There are some mystery shop jobs in which they make you do things that obviously blow your cover because they are unusual and most regular customers do not do them.

Then, in the guidelines, they warn you not do anything to blow your cover, and the things they list there are silly and unlikely to blow your cover, and at least not anything close to the things they make you do in the shop.

I wonder why these guidelines do not get changed. Do the mystery shopping companies not care as long as the client thinks they are getting what they want? Is it too much of a hassle to tell the clients? Do they feel they are letting the clients down if they tell them?

I'm trying to make sense of it.

I think the MSC's care to an extent. We don't know what goes into the discussions between the MSC and the client when discussing the goals of the project. I am sure there are many times in these meetings where the MSC will express a concern that a certain thing may blow a shopper's cover. However, depending on how important that part is for the client, it may be unavoidable, so it appears as though the MSC doesn't care about it when presenting the guidelines to us.

They ask us to do the best we can, and that's all we can do. I do think a lot of people think they are exposed or going to be exposed when they really aren't, or that they exposed themselves in the few seconds after based on their body language or mannerisms. A big example is a certain pizza shop for an MSC I don't really like, but you need to photograph the bottom of pizza. Really, just do it. Of course, the concerned shopper is likely looking around both before and after, and that is what makes them look suspicious of being the shopper, not the picture in itself.

@KA047 wrote:

. I do think a lot of people think they are exposed or going to be exposed when they really aren't, or that they exposed themselves in the few seconds after based on their body language or mannerisms.

My thoughts exactly. There have been many times on this forum when someone has been concerned about asking what they thought was a silly question that would blow their cover and it turned out to be a question that many people would ask in other peoples mind.
And there are definite jobs where you are required to blow your cover. Those should only be taken by shoppers who don't care if they never shop that place again.
For me the issue is with having the same informational question every month and year after year that a person would only ask once or maybe twice if they had a poor memory. This becomes an issue if you take the same job month after month in a location with little turnover in staff. I do believe the client sets these questions and perhaps they do not understand that the msc does not have an unlimited number of shoppers for each location.

MSC's do not want us to blow our cover. However, they also do not dictate our scenarios - they negotiate them with the client. The client may or may not have a representative who understands the customer interactions with the business well and, therefore, might insist on a scenario or series of questions that seem odd, despite the MSC's objections.

There are definitely things that people think will expose them that don't. I also have done the pizza place where you take a photo of the bottom of the pizza. I think the employee would know if they saw you do it, but most of the time I can make it so they don't. I know some scenarios on shops though where for sure they know you are a shopper. I'm sure the client has responsibility in it, but it just seems to be too common.

Here are two examples:

One involves checking into a hotel and asking for a hearing aid kit for the hotel phone. Not only am I not deaf or hard of hearing, but I would think people with this issue would largely have it covered with modern technology and their cell phone.

Another is a restaurant shop. You gorge yourself on food, don't order alcohol while dining at all, and order cappuccino to cap off the dinner before you go. And then before you go home, you think, "Gee. I just had that cappuccino to get me up. Now, I think I'll go to the bar and have a downer cocktail." That makes sense. "And even though I just paid with a credit card, I'm going to put a $20 bill on the bar top for some reason as soon as I sit down." Since all of the employees at the restaurant at that point know I'm a shopper, what's the point of the rest of the shop?

I am shocked, shocked, that there might be somebody in a corporate headquarters who knows all about how their employees should do a job that they themselves have never done.

@MFJohnston wrote:

The client may or may not have a representative who understands the customer interactions with the business well and, therefore, might insist on a scenario or series of questions that seem odd, despite the MSC's objections.

Panama states:

I am shocked, shocked, that there might be somebody in a corporate headquarters who knows all about how their employees should do a job that they themselves have never done. smiling smiley

Bob's comment:

This is either quite a coincidence or Panama is a fan of Capt. Renault of Casablanca.

If they really want to find out they can, most places you shop have cameras, and require an image of your receipt. They can look at the time stamp and lane (if there is one) and know exactly who you are in 5 minutes. I am convinced most do this because on my return trips I am usually treated much better.....or maybe they just took my comments to heart? Nah, they looked at the video.

In my old area, I did a regional Mexican restaurant chain where you also had to shop the bar area for the carryout shops, but you couldn't let the bartender/server know you were waiting for a carryout order. It wasn't a problem for the location that was closest to me because the carryout window was in the lobby, but some of the locations in other cities that I shopped on routes were more interesting. One of them had the carryout window literally in the bar area. While the employee was getting my order from the back, the bartender said, "Oh, I could've gotten your order for you! Why didn't you say something?" Awkward. I *wonder* why they had so much trouble filling that location haha. Another one had the window around the corner from the bar, and the same employees worked at both the window and the bar. Originally I was relieved because I got a different employee at the window, but as I was paying, sure enough the bartender came up behind the window and gave me a very strange look. I didn't go back there either! I think that requirement was definitely better in theory.

The same chain and scenario had very strange timing. You had to place your carryout order from the parking lot, then go shop the bar and stay at least 15 minutes, then pick up your carryout order. And of course they want you to pick up as close as possible to the quoted time. Again fine in theory but not so fun when they quote you 15 minutes or even 10 minutes, especially when the server has disappeared, etc.

That place has the best margaritas though...

I don't like when the guidelines say that asking where the store is located will out you as a shopper. Really?

I don’t like when they say not to have your cell phone out or use it even though every other customer is using theirs.

Liz

Every time I think I have been spotted as a shopper, the employees then do things that they definitely shouldn't do. Sometimes just returning eye contact can be received oddly because it's unusual. Try that and asking extra questions when you're just out as yourself.

My favorites right now are the smartphone and TV shops that want you to ask about features that no customer would ever ask about. No person has ever walked in the door of a Verizon store and asked the salesperson if the new whatever has augmented reality features.

I will bet that you are not a geeky male in the age range from 15 to 20 (more or less).
If I were doing the shop, I would say something like, "My son of course insists that his new phone has augmented reality features. Does it?" If

@thegov2k2 wrote:

No person has ever walked in the door of a Verizon store and asked the salesperson if the new whatever has augmented reality features.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2019 03:14PM by myst4au.

Yes. The restaurant shop I referred to above says using your phone will out you as shopper but isn't worried about the other stuff I mentioned. Using a phone is normal!

I think sometimes they say not to be on your phone (other than briefly to take notes) because they want you to be attentive to what is going on around you. Also, if you're on your phone, an employee might not greet you, check on you, etc. Of course, that's not always the case. Some guidelines might not have updated the phone usage section in a few years, either.

Sometimes, I like to use my phone during shops. At other times, the phone is a nuisance and I do not want it around when I am performing various tasks.

The last time I personally went to a phone store, I needed help with everything. There was no time to find out about augmented reality features. It never occurred to me to ask about them. I just needed basic things done before I hurried along to an actual job. But thanks to this thread, I now wonder: why would it be a good idea to put augmented reality features on a cell phone? Is this necessary? Is it the playground of the bored?

I always think most of hotel shops have to be so obvious. It's not unusual that for a 2 night stay, I'll have to go to the front desk and ask questions more than once, and make a ton of phone calls. The guidelines might say make a housekeeping call, maintenance call, concierge call, room service call, but most hotel phones ring to either the front desk or one main operator.

I try to spread them out as much as possible but a lot of times I'm talking to the same employee at least 3x per stay. I'm so needy! Especially with luxury hotels that try to keep track of guests and anticipate their needs I know they keep track.

They actually write articles on how to spot a secret shopper: [www.incorp.com] Most of what they listed here is correct.

Questions that risk blowing your cover, Dork of the Day stuff, questions/scenarios that are just flat out lame, or that make you the customer the employee tells his/her family about that night, playing 20 questions and then wandering off without buying anything, it all goes with the territory I guess.

Or the one who bought the thing then returned it 20 minutes later because...your spouse bought the same one already?

@panama18 wrote:

Questions that risk blowing your cover, Dork of the Day stuff, questions/scenarios that are just flat out lame, or that make you the customer the employee tells his/her family about that night, playing 20 questions and then wandering off without buying anything, it all goes with the territory I guess.

This topic always a constant battle with me. Certain shops I just stopped taking because they refuse to change up guidelines and as soon as you do X or ask Y you are automatically labeled as a mystery shopper. One restaurant I stopped shopping because the shop requirements are so old that the hostess actually had a "cheat sheet" for the wait staff on how to spot a mystery shopper ON THE PODIUM.

And other times, mystery shoppers tell on themselves. I was visiting a coffee shop that I had shopped in the past and within 10 seconds, I could tell who the mystery shopper was. She was so blatant and obvious. So, I do think sometimes it goes both ways. There are a lot of ways to be creative without being outted, but some things are just not possible to mask.

Anyone ever watch the show "Superstore" OMG, there was an episode where they spent the whole time freaking out over who they thought was a mystery shopper.

LOL, here it is: [www.nbc.com]

@MysVal wrote:

Anyone ever watch the show "Superstore" OMG, there was an episode where they spent the whole time freaking out over who they thought was a mystery shopper.

If I can, I ask all the formulaic questions at the end or after just ask more random questions first. It disrupts the signs they’re used to. I also check with schedulers if questions need to be verbatim. Usually they don’t want that.

I was thinking about how I can tell they don’t suspect me because they don’t become careful.

I wonder if there are extra tricks to signal “definitely not a shopper.” What things are both not inappropriate and not what a shopper is expected to do?

Some shoppers are identified because they look too closely at the name tags.

Today, the MSC wanted a picture of a card table with the two employees. There was no way I could take a picture of them discreetly. I took a picture of an information sign on the table. If the MSC takes it, great, if not, the only way would have been to ask them to smile and take a picture, which I would not do.

The companies' leadership being shopped may care but not have the bandwidth to evaluate the evaluation, and leave it up to the expertise of the MSCs, and the MSC's, quite frankly, are completely incompetent and don't really care about the quality of the report-- just whether the client thinks it's okay and accepts it. The MSC, like many others, want to to the smallest amount of work for the greatest amount of money. So making any changes to the evaluations would just be too much work, and probably regarded as outside their pay grade.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2019 01:54AM by rothers27.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

why would it be a good idea to put augmented reality features on a cell phone? Is this necessary? Is it the playground of the bored?

Years ago, a very smart co-worker told me, "We are not a technological society. We are a society in which a technological elite design products for the rest of us, and the chips have so much capacity that they sit around and dream up complicated features just to make use of that capacity. Meanwhile, half the VCRs in America are flashing 12:00 because we don't know how to reset the clock after a power outage."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2019 02:01AM by panama18.

@hotsauce1 wrote:

Especially with luxury hotels that try to keep track of guests and anticipate their needs I know they keep track.

Yep, I worked in a couple hotels at the front desk before and they DO keep notes on guests...some can be pretty extensive.