do are good and a Negative report shows I am not just someone who rubber stamps everything. It allows me to blow off some steam, too. When I do have a Negative one I try to take as long as I can to submit it so it takes more emotion out of it. I know my reports have gotten at least 2 people fired and probably 3 more. Or as I say.............I have never gotten anyone fired - they got themselves fired for their actions.

Clients pay us to tell them what we experience in our persona as Joe Shopper.

@Cricket2009 wrote:

Clients pay us to tell them what we experience in our persona as Joe Shopper.

Granted--but sometimes, they don't want to hear anything negative about the clients' companies, and fight hard to make us, "Joe/Joan Shopper" look like the villains in the story. That's what upsets me. I don't want to be put on the defensive for telling the truth, but I have been put in positions where I do so and the client marches out the videotape, asks what I wore that day and goes after my interaction with their cashier like a hawk. Luckily for me, I don't lie, I do recall what I was wearing and nine times out of 10, the tape bears out my side of the story. As for that one out of 10, everybody's human. ;-)

Totally agree with your reasons for taking pics of negative issues. I do that, too. In the narrative summary (or sometimes via separate e-mail to the scheduler, if there is no logical place to include it on the shop report), I make a statement that photos of the problem areas mentioned in the report are available upon request. I've never once been asked to produce those photos. I believe that mentioning the photos in advance decreases the likelihood that the shop will be rejected due to someone stating, "The shopper was in error," because I have already indicated that I have photographic evidence to back up my negative ratings.

@frank860 wrote:

I believe that mentioning the photos in advance decreases the likelihood that the shop will be rejected due to someone stating, "The shopper was in error," because I have already indicated that I have photographic evidence to back up my negative ratings.

Agree. I do grocery shops for one MSC that includes evaluating the bathroom, but doesn't require pictures if anything is found, only narrative. However, I ALWAYS take a date/time stamped photo of ANYTHING in the bathroom that is off, such as dirty/broken commode, no supplies, etc. And then I ALWAYS mention in my comments that I have a date/time stamped photo of whatever it is I have found. I have never been questioned about them....ever. May be just a coincidence or not, but if the store knows I have a date/time stamped photo, how can it be disputed?

@ChelseaGirl wrote:

The only very negative review I have done was a hotel, so I took photos of the problem areas even though I didn't have to, just in case I was asked. Most of the issues were in the room so that was easy to do. It's obviously more difficult to take photos in a public area or a store. I haven't accepted any shops that require photos in a store because I'm not confident that I can do it unobtrusively.

I have learned to take photos of problem areas that I note in negative reports. I keep photos of bathroom issues, for example. I scan my notes taken during challenging shops. I name each in my scan folder with the date and shop name (1092017Freddies-A etc.) If I get the question a month later (that's you Market Force) I can find my timing notes and backup photos. It is an objective response when I can provide a photo of the overflowing trash can and smeared (euphemism) toilet seat. (Photos have the advantage of having a location, date and time embedded in the "details" to prove they were taken where and when I stated.) As for how to do it: Pretend you are texting. (I don't get pictures of people/customers in my photos. No privacy invasion, I hope. However, it is private property. Someday I expect I will get challenged when taking a portrait of a sandwich or "anything amiss" inside a restaurant even though they are a client requirement!)

Just did an oil change shop. The technician just POINTED at things instead of giving me directions. Instead of," the customer waiting area is right over here sir," he just pointed. The only time he talked was to upsell, and then he sounded angry when I declined. I really enjoyed writing the negative report.

It's the only way for servicento improve. We have to report what happens, good or bad.