I would think the managers are just as much in the spotlight for the upper management as the servers are. Managers are not exempt from not following orders. In fact many of the restaurant shops I do ask about the managers...what were they doing, how were they dressed, were they visiting tables, getting along with the team etc. It depends how each client scrutinizes their reports. If they are looking for manager issues they may be aware that some managers might just not report they know the shopper and have methods to curtail that happening.
In my case I do not know what happened when I was outed. I did have a question of the server that day about an order I had which was advertised as having feta cheese. The cheese was clearly cottage cheese on my order, not the more expensive feta.I just thought it was an error and when the server came over she looked at it and agreed it was not feta at all. She brought my order to the kitchen to correct it where the manager was not at all busy so got involved. So my case was a little more involved than him just sitting at my booth but he did come out to commiserate with me and tell me the company had switched away from feta due to the price and now used cottage cheese. They had not changed the menu description. Then he stayed for the life story. One of the questions was whether the meal served matched the menu description and if so what the issue was so I had to answer that one. It may be that the manager simply replied he had been made aware of the issue but had not technically outed me as the shopper. It is possible the msc decided that I would be known going forward. I will never know.
Shortly after that event I was at El Torito, not on a shop. Not sure they are even shopped now. The manager came over to chat. It was happy hour and the bar was empty but for us. He sat at our table and even got up several times to bring us more food that we were not charged for. I was so thankful that happened not on a shop.

I just did a shop today and the clerk had bright blue hair and the person standing in front of me in line had bright green hair.

They were subbing cottage cheese for feta? That's just weird.

I hate cottage cheese. As a customer, I would be highly irritated.

Come to FL, you'll fit right in. The blue-hairs are everywhere, especially this time of year. But more on the Gulf coast I think.

When I lived on the Gulf Coast (Destin), we called them "Q-Tips" because years ago you could see the elderly ladies with their bouffants driving in their Cadillacs and their hair sticking up reminded us of cotton swabs. Those hairstyles have pretty much gone away, thank goodness, so the term no longer fits.

@Sandyf. I was outed once and asked the MSC how the client knew. She said she didn't know but it was usually due to behavior. Uummm, yes. Due to all the notable things I am required to do and ask? OK. I don't like dining when they are empty. I guess I am fortunate thst my quick lunch jobs are a mob scene provided I don't have to do or ask something out of the ordinary. I will not eat cottage cheese and have never tried it. Hugs! Made so many typos I had to fix. Tired, hope I got all of them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2020 05:42AM by Madetoshop.

If you're allowed to do a mystery shop that often (twice a month) & you actually do it, it must be worth doing. I assume the pay is great then?

I'd do all I could to never lose that assignment! I'd do the following to mix up my look & alternate doing the following:

- wear sunglasses
- wear a cheap wig, maybe two to use for your other mostly-done assignments
- have no makeup on at times & full makeup on other times
- dress casually sometimes, then dress up more, etc.
- wear jewelry & no jewelry

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2020 03:57PM by Forever Blue.

I want to add purple highlights so bad to my brownish/mostly greyish hair but am scared to do it for the same reason. No one notices grey/brown mouses but might notice purple ones at my age. The color would be great for my other job of selling my handmade jewelry at farmers markets and craft shows but not so much for secret shopping. I can't wait till I get on disability so I can just do the fun shops from time to time and not have to depend on them for food and the electric bills! Once I get approved I will give the go ahead to my hair dresser for the purple!!!

Hmm. I had to switch from my regular whiskey brands to Tito's & Cran. Pretty much 75% or more of the mixed drinks that women order in my area are Vodka Cran. I can't order wine. If I want to blend in, I can't order Angel's Envy Rye neat.

So, I deal with it and keep the high paying bars and hotels that I like to do.

@aribacat wrote:

I want to add purple highlights so bad to my brownish/mostly greyish hair but am scared to do it for the same reason. No one notices grey/brown mouses but might notice purple ones at my age. The color would be great for my other job of selling my handmade jewelry at farmers markets and craft shows but not so much for secret shopping. I can't wait till I get on disability so I can just do the fun shops from time to time and not have to depend on them for food and the electric bills! Once I get approved I will give the go ahead to my hair dresser for the purple!!!

As a guy, I usually stay out of these discussions about hair color, etc. (I figure people will say what do YOU know?), but I say go for it! I bet you will look like a million with purple highlights in brown-grey hair. Hair color has gone into wide variations and I bet it wouldn't make you as memorable as you fear. It might make you more noticeable and make you look interesting and exciting, but a shopping target may not necessarily remember you more. People tend to remember shoppers more by their mannerisms and their behavior. Like, smiling a lot, or staring, or not speaking, or having a loud voice. And you could always add a scarf or pull your hair back if you go somewhere you are afraid they might remember you.

You can't order wine? I am so sorry!

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can't order wine? I am so sorry!

Nope. Bar owners aren't concerned about wine theft or over pouring.
I have plenty of wine at home. Don't worry. I'll be OK.

@aribacat wrote:

I want to add purple highlights so bad to my brownish/mostly greyish hair but am scared to do it for the same reason. No one notices grey/brown mouses but might notice purple ones at my age. The color would be great for my other job of selling my handmade jewelry at farmers markets and craft shows but not so much for secret shopping. I can't wait till I get on disability so I can just do the fun shops from time to time and not have to depend on them for food and the electric bills! Once I get approved I will give the go ahead to my hair dresser for the purple!!!

Have you considered getting some purple hair extensions that you could just add to your hair when you do the craft shows and farmers markets?? You could then take them out to do your mystery shops. I'm sure somebody must sell purple hair extensions somewhere!

Oh, okay good. As long as you have wine somewhere!

@SoCalMama wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can't order wine? I am so sorry!

Nope. Bar owners aren't concerned about wine theft or over pouring.
I have plenty of wine at home. Don't worry. I'll be OK.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Oh, okay good. As long as you have wine somewhere!

@SoCalMama wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can't order wine? I am so sorry!

Nope. Bar owners aren't concerned about wine theft or over pouring.
I have plenty of wine at home. Don't worry. I'll be OK.

It's a never ending supply when your child is old enough to do compliance shops. He brought home 20 bottles one week in December.

@SoCalMama wrote:

I can't order wine. If I want to blend in, I can't order Angel's Envy Rye neat.

Now that is just sad. Has the renewed interest in good whiskey, especially amongst women, not hit Cali?

@callinectes wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

I can't order wine. If I want to blend in, I can't order Angel's Envy Rye neat.

Now that is just sad. Has the renewed interest in good whiskey, especially amongst women, not hit Cali?

The women in my family have always been whiskey drinkers, but we’re an anomaly. It’s not big with women in CA.

I went to a bday party at a bar the other night for a millenial. Every one of them aside from me were drinking tequila shots. I had my glass of wine, but yes, I saw very few glasses of wine being consumed in that packed bar. Even their bar menu had wine listed as an after thought in very small print buried on the bottom line of the menu. Some of them were doing shots between mixed drinks but almost every one was doing shots. I guess I would not be a good candidate for a bar shop! The bars in the restaurants seem to have wine drinkers though.

We are seriously thinking about having a grad party at the bar for my Gen Z daughter. I see that these Gen Z's love doing Patron shots. Gave me half a shot on New Year's Eve (DD watches out for me, LOL) and it was fire. YUK! I will stick to my Cabernet.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

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.

My local 5 guys definitely know I'm their shopper. They even know my name at this point. I tried to switch it up and do online shops to lessen the chance of being out. My last online shop, the manager came out from the back right as my fries were being placed inside of the bag. They told me to enjoy my grilled cheese sandwich. I've since been back to that location on my own dime twice to try and throw them off.

Get them some Himalayan salt shot glasses. I hate tequila unless it's disguised in a margarita, but for those that love to do shots, those salt shot glasses make an awesome gift!

I have white hair which is a little bit unusual. I mix it up with some sun hats, and I shop the second hand store in my area and buy up all the really bright scarves. I will sometimes mix the scarves (colors and patterns) to give them something else to notice. I wonder at times if I am just fooling myself but as far as I know I am not a known mystery shopper. (IRL it never occurs to me to put on a scarf.)

I only do the 5 guys when they are bonused and I will go over the reimbursement by the amount of taxes that my accountant gets back for me. Because taxes are a separate line item. And if not then I guess I'll either squeak by or go to the big house and then they can treat my cancer.

I regularly shop my local grocery store once a month. I try to stop in every week for something so they are used to seeing me. I greet the associates, I ask where things are if I need to. When the store was not shopped, I was asked if I had been the secret shopper. Who? What? Me? Now that it's being shopped again, we indulge in a little game of don't ask, don't tell. In my defense, I am scrupulously honest. I know everyone's name, but if they're not wearing a name tag, I bust 'em. If the cashier doesn't catch my bottom of cart item, I report that. Since this report states that "It is very rare to have a perfect score" I am relieved when I am not greeted, name tags are on the wrong side, or I am just pointed down the aisle...

@Carolforreal wrote:

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

I get recognized for my combination of silver hair and blue eyes - both natural. Multiple visits to the same place will garner recognition, so all you can do is shop another store or change MSC's.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can't order wine? I am so sorry!

Nope. Bar owners aren't concerned about wine theft or over pouring.
I have plenty of wine at home. Don't worry. I'll be OK.

It is too bad they do not act on not worrying about over pours of wine. Over the years the wine pours seem to have gotten smaller while the prices have gotten bigger. I remember in the past they got 4 pours out of a bottle, or perhaps 4.5. Now it seems like they get 6. Definitely not in the 4 range. And they use those huge glasses now so it makes it hard to tell how much is in it but sometimes it seems like much less than other times. If I order a whole bottle they seem to fill the wine glasses higher from your whole bottle than when you just order a glass of wine. Is this my imagination or, like toilet paper rolls, is the extra large size now the same size the regular used to be? Bar audit people who know this stuff please chime in. Is there a standard for this throughout the industry? Sometimes it seems like the size of a tasting at a winery but they are charging the full glass price.

I keep mine some shade of blue. I get recognized, too. I mostly do shop/reveals, so it isn't that big a deal.

@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.

The standard industry pour is 5 ounces (though several places only do 4.5 and as much as 6 ), so you should get 5 glasses of wine out of a standard 750ml bottle. At my last bar, there was a tiny line on the glass so that there's no reason to pour more or less. I think customers and bartenders appreciated it because there was no chance you aren't getting what you agreed to pay for or the complaints of "it always seems like a larger pour when Jimmy pours". I've also worked and been to places where you will get 4.5 oz when bartender A works and a 6 oz pour when bartender B works. It's extremely frustrating as a customer and bartender/server. In some states, it's regulated by ounce so they have measuring equipment on the bottles. As stingy as it seems when you want a nice big glass of wine, it's much better for everyone when the correct pour is given.

@sandyf wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

You can't order wine? I am so sorry!

Nope. Bar owners aren't concerned about wine theft or over pouring.
I have plenty of wine at home. Don't worry. I'll be OK.

It is too bad they do not act on not worrying about over pours of wine. Over the years the wine pours seem to have gotten smaller while the prices have gotten bigger. I remember in the past they got 4 pours out of a bottle, or perhaps 4.5. Now it seems like they get 6. Definitely not in the 4 range. And they use those huge glasses now so it makes it hard to tell how much is in it but sometimes it seems like much less than other times. If I order a whole bottle they seem to fill the wine glasses higher from your whole bottle than when you just order a glass of wine. Is this my imagination or, like toilet paper rolls, is the extra large size now the same size the regular used to be? Bar audit people who know this stuff please chime in. Is there a standard for this throughout the industry? Sometimes it seems like the size of a tasting at a winery but they are charging the full glass price.

Great explanation Jenny C.