I just got banned from shopping at a certain store .I received a email from the msc telling me I was reconized by management so I can no longer shop this store. When you go in a store twice a month how can you keep yourself from being recognized especially when you have a feature that kind of stands out.

It is difficult for sure when you go to the same location over and over, but the best thing to do is act like you are just there shopping as a regular person. I often do shops where I go every month, the same day, the same time and very often the same employees. I find that if I just act as natural as possible, like you would if you were just there to actually spend your own money, it goes a lot easier.

If it is a nearby store, shop there when you are not on a shop, especially if you can stop in on different days and times. It establishes you as a "regular" and your visits are less obvious.

What is your stand out feature?

I’d like to know the stand out feature as well. I frequent many of these places regularly and not had that issue

I agree with the above you can always just shop at the location as a regular customer if it’s near your house. Also, you didn’t list the MSC so you could say what store you are banned from and perhaps another shopper can tell you how they handled it and what they did to return if possible in the future.

I think this is one reason why it's important to protect your identity in narratives as well as during the shop. It's important to generalize unimportant identifying info to avoid being memorable. For instance instead of saying the cashier commented on my tattoos or complimented my jewelry you could say that cashier made a sincere effort to connect with me on a personal level or instead of saying the cashier and I discussed our kids after school activities while we waited for my credit card to run you could say the cashier successfully engaged me in small talk, which made the wait seem shorter than it actually was. This way it's harder to ID you when they think back after receiving your evaluation.

I have made comments in the third person regarding situations that could identify me as the shopper.

"A customer asked the cashier where the nearest Chase Bank was. The cheerful cashier went above and beyond by googling the info for this customer, providing an accurate address and directions."

Was store video involved? That can be a two-way street. Store video should protect the integrity of our reports and shopper ID. However, if the corporate client allows the video to be viewed at the store level, it jeopardizes the shopper's ID. If the shopper's report contains a negative, and the store views the video, it may bust the shopper in order to negate the report.

An MSC and I have first-hand experience.

You just gotta blend in, which you can do by looking like a regular. I frequent many of the same bars in my area. They just think I’m a drunk and whenever we do small talk, I just talk about my day job, which is true and believable. So I don’t believe they ever think twice that I’m the shopper.

I am older lady with light purple hair and I get a lot of complements on my hair color I hate the thought of letting it go white again for mystery shops.

They didnt say anything about a viedo and I really hate the thought of stopping my purple shampoo.

@Carolforreal wrote:

I am older lady with light purple hair and I get a lot of complements on my hair color I hate the thought of letting it go white again for mystery shops.

That’s the choice you’ll have to make then. Sounds very memorable.

What do you think about a bandana maybe bring the 70s back lol?

As somebody who has cashiered off and on for many years (side job), customers that had an unusual trait were very easy to remember. So if you see a lot of elderly women with bandannas covering their hair then maybe that won’t make you memorable?
It’s up to you. I try to blend in.

I was banned temporarily from a sports bar. I put in my report that I did not see a manager during my visit. The sports bar pulled the video and showed a manager about 15 feet away. The MSC told me not to shop that location for a few months since I had been outed.

Check Freecycle for purple shampoo.

@Carolforreal wrote:

I am older lady with light purple hair and I get a lot of complements on my hair color I hate the thought of letting it go white again for mystery shops.

Wear a wig while shopping?

Or a hat!

In my area, light purple or other not-in-nature hair color would be more common than natural red hair. It is more likely that you were recognized as the shopper by a vigilant store manager who consistently reviews the tapes after a shop report comes in. They nearly always list the time of the shop, so it's easy for a manager to locate the shopper. That's why it's a good idea to change styles routinely when shopping; business casual to jeans and tees to a nice skirt and blouse; no make up, a little too much make up; hair pinned up, hair flowing loose, hair in a tight pony, hair parted a different way; no glasses, reader glasses, sunglasses......you know the drill. :-)

===================================================================================

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

Love this!

Thank you all for your help trying to not get outed in some of my other regular stores.

I too was banned years ago from a Sports Bar/restaurant..perhaps the same one. It was a late afternoon shop with only a few customers that time of day. The manager came over and plopped himself down in my booth and told me his life story. Evidently when he read my report he told the msc he knew who I was. Since the time and date and a list of what was ordered was on the report and this msc had a quick turnaround it may have been unavoidable. They banned me from all locations. I checked back a year later as managers seem to come and go quickly but still banned. Luckily another year later they moved to a new msc and I am back doing those shops. PS That location closed shortly afterwards so I cannot go there anyway.
Sometimes we have to just take it and hope for a quick reprieve.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I was banned temporarily from a sports bar. I put in my report that I did not see a manager during my visit. The sports bar pulled the video and showed a manager about 15 feet away. The MSC told me not to shop that location for a few months since I had been outed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2020 07:16PM by sandyf.

Sandy, it would certainly be easy to remember whose booth you plopped yourself down in. Ugh, I can't stand that.

How does this process even work? What's the advantage for the manager to report a shopper? How can they explain that they knew you were a shopper and didn't get 100%?

I was told that I was identified at a place where the staff were just awful. The store was empty and has always been empty when I go. I imagine anyone who asks a question and stays through the insults is bound to be a mystery shopper.

My husband just informed me that video in the stores these days is high definition and color, LOL!!!

We also discussed that lavender hair is not unusual at all.

@Carolforreal wrote:

I am older lady with light purple hair and I get a lot of complements on my hair color I hate the thought of letting it go white again for mystery shops.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2020 01:35AM by JASFLALMT.

I, too, do not understand why the store manager lets upper level management know that they suspect they know who the shopper is. If they know, just be quiet about it and make sure the employees are hitting their marks all the time.

It must be some sort of game. I know at Five Guys (I have heard) they have pics of who the mystery shoppers are in the backroom or office. I also know that several years ago, Papa John's (when they were shopped) also loved to "out" shoppers. Never made any sense, since if you are getting perfect marks, why not just "play the game"? WHY take the chance that the next shopper might not be so agreeable and kind? Who knows.

@OP: Perhaps you could do the Mollie Sugden role of Edna Slocumb in a revival of 'Are You Being Served?' She always had a different hair color... the link shows a few of her colors... I hear Cindy Lauper in the background crooning 'true colors' but you might experience it differently...

[www.google.com]

@Sandy Shopper: Thank you for posting the poem. I referenced it in another post when I was grousing about odd twists of language which mark the times.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2020 02:14AM by Shop-et-al.

A game? Might be a great hypothesis. I had a high end dinner shop where the Chef came out to expedite most of the night. He kept staring at us throughout our visit. When departing, the manager almost knocked us over while racing to the host podium. He whispered to the hostess. Both were at attention and gushing with their thanks and good evening wishes. Have not gone back in almost a year. We are due. Made for lots of giggles especially after some wine. From red wine colored hair that went to eggplant and then a slow evolvement back into a dark brown, I was rememberd by my hair color. This was before my MSC days and I was astounded by that as I didn't think it was out of the ordinary. Maybe not so much now. This gig is really funny sometimes.