Should I just LIE when confronted "Are you a mystery shopper?"

Everyone lies at one point or another, it just comes down to frequency and severity of the lie(s). I try to avoid lying as much as possible, but when playing out a role such as mystery shopping requires, I do whatever is necessary to pull off a believable scenario.

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."

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I've been mystery shopping about 16 years. In that time, I have been asked twice, but ironically, on those two occasions, I was NOT mystery shopping!
Someone asked me that once and my response was.......I need to be! After that statement they disappeared.
I would not tell them I am a Mystery Shopper. I would say, "What is that?"
This happened to me this morning! I pulled into a car dealership for an oil change. I literally get out of the car and the guy goes, "You must be my morning mystery shopper!" I didn't even say "hello" or anything like that - literally the moment I stepped out. I just gave a strange face like I had no clue what he was talking about.
YES. And then say, "Mystery Shopping? What's that?"
"I am? What did I win?"

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams
Retired and enjoying it, guessing that's a job of some kind, smile and leave.

Live consciously....
@jsall09 wrote:

This happened to me this morning! I pulled into a car dealership for an oil change. I literally get out of the car and the guy goes, "You must be my morning mystery shopper!" I didn't even say "hello" or anything like that - literally the moment I stepped out. I just gave a strange face like I had no clue what he was talking about.

I don't "get" this. What I mean by that is if I was the guy THE VERY LAST THING I WOULD DO is try and "Out" a MS. If I know you are a MS, I am not going to say a word. I am going to make sure I do everything right so that when you write the report I look great. If I "Out" you - how does that help me? It doesn't! You will write a far different report than if I shut up and don't say a word. I never understood this.
More than once, I've overheard employees talking about the "mystery shopper" being on site.

They never seem to think it's me, though!

I do a lot of rural shops. It's sort of against the guidelines ("business casual" ), but I KNOW the country folk, and I dress like their customers do. I've overheard employees talking about the mystery shopper; one day, one said to another "I always know it when the mystery shopper is here. Always dressed like some city slicker."

My favorite "incognito" outfit is scrubs. No fingernail polish, no jewelry, no makeup -- they just assume I'm a caregiver of some sort.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2018 12:55AM by ceasesmith.
I did a phone shop the other day and I had to ask for a certain person (Person A). Doing the shop Person B answer and I said I need to speak to A pleasre. Person A is not avaliable may I help. I talked to person B. Which was OK

During the call, Person B asked why did you ask for A. I said because I had some friends who talked to A a few weeks ago and they were good smiling smiley
Shortly after I started shopping, I was asked if I was a "spy," not a mystery shopper. It just never even occurred to me that he might mean the mystery shopper! I said, "I might be," because I was just thinking Russian spy or something (I was probably reading a spy novel at the time!). Fast forward 10 years and I was once again asked if I was a "spy." I asked what he meant and he explained he meant a mystery shopper. I laughed and explained to him that I always think of espionage when I hear the word spy and asked him if he was selling black market phones out the back door. He didn't mention mystery shopping again!
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