Is it possible to call the restarant a few times close to when you will be shopping and ask to be transfered to the different departments? For example..the bar to ask the bartender a couple of questions and ask for the persons name when your done? And wait another 15 minutes and call back and ask for a different department..

You might not be able to get everyones name but should knock out a few...

Yes, you would be outed as a shopper...or a creepy stalker. So ask the waitress and host for everyone's name. After you've creeped everyone out, enjoy your meal.

Niner, I would not do a shop that I had spent this much time dreading. I would just cancel it and take the hit.

The struggle is real. This is why I don't do very many fine dining shops anymore. It's easy enough to get MOST names, but beyond that you just end up looking like a weirdo.

I would drop the shop, explain why. The more shoppers who reject these type of shops, or don't assign them at all, the more MSCs will not post them. It is possible the restaurant wants it done this way, but the MSC should be providing the proper guidance. It just seems like this type of shop would set up the shopper for failure. It's bad enough most of these shops no longer have a fee, but who wants to end up with a rejected shop, no payment for time spent at the restaurant and writing the report, and out $100? Not me.

@dawnhu wrote:

Is it possible to call the restarant a few times close to when you will be shopping and ask to be transfered to the different departments? For example..the bar to ask the bartender a couple of questions and ask for the persons name when your done? And wait another 15 minutes and call back and ask for a different department..

You might not be able to get everyones name but should knock out a few...

I was thinking at least about calling the front of the house and then when I get there, saying something like, "hey, are you Dawn who I spoke with earlier?" That should get me a name and narrow things down.

Do you have to attach a name with a description ? That may make it harder if they don't wear name tags and are not visible.

Oh. Boy.. this shop sounds painful! I think it’s great you are weighing it and trying to figure out what is best.. ultimately you can only decide what is best for you.. I think I would probably cancel it because it sounds awful. But, that is me.. best of luck to you whatever you decide!

The shop does indeed sound painful.

Could you talk to hostess #1 and say you think you recognize the other hostess, what is her name? Nooo that doesn't sound right. What are the names of the other other hostesses?

Or as soon as you exit the building and the shop is over---go back in and ask names. If you will never work for this MSC again it won't matter.

Good luck to you.

There is an almost irresistible challenge here. HahahahaHA!!!!! That sounds so ghastly that i must do it! HaHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! I am very nerdy, and in one sense I think it is fun to do little brain tricks....

So I was waiting for the hubby, half-asleep, and noted the complete descriptions of all persons who passed by my chair, within ten feet of my chair, and within thirty feet of my chair. Some wore location lanyards and were too far away for me to read the names there. Others were just people, passing by....

I could describe more than twenty people accurately, tell who was going where and when, and patent this weirdness as a thing. That thing that you could do to keep yourself awake so you don't fall asleep in the subway, or something. Are any MSC reps impressed yet? Well, don't be.

If this were a mystery shop where I had to get names, I would have bailed. Dropped the shop. Walked.

When serious money is on the line, more than nerdy habit is in play. You are a bright soul, and you can figure out some plan and ploy to get information in the time span of one shop. However, would it better to re-think this shop or series of shops, so that you can naturally find out who is who and what is what. That is my recommendation. At worst, you would be a "regular patron" and they would drop names and other information, presumably. At best, you never creep anyone out with an intense search for information which might not gibe with one meal.


Have we mentioned the previously discussed concept of employees wearing wrong name tags? This might introduce a factor which could cause someone to reject your shop. That would be bad.

@Monk-N-Nut wrote:

The struggle is real. This is why I don't do very many fine dining shops anymore. It's easy enough to get MOST names, but beyond that you just end up looking like a weirdo.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2019 04:04AM by Shop-et-al.

@7star wrote:

Do you have to attach a name with a description ? That may make it harder if they don't wear name tags and are not visible.

No name tags, name with description. What were they thinking??

My husband thinks we can do this. He said he would ask for names (which means I will ask for names). We just went to a nice restaurant where this MSC will hopefully be covering the expensive bill, assuming I did everything correctly.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2019 04:55AM by Niner.

I never accept these restaurant shops because we are basically working for free, and I do not work for free. Now, having said that, since you have the shop, go ahead and do it, but devise a system. Use the recorder on your phone, as an example, to take notes. (Sally, hostess, short blonde hair, glasses. Michael, bartender, brown hair, mustache, etc.) Or use a note pad. People texting or talking on their phones are hardly noticed anymore, it's so common. To get a name, ask someone else. For instance, ask your server, "What is the name of that bartender with the mustache? He looks so much like an old high school friend of mine."
I hope this helps. Just do your best; no one can ask more of us.
Good luck,
Lori

You can have them all sign a petition. Or... if it's a restaurant where a bunch of young people are working, just fill in the survey with names like Brittany, Kayleigh, Josh, and Taylor. They're bound to have several of them that work there.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2019 07:48AM by Aquiest.

Putting in random names will get her banned from the MSC.

ACL has a shop where there are spots for names of all these positions and then descriptions. There are 10 spots for names including Bartender 1, Bartender 2, etc. but you don’t need to get the names other then the one main person that serves you. At least you didn’t the last time I did it. Is this the shop where you cannot write in gender pronouns in the actual narrative? If so then unless they’ve changed things you don’t need to get the names of all those people.

The way I look at it (and this goes for every MSC and every job) if an employee figures out who I am due to the ridiculousness of the clients requirements, that is absolutely not my problem, however if that employee doesn’t deliver stellar service after determining who I am, they deserve whatever they get.

I heard back from the MSC. Apparently the staff wear name tags. If that's true, that will make life so much easier.

When I worked at an upscale restaurant, my host crew and I only wore our nametags when the regional manager visited. And sometimes we wore each other's nametags because we kept them in the host stand draw.

Ok, that makes it more doable. When is the shop ? You are a true mystery shopper for trying to do this shop !

@Niner wrote:

I heard back from the MSC. Apparently the staff wear name tags. If that's true, that will make life so much easier.

The shop is in a few days.

I commented earlier when the scenario was "no name tags." Now that it has been changed, I am relating a completely different job.

12 years ago, I accepted an assignment from a small Indiana MSC for a local MCL cafeteria. The fee was $10, with a reimbursement of $12 for lunch; those amounts were acceptable to me. In addition, I was not required to have a guest and the shop window, as I recall, was three days. The problem was that, while all workers wore a tag, I needed to recall not only their names and descriptions, but also various matters concerning the food line. The food was delicious, but the occasion was ruined by my need to thrice visit the men's room and wander about to gather additional information I had missed.

A few years back, the company contacted me concerning another visit. After being informed the same requirements exists today, I replied I would not be interested at twice the price.

I laughed at the suggestion it might be like the strip club where they do not wear nametags. I run into this situation a lot but in the reverse. Their nametag is covered by clothing...nude well it seems the opposite of that. But I have worked a lot for a company that wants every name but they do allow you to fill in the description if you did not get it. That is hard enough for the food runners as they often just quietly sneak up behind you, put your plate down or clear it and scurry away. You do not even know they are there sometimes til you turn around and see them hightailing it. The hostess name would be much easier to get. If this company will not allow descriptions for those hard to get situations I would cancel. I would first flat out ask the scheduler whether your job would be rejected if you were not able to get a few names but were able to provide descriptions and then do not delete the emailed answer just in case.

I know you are joking.

@Aquiest wrote:

You can have them all sign a petition. Or... if it's a restaurant where a bunch of young people are working, just fill in the survey with names like Brittany, Kayleigh, Josh, and Taylor. They're bound to have several of them that work there.

Yes, and if everyone is wearing name tags other than 1 or 2 people, you can say something like, "Everyone else is wearing name tags, why aren't you, are you new? What's your name?"

@Niner wrote:

I heard back from the MSC. Apparently the staff wear name tags. If that's true, that will make life so much easier.

Sometimes being identified as the shopper isn’t the worst thing in the world. If they play it smart you get the best service in the house.
I believe My oil change shop knows who I am (not by my fault, probably just by unavoidable details) but they get me in and out quick and customer service is perfect. I’m pretty sure the 4 five guys locations have my mug shot in back. sometimes there are faces I’ve never seen before but whenever I arrive someone is cleaning the dining room moments later and everyone is all chatty. There are some others too but I also understand some of could be paranoia.

Some of the requirements of us or so stupid though. It’s almost like asking, “you do know I am the mystery shopper, right?”

There is one restaurant that I love to shop and has no rotation limits but you need names or descriptions of each person in the line, 5 total. This place has been open like 8 months is shopped 2 x a month or so and there are still employees not wearing tags, sometimes the same ones. I feel like leaving a comment card since obviously the report isn’t enough. “can you please enforce your name tag rule. -your mystery shopper” Names are typically easier than full descriptions, especially when recording.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Putting in random names will get her banned from the MSC.

Of course. More shops for me. (I'm kidding, folks.)

@quiettime wrote:

There is one restaurant that I love to shop and has no rotation limits but you need names or descriptions of each person in the line, 5 total. This place has been open like 8 months is shopped 2 x a month or so and there are still employees not wearing tags, sometimes the same ones. I feel like leaving a comment card since obviously the report isn’t enough. “can you please enforce your name tag rule. -your mystery shopper” Names are typically easier than full descriptions, especially when recording.

This is why I have not done Blaze pizza.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2019 04:16AM by Niner.

I am thinking the client is tying to train all employees to give their names and want to see how it's working.
When entering there are at least a couple Host/Hostess that should give their name, the ones that bring you a dish or a drink refill is impossible as you don't want other employees to see you do this....too easy to get caught and talked about...so, what are you going to do?

@Niner wrote:

This is why I not done Blaze pizza.

The secret there is to go in at off times, you can get down the line with just 2 people working, at most 3, which makes the shop much easier.