Your worst experience during mystery shopping
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I'm sorry you had that experience. There is no tipping law in NYC for parties under 6. We always have the tip removed. This is long before I knew those locations were shopped. I can just about guess you went to one of the Time Squares locations. Those managers are notoriously nasty.
@Misanthrope wrote:
I've had two that were incredibly difficult for completely different reasons.
1) A Closer Look, a company that rarely pays and is usually only reimbursement-only had a few shops for a local NY chain of casual dining barbecue places, and they gave a pretty good compensation, so I grabbed two of them. Once I read the instructions, I saw why. It was a new policy at the chain that, after 9:00 PM, an 18% tip would automatically be added to the bill. I was assigned to enter after 9, eat dinner as normal, then refuse to pay the tip on the bill at the end of the meal and ask for the manager so it can be taken off. There was basically no way I couldn't come across as an @#$%& (the stated scenarios I could play were to pretend to have "financial hardship" which makes no sense if you're going out to eat a $50 dinner but can't afford a ~$9 tip or have an ideological issue with tipping which is just absurd, but I was not allowed to claim that the service was substandard or leave a tip in cash) but I had accepted the shops and I was a new college grad and could use the money, so I did them. I figured, hey, I could come across as a jerk but it's not like I'd be returning to those places again and it was better that a mystery shopper complain about the policy (which, IMO, was absolutely ridiculous) than a paying customer. The only scenario I'm allowed to pay the tip is if I'm threatened with violence, physical removal or the police being called (the fact that this was even in the guidelines for the shop should've clue me in both to how bad my experiences would be and how bad the company that was being mystery shopped is)
First shop I'm assigned, ask for the manager at the end, and he's very hostile and accusatory. Says they'll put my picture somewhere up in the restaurant so people know I'm a bad tipper, say that since I'm refusing to tip that means my server did a bad job and he would be automatically fired if I didn't tip (even though I made it clear I didn't have an issue with the service), he starts yelling at me in the restaurant. I do, however, stand my ground even though I'm very emotionally distressed. I text my scheduler immediately to let her know what happened to make sure that, if the manager tries to fire my server that the company intercede.
I debated canceling my second shop, but I had already made plans revolving around being in the area and I did and still do stake my reputation on not canceling shops, so I go through with it. I figure the first manager was just unreasonable, and the second location was in a slightly more upmarket location so maybe the manager there will be a bit more lenient and subscribe to the "customer is always right" mindset. Another screaming match with the manager when I try to have the tip removed (or, rather, I tried to keep as calm as possible because I was working, which the manager apparently forgot) and I caught him in a lie of stating the tip policy is on the restaurant's menu, which it wasn't (he claims that it was on the thin paper placemat that had been rendered illegible because of a wet drink placed on it, but I think that was a crock of crap). I keep on being told I'm doing the same as "dining and dashing" when, again, I was maybe refusing to pay for about $9 (and, again, in reality I'd never be that cheap as to argue over such a small amount). The manager did end up threatening to call the cops on me and I relented, paid, left, texted my scheduler and told her I'd never do a shop for that client again.
Upon retrospect, not only have I not worked with that client again, but I haven't done any work for ACL (despite their schedulers often frantically texting me and trying to get me to work for almost-free for them). I'm disgusted both by the restaurant chain's policies and ACL actually thinking that was an ethical shop to put me on.
2) I had been mystery shopping for a while and had carved out a niche as being a very good, fine-dining mystery shopper at Coyle. I hadn't seen my girlfriend of the time for a bit over a month due to a combination of my day-job and her schoolwork (she was a law student at a top-tier school and had to focus on her finals) so I begged my scheduler to give me something nice for the first time in our schedule that we could see eachother, and I got a very fancy French restaurant; white glove maitre'd, foie gras, frogs legs, the works. I notice my girlfriend isn't being as affectionate to me as I'd expect a woman who went over a month without seeing her boyfriend, and so between the appetizers and the entree the woman breaks up with me... while I'm trying to take notes on the dinner and hold back tears. And since I had laid out over $200 for the dinner (she, graciously, stayed through dessert for the free food despite no longer being my girlfriend) I had to get the report in to the editors, on time, but my notes and timings and recollections of the events were all off. I still somehow submitted it and got a 100% grade but I was an emotional wreck not only during the shop but when writing the report, because I still had to think back to when she said "I'm leaving you" to remember whether or not the waiter offered to refill our wine.
@sensei wrote:
That's strange about the Chuck E. Cheese shop. When I read the guidelines it said the whole party needed to reside at the same address... if you were taking a friend's child they obviously wouldn't live with you.
I was disappointed about that guideline because my son is too young for that shop and I was thinking I could take my niece.
That seems rather strange. I would ask a scheduler for clarification. I always see those shops on the board. Besides, are they going to ask for tax returns? Kids don't have IDs with addresses attached lol.
I can't even imagine the justification for that requirement. Chuck E. Cheeses doesn't accept the business from Grandparents who bring their grandkids? Of course they do. Are they afraid the kids will give the shop away if they're not your own kids? That would be ridiculous.@sensei wrote:
That's strange about the Chuck E. Cheese shop. When I read the guidelines it said the whole party needed to reside at the same address... if you were taking a friend's child they obviously wouldn't live with you.
I was disappointed about that guideline because my son is too young for that shop and I was thinking I could take my niece.
What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2017 03:19PM by sassymmmm.
@eyelove2shop wrote:
I'm sorry you had that experience. There is no tipping law in NYC for parties under 6. We always have the tip removed. This is long before I knew those locations were shopped. I can just about guess you went to one of the Time Squares locations. Those managers are notoriously nasty.
I did, along with a location close to where I live in the Bronx. Good guess!
If they're notorious for having nasty managers I'm wondering if the guy who threatened to call the cops on me is still there and wasn't fired.
The worst was a revealed gas station. When doing the mystery part of the shop the cashier was a real jerk to me. When I asked if there was a public restroom (before the reveal) he told me there was a port-a- potty that I could use outside. I thought it was strange but went to take the pik anyway. That port-a-potty was the most disgusting one I have ever seen, filthy with waste spread everywhere. Totally gross but took the pik anyway and went in to do the reveal. As soon as I present him with the authorization his attitude changes and he becomes groveling. Brings me to the pristine restroom inside the station and begs me to take a pik of that one. Tells me they have problems with "undesireables" using the nice bathroom. Well thanks, you just called me an undesireable. Then proceeds to stalk me around the store as I do the little audit. Keeps telling me they knew "the inspector" was coming today. I could not get outta there any faster.
I did a Pizza shop the other day for the first time and I took several really good photos of the pizza, box and all. The editor told me he could not pay me for it because the camera was not held at the right angle when taking the photo......................Uggggghhhhhhh..................Are you kidding me? There goes my money.
@Misanthrope wrote:
I've had two that were incredibly difficult for completely different reasons.
.....because I still had to think back to when she said "I'm leaving you" to remember whether or not the waiter offered to refill our wine.
Ding Ding!
Winner Winner chicken dinner!
I appreciate the time you took to tell us your stories. I can relate, but also had a bit of a giggle.
Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994
Wow, I didn't have that reaction at all... felt really badly for Misanthrope in both circumstances.
Not my absolute worst but last night while doing a parking evaluation at a high end hotel I went to the bar to work on some reports. I sat down at a table that seated four. One side of the table was a long bench that connected to two other tables along the wall. I sat in the corner on the bench side, opened my laptop and ordered an app & Coke. Just after my food arrived a wedding party entered the bar. It was just after midnight and the wedding most likely ended at midnight but the bride, groom & about 10 other people were not ready to end the night. They sat down at the tables near me AND at my table directly across and next to me! As if they were dining with me! The server never checked on me, I had no personal space and had to ask the person next to me to move so I could squeeze out and go to the bar to pay my check. Drunk, rude and completely invading my personal space.....
I did a Western Union Shop to see if the clerk would send money to someone in another country for someone that I met on the internet. It was to check if they would warn about fraud, not to actually send it. The woman at the store told me, "Please, I am begging you from the bottom of my heart DO NOT DO IT." She looked like she wanted to cry. I wish I could have told her, "I was just checking." I felt so bad for her.
@pegc wrote:
Wow, I didn't have that reaction at all... felt really badly for Misanthrope in both circumstances.
It's fine to laugh, don't worry. I wrote them with a fair bit of humorous intent.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2017 08:50AM by Misanthrope.
My worst shop was a Western Union shop where I had to act like I thought someone from Nigeria asked me to send money because I had won the lottery. I haven't been back in that store since because I sounded like an idiot. To top it off the shop was rejected because they said I did not try hard enough to get the clerk to do it!
This is a good overall topic for both new and experienced shoppers since "You learn more from mistakes than success" Conversely, I also agree on doing a best thing during a shop related thread..
I did a shop today that they failed miserably. One of the worst fails I've ever had. I was doing a Kohler fixtures shop at a Tru Valu that had a plumbing place attached. The point of the shop was to see what was said about Kohler and if the associate recommended it. When I went in to the "plumbing" area, all of the associates were sitting around a counter on a computer. The requisite 2 minute wait was almost up when one finally looked up and finally noticed me. With no apparent interest she asked me if she could help me. I said yes and gave my scenario (which could have been a big sale for the store). She asked me 3 questions: Was I looking for anything in particular (I said yes I wanted a high end bath tub), she asked if I wanted the tub in an alcove or freestanding, and was I working with a contractor yet. As soon as I said no to the last question, she lost what little interest she had. Instead of showing me what they had, she walked me over to where they had brochures and handed me 3, none of them Kohler. As required, I asked her about Kohler and she just told me that they didn't have a brochure for them. She then walked away without offering me a business card or anything else and went back to her computer. I could have done better than this crew if I worked for their competitor. It was not a good scene. By the way even if I have a bad experience with a salesperson, I always try to say something positive, even if it's minor, about them. I could find nothing positive to say about this one.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2017 02:14AM by sassymmmm.
What's done is done. An egg cracked cannot be cured.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.
There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2017 02:14AM by sassymmmm.
No wonder you are a misanthrope! Good god!
@Misanthrope wrote:
I've had two that were incredibly difficult for completely different reasons.
1) A Closer Look, a company that rarely pays and is usually only reimbursement-only had a few shops for a local NY chain of casual dining barbecue places, and they gave a pretty good compensation, so I grabbed two of them. Once I read the instructions, I saw why. It was a new policy at the chain that, after 9:00 PM, an 18% tip would automatically be added to the bill. I was assigned to enter after 9, eat dinner as normal, then refuse to pay the tip on the bill at the end of the meal and ask for the manager so it can be taken off. There was basically no way I couldn't come across as an @#$%& (the stated scenarios I could play were to pretend to have "financial hardship" which makes no sense if you're going out to eat a $50 dinner but can't afford a ~$9 tip or have an ideological issue with tipping which is just absurd, but I was not allowed to claim that the service was substandard or leave a tip in cash) but I had accepted the shops and I was a new college grad and could use the money, so I did them. I figured, hey, I could come across as a jerk but it's not like I'd be returning to those places again and it was better that a mystery shopper complain about the policy (which, IMO, was absolutely ridiculous) than a paying customer. The only scenario I'm allowed to pay the tip is if I'm threatened with violence, physical removal or the police being called (the fact that this was even in the guidelines for the shop should've clue me in both to how bad my experiences would be and how bad the company that was being mystery shopped is)
First shop I'm assigned, ask for the manager at the end, and he's very hostile and accusatory. Says they'll put my picture somewhere up in the restaurant so people know I'm a bad tipper, say that since I'm refusing to tip that means my server did a bad job and he would be automatically fired if I didn't tip (even though I made it clear I didn't have an issue with the service), he starts yelling at me in the restaurant. I do, however, stand my ground even though I'm very emotionally distressed. I text my scheduler immediately to let her know what happened to make sure that, if the manager tries to fire my server that the company intercede.
I debated canceling my second shop, but I had already made plans revolving around being in the area and I did and still do stake my reputation on not canceling shops, so I go through with it. I figure the first manager was just unreasonable, and the second location was in a slightly more upmarket location so maybe the manager there will be a bit more lenient and subscribe to the "customer is always right" mindset. Another screaming match with the manager when I try to have the tip removed (or, rather, I tried to keep as calm as possible because I was working, which the manager apparently forgot) and I caught him in a lie of stating the tip policy is on the restaurant's menu, which it wasn't (he claims that it was on the thin paper placemat that had been rendered illegible because of a wet drink placed on it, but I think that was a crock of crap). I keep on being told I'm doing the same as "dining and dashing" when, again, I was maybe refusing to pay for about $9 (and, again, in reality I'd never be that cheap as to argue over such a small amount). The manager did end up threatening to call the cops on me and I relented, paid, left, texted my scheduler and told her I'd never do a shop for that client again.
Upon retrospect, not only have I not worked with that client again, but I haven't done any work for ACL (despite their schedulers often frantically texting me and trying to get me to work for almost-free for them). I'm disgusted both by the restaurant chain's policies and ACL actually thinking that was an ethical shop to put me on.
2) I had been mystery shopping for a while and had carved out a niche as being a very good, fine-dining mystery shopper at Coyle. I hadn't seen my girlfriend of the time for a bit over a month due to a combination of my day-job and her schoolwork (she was a law student at a top-tier school and had to focus on her finals) so I begged my scheduler to give me something nice for the first time in our schedule that we could see eachother, and I got a very fancy French restaurant; white glove maitre'd, foie gras, frogs legs, the works. I notice my girlfriend isn't being as affectionate to me as I'd expect a woman who went over a month without seeing her boyfriend, and so between the appetizers and the entree the woman breaks up with me... while I'm trying to take notes on the dinner and hold back tears. And since I had laid out over $200 for the dinner (she, graciously, stayed through dessert for the free food despite no longer being my girlfriend) I had to get the report in to the editors, on time, but my notes and timings and recollections of the events were all off. I still somehow submitted it and got a 100% grade but I was an emotional wreck not only during the shop but when writing the report, because I still had to think back to when she said "I'm leaving you" to remember whether or not the waiter offered to refill our wine.
@Delaine wrote:
The one that made me laugh the most was a text asking me to do Chuck E Cheese. I replied, my youngest child is 22. The person replied you don't have friends or family with small kids? My response was nope! I try to avoid them.
I would have told them kids taste better with BBQ sauce, not tomato paste!
@teriraia wrote:
The worst was a revealed gas station. When doing the mystery part of the shop the cashier was a real jerk to me. When I asked if there was a public restroom (before the reveal) he told me there was a port-a- potty that I could use outside. I thought it was strange but went to take the pik anyway. That port-a-potty was the most disgusting one I have ever seen, filthy with waste spread everywhere. Totally gross but took the pik anyway and went in to do the reveal. As soon as I present him with the authorization his attitude changes and he becomes groveling. Brings me to the pristine restroom inside the station and begs me to take a pik of that one. Tells me they have problems with "undesireables" using the nice bathroom. Well thanks, you just called me an undesireable. Then proceeds to stalk me around the store as I do the little audit. Keeps telling me they knew "the inspector" was coming today. I could not get outta there any faster.
So which restroom picture did you submit?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2017 04:35AM by aynur.
I would have submitted the port-a-potty, LOL.
eyelove and sassie, I agree it's a very strange requirement. The next time the shop comes up I might ask the scheduler if I can take my niece. It seems like they have trouble filling these shops so they wouldn't want to turn down someone offering to do one.
I did submit the port-a-potty pik.
A few weeks ago I attempted a store audit where I had to scan about 400 items. About 2 hours into the process a store manager asked me a bunch of questions about what I was doing and who I was working for. I answered his inquiry as instructed by my CPI, and I stayed about 30 more minutes that day. I went back the following day to finish up and the same store manager stopped me again. This time he wanted more detailed information about who I was working for, my manager's name, and asked for my credentials or a business card. Since I couldn't produce, he asked me to leave the store. So after about 3 1/2 hours of work on this audit, I will probably not get paid for the shop or my time.
My husband did a single-diner shop at Hooters and didn’t have the heart to tell his poor server she had a booger in her nose. No one else did either because it was there the entirety of his visit. I felt so bad for the girl (and my husband!).
Doing what I can to enhance the life of my family! I LOVE what I do 
Guess nobody was looking at her nose! 
Yes, they were busy “looking at name tags” as we call it in my MSing household!@jgoodwin wrote:
Guess nobody was looking at her nose!
Doing what I can to enhance the life of my family! I LOVE what I do
@sensei wrote:
eyelove and sassie, I agree it's a very strange requirement. The next time the shop comes up I might ask the scheduler if I can take my niece. It seems like they have trouble filling these shops so they wouldn't want to turn down someone offering to do one.
The last time they were begging me to do one of these I told them I didn't have any kids to bring and I was surprised they would be shopping the location because the city is forcing it's closure due to too much gang violence associated with it (all true). Never asked me again lol.
I do a lot of Ch. deposit product and overdraft shops where usually you end up with a product folder of about 18 pages of information after the banker explains the product using the computer screen. One banker could not figure out how to navigate the overdraft web pages (did not notice the arrow pointing to the right at the bottom of the narration and instead kept trying to click on the list of sections at the top that weren't hyperlinked while commenting about how the problem is with the website), so she proceeded to read from the product folder....every single line on every single page. That woman read the entire book to me word-for-word like I was a child sitting cross legged on the floor in a kindergarten class. She had about a third grade reading level, and I had to help her pronounce the words and correct her when she guessed some word close to the one that was spelled. I was in utter shock and had no idea what to do, so I just let her do her thing. They say not to lead the presentation. I walked out of there 58 minutes after I had entered.
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