An article about how the government agencies use mystery shoppers

[washingtonmonthly.com]

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great article!
Uggh this is how my day is going. I just liked my own post instead of yours and can't figure out how to undo it. I'm having a glass of wine and going to bed.
Fixed. Thanks, Shop-et-al.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2019 09:44PM by wwin.

Very interesting article.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Thanks for posting, that was very interesting. Has anyone done the funeral one? I've never seen it posted.

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

That seems to be one of the most level-headed articles about MS.
I have always assumed that the TON of bank disclosure compliance shops that I have done were for the bank, as client, to discover whether their employees might be getting them into hot water. I sure was asked to sign for disclosures that I would only be given AFTER signing, and also often not given or told about any disclosures. And, the MSCs for those were not the one mentioned in the article. Now, I wonder who the client is/was for many of them.

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.

My county government-owned library is shopped!

Interesting!

Not for research purposes, I tested the concept of liking and unliking my post. After I liked it, I clicked on a little blue x after/to the right of my username and unliked it.

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

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2019 02:23PM by Shop-et-al.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could also choose don't like in addition to like. Also the ability to click like multiple times and then have after my name likex3 or likex5 if I really loved and not just liked the comment.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Interesting!

Not for research purposes, I tested the concept of liking and unliking my post. After I liked it, I clicked on a little blue x after/to the right of my username and unliked it.

I did not get the impression that the named mystery shop company was the only one which was contracted with the government. There are so many different govt agencies and levels of government including state and local govts that may use other companies for their research.

Indeed, there are many MSCs that are, or have been, involved in gov't contracts, at many levels. DC public libraries now has an MS program.

Sandy, As I recall, the forum used to have a "don't like" option. I think that Jacob got a lot of complaints about its use. Anyway, it is gone. Others may have a clearer memory about how all of that shook out.

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.

I can see where a don't like button can be misused to not like the poster instead of perhaps disagreeing with the statement. It can easily get out of hand and become vicious.

@walesmaven wrote:

Indeed, there are many MSCs that are, or have been, involved in gov't contracts, at many levels. DC public libraries now has an MS program.

Sandy, As I recall, the forum used to have a "don't like" option. I think that Jacob got a lot of complaints about its use. Anyway, it is gone. Others may have a clearer memory about how all of that shook out.

Excellent article!

@greenwhite11 wrote:

My county government-owned library is shopped!

That's funny

A Dad shopping the Ark-LA-Tex and beyond.

Not funny to me. Why should we not care how people are treated by employees whose salaries are paid by our tax dollars ?

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.

At least two large banks that I shop are under "compliance agreements" and shops are used to make sure that they are doing what they agreed to do. I am not sure who the real client is. It could be the bank, because finding out yourself that you have a problem is better than being hauled into court. Or it could be a court-appointed administrator who is doing the checking. Not that it matters to me. I do the shops, and report what happened, what signs I saw, which disclaimers I was given, which disclosures I have or haven't gotten, etc. And I get paid.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

I'm with Wales. Man it bugs me that on trash day, if the bin is too close to the mailbox, we can count on NOT getting our mail because our mail carrier will not get out of the truck and walk 2 steps to deposit mail. Sleet, snow, or rain, but not wayward trash bins.......less than stellar CS, here.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2019 04:11PM by Monk-N-Nut.

@Monk-N-Nut: That is interesting about the trash bins. Is there some ordinance about placement of trash bins?

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

Well, idk about an ordinance, but the trash co. won't pick up unless the bin is rolled out to the street and off the curb. Other than blocking the driveway, the only other spot is the 4' on either side of the mailbox. Any further away and we'd be encroaching into our neighbor's street parking. Ah, well.

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An article about how the government agencies use mystery shoppers

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Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

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