We went to a science museum not too long ago, and I wrote an extensive report about the facility.

We visited again yesterday, not on a job, and the visit was interesting. I had mentioned that it was too cold, it was now warmer. I had commented on an IMAX intro, yesterday the intro and speaker were noticeably different.

I don't know if these things were in response to my report, but it made me wonder how much the clients change their business practices based on our reports.

Have you ever noticed other eerily similar changes, possibly in response to your report?

Some pay attention. Some do not. You also have to take into account that not all (I would guess maybe half) are doing mystery shops for the reason you expect.

I do not know if I have any influence at all. Once, a broken door was repaired sometime between my mystery shop visits to a location. I probably was not the only person who noticed the bad door. Any customer who wanted privacy would have noticed that door; perhaps they are the ones who inspired the correction. Other situations have been corrected, but I do not credit myself. Rather, other customers or shoppers may have noticed the same things, and my information was just more of the same.

The thrift store I shop takes my feedback. I mentioned that the clothes were packed too tight on the rods and customers had no room to slide the clothes aside for viewing. The next time I went, not on a shop, the rods weren't packed so tight.

The fake Mex that is no longer shopped, they never listened. They had the same problems every time I went.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 05:33PM by HonnyBrown.

I would say this varies greatly by not only client, but region/district/location. Time of year may also have an impact. Some changes are easier to make right away than others, and if it is busy season, changes may not be made until a slower quarter. Also, I agree with bgriffin; a lot of clients are looking for very specific things in their reports, so if you give feedback on something they're not looking for, it's not likely to make much of an impact. I really enjoy instances when I see our shopper's feedback impacting performance as I edit reports though.

@ShoppersViewChristine wrote:

Also, I agree with bgriffin; a lot of clients are looking for very specific things in their reports, so if you give feedback on something they're not looking for, it's not likely to make much of an impact.

To expand on this. The former McDonald's shops were focused almost entirely on timing. There were other questions but timing was mostly what locations were graded on. Sure the customer service stuff was relayed but it was an afterthought.

Now. Take McDonald's locations in another country. Say England. So McDonald's UK was forced to have a shopping program the same as the one in the US. Now let's say the UK subsidiary had no interest in a shopping program and didn't really want to spend the money. Their greatest interest in reports now becomes looking good to McDonald's US corporate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 07:34PM by bgriffin.

There is a shop that I do every once in a while and I make suggestions and the next time I do the shop I make the same suggestion again. May be one day they will listen to my suggestion

If you want to KNOW that you are heard by the client, do some serious cash integrity shops and/or alcohol compliance shops!

For most other shops, it is not always quite so clear what the client's objectives are, or at least not made clear to us. If the client is a franchisee looking at their own locations, adding observations about torn bench seating with stuffing hanging out, for instance, is not going to make much difference if they don't care. Same report but the client is the home company, action may be demanded of the franchisee. Although it was decades before I ever did MS, I remember reading that Holiday Inn bought back literally dozens of franchised location in the later 60s and into the 70s, based on MS reports. They concluded that those locations were greatly harming the brand image. (Back then HI was a much bigger deal than it is there days, in case you are too young to remember their heyday.)

I think sometimes they do make changes and other times, not at all. I do think they look at the reports, and at least consider making changes. Sometimes they may just be wanting feedback on a particular staff member, or what the property looks like to an outsider.

On a hotel shop one year I put in my report form that reading the employees' name tags was very difficult. The print was teeny tiny. The tags had a reflective silver or gold background so that light bouncing off of the tag made reading the tags even more difficult. About a year later, I returned to shop the same hotel. A lot of the employees were now wearing name tags on which they had handwritten their names in large letters. The name tags had a white background.

Here's another one. After doing numerous grocery store shops during which I was required to place a large item in the bottom of the basket to see if the employee would check for it, I began to notice as I redid the shops that the cashiers had signs at their stations that said things like "What about BOB?" or "Don't forget BOB." I almost didn't get it right away. Then I thought, "Oh, yes. BOB - Bottom of Basket."

I have notice positive changes but I’ve also been made into the bad guy because their employees did not follow protocol. Then the msc has me to do it over as if I did something wrong to encourage them to not do their job.

The Ahi tuna supposedly grilled (NOT) that I got very sick on is no longer on the menu. This was a burger place, they were trying it out, and wala it's gone....chef did not know how to grill tuna. I wish Best Buy would listen, or they'd raise the fee, beside pictures, having to again stand in line to purchase a dollar item, of which there is none, and never finding change, gets old fast. I was caught once and never able to shop that grocery again, the pleasure was all mine, since they have about 10 others within 5 miles. The Manager was a real dick.

Nope. In over 20 years of mystery shopping, never saw one change.

You guys are being much too personal. Take a look around. It's mystery shoppers that have changed the entire phone system so that now a real person answers and you don't have to press 50 million buttons to get to someone. It's mystery shoppers that have made the change in being greeted at the door for almost every type of business. It's mystery shoppers who have ingrained the word thank you in almost every business you shop. All this along with the name tags, the clothes spread a little bit further out in the thrift store and many other changes. Don't sell yourself short.

I have seen immediate changes many times - two businesses where I reported the restroom stalls were rusty or had peeling paint, and boom, within weeks they had completely replaced the stalls. Several gas station restrooms I have reported that there was no hook or counter to place my purse, and next time there was a hook. I have stated in my report that I will not give my business to gas stations that have those loud, annoying ads playing in the pumps, and the next time I was there, the ads were turned off. I have reported a frayed post office flag, and it was replaced within weeks. I have reported gas station parking lots with multiple large potholes, and all of them were resurfaced by the next month. I have reported that the wall of housewares at a Goodwill was a jumbled mess, and weeks later it was all neatly organized. Many businesses do care about our feedback and use it to make improvements.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

The Ahi tuna supposedly grilled (NOT) that I got very sick on is no longer on the menu. This was a burger place, they were trying it out, and wala it's gone....chef did not know how to grill tuna. I wish Best Buy would listen, or they'd raise the fee, beside pictures, having to again stand in line to purchase a dollar item, of which there is none, and never finding change, gets old fast. I was caught once and never able to shop that grocery again, the pleasure was all mine, since they have about 10 others within 5 miles. The Manager was a real dick.

I, too have ordered Ahi tuna (seared) and received it so raw that I would not eat it. They said it's supposed to be that way. We took it home and cooked it.

@SunSeeker wrote:

You guys are being much too personal. Take a look around. It's mystery shoppers that have changed the entire phone system so that now a real person answers and you don't have to press 50 million buttons to get to someone. It's mystery shoppers that have made the change in being greeted at the door for almost every type of business. It's mystery shoppers who have ingrained the word thank you in almost every business you shop. All this along with the name tags, the clothes spread a little bit further out in the thrift store and many other changes. Don't sell yourself short.

I find that a "thank you" is rare among young people. Some say "have a nice day," most of them say "there you go" or if I say "thank you," they say "yep." Drives me crazy.

There is a store that I shop fairly regularly. You are required to show your receipt at the door. It's a security measure, but the folks at the door often just blindly take the receipt and run a marker over it while chatting with friends, never looking in the bag to make sure the receipt and the bag match. I commented on that for four weeks straight (I was shopping it weekly) and suddenly, they were alert, they were asking for the receipt, they were asking if they could look in the bag! Management took notice and took steps. Made me feel useful!

I was at Wal-Mart tonight and there was a lady in front of me who got some water I believe and other big items and the lady at the door asked if she could see her receipt. She had to take it out of her purse. Everytime I get items big like that I always leave my receipt out.

When I worked retail and some one had a big item, I would mention that the person would need to check your receipt. I would even highlight the items that were not in the bag to make it easier. Somertimes people will leave i t out and sometimes they won't and sometimes they just kept on walking.

Some people don't like to show the receipt.. I lnow the lady was doing her job!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2018 04:42AM by Isaiah4031a.

There is a lumber shop that opened in my area a few years ago. I have visited it both as a real customer and as a mystery shopper. When visiting most of the floor employees would be huddled around towards the back just laughing and talking together. You had to go hunt them out for any kind of service. I always though, "This is really annoying." After mystery shopping several times, now any customer within earshot or eye contact would get approached. Now, it seems employees are approaching nonstop asking if any questions, do you need help with that, do you have a flyer, first time here, etc. At times, I was approached by the same employee twice in the same visit. Funny thing is, I thought, "This is really annoying." I guess there is just no pleasing me!

Sometimes I noticed a change. I got my sister involved in mystery shopping. This was a gas station and convienint store. I did these gas station shops, about 6 of them, all except one in the city I live was very high maintenance. About 3 weeks ago, my sister was assigned one. I was not supposed to, but I did accompany her because she is learning what to look for, look at the name tags, what are they wearing, colored hair, eyeglasses. This same business was very high maintenance when I did it. When my sister did it, it went down fast. Immedatley she noticed a spider web where people grab the gas nozzle. Even though not required, I took pictures and was able to upload them. The other day I noticed one of chain businesses cleaned the skirt pumps. Before I could write my name on it. I think there was one owner of two of the chains. They were well maintained, but he died. So I guess that was why they started going down.

I went to a fast food chicken restaurant and it was in really bad condition. The stuffing was coming out of the seat in the booths. The tables were chipped and scarred. The floor was missing tiles. Fast forward 3 months, brand new booths and tables and a new floor. I believe they listened because I had been shopping this location for about 5 years and this time they wanted to know the condition of the dining room in great detail. I think they do listen.

I did a USPS shop, just a regular one, nothing special. I made a comment about the front, how you could not read the name of the town or the zip code until you were right up on it. The decorative concrete frame around the door had become quite dirty and unreadable from the road. Fast forward about two weeks, and it is now blindingly white, readable from about a mile away (no joke!).

Hafta say, that made me feel good, at least for a little while.

@SunSeeker wrote:

You guys are being much too personal. Take a look around. It's mystery shoppers that have changed the entire phone system so that now a real person answers and you don't have to press 50 million buttons to get to someone. It's mystery shoppers that have made the change in being greeted at the door for almost every type of business. It's mystery shoppers who have ingrained the word thank you in almost every business you shop. All this along with the name tags, the clothes spread a little bit further out in the thrift store and many other changes. Don't sell yourself short.

I have found it is worse than ever. I now have to press 50 million and 1 buttons to speak to a live person, and they usually have a room temperature I.Q.

Yes, Walmart still posts the near dead at the door to greet people.

Doesn't anybody use commas anymore? Should I stop using them? Seriously. "answers and you" should have a comma after "answers". Is this one of the rules of grammar that has changed?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2018 04:21PM by jameschicago.

@SunSeeker wrote:

It's mystery shoppers that have changed the entire phone system so that now a real person answers and you don't have to press 50 million buttons to get to someone.

I don't know where you live, but where I live, I STILL have to press many, many buttons when calling major businesses/corporations. Try calling AT&T to reach a live person in customer service. Try the same with DirecTV or even a major bank office. Or try calling your health insurance carrier. I've done ALL of these recently, and STILL have to press bunches and bunches of numbers before I reach a live person!

“Did you check BOB?” Now those stores are being shopped to see if the cashiers are checking the video camera at their stations that are focused on BOB.

I am not so egotistical that I think my reports are the main reason for clients making changes. Nor do I shop for altruistic reasons. My goal is to submit a fair and accurate report following the MSCs guidelines and get compensated for my efforts.That being said, I do believe that our reports are read by the client and are a factor, although probably a small one, in the decisions made by the client.

I do a lot of gas stations and have a quick story about one I did yesterday that I have been auditing periodically for four years, dutifully reporting each infraction. Early on I noticed a metal grate covering a one foot drop to some plumbing fixtures which was on the walkway to the outside restroom. The grate was rusted out and would not have held my weight. In the comment section I reported that this was a law suit waiting to happen. On my next visit a new grate had been installed. In this instance I believe I definitely influenced the client. Yesterday when i arrived the manager told me the MID was being repaired and the two front windows were replaced. The MID needed new LEDs and 15 years ago hurricane Sandy was the cause of the cracked windows. The manager thanked me and said I was the reason the repairs were being made. It was nice of the manager to say that but I don't know if I had no influence or a little influence in getting the re pairs done. Perhaps they got tired of seeing my repetitive pictures or perhaps it was just time to upgrade the station. But the manager was happy. We are now working on replacing the restroom mirror and sink cabinet.

Phones jobs have changed, on what planet...I get the automated with no rep., seem to always talk to a machine, try AT@T, or a myraid of other companies.

"It's mystery shoppers that have changed the entire phone system so that now a real person answers and you don't have to press 50 million buttons to get to someone." Uh yeah, no.

"It's mystery shoppers that have made the change in being greeted at the door for almost every type of business." One of my banks added a lobby greeter and it was because of mystery shopping. As a real customer I threw a hissy fit about transactions that once took 5 minutes taking 15 or more. They were wasting an employee trained to process transactions. Instead he/she just stood around telling us we could take a seat because it would be a while. It was because of real customers that silly experiment ended almost as soon as it started.

"It's mystery shoppers who have ingrained the word thank you in almost every business you shop." I wouldn't consider 25% to be "almost every business." And honestly, 25% may be an exaggeration.