Just curious - is it ever okay to falsify a report? For example, if it's a job visit that has been done many times, and it goes the same way everytime, is it okay to just grab a business card or dropped receipt and fill out the report like every other visit that has been made?

I recently heard rumblings that this is more common that most people realize and am wondering if there is truth in it.

You risk not getting paid.

edited to add....this is serious and in the same catagory as thief, trying to get money for nothing. You signed an agreegement, do it right or don't do it. The payment isn't enough to lose or ruin your reputation. The fact that you posted this tells me more than I care to know about you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2010 05:31PM by Irene_L.A..

NO IT IS NOT OK TO FAKE A REPORT. Not ever. Just because lazy cows do it to grab the money into their pockets without getting off their lazy rumps because work is a dirty word to them does NOT make it right. People do it but they're also people you see who end up not paid and deactivated.

In my opinion, NO!!

When I was on the other side of the MS world, one of my stores knew who the shoppers were. The "shopper" submitted her report and the store got a score in the high 80's.

They disputed it! They wanted a higher score. As part of their "dispute" they claimed they knew who the shopper was and swore up and down she did NOT come that day. They said her daughter did.

While the report may have been 100% accurate, the shopper lied.

It's not exactly the same thing you are asking about, but it's still wrong. And it's possible the employees know who you are. You never know when someone is going to come along and rock the boat.

I always do my shop as though I were being filmed and the film would be reviewed. A lot of companies are now doing that -- going back over security tapes to verify information.

Always be ethical!

And more than that, you risk being terminated and sued for the falsification. It would never be 'okay' and where it has happened and been caught, shoppers have been sued. The worst of it is what happens to the rest of us because then we need to deal with companies that distrust all of us and come up with ways to 'protect the integrity of the shop' that are just onerous and generally become difficult to work with.

I remember one company that over the years went from no proof of visit to requiring a business card to requiring a business card and a photo of the front of the building to requiring a business card and a photo of the front of the building including the current day's newspaper date. Now I don't know about your camera, but mine won't focus on a newspaper date and have the front of the building be anything but an unacceptable blur. And how many folks stand in front of a building taking a picture of a newspaper? And of course there was no additional fee for the shop to cover the cost of the newspaper, so since I don't subscribe to the daily paper, that further reduced the profitability of the shop.

I, for one, would prefer that companies terminate and sue a shopper who is falsifying reports rather than take it out on the rest of us in distrust.

I am fine with companies requiring REASONABLE proof of visit!

A receipt, a picture of the building, a business card with a handwritten date on it, etc.

I think the newspaper building photo is too much. Just hand write the date on the front of the business card before taking a picture of it!

Shoppers are independent contractors meaning they are in business for themselves. If you falsify a report and the employee is reprimanded guess whi is liable? The shopper. It is NEVER okay to falsify a report.

ijdk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I think the newspaper building photo is too much.
> Just hand write the date on the front of the
> business card before taking a picture of it!

I felt the newspaper/building photo was just too absurd and told the company so when they had shops left they were trying to get taken. Soon afterwards they went back to business card OR building photo, which I find is perfectly reasonable. While it would be easy enough for a dishonest shopper to just drive by and take a picture of the building and make up a report I suppose, or use extra photos from last month, this business has to be built on trust. The trust that I will do what I am instructed to do and that they will do what they agree to do. When the trust is broken, problems ensue.

No, it's never okay. And you risk consequences not only for yourself, but also potentially affect other shoppers in terms of the way we're regarded.

I think it was probably shoppers falsifying reports that led to some of the MSCs requiring stuff like taking a picture of the location, or noting the buildings on each side, etc.

This business involves a substantial amount of trust between the MSP and the shopper. We don't meet each other. We get to know each other by the reputation we build. Reputation is made from honesty, work ethic, and competence on both sides of the fence. I used to bristle somewhat at the perceived threat of having videotape used against me. A friend pointed out that the videotape validates an honest shopper's report.

"if it's a job visit that has been done many times, and it goes the same way everytime, is it okay to just grab a business card or dropped receipt and fill out the report like every other visit that has been made?"

No, it's not okay. Each job is standalone, no matter if we have to be creative to keep from sounding like a broken record. Honest, objective reports give the client reason to keep shopping.

Not OK! Period.

If the client just wanted a repeat of the report from before, they would only pay to have the location shopped once. They pay for a monthly (and sometimes bi-monthly) visit because they want a report on how the shop went EACH time the shopper is there

You get paid to perform the shop, and to not correctly perform the shop is dishonest and wrong.

I hope you got the point, Cory. No, no, no.

I use the time/date feature on my camera when taking pictures.

Never, never, never!!!

Thank you for the responses. Frankly, those are the answers I was hoping to hear. Even a small number of shoppers who falsify reports jeopardize the reputation of the entire industry and the faith of what could be a good client. Once a client thinks a shopper or shoppers have falsified reports, they may be very likely to doubt any future reports. Even if it was only once, it could be enough to permanently damage the MSP's relationship with the client.

The reason for the question was, I heard third party stories of shoppers who, at a recent conference, were heard stating that they did not see a problem with that practice. I was hoping it was isolated and not a widespread attitude.

One question that does arise - is there anything the shopper community can do to police themselves to decrease the instances of falsification? Or how about the MSPA, Volition, IMSC (Independent Mystery Shoppers Coalition), indpendent companies, or any other group in the industry?

While I think falsification is terrible, would not do it and would never encourage another shopper to do it, I don't see it as a major issue in shopping. I think most shoppers are honest and want to do the right thing. I think if an MSC is concerned, the MSC can screen and train their shopper/contractors to lessen the potential for fraudulent behavior. I'm not really concerned with policing other shoppers, and I'm sure the shopper community does not want to police others.

I would certainly like to see the MSPA policing a little better. I would like to see them policing the behavior of their member MSCs in dealing with their shopper/contractors.

corydj, you sound like an MSC employee. Are you concerned with fraudulent reporting at a particular MSC? Or is there a particular type of report that you see difficulties with?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2010 04:26PM by AustinMom.

While this is an important point, I think coming here as a newbie poster and asking such an obviously leading question is not really going to get you a candid opinion.

The purpose of this forum is not to lay 'tests' for the members to see if they are ethical shoppers and I personally find this post somewhat distasteful.

I'm guessing cory works for an MSP since the question posted fails to take into account most shoppers' ability to spot BS a mile away.

For the sake of the argument, lets take it on face level.

I agree that shoppers are not a suitable policing group. When someone states they are doing something unethical I think you will hear a number of shoppers call them on it, but it is an appeal to their ethics rather than notifying companies that they are being lied to. And this happens in a forum environment where, if companies read, they can understand if/how they are being duped.

We have had a shopper on here mention they just went to 'the closest store' to do their audits because there was no reason to drive over to the one assigned. We have had a shopper mention that they took a spouse on a shop that is specifically for one person and that the spouse did the drive through while they did the dine in. There will be no support for such behaviors from folks who really do respect integrity.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2010 04:32PM by Flash.

Police yourself and everything else will fall into place...I do resent being used and needing to defend. I feel the question was to a few, (which happen in any field) not the majority. I would hope the MSC's are savy enough to notice a falseified report. I think they are. This is a non-issue to



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2010 10:07PM by Irene_L.A..

Irene_L.A. I'm not sure what you mean by your last line.

To answer the speculation, yes, I am with a provider. I apologize if anyone felt mislead. That was not my intent. As you can imagine, falsified reports are a huge concern and my post was an attempt to gain some insight. I was concerned that knowing I was with a provider might skew the comments. Admittedly, my thought may have been misguided.

While we like to think we can spot a falsified report a mile away, the truth is that those who would engage in that activity can be very good at what they do. In too many cases it is the client who brings the falsification to our attention. As you can imagine, this can put a great strain on the relationship.

When I heard about the comments made at a conference it brought this concern to light once again. Like everyone who is truly in this industry, I am always looking for ways to address the negatives whether it be falsified evaluations, scams posing as mystery shopping opportunities, and other issues that may jeopardize the industry.

I thank you for your responses and appreciate your integrity and insight.

Sincerely,
Cory

Cory, I'm glad you were with a provider instead of a newbie looking to be unethical and lazy. I was getting ready to do some smiting.....but that's just me.

It seems kind of ridiculous to me to go to all the trouble of falsifying a shop when it's probably less trouble to actually go and do the darned thing properly in the first place!

Of course, I'm still extremely new to this entire business but to do something like that wouldn't even cross my mind.

It's fascinating to find out what goes on in the world of Mystery Shopping!

Cory, I'd really like to invest in knowing more about this type of discussion at the convention. I am assuming it was the last one in Vegas. Could you share some of the details of this interaction, did they have a speaker on false reports, or what?

Did the OP expect confessions, admissions, or was this a survey?

We were misled, by the OP/MSP who questioned us about misleading. Funny.

The responsibility for ensuring that shoppers complete repots without falsification lies soley with the MSP. That is why companies employ editors, fact-checkers, require proof of shops, and do random verifications. To insinutate that we, as shoppers, should take on that responsibility is unrealistic at best and a bit insulting (given the low margins we work on) at worst.

If falisfication is a concern of a MSCs (and yes, it very much should be - because although very few shoppers falisfy, it only takes one to loose a valuable client), look to your own internal policies and make sure you are doing what you need to do to ensure quality in the reports you turn into clients.

I would fall out of my chair if someone admitted on an open-forum that they had falisfied a report. If you heard someone discussing this at the conference, I would imagine it was a small group and they did not realize their discusson was being heard by a MSC rep (although this just proves my point that these people WILL get caught eventually). To answer your question, does it happen? Yes - it does. I have worked in this field a long time, and as both an editor and a client (end-user) I have seen 100% fabricated reports more than once (I can think of about 10 different examples I have seen first hand of totally 'made up' data). It also happens in other forms of data collection. In college I worked as a telephone supervisor in a marketing research firm, and we occassionally had telephone interviewers "make up" answers to surveys instead of calling people to get the polls done. This was in a central facility with supervisors RIGHT THERE looking over their work, monitoring their calls, and doing random call back/fact checks. Yes, they were always caught - but still for whatever reason, there is a small minority of people that think it is easier to cheat than it is to just do the work right.

I think by not identifying him/herself, the OP hoped to hear what shoppers think about falsifying shop reports. One one hand, the OP says it was not his intent to mislead, but then says "I was concerned that knowing I was with a provider might skew the comments." So he thought about it and decided that it was in fact his intent to mislead. I would find it interesting to know which company the OP works for. Dishonesty breeds dishonesty. I hope it isn't one of the companies I currently shop for. As Steve said, above, I find it distasteful. Honesty is important, not only for shoppers, but for MSCs. Just as MSCs do not want dishonest shoppers, I'm sure shoppers don't want to work for a dishonest MSC.

The end (which was what exactly?) doesn't justify the means. I'm left with a bad taste, corydj. Did you have your MSP's blessing or knowledge before posting? Or, are you the owner? Will we be favored with the truth?

Cory, I too, feel uncomfortable with the way you approached this. It was as others have said, "distasteful".