I was wondering if anyone else experiences the same thing I do. When I have a great shop. The service is great, the food is great, the building is well-maintained and in perfect order and I give them a great review I get a 10. But every time the service isn't that good or there's a problem with the food or the restaurant and I know that in my report I seem to get an eighth or 9. Does this happen to anyone else? I feel like schedulers and reviewers only want positive comments

I have never felt that reviewers only want positive comments. I haven't noticed a difference in my ratings regardless of whether my reports are positive or negative..... and over the years I've written a lot of positive and negative reports. BUT, having said that, I have always felt that, when negative comments are made, everyone is holding their breath saying "uh-oh," and negative comments must be carefully explained. Positive reports are easy. The shopper knows, and the editor knows, that the client's management will be pleased and likely no one from the client group will question the report. A negative report will raise questions in the minds of the client's administrative management and they will certainly ask questions of the facility manager and the location's staff. A negative report is much harder to write and needs to be more detailed. My negative reports are longer and more detailed.

Think of how you feel when you get a performance review at your job. If your boss says "Great work, nothing can be improved. I'm proud to have you as a team member," you probably won't ask a lot of questions or want to know why he feels that way, right? OK. Let's say he rates you low in a couple of areas. Most people would question that, wanting to understand why so they can improve. And, if they think the boss has not rated them fairly, they might argue. A negative performance rating needs to explain exactly why it is rated the way it is.

Many clients use mystery shops to determine bonuses, raises, and even promotions, so getting a good mystery shop report is very important to the facility manager and to the employees involved. Your report means they may not get a raise or a bonus, so of course they are going to ask detailed questions, and, if enough detail is not provided, they may well argue with the information provided. Your objective is to provide so much detail that it's clear that you saw what you saw and heard what you heard. You need to provide a lot more detail when writing a bad report. Describe the employees, what they said, what they did, where they stood, and, if you overhead any portion of their social conversation, describe it. Lots of detail. You are being paid for your observations, so these are not your opinions or impressions, they are what you saw and heard.

The managers and store employees will hear what you write about them. Be honest about shortcomings, but give them credit for anything they did right, no matter how small it might seem. I've had some really bad situations during shops, but I've never done a shop that was ALL bad. Point out the good, too. Try to include something they did right in with what they did wrong. Like: Although she did not greet me and offer the special of the day, Susie smiled and made eye contact. Or: Although the cashier and bagger carried on a personal conversation about their plans for the weekend while ringing up and bagging my order, both smiled, made eye contact, and thanked me warmly, inviting me to return.

I really think they need to know all, the good and the bad, however, recently, I had an ah tuna sandwich and the fish was supposed to be grilled a bit, but was totally raw...I brought it back and was told that's how it's supposed to be by the cashier. I had a couple bites and I was sick all night and told the MSC. I could not write a good report and now "it seems", jobs are coming to me a bit late, like after their scheduled and I haven't done anymore for them, just don't get them when I apply, so.....one never knows, but if it walks like a duck, well.....first time and I at times write a negative report without this happening, but they need to know the truth. I do (always) write a positive along with the negative.

I always write the positive as well as the negative. I hate when shops go wrong, as they do take twice as long, as every no answer has to be explained. I love when a server hits all the points of service that an employer trains them to do and I always reward with praise, but when they don't I regrettably have to report that also. I just feel I get worse marks when I don't have a great experience.

One answer, editors want shops reports with no complaints. Those are much easier for them to send in. It's human nature. I have noticed delays in getting paid if I reported complaints. I'll only report major issues.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2018 07:54PM by johnb974.

Oh wow, I had not considered this possibility.

I guess I will be getting some very low scores on the gas station shops I did this week. There was some very well-maintained locations and then there were locations that had dried urine and feces on the toilets. I sent photos... because I would have a hard time believing anything was that bad without proof. lol

It’s all about the details and description. When something negative needs to be reported, you want to be as descriptive as possible. The reader should be able to visualize exactly what you are describing. For example, instead of saying the restroom wasn’t clean, describe the restroom in detail: “the trash receptacle was overflowing with a pile of used paper towels next to it on the floor, empty toilet paper rolls were laying next to the toilet in the stall farthest from the door. The soap dispenser to the right of the sink was empty. The mirror had visible handprints and smudge marks.” Or something like that. Avoid words like filthy or disgusting as those as subjective.

Oh, I was very descriptive without using subjective language. I feel sorry for the people editing those reports. Can you imagine having to look at photos of gas station bathrooms all day?

I have written my fair share of negative reports and the grades have been the same. I write what I see and am objective, good or bad.

I think a lot depends on the editor who gets it and the kind of day they are having. Remember, editors are just people doing their job. Some will give you a break, some will not.

My take away here is when did a 9 or 8 become a low shopper score? That might be annoying but there are some editors who never give 10s. There are some that will give an 8 or 9 as a matter of habit.

Liz

some of the comments about describing what was wrong are getting to me, because I am always very descriptive. I didn't know some schedulers just give eights and nines routinely. I guess every companies different.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2018 05:04AM by rboggs127.

I suppose shopper scores are subjective?

Usually if the scheduler gives me below a 10, they will give a comment telling me what details they feel I missed. I just received an eight from a company I have never shopped for before and they did not give me any reasons for the low score. I have asked the scheduler for an explanation.

One large MSC disliked my gas station shops because I was honest on my reports. Most MSCs are better than that.

That's just completely untrue. I was an editor for two different MSCs, I can promise you I did not feel that way and I don't know of any other editors who felt that way, either. Also, I had nothing to do with payroll and nor do other editors. Any delays in payments has nothing to do with the editing staff and nothing to do with shoppers reporting complaints.

And as far as only reporting major issues and not reporting other things that might not be up to the client's standards, that's doing the MSC and the client a huge disservice by not being truthful about your experience.

@johnb974 wrote:

One answer, editors want shops reports with no complaints. Those are much easier for them to send in. It's human nature. I have noticed delays in getting paid if I reported complaints. I'll only report major issues.

I have seen all types of editors. Some would give you a break and allow you to correct a shop, others will not. I had one editor who offered to adjust my times. I had one editor who rejected my shop because I didn't file it before midnight eastern time. I'm on the west coast. Nothing in the guidelines say anything about which time zone to use.

@TroyHawkins wrote:

It’s all about the details and description. When something negative needs to be reported, you want to be as descriptive as possible. The reader should be able to visualize exactly what you are describing. For example, instead of saying the restroom wasn’t clean, describe the restroom in detail: “the trash receptacle was overflowing with a pile of used paper towels next to it on the floor, empty toilet paper rolls were laying next to the toilet in the stall farthest from the door. The soap dispenser to the right of the sink was empty. The mirror had visible handprints and smudge marks.” Or something like that. Avoid words like filthy or disgusting as those as subjective.

Good advice. Doesn't always work, unfortunately.

I once had a shop where one employee acted so strangely that most of the customers at the business during my shop stared at her and what she was doing. I filed my report and gave a detailed description of what she did and how the customers responded. I got a "10" on my report. Then, the owner of the MSC chewed me out and said I was ridiculous in how I wrote my report. My guess is the client took offense, and the owner reacted accordingly.

I stopped working for that MSC for years. I never shopped that client again. (My choice.)

I think it takes a little more skill to write a negative report than a positive one and there is a greater opportunity for the editor to find fault or have questions. This is reflected in occasional lower scores. My narratives on jobs where things go wrong are normally longer. Explaining clearly all the facets of what happened is sometimes complex when mistakes were made. I don't see lower scores associated with my ratings for multiple choice style reports.

You cannot please all the people, or at least all of the editors and clients, all the time. As long as you have reported the experience accurately and in objective terms, you have done well in principle. What happens next, or how other people respond to your report, is beyond your control. Your job is to report the facts and write about positives and/or negatives, as per the shop instructions. If nothing else, you have your own peace of mind for a job well done in principle.

If I have to report about negative experiences I also include some positives. BUT I start with what went right first.

That sounds like Mary Kay, who sandwiched her negative remarks between layers of praise and encouragement.

@roflwofl wrote:

I have never felt that reviewers only want positive comments.

You've never shopped a post office or McDonald's?? Both of those (and others) are famous for challenging negative reports. The company that previously had the postal shops backed the client every time even if you had such great detail that you knew what the staff member had for breakfast. Didn't matter - denied when challenged. Thankfully, the current company has a different stance.

@iShop123 wrote:

@roflwofl wrote:

I have never felt that reviewers only want positive comments.

You've never shopped a post office or McDonald's?? Both of those (and others) are famous for challenging negative reports. The company that previously had the postal shops backed the client every time even if you had such great detail that you knew what the staff member had for breakfast. Didn't matter - denied when challenged. Thankfully, the current company has a different stance.

I've never shopped the post office (totally not interested in those shops), so I don't have a clue about them. I shopped McDonald's from 2010, at one time for 4 different MSCs, until they stopped being shopped. Most of my McD reports were good but over the years I filed several bad McD reports. Based on what I heard later, I think one bad report got the manager and the cashier fired. I had the MSC come back and verify what I was wearing so they could view the video a couple of times, but I was never denied payment or told the client disputed my report. Since the main MSC with the McD account doesn't make its shopper scores public, I can't say whether I was graded lower for bad McD reports.

@iShop123 wrote:

@roflwofl wrote:

I have never felt that reviewers only want positive comments.

You've never shopped a post office or McDonald's?? Both of those (and others) are famous for challenging negative reports. The company that previously had the postal shops backed the client every time even if you had such great detail that you knew what the staff member had for breakfast. Didn't matter - denied when challenged. Thankfully, the current company has a different stance.

Sonic was pretty good at nitpicking details when they’d botch the timing or not upsell me. Funny, because one store I was sent to reshop twice timed at no better than 7:00 service time on any shop as if nobody cared. Not long after Hurricane Ike, a Sonic shopped at nearly 13 minutes just to get my coney combo to me. I think they came back at me when I noted the monument was torn up a few months after the storm.

Also, I did get a “1” for a take out wing shop. I sat for 30 minutes when I heard chatter about my order having been given away halfway through the wait. I got emails back about having arrived too early and too late for this shop, which we both knew was a load. What ever happened to GFK? Heh.

So, clients are probably pressuring MSCs to some extent for glowing reviews, but why pay for cherry picking? Why even have a shop program at that point?

I have done many Sonic shops, always the same one. Never had any problems.

I wouldn't have thought this was true but was just told the same about a certain MSC by a very experienced scheduler today. They know I am an over-achiever and warned me that the MSC pretty much doesn't give 10s, so getting an 8 or 9 is considered something of a prize. They also apparently give no feedback along with the score.

@Traveliz wrote:

My take away here is when did a 9 or 8 become a low shopper score? That might be annoying but there are some editors who never give 10s. There are some that will give an 8 or 9 as a matter of habit.

Liz

I'm sorry to hear that some companies don't ever score over eight or nine. Maybe that was the case in my shop. I did receive a response. The response was that reviewers do hundreds of report each day and do not remember any specific shop. No explanation for me. There are plenty of companies out there to shop I'll just cross this one off my list.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2018 03:06PM by rboggs127.

Confero's typical scores for shoppers is 8 or 9. They RARELY, RARELY give out a 10, no matter how you report. I know....I've done several dozen shops for them, and when I received a 10 a few months ago, I nearly dropped my jaw!!! Since then, it's back to 9s.