New Mystery Shopping TYPE (Fake a Problem and Test Customer Service)?

Does anyone think there ought to be mystery shops where you have to fake a problem and see how the employees react and handle it?

If they already exist, they don't seem that plentiful, as I don't recall seeing these. Was just thinking it'd be neat for an employer to know how their workers react to a negative/problem. That's often what "breaks" the deal for some customers. When things are going great, it's all fine and dandy.

The second something goes wrong, customers remember that much more vividly than the good things oftentimes. And bad employee reactions can be big deal breakers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2019 05:03AM by shoptastic.

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I think that's common enough. For sales evaluations, you usually have to object to price or the design and record how the person responds.

At hotels, you usually have to find something wrong or invent something. It's also not uncommon for sit-down restaurants to want the same scenario.

Or am I missing something?

MF had a ckicken place where you had to complain about your food. It did not go well. I almost had my mashed potatoes thrown at me. And there was actually nothing wrong with it.

There are such shops. For instance the email shops. There are quite a few where response times and other metrics are measured.

Aren't "purchase and return" shops basically that? There's NEVER anything wrong with what I bought, and I always have to make up some story. Hate those shops!

Spurious complaints. Yuck.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Yikes. The ones I do, I can just say I changed my mind.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Aren't "purchase and return" shops basically that? There's NEVER anything wrong with what I bought, and I always have to make up some story. Hate those shops!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2019 03:06PM by prince.

The VERY large bank that is in trouble for secretly opening accounts that its clients never applied for is shopped in just such a manner. The shopper reports that an account was opened, or closed, or changed in some material manner, without their knowledge or consent. Just one of many types of shops of the client seeking to verify that its corrective action plan is actually preventing further problems. (i.e., frauds)

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Yesterday, I had to walk into the wrong theatre even though the employee had just clearly pointed and stated where to go. Not to mention the large signs over each door.

I did a round of video shops for an upscale breakfast chain a few years ago. One of the requirements was you had to send something back.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

It's usually not hard to raise some kind of complaint. Even if something is made exactly to spec, staff should know how to respond when someone says that it isn't what they expected/wanted/ordered. Like, even if it is exactly what the person ordered or what they should like, it hurts no one to smile and replace it.

Of course, nearly every person I know who works in restaurants takes these complaints as unforgivable and will be petty about it. I have only known a few people who just do the damn job. These people make the most money and have fewer wrinkles.

In our other job, complaints are costly. We have paid for... people not communicating with each other; people forgetting what happened just minutes ago; people setting up their idea of a clever scheme in which they now do not have to give a tip (never mind that they never had to do that at all); and assorted other nonsense.

If we make an actual mistake, we will deal with that. But in the odd world where the customer is always right even if they are blatantly bat crap crazy, it just costs us money needlessly. I do not care if some of these people are mystery shoppers who have nothing better to do than "test" us. The computer system makes us wrong no matter what, and we are charged for each complaint. Even the false complaints cause us to lose money through no fault of our own. It is absurd and it should be illegal. At the least, it is unethical to foster a system of wrongful punishment.

I wish that spurious complaints would disappear from the planet.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2019 11:29PM by Shop-et-al.

Yeah, not a new type of shop.

A chain restaurant some years ago had 'guest' & I complain about something, anything, to see how staff responded. Not being a critical person the only thing I could thing of was to claim the silverware was dirty. My husband was so uncomfortable I never took one of those assignments and eventually they stopped being offered.

Cease - You wouldn't want Ol' Blue to get shot over that dog food!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2019 02:37AM by sestrahelena.

Thankfully, the purchase and return shops I have done have never resulted in something that dramatic. Although I haven't had an Oscar worthy moment such as Cease! Bravo!

@sestrahelena wrote:

Cease - You wouldn't want Ol' Blue to get shot over that dog food!

Kim

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New Mystery Shopping TYPE (Fake a Problem and Test Customer Service)?

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