There are a couple of things I'd like to see more MSC's take a look at...
1. Guidelines... It seems fairly common, as guidelines are changed for different clients, periods, etc., to simply take an old document and edit it for the new assignment. While this is certainly fine and save time, proofreading is important. I have had many shops where one sentence says, "Call and make an appointment" and the very next says, "Do not call at all." Or, directions clearly state, "Don't make a call" and yet, there is mandatory part of the survey in which details about a phone call are demanded. When this happens, I have to contact the scheduler for clarity. The scheduler then often has to contact a project manager, who passes work back to me through the scheduler. I understand that blunders happen. (I make more than my fair share.) However, to have the same issue with the same MSC one, two and eight weeks later can be frustrating.
2. Scenarios... They need to be changed periodically, especially if there is a specific phrase that the shopper must use verbatim. There is one client that I have shopped regularly for better than two years. When every I catch a more senior employee, I get the sense, the moment I use the catch phrase, that we are just playing a game. With how frequently the client is shopped, I would be surprised if they didn't know I was a shopper the moment I uttered the phrase...... Also, not every scenario works for every one of a client's stores. I mentioned my valet parking issue in another thread. In Seattle, street parking is free after five or six o'clock. There are frequently valet parking shops that must be done in the evenings where I am not permitted to be a guest of the hotel (of course, this make sense). However, when I pull up to the valet, they look at me funny. Then they take my car as they should, move it ten feet to the free street parking (only overnight guests get the garage), and, when I return, simply walk me to my car.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.