Hey all..just finished my shops today..2 of the 3 went really well...before today most of my shops go pretty well..only issue I've had in the past is not being acknowledged in one store after 5 minutes even though 5 employees walked past me...

what happened today..has me puzzled because I'm usually pretty lenient on my reports as long as the associates hit the guidelines..but in this case the store was extremely busy and the sales associate were extremely nice . but..I can't lie on the report other than being greeted by one of the sales associates..nothing else that is required on the shop was executed ..

I'm feeling bad,because I have to turn in a negative report and hoping the sales associates won't be too negatively impacted...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2018 01:17AM by dawnhu.

I feel bad about negative reports too, but I look at it this way, the client is paying us to basically be the eyes and ears about what is going on in the store or business and it's our job to report it. I had a similar situation today on an apartment shop where my target was the only one working, i had an appointment and had to wait over 20 minutes for her. She missed some points but i reported it all (luckily it was also a video shop). I just hope that this will show management maybe they need to hire some weekend help lol

A negative report does not mean the employee will get fired. It probably means the crew, or employee if necessary, will be informed of behaviors that need to be focused upon to meet the company policies. Customers generally know better than managers what makes them want or not want to shop at a particular store..

When I have to write a report like that, I make sure to include any positive aspects that happened. You have to stay within the limits of what the report asks, but I try to convey any extenuating circumstances that help explain any missed expectations.

Very good points..I forgot to mention that this one is a shoe shop..you have to buy online first and then pick up in store..one reason I'm feeling bad is that the shoes were $5.50 cheaper in store and the associate refunded although I didn't ask them too..I would be ectastic if I hadnt actually been mystery shopping this store..on top of this he told me the store would refund me on the card I used online which sounded fine to me but in the next breath he goes No, I'll give you the cash instead..how do I argue with that and not give away I'm a mystery shopper

I just report the facts and exactly what happened, good or bad. I do not put my opinion unless they ask for it.

Coming from the perspective of announced audits, I’m lenient when I’m treated with respect. When I’m not then I break out the ol’ red pen.
If an attendant is an arse at any point, particularly after I’ve announced myself, Big Red comes out. If an owner tries to bribe me with free gas station food, Big Red.
If an attendant is thoroughly pleasant and cooperative or an owner comes out to say hi and makes small talk I’ll be a little gentler with things like excessive weeds in the landscaping or I’ll pick up the one piece of trash on the bathroom floor before taking the picture.

The bottom line, though, is if something is in an overall picture and it’s noticable when zoomed in, I have to call it out.

moved to proper place.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2018 02:08AM by AZwolfman.

@dawnhu wrote:

Very good points..I forgot to mention that this one is a shoe shop..you have to buy online first and then pick up in store..one reason I'm feeling bad is that the shoes were $5.50 cheaper in store and the associate refunded although I didn't ask them too..I would be ectastic if I hadnt actually been mystery shopping this store..on top of this he told me the store would refund me on the card I used online which sounded fine to me but in the next breath he goes No, I'll give you the cash instead..how do I argue with that and not give away I'm a mystery shopper

You don't. You just report what happened. That is your job. If the clerk went against policy, then it was your job to relay that information. It is the manager's job to decide what to do with that information. I seriously doubt the clerk will get fired from your honest observation, but he/she will likely get trained using your information. That is what we do. We don't make the service and products people buy; we make them better.

I also leave my opinion out of it.
I do mention how many customers/staff. If there is somewhere to mention it, I state what the staff were doing. Serving/attending to customers every moment? Or chatting to a friend. If they are busy every moment with customers I try to make that clear

@7star wrote:

I just report the facts and exactly what happened, good or bad. I do not put my opinion unless they ask for it.

@AZwolfman wrote:

A negative report does not mean the employee will get fired.

Indeed, there are only a few things that shoppers report that likely cause employees to be fired: unlawful bigotry (e.g. one don't want XXX type of people to rent here), observed sexual harassment, knowingly serving under-aged customers, and theft from the employer. Other than extreme issues, most companies would need to see a pattern of negative shopper reports regarding an employee to terminate the employee.

Right Rousseau, so you could in that respect say that we shoppers are doing our part to make them better employees.

I often wonder if I'm being too harsh when I write my reports. But I do mention everything that happened. If someone didn't do something they were supposed to do, they get written up about it. I know from having worked in retail, there is training, and the training is pretty straight forward, about how you're supposed to act around your customers. But I also know that a lot of times, in the moment, that training goes out the window. Local store management doesn't typically enforce the customer service policies a lot. That's why the clients have us - the outside independent agent, to go in and see what's actually happening in their stores.

Ask yourself, why should the management have to enforce customer service. If you take a customer service job, should it really be a question?

Because that is one of management's jobs. Each company does not necessarily have the same ideas about how the company should be run and what its image should be.

Of course management enforces company policy. The point was when taking a customer service job there should be a certain expectation it might involve actually providing service to customers.

Don't be lenient. The store won't be if you forgot to ask a question or make a required observation during the visit.

In my experience, customer service usually is a result of management practices. Basically, they get what they pay for. If they pay cheap and/or understaff they, end up with poor customer service. I used to feel bad about reporting that an otherwise charming employee did not hit certain points, and I still do on occassion. But after returning to the same locations time and again, and evaluating a variety of employees at each location, I see it is usually the same locations, regardless of employee, that give poor customer service.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2018 12:57PM by mystery2me.

This is actually a huge part of why every company insists on detailed comments about "no" answers or lowered ratings. We want the client to know the circumstances behind the answer. Also, sometimes the editor will determine that what you marked as "no" is actually "n/a" due to the circumstances you described. Just give all of the details.

Most of us worry about negative reports at first, but after awhile our tune changes to "I wish this company WAS shopped! They desparately need some pointers!"

Without our impartial input, positive AND negative, managers only have angry customer comments as a guide, hardly an impartial source and rarely do they point out good service. Managers use our comments as training tools, not ammo (unless it's a fireable offence).

@Hoju wrote:

Coming from the perspective of announced audits, I’m lenient when I’m treated with respect. When I’m not then I break out the ol’ red pen.

I'm kinda like that too. Also, when I see something that should have been removed from a pump or a pole or whatever.... last year... I am less likely to be lenient.

just an update everyone, I ended up getting a very high score, so they might have watched the tapes to make sure what I said actually happened, I'm feeling relieved now. Hopefully, the employee most likely gets more training and doesn't get fired...

I try to interpret guidelines as broadly as possible. It drives me bonkers when I write interactions and scenarios exactly as they happen, but an editor will say they needed to correct my report because "Flowers with tubes attract birds" is considered a creative suggestion that builds on my purchase (even though my purchase is for plants that attract birds.) When in doubt mark "yes" because explaining "sort of" can be problematic.

I had to give a very negative report, takes longer to write and I didn't feel good about it, but this place needed so much help. Topping that off, I hated the food and literally couldn't eat it. I told the facts, wondering if the company would slap me" in some way. I got an apology from the owners and they reimbursed me the next day. They seemed to need the truth...can't wait to go back and see if the place is doing better, but.....the food is what it is, not run by top chef's (if you know what I mean).

I had a gas station owner complain that I "gave him a bad report". What went through my mind was that he gave himself the bad report by not doing simple things like removing things from pumps that should have been removed over 6 months ago. All I did was document the situation that already existed (and had I not, it would have been visible in pictures anyway and I wouldn't and shouldn't have been paid because I wouldn't have been doing my job). It's a moment in time that is my responsibility to report upon. I am contracted to do a job using specific guidelines, anything less is not fullfilling my responsibility.

I did a banker one and the poor guy was inexperienced. He even said he didn’t know about certain services. I tried to balance his nice comments with the fact he did not really know his job. He could have been shy. He could have been recently hired. He could have been intimidated by the grumpy manager. It’s hard to know without spending more time there.

I have had the same struggles. I do these infamous bowling shops all the time, and there are certain things that "must" be done by employees. Sometimes the employees don't really do any of the things they are supposed to-- tell you about a promotion, look you in the eye, call you by your name on cc, etc., but they were super nice and you connected to their energy. I always laugh to myself when I fill out the report, and it's like, no, no, no, no, and then the narrative about all the stuff they didn't do. And then there is a section in the report at the end that asks you for your opinion about your experience, what you liked most about it, and how you would rate your overall experience and I'm like, "A+! I had a great time here, I was very comfortable, and my needs were met, I felt is was money very well spent!" On this shop, they are really looking to see if employees are promoting the brand, so though they ask for my opinion, that's not really what they care about.

I don't think an employee that works anywhere with a decent HR department would get fired for a random reason. My understanding is most companies have policies and employee handbooks that state the reasons why one would be fired. Granted, a bad report could give them some nice written support for firing someone if they did something against policy. But no matter what, the evaluation should be as objective as possible, and if you did get warm fuzzies from someone there are usually places to add that type of information. For example, ACL I think always has a front section that allows you to provide any additional information that you want to add.