I Feel Bad About the Report I turned in ...
Unless they ask for your opinion, always stick to just facts. Just report exactly what happened. If they want your opinion, they'll ask for it.
Hopefully if this is a really good company they will use your first shop as an opportunity to train you and give you some pointers and a second chance. If not and they cut you from their roster there are hundreds of other msc's and quite a few with a good reputation. After some time goes by you can contact them again and see if they will take you back. In the meantime perhaps for you it would be a good idea to give it some time before pushing send. Even if you want to write the report immediately most shops allow 8-12-24 hours to get the report in. So let it rest and then go back and re read your report after you have had time to reflect. And make sure you are aware of the rules for each specific company most of whom do not want your opinion....
I like to make notes as soon as I am back in my car or at a safe distance where I won’t be seen. Then, I wait a few hours before I try to enter the report. In cases where I felt emotional about the shop, positively or negatively, I have even asked for an extension. Sometimes, I write my narrative then wait an hour of so and read through it. Most MSC’s will give you extra time if they know you did the shop.
Don’t worry about this one. They may ask you to clarify something, but it depends on how you actually wrote the report. Clients do want to know how they can improve after all. If your comments were justified by the answers you provided, you likely don’t have anything to worry about.
Don’t worry about this one. They may ask you to clarify something, but it depends on how you actually wrote the report. Clients do want to know how they can improve after all. If your comments were justified by the answers you provided, you likely don’t have anything to worry about.
Definitely a good tip to wait a while before turning in. But Friday, I knew that I'd be running around all evening doing stuff with my kid, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back to it until after the deadline.
There were a couple of questions that asked "how did you feel ... " and I guess I took license with those and injected my emotional response in other parts of the report as well. Lessons learned, I guess!!
There were a couple of questions that asked "how did you feel ... " and I guess I took license with those and injected my emotional response in other parts of the report as well. Lessons learned, I guess!!
Oh, I get it. Don’t worry about asking for an extra day. Like I said, schedulers care more that you actually finished the shop. Usually, they are okay with giving you extra time to finish the report. Not always, but usually. Keep you scheduler informed and they will work with you. They all been shoppers, they will understand that you may need a little extr time now and then.
I just completed a fast food shop. Some of the service I received was not good. I just reported what happened and left out my personal opinions. For example, when I walked over to the pick up counter to pick up my food, the team member made eye contact, smiled and read over my order tag. She presented my order, did not check if I needed anything else to enjoy my food with. When I replied that I ordered a shake, she quickly looked over my order tag, opened the cooler underneath the counter and said, "I'm getting it." as she reached for my shake. I did not include the details about the tone of her voice as it sounded snippy. Did not apologized for the mixup, thanked me for my order or did not offer a friendly greeting when I approached the pick up counter. I simply included the details of what the team member did.
You can add your opinion but it needs to be based on the guidelines. To say, “I was not pleased waiting 15 minutes to be greeted,” is ok if they ask you how your experience went as you would have posted the time of arrival earlier. Your editor will give you feedback on what is acceptable, what matters, and constructive feedback on how to word it. Clients want to know but it gas to be done according to their terms which vary by each client. Some clients want the dirt, others keep it very, very fact based where impressions are not welcome.
@shipaddict wrote:
I felt like I spent way too much waiting even to be acknowledged.
Let the client decide if you waited too long. Feelings, in general, do not have a place in your reports.
MSPA Gold Certified 2003
We've all had some interesting shops... had a waitress tell me my food was dropped on the floor and she was about to go outside and smoke a J while she waited on it. Let someone else know if I needed a drink refill or assistance cause she was gonna be high as F... 0_o
MegglesKat
Sometimes there are sections for our opinions on the reports. That's the only spot for an opinion (typically). Use the questions as your guide for your written statements. It's boring, but it's what they want.
Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994. I am an undercover connoisseur of customer service, a master of disguise in the aisles, and a sworn enemy of subpar experiences. I blend in, observe, and report—because excellence should never be a mystery.
Depending on the company, they will likely edit it to just reflect facts and then send you constructive feedback on your report. Even when you're being objective, occasionally it comes through that your experience was not good. I had a gas jockey get gasoline all over my car, in my hair, and on my denim jeans (sorta bleached them out) without offering to help clean it up. Just said it was his bad that the lever was stuck. Didn't even offer information on where the washroom or towels could be found.
MegglesKat
Fo every shop that I do, I always have some type of worksheet that has specific points (in Bold) for the particular shop. It would also have a designated space for the date, time began and time ended and areas for names.
Like a police officer, I do not leave the locale without writing all I can remember in a comment section on the sheet or just on the back of the sheet.
For any detailed narrative and especially for shops that caused some emotion, I write the information in a Word doc. If it was a shop that might have been one that pushed me, I'll wait a few hours, reread the doc before making the report. sometimes i change my narrative to reflect a more objective report.
Then, I just copy and paste the doc into the report, save the doc into a file for that specific shop.
Like a police officer, I do not leave the locale without writing all I can remember in a comment section on the sheet or just on the back of the sheet.
For any detailed narrative and especially for shops that caused some emotion, I write the information in a Word doc. If it was a shop that might have been one that pushed me, I'll wait a few hours, reread the doc before making the report. sometimes i change my narrative to reflect a more objective report.
Then, I just copy and paste the doc into the report, save the doc into a file for that specific shop.
I try to examine what the employee did right first. If they did not follow guidelines then mention it, but I try really hard to not write about my emotions or opinions. I remember to myself that someone can lose their job because of what we say.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2018 06:06PM by breestjon.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2018 06:06PM by breestjon.
If they asked how you felt, they wanted your opinion in that section of the survey. The main section is typically objective, just facts. If the survey adds a section for your opinion, then be honest there.
My posts are solely based on my opinions and for my entertainment, contact a professional if you need real advice.
When you get in debt you become a slave. - Andrew Jackson
When you get in debt you become a slave. - Andrew Jackson
I had a restaurant shop where the waitress took a break when her friend came in and sat at a table halfway across the restaurant from me... They proceeded to converse in very loud voices about their sex lives, issues with their boy friends, how one had had a car repossessed, where they bought their recreational drugs, how they had caught their boyfriends cheating and more....
I had a terrible time keeping my opinions out of the report... It was such a loud conversation that everybody in the restaurant could clearly hear it - loud enough, in fact, that I had troubles hearing my wife over the din. I don't think I hid my opinions too well in the report. It was bad.
I had a terrible time keeping my opinions out of the report... It was such a loud conversation that everybody in the restaurant could clearly hear it - loud enough, in fact, that I had troubles hearing my wife over the din. I don't think I hid my opinions too well in the report. It was bad.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.
Maybe you and a couple of others missed where OP said, "There were a couple of questions that asked 'how did you feel ...' "
@eyespy wrote:
State facts not opinions. Be objective not subjective.
I can relate. I did a string of daycare shops. I was horrified and very upset about one of them. I wanted to cry after leaving. I let my feelings seep into the report and the editor ripped me apart and gave me a very bad rating. I won't do that again. I was so embarrassed that i almost quit mystery shopping. I decided to be more selective about the shops I do. Also, I'm going to the Atlanta conference to get more training.
@lorijordan wrote:
I can relate. I did a string of daycare shops. I was horrified and very upset about one of them. I wanted to cry after leaving. I let my feelings seep into the report and the editor ripped me apart and gave me a very bad rating. I won't do that again. I was so embarrassed that i almost quit mystery shopping. I decided to be more selective about the shops I do. Also, I'm going to the Atlanta conference to get more training.
Hey, don't let it embarrass you. Editors are sometimes paid by the shop, and if your shop required a lot of time, they make less money for their time. Sounds like the editor allowed their feelings to seep into the rating. Ideally, an editor's feedback helps us to get better. Sometimes, it is the only constructive criticism we get. We could use more of it, not less.
Lesson learned, keep it moving. You've got the right attitude about improving your skills. Good luck!
Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994. I am an undercover connoisseur of customer service, a master of disguise in the aisles, and a sworn enemy of subpar experiences. I blend in, observe, and report—because excellence should never be a mystery.
I did a shop at the well known vitamin and nutrition chain known by its initials. I made a comment about experiencing a negative impact after speaking with the manager. He reeked of cigarette smoke to the point I refrained from interacting and went to another employee. I am not intolerant of smoking. I am sympathetic because it is such a terrible addiction. It was edited out and I was reminded not to include opinions. Maybe I should have just called it "body odor." That would probably have been an acceptable observation. It still seems to me to be a reasonable customer service criticism /observation of negative service at what could be considered a health store.
Thanks everyone. I never heard back from them at all, so I finally mustered up the courage to back to my shop log and see what the status was. Surprisingly, the report has been approved for payment. There were no comments of any kind, and a 9.5 rating. So now I'm curious if they edited it before sending it, or just sent it on the to the client the way I wrote it??
Let me say first that I take pride in my work as a shopper and am constantly in demand in my area. That said, when I consider my time driving, my time doing the shop and the time reporting it, I rarely make more than minimum wage. I find far too often that MSCs want a $50 report for a $10 fee. I do the report and don't waste time worrying about it once I press 'submit.' If there is a problem, or if I included emotion and not fact in the report, I will be notified and make the necessary changes. I am not paid to care. 
The greatest part of mystery shopping is being your own boss and never having to take work home with you. Starbucks is my office BTW.
The greatest part of mystery shopping is being your own boss and never having to take work home with you. Starbucks is my office BTW.
Sounds like those should have been rewarded a little and then sent to DHS or FCS or who ever is supposed to follow up in your state. Or just maybe the newspaper!
@lorijordan wrote:
I can relate. I did a string of daycare shops. I was horrified and very upset about one of them. I wanted to cry after leaving. I let my feelings seep into the report and the editor ripped me apart and gave me a very bad rating. I won't do that again. I was so embarrassed that i almost quit mystery shopping. I decided to be more selective about the shops I do. Also, I'm going to the Atlanta conference to get more training.
I did a car sales shop once and took my husband with me.
The car salesman was adamant about my husband purchasing the car versus me. My husband kept saying, "It's for her," while he would read the newspaper, making it clear that I was the "decision maker." The car salesman never looked at me, never addressed me, and never talked to me as long as my husband was around; despite the fact that he was very disengaged.
When it came time for the test drive, my husband stayed behind and I went with the car salesman. He did not speak to me other than to say that I should have let my husband come and that women aren't qualified to know about cars, so he refused to talk about the car's features.
I put that in my report, but I made it all "factual" by quoting him and by talking about how he would not look at me and never made eye contact, etc....
I got an apology from my editor (also female) for how poorly I was treated at the shop and was given a bonus as well.
As an Edit: I do feel badly when I have to put things like this in a report. I worry about the employee's job security; I do know that car salesman was fired after the mystery shop and that makes me feel bad. It was justified, but it's still awful
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2018 09:54AM by Jill_L.
The car salesman was adamant about my husband purchasing the car versus me. My husband kept saying, "It's for her," while he would read the newspaper, making it clear that I was the "decision maker." The car salesman never looked at me, never addressed me, and never talked to me as long as my husband was around; despite the fact that he was very disengaged.
When it came time for the test drive, my husband stayed behind and I went with the car salesman. He did not speak to me other than to say that I should have let my husband come and that women aren't qualified to know about cars, so he refused to talk about the car's features.
I put that in my report, but I made it all "factual" by quoting him and by talking about how he would not look at me and never made eye contact, etc....
I got an apology from my editor (also female) for how poorly I was treated at the shop and was given a bonus as well.
As an Edit: I do feel badly when I have to put things like this in a report. I worry about the employee's job security; I do know that car salesman was fired after the mystery shop and that makes me feel bad. It was justified, but it's still awful
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/2018 09:54AM by Jill_L.
Don't feel bad. It's obvious that salesman needed to find a new line of work. Preferably one where he only dealt with men.
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.
Sometimes in order to report what happened during a shop, you have to walk that line between opinion and "just the facts." If the time it took to prepare your food, for example, exceeded the restaurant's allowable or desirable time frame, the report might ask the reason for the delay. We might not know know for certain, but if you see servers standing around talking and laughing amongst themselves, not hustling to wait on customers and deliver food, it's not unreasonable to state: "It appeared (or I think) that my order was delayed because the wait staff were engaged in socializing among themselves." The question is asking for fact (what was the reason, not what do you "think" was the reason), but you can only respond with something that is part opinion. Obviously, when you're asked about your impression, how you felt, would you return or not and why, that's opinion. But sometimes in order to support the facts, some opinion or reasonable assumption might be needed.
OP, glad your shop was accepted, and you may not have injected as much opinion into it as you thought, or you substantiated your opinion with hard facts. The editor may have dome some judicious editing, but I'm guessing not a lot.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2018 02:29PM by BirdyC.
OP, glad your shop was accepted, and you may not have injected as much opinion into it as you thought, or you substantiated your opinion with hard facts. The editor may have dome some judicious editing, but I'm guessing not a lot.
I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2018 02:29PM by BirdyC.
@BirdyC wrote:
Sometimes in order to report what happened during a shop, you have to walk that line between opinion and "just the facts." If the time it took to prepare your food, for example, exceeded the restaurant's allowable or desirable time frame, the report might ask the reason for the delay. We might not know know for certain, but if you see servers standing around talking and laughing amongst themselves, not hustling to wait on customers and deliver food, it's not unreasonable to state: "It appeared (or I think) that my order was delayed because the wait staff were engaged in socializing among themselves." The question is asking for fact (what was the reason, not what do you "think" was the reason), but you can only respond with something that is part opinion. Obviously, when you're asked about your impression, how you felt, would you return or not and why, that's opinion. But sometimes in order to support the facts, some opinion or reasonable assumption might be needed.
OP, glad your shop was accepted, and you may not have injected as much opinion into it as you thought, or you substantiated your opinion with hard facts. The editor may have dome some judicious editing, but I'm guessing not a lot.
Birdy, your advice re opinions is right on but it could be fine-tuned just a tad more. The report could say, "I did not directly observe what delayed my order but I did see the servers socializing among themselves as I waited." This gives just the facts the shopper feels MAY be relevant and lets the client take it from there. The real cause of the delay might have been that the cook had to thaw out some hamburger, or something else the servers had no control over--even though their socializing in view of customers was unprofessional.
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