I have done a couple shops from an MSC that demand exact quotes for many sections of the survey, no paraphrasing. Really??? How can you remember exact quotes of say a half hour interaction? Without taking notes and risk being discovered!!!! I think they are kidding themselves. What they are getting is most probably made up or faked.
How could they not know that?

I do record, on my phone, conversations to help me with that. I delete after doing the report. It is legal in my province.
Repeating what they have said helps me too.

yea, I just made a fuss with one of my sassie format shops. They returned it because my narrative didn't have enough details and I didn't quote exactly what the associate I spoke to said. I told them straight out, I don't record my conversations, so therefore there will be no "exact quotes." I'm still waiting to see if they are going to toss them or not.

yea, I just made a fuss with one of my sassie format shops. They returned it because my narrative didn't have enough details and I didn't quote exactly what the associate I spoke to said. I told them straight out, I don't record my conversations, so therefore there will be no "exact quotes." I'm still waiting to see if they are going to toss them or not.

I had that problem too in the past when I first started. I explained to the MSC (I think in the report as well) that I wasn't 100% sure of the exact words, but tried to replicate it from memory.

I luckily still got the shop accepted. But, the MSC never recommended a recorder. I only realized I should do this from forum members here. I bought one from Best Buy for about $35.

It's worked out well 95% of the time. Only when the environment is very noisy and a wide open space (no walls close by) do I have trouble hearing things on playback. If you get a recorder, I'd test it out in different places to get a sense of how well it picks up sound and from how far away, etc. You may want to place it somewhere on your body too that allows the microphone to pick up things easier (and also position your body towards the person talking to pick up more too if need be). You may also wish to speak louder yourself too - that might get the other person to talk louder, lol, for the recorder to pick things up.

I think my worst experiences with recorders have been at big box stores or grocery stores that are very loud (lots of people + loud music) and no walls nearby (where sound can bounce off). Surprisingly, the recorders have worked well in drive-thru fast food shops. I place it on the door handle slot, so the workers cannot see it and it picks up everything loudly usually. Recorders can be a lifesaver!

if you're in California, stores and restaurants are not allowed to make audio recording. They are not allowed to record any customer conversations.The MSC's have no idea as to what is said. They only have the video.

OH YEAH. MAKE SURE IT IS LEGAL IN YOUR STATE TO RECORD!!! Some states like mine only require one-party consent. If you are part of the convo. and you want to record, but the other party doesn't know, then that is okay. Some states, I think, require both parties be aware and okay with it.

eta (above): You can get arrested if you're in a one-party state like mine and you record a convo. that you are NOT a part of. In other words, you have to physically be there. You cannot just place a recorder randomly somewhere and come and pick it up. LOOK UP & UNDERSTAND YOUR STATE LAWS!

@shoptastic wrote:

eta (above): You can get arrested if you're in a one-party state like mine and you record a convo. that you are NOT a part of. In other words, you have to physically be there. You cannot just place a recorder randomly somewhere and come and pick it up. LOOK UP & UNDERSTAND YOUR STATE LAWS!

No one has ever been arrested for recording anyone in public. People do it all the time. This law is about recording a conversation when there an issue of it being used in court. You cannot record a private conversation when it involves going to court.

@johnb974 wrote:

@shoptastic wrote:

eta (above): You can get arrested if you're in a one-party state like mine and you record a convo. that you are NOT a part of. In other words, you have to physically be there. You cannot just place a recorder randomly somewhere and come and pick it up. LOOK UP & UNDERSTAND YOUR STATE LAWS!

No one has ever been arrested for recording anyone in public. People do it all the time. This law is about recording a conversation when there an issue of it being used in court. You cannot record a private conversation when it involves going to court.

A woman in Virginia was arrested for recording a conversation she was not a part of. Her child was said to be bullied and she placed an audio recorder in his/her backpack to bring to school. She was not there (i.e., a party to the convo.) and was arrested by police for breaking the law. You cannot record a conversation you're not a party to in VA. I'm not sure, though, if it had to do more specifically with the school environment. But, I do know she was not a party to the convo., as she just placed it in the child's pack to record others.

It was very controversial, as many people sympathized with the woman - I did too! She was only trying to catch her child's bullies and have evidence for the school.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2019 10:34PM by shoptastic.

Do what others on here have done. Do the shops and just delete the recording after you're done. By the way, that woman in Virginia, the charges were dropped.

In California, businesses cannot do any kind of audio recording. You write the report the best you can. The MSC will never get what exactly was said. They have no way of knowing.

That's what I meant. People will fake it.

Guess I'm out of luck here. "Washington's wiretapping law is a "two-party consent" law. Washington makes it a crime to intercept or record a private telephone call, in-person conversation, or electronic communication unless all parties to the communication consent. See Wash. Rev. Code § 9.73.030(1)."

Here is a link to a listing of 1-part and all-party (generally referred to as 2-party, but in reality it is all-party) consent states. Some states (such as Delaware) do not always appear on the all-party listing, but the general feeling is that case law in Delaware means it belongs there. Some other states are special cases as well (Illinois is one of those if I recall correctly). This list seems to be comprehensive. [www.justia.com]

Also, for those of you doing phone shops, both you and the person you are recording need to be in single-party consent states in order for you to record them. Being in a single-party consent state yourself is not enough.

@myst4au wrote:

Also, for those of you doing phone shops, both you and the person you are recording need to be in single-party consent states in order for you to record them. Being in a single-party consent state yourself is not enough.

WOW! Didn't know that. Thanks for that - need to be careful of those situations!

One shop requires an exact greeting that should not be repeated back to the employee. When they greet you with whatever their location's unique greeting is, you need to order your meal. 'Good morning, and welcome to food is or is not us depending upon how you define food' is just an invitation to order as per shop guidelines. Good luck with remembering those unique greetings, especially if you shop at multiple locations!

@Shop-et-al wrote:

One shop requires an exact greeting that should not be repeated back to the employee. When they greet you with whatever their location's unique greeting is, you need to order your meal. 'Good morning, and welcome to food is or is not us depending upon how you define food' is just an invitation to order as per shop guidelines. Good luck with remembering those unique greetings, especially if you shop at multiple locations!

Just record it and you'll be fine....or if you have to write it down right after they say it. Restaurants do not have audio recordings, I don't see how the MSC can expect you to remember exactly what was said. I did an apartment shop where they asked you, what was exactly said during the whole visit. It's a 30 minute shop, No way to remember what exactly was said.

There are now some shops in California that require you to do an audio recording for your shops. The employee is not told. So it must not be illegal.

I have on occasion told a scheduler that having me call someone in an all-party consent state was not legal unless they had consent from the person I was calling, and in some cases, they canceled the entire project until the requirements were re-written. I personally would not do a shop that mandated recording in an all-party consent state unless there I as assured that the company had consent from their employees. If it is a competitor shop, it is virtually impossible that the consent of the other party has been obtained. I personally choose not to violate the law when doing a mystery shop, regardless of the probability or likelihood of being caught. If I choose to drive over the speed limit, it would be with an understanding of the fine and points that I would incur if caught. I am simply not willing to make an illegal recording which would result in a criminal charge being brought by the local district attorney. Why? Because the risk-reward ratio is not favorable. I weigh a $20 (maybe) shop fee against the cost of a criminal defense lawyer, the possible fine, the possible jail term. Each of us is entitled to make our own risk-reward decisions. I do not make illegal recordings. Just the fact that a shop is posted requesting that a recoding be made in California does not in itself mean that it is legal. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I would investigate before taking the assignment.

@johnb974 wrote:

There are now some shops in California that require you to do an audio recording for your shops. The employee is not told. So it must not be illegal.

I repeat, no one has ever gotten into trouble recording a mystery shop, EVER.

I now merch at some places where I used to shop and get exact quotes. I recommend this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

I am in California and read up on the exact law a few years ago. I have not checked to see if it has changed but to me the law read that you needed to have consent of both parties unless there was a situation where the conversation could be overheard. (not the exact wording but my poor memory from a few years ago). In any case I interpreted this to mean that if you had a conversation alone with the second party in your living room or on the phone with someone there was no assumption that your conversation could be overheard and you would need consent but if you were in a cashier line or even at a table in a restaurant with diners at the next table or some other public place there was a good chance your conversation could be overheard and therefore ok to record. Still I would never use a recording like this to prove something. I have never been questioned on my quotes and most of them are based on my own parroting back the greeting such as saying "and how is your day going?" if that is what they said to me. I doubt I would be sentenced to jail by a mystery shop company reporting me. Basically I would probably just not get paid for that job if there was an issue with the report. If it ever happens that I am challenged on a quote I guess I will have to decide what to do. But I do not think it appropriate to do a long shop and then just make up quotes because the retail place does not record and will not know you made them up.
Look up the rules of your state yourself...if you know a lawyer you could ask them for a friendly interpretation. Do not take the word of another shopper on this including my word. Look it up and decide! I need to look up my own state's law again just to make sure it has not changed.