Does anyone else thinks some of the scenarios for their shops are pretty unrealistic? I feel like some are so fake that it probably outs you as the mystery shopper.

Yeah, there are, though I feel my acting has improved to be good enough to make the worst scenarios work. If they feel I am the shopper, so be it, we then both play a part, they get a good score (probably) and I still get paid.

Whose scenarios are you referring to? You can name the client OR the MSC, but not both.
Or, just give an example of such a scenario. Many are much more realistic than relatively new shoppers might suppose.

When I am forced to ask a dumb question I usually phrase it to say my wife wants to know. Or, can you settle an argument we were having about it? Most times it works well with grocery store questions.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2020 06:12PM by kenasch.

@007 wrote:

Does anyone else thinks some of the scenarios for their shops are pretty unrealistic? I feel like some are so fake that it probably outs you as the mystery shopper.

There is a grocery shop project I used to do that had questions you had to ask staff that felt "memorable."

I always feared being outed based on those questions.

Back in my early years shopping, 2003 to 2005, I completed work for Ritter that required I request a receipt for the 1/2 dollar purchase for which I was reimbursed. The looks I received from clerks were priceless.

Bob, again “my wife wants a receipt for everything” works for me.

Receipts for "business expenses/taxes".

i used to worry about asking the required questions during grocery shops, but i stopped worrying when while completing one, i heard a customer ask an employee, “are these eggs gluten free?”.

Charley, that does make our incredibly dumb questions look much, much less dumb!

Although I clearly recall sending a young employee to the store for a head of cabbage and she brought back a head of lettuce. And a clerk who could not count the change back to me from a dollar for a 71 cent purchase....she was a high school graduate, straight A student. She said, verbatim, "They didn't teach us that in school."

Most memorable was the clerk where I bought an item on sale. It was fifteen cents. We have a 7% tax rate, so he charged me 7 cents tax. I couldn't talk him out of it. From his point of view, it was 7 cents for a dollar, or any part of a dollar.

Asking for a receipt doesn't bother me. What amazes me is when I'm in a long line, and I see the clerk or cashier ask every customer in front of me if they'd like a receipt, or just hand the customer a receipt. But when it's my turn, nope. They tear it off and throw it away before I can even ask for it!

As for scenarios, I absolutely refuse to do the one that's an "escalated complaint", where we accuse the bank of opening an account we did not authorize. And I basically refused to do the one that was a fast food mystery shop where if the employee made an attempt (ANY attempt to upsell, including just mentioning "small, medium, or large?" ), we were to pay them $20 in CASH out of our own pocket. I had very real problems with that one; for one, if they succeeded, you had to go inside and identify yourself as the mystery shopper -- so you outed yourself. Ugh. The other was basically loaning the MSC $20. So if I had a route of 5, I had to have enough cash for 5 meals (roughly $40), but had to have an extra $100 available just in case.

No, and no.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2020 04:56AM by ceasesmith.

The escalated bank scenarios were what I had in mind. Like wouldn’t they be able to tell/remember I came in to open it?? :|

Also some of the western union scenarios are suspicious.

@shopperbob wrote:

Back in my early years shopping, 2003 to 2005, I completed work for Ritter that required I request a receipt for the 1/2 dollar purchase for which I was reimbursed. The looks I received from clerks were priceless.

The way I see it, the shop is over at that point. It's immaterial to me if they think I am a shopper when I ask for a receipt, the evaluated part of the in-store shop is done. They can't take back if they never made eye contact before that.

I keep an envelope of random receipts labeled "Dave Ramsey" so I have an excuse (not that I need one) to get the receipt. Makes it look like a habit.

@KA047 wrote:

The way I see it, the shop is over at that point. It's immaterial to me if they think I am a shopper when I ask for a receipt, the evaluated part of the in-store shop is done. They can't take back if they never made eye contact before that.

Same. I have developed the habit of turning and walking away as soon as I have the receipt. Some will try to re-do the whole procedure, which is a waste of time. I also don't want them to have grounds to dispute my account of events.

I have done thousands of shops, and I would estimate that I have come across no more than 5 scenarios that I considered impossible and unrealistic. I just don't do them.

Now those FF shops they send you the envelopes with $$ and coupons in them. I love them now. Fast and easy. I don't worry about the reveal. They see so many customers they never remember me even if I go back in 30 days.

LOL! I consider it a win at FF shops if the order taker remembers my order by the time he/she presents it to me at the window.

Ha ha, Miss Chele, Dave Ramsey is my receipt excuse too.

Think I might have annoyed a mystery shopper who seemed to be trying to make me give out my personal information. We have a method for providing a phone number to a real and important person who can verify the business and project validity. But this potential respondent struck me as trying to make me give out my information. I gave them nothing-- not even the verification telephone number. This felt creepy! I did this for me and for my co-workers. We do not need this!

In brief: if that was a mystery shopper, and they were playing a role with their scenario, they were convincing and creepy. In addition to giving the shopper kudos, someone should alter the scenario slightly so that we in the workplace are not creeped out and/or potentially trapped into revealing information. The objection should be modified so that it leads directly to an established method of providing official, specific, and non-personal information. With improved conditions, the mystery shoppers can demonstrate that they are capable of performing their scenarios and we can demonstrate that we are capable of hearing, understanding, and directing/referring/informing as needed.

*eta*

I do not believe this was one of those little tricks that consumers sometimes play on telemarketers. I had assured the person that we would not ask for their personal information, they were free to answer questions at will, and that they were free to stop their interview whenever they wanted to end it. Most potential respondents, in my experience which began in the 1990's, do not behave as this person did with me.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2020 03:23PM by Shop-et-al.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Think I might have annoyed a mystery shopper who seemed to be trying to make me give out my personal information. We have a method for providing a phone number to a real and important person who can verify the business and project validity. But this potential respondent struck me as trying to make me give out my information. I gave them nothing-- not even the verification telephone number. This felt creepy! I did this for me and for my co-workers. We do not need this!

hmmmmm. Regardless of how it made you feel, if you have a contact to provide, why wouldn't you? I understand feeling creeped out. I used to do overnight infomercial calls. Those were invasive. Also a lot of sad calls from people who just wanted to hear someone talk. It was a comfort to be able to fall back on giving a clear answer and then if someone persisted with any inappropriate request, I'd just repeat that I can't help with that and then I was free to hang up.

To me, roll-playing is half the fun. Getting paid is the other half. Cha-ching !!

I do checking account inquiry shops at a local bank in the NYC-Long Island area. The scenario requires you to open by telling the banker, "I saw your sign in the window for checking campaign."

For starters, that's a terribly written sentence and NO ONE talks like that ("for checking campaign"? LOL really?). Better yet, I've done this shop four times and not once did the branch have a sign in their window for "checking campaign" or anything else having to do with checking. I'm guessing that when the guidelines were drawn up, this bank did, in fact, promote its checking offerings in the window, but now ...

In the interest of not looking like a loony (or a mystery shopper), I ignore the requirement and initiate the discussion of checking accounts in my own words. So far so good on that.

I always say I use Receipt Hog app when I ask for a receipt. Then, I tell them it is an app that gives points for scanned receipts. Usually, they whip out their own phones and start looking for the download before I have even walked out the door. It's there!

I also use Receipt Hog..

K. This one is for the phone call mystery shoppers. I worked at the night job. I was sleepy but listening carefully...

Did this really happen? Someone I interviewed said they were a specific war veteran and minutes later said they never served. ? Whatevs. I always thank them for their service, just in case it is true.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2020 04:32AM by Shop-et-al.

Ok, here's a totally unrealistic scenario for a southern supermarket chain. Place an online sub sandwich order for pickup. When you get to the store, got to the deli counter to have meat or cheese sliced for you. Any normal person would have placed the sliced meat order online when placing the sub order!

"Gee, when my (spouse/sister/housemate) heard I would be here anyway, they asked me to pick up some ham and cheese for them."

@walesmaven wrote:

"Gee, when my (spouse/sister/housemate) heard I would be here anyway, they asked me to pick up some ham and cheese for them."

I've never had them question this. or I'm picking up the sandwich for my roommate or husband and figured I'd get the rest of my groceries while I was here if someone ever asked.

I pick up the sandwich out of eye sight if possible but then stick it under my purse, behind it, whatever so it isn’t visible at the counter. I don’t think anyone has ever noticed.

@FrugalCat wrote:

Ok, here's a totally unrealistic scenario for a southern supermarket chain. Place an online sub sandwich order for pickup. When you get to the store, got to the deli counter to have meat or cheese sliced for you. Any normal person would have placed the sliced meat order online when placing the sub order!

I've done this same scenario a couple of times, and I didn't find it odd at all. I don't think the deli workers even notice what's in your shopping cart. I've never felt squirmish about doing this scenario.