You know you've been outed when....
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I think many times the guidelines are designed to tip off the employee and give you away. This way the company can say to their shareholders, "We have a mystery shop program in place and look how GREAT our scores are!!"
Another one...when you are shopping a property four years after the last shop, so you are good to go in regards to giving your real information. Once that information is entered into the computer, the leasing agent is able to see the visit notes from 2014 and informs you that management notated that it was a mystery shopping visit
Another one....when you have to give the leasing agent a different last name, but they still proceed to enter you information into the computer as it's listed on your ID...and then your previous visit pops up, possibly visits to multiple sister properties that also took it upon themselves to ignore your fake last name
Another one....when you have to give the leasing agent a different last name, but they still proceed to enter you information into the computer as it's listed on your ID...and then your previous visit pops up, possibly visits to multiple sister properties that also took it upon themselves to ignore your fake last name
@AnonymousGirl wrote:
Another one...when you are shopping a property four years after the last shop, so you are good to go in regards to giving your real information. Once that information is entered into the computer, the leasing agent is able to see the visit notes from 2014 and informs you that management notated that it was a mystery shopping visit
Another one....when you have to give the leasing agent a different last name, but they still proceed to enter you information into the computer as it's listed on your ID...and then your previous visit pops up, possibly visits to multiple sister properties that also took it upon themselves to ignore your fake last name
This is one of the reasons I’ve never completed an apartment shop, all the fake name scenarios make me squirm. That and extended phone calls, and trying to reach a target. Ugh. I can see that there’s often good money in apartment shops and wish they sounded like fun to me.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2018 05:00AM by Stephanieteaches.
I have always given my real name when doing apartment shops since you have to provide your ID, and I will only do that location once. Women can get away with going back a few years later and giving a fake last name, saying they got married, but men would have a harder time doing that (though I suppose in this day and age not as much). I am a female but I choose to give my real name and not have to deal with explanations. But having to shop a target is a PITA and THAT is more of a reason to avoid these shops.
I walked in to a bank branch and there were 3 employees in the bank manager's office. I walked to the teller counter waiting area. There was 1 teller busy with a customer and 1 teller doing some paperwork. The manager picked up the phone in her office, the phone rang for the teller doing paperwork, he picked up the phone, looked at me, said OK to the caller, stopped what he was doing and called me to the counter then blew the monthly cue question. Decided to cross that branch off future visits.
When you walk into a bank and the platform banker immediately laughs and yells across the lobby, "Are you shopping us again? They really need to change it up. We all know you as soon as you walk in!"....(all nearby laughing, banker does everything correctly)
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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
Pret a Manger guidelines requires shoppers in my state to ask for a card with the list of ingredients. Always gives me away as a shopper. Usually a manager stop by my table to ask how things are, a few times with cookies or pastries "on the house".
1. you are doing a bank shop that requires they wear a nametag. she excuses herself (no hametag) and come back from behind a partition wearing a nametag 30 seconds later.
2. the supervisor is on a lunch break when i arrive but as soon as i get there he stops his meal to wait on me. also somebody cleans the dining room and the bathrooms are checked right away. as soon as the supervisor rings up my meal he sits down to resume his lunch break.
2. the supervisor is on a lunch break when i arrive but as soon as i get there he stops his meal to wait on me. also somebody cleans the dining room and the bathrooms are checked right away. as soon as the supervisor rings up my meal he sits down to resume his lunch break.
What do you all say when you've been outed? Do you still go on with the shop and pretend like you didn't hear it?
You bet. It's what I get paid to do, so I do it.
Last month, a scheduler asked me to do a particular shop. I had done it once before, over a year earlier. I told her I didn't want to do it, because I felt they would recognize me. She said no, that's what rotations were for, no problem, I could do the shop.
Walked in, the girl behind the counter said, wow, where have you been? Haven't seen you in over a year!
LOL!!!!
Last month, a scheduler asked me to do a particular shop. I had done it once before, over a year earlier. I told her I didn't want to do it, because I felt they would recognize me. She said no, that's what rotations were for, no problem, I could do the shop.
Walked in, the girl behind the counter said, wow, where have you been? Haven't seen you in over a year!
LOL!!!!
The person asks how long you have been a mystery shopper after you did an hour video shop. :/
Susan
Director of Operations
Sentry Insights and Marketing
Director of Operations
Sentry Insights and Marketing
@tstewart3 wrote:
I walked in to a bank branch and there were 3 employees in the bank manager's office. I walked to the teller counter waiting area. There was 1 teller busy with a customer and 1 teller doing some paperwork. The manager picked up the phone in her office, the phone rang for the teller doing paperwork, he picked up the phone, looked at me, said OK to the caller, stopped what he was doing and called me to the counter then blew the monthly cue question. Decided to cross that branch off future visits.
I have not seen those shops for this month guess they will show up later. Or when you visit with a personal banker and you had just shopped him earlier in the week and they are at their home branch bank and was just filling in at the other branch. That is an Oopsie Daisy.
When you take a picture of the outside of the location; and try to not give yourself away, but as you snap the picture two employees are walking towards you and no longer obstructed by a truck in the street where you couldn't see them before and looking at you puzzled as they continue to walk to the store. I just really hope I didn't give myself away today;as these are one of my favorite shops and very easy but the instructions say they watch every single mystery shop; so we will see how it goes...
Shopping Idaho and Oregon/Idaho border region.
I had to ask for a required item and when the sales associate repeated what I asked for to another sales associate the manager started whispering to the two associates. For the rest of the shop every where I turned there was someone offering to help me find something, offering to carry my items, asking me how my day was going.
@Swilli wrote:
Five Guys employees definitely know.
Dang, and here I thought all those young, cute guys cooking on the line were just checking me out.. :')
I went in to shop a wireless carrier that I already subscribe to, and I was supposed to act like I was new. There was a long wait, and they asked for my phone number so they could text me when it was my turn. I couldn't exactly give them a bogus number, otherwise I'd never get the text. When it was my turn, everything went fine for 5 minutes, but at the end of the conversation, the employee said that they would text me the quote we talked about, and that's when the employee realized I was already a customer, as I popped up on their tablet. I then let out the stupidest line I've ever said: "That must be my brother's account....who's name is also <myname>". Yeah, didn't know what to do there. The employee instantly smiled, and ended the conversation by saying "ok, feel free to look around and take pictures so you will remember what we talked about". Yeah....totally outed. Next time I'll go prepared with a google voice fake number or something.
I rolled up to the cashier at Five Guys, and she said, "You got your hair cut!" They never outed me though. Maybe she was just really into my hair.
I hate it when I'm in the check out lane and the manager scurries to whisper to every employee around me. Then there will be a group of people talking to me making it hard to remember the cashier's description.
When I was in Salt Lake City, I was working full time delivering pizzas. After work, I'd do a couple of grocery shops, still in my pizza delivery uniform. Then, if someone acted like they knew I was the shopper, I'd say "Nope, just brought you a pizza last week, don't you remember?" Perfect disguise! It was actually kinda fun!
@quovatis wrote:
"That must be my brother's account....who's name is also <myname>".
Hi I'm Larry. This is my brother Daryl, and this is my other brother Daryl.
I used to do the same bar, over and over again. Bar shops, dinner shops, lunch shops, all of them. I told the bartenders I had just moved there and was looking for a good local spot - til one night, after probably 10 visits, I had a repeat bartender who walked right over and said "are you shopping again tonight?" Apparently my report was so descriptive the last time I was there that she immediately knew who I was. She did say she never would have known otherwise and I seemed like anyone else hanging out at the bar during XYZ sports game.. it was probably because some guy next to me asked for a food recommendation but couldn't handle the spicy wings so I ate his for him. #undercoverAF #feedme
When the gas station clerk turns on the lights on a bright sunny day around noon time as you walk back to your car after the mystery portion!
@KA047 wrote:
When the gas station clerk turns on the lights on a bright sunny day around noon time as you walk back to your car after the mystery portion!
Or when he hands you the bathroom key when you are doing the mystery portion and says you will need this.
When you order the little fry at Five Guys and literally get a bag HALF FULL of french fries. I keep trying to sneak a look in the back room to see if my pic is there...
For the life of me, I'll never understand why an employee would confront a shopper. I've never had one confront me, but I'm always shocked by these stories. The ones that scurry to do a good job make much more sense.
The guidelines definitely out us sometimes. My spouse used to work at a bowling alley 10-15 years ago. He said he always knew the shoppers because they accepted help choosing a bowling ball. I remember those guidelines! If we were offered help, we had to accept it. What a weird thing to do. He said he would run around the alley and tell the servers, snack bar, etc. to get ready for the shopper on lane 10
The guidelines definitely out us sometimes. My spouse used to work at a bowling alley 10-15 years ago. He said he always knew the shoppers because they accepted help choosing a bowling ball. I remember those guidelines! If we were offered help, we had to accept it. What a weird thing to do. He said he would run around the alley and tell the servers, snack bar, etc. to get ready for the shopper on lane 10
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