@badshoppers wrote:
So because they did not hit all the check points they get written up, put on a 90 day performance plan and are fired if it happens again. You go along happily with your 20 bucks while someone else's job is ruined over a simple shop that you could not take the time to do properly.
@Sandy Shopper wrote:
I have read comments on a defunct site from some shoppers who say they give $5 worth of work for $5 pay, with the implication being that they took a poorly paying job, then basically blew off most of the requirements. Shoddy behavior! I have seen people walking through some of the big box or office supply stores with lists in their hands. They walk by an employee and write something down on the list, no interaction. I just saw the same thing in a grocery store the other day. I wish there was a way to weed out these types of shoppers, but when I have seen the behavior, I didn't even know who the MSC was. Frustrating! I think this is a big part of the disastrous decline in pay; poor quality reports that do not provide value to the client.
@Sandy Shopper wrote:
I wish there was a way to weed out these types of shoppers...
@Susan L. wrote:
When I started shopping in 2007, the MSPA emphasized that mystery shops were *not* to be used for firing an employee or for provoking other punishments. Errors made by employees were picked up by the shoppers, and shop results were used to enhance training, or to reward good service. Or so they said.
The kinds of shops that could result in a salesperson losing a job were performed by private investigators, and paid accordingly. They might have hired a $300 PI after a couple of $20 mystery shopper reports, but the ms reports were not the basis for firing.
How things have (gradually) changed.
@Sandy Shopper wrote:
One thing that I keep coming back to in the OPs comments is that the shopper gave a bad report. I've had lots and lots of experience as a scheduler supervisor and an editor, in addition to mystery shopping for many years. In my experiences, shoppers who are fudging the reports don't put in a lot of negative behavior because they don't want the report to be reviewed against previous reports, store videos or the store management's experience with the store associate's typical behavior. The give a "they were pretty good but not perfect" type of report that will pass muster without additional scrutiny.
@ceasesmith wrote:
I can't tell you how many times in 12 years that managers have approached me and thanked me for my time and courtesy (revealed audits, of course!). They say things like "Wow, the guy who usually does these is in and out in 5 minutes", or "I appreciate your being so polite."
I do not understand (although certain posters have bragged in this forum of doing exactly this thing, in and out in 5 minutes) how anyone can do a revealed audit in 5 minutes and NOT be fudging the reports. The same audit takes me 45 minutes and an average of 70-80 photographs. And the report usually takes me an hour.
I probably ask for, and get, a lot more money than the guy who is in and out in 5 minutes. But the client gets a report that actually shows infractions.
Which is why I don't do revealed audits for $10...or even $20 (remember, the one nearest me is 45 miles away, and most are 100 miles or more).
@Sandy Shopper wrote:
One thing that I keep coming back to in the OPs comments is that the shopper gave a bad report. I've had lots and lots of experience as a scheduler supervisor and an editor, in addition to mystery shopping for many years. In my experiences, shoppers who are fudging the reports don't put in a lot of negative behavior because they don't want the report to be reviewed against previous reports, store videos or the store management's experience with the store associate's typical behavior. The give a "they were pretty good but not perfect" type of report that will pass muster without additional scrutiny.
@MSF wrote:
I have always wondered how negative reports are handled. Do clients usually challenge them with the MSC? Do you have any interesting stories to share?
I helpped set up the mystery shopping program for a company that I work for. Our retail managers used to review video tape even though they weren't supposed to. In our case, if there was a dispute, we would review the dispute before passing it on to the MSC. A lot of the times it was pretty easy to identify a shopper as they recited the script verbatim and our staff was given copies of the shopper guidelines and questions that were being asked.
What would typically happen is the MSC would reshop the location at their cost.
We no longer shop our stores.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2021 02:03AM by foodluvr.
@badshoppers wrote:
When you do shops do you ever think about the people who get written up and fired because of you not doing an accurate job? So you shop a mattress store and the salesperson does their job to the fullest extend they can based off of what you do, but you don't do your job of being a shopper. You want to get out fast so you try a couple beds and then give no feedback other than you like them both and then make up an excuse like "I will be back with my husband later" or say it's not for you it's for your sister so you can't choose one for her and leave. The sales associate can't do their job because you won't pick a specific mattress even though they have given you multiple options. But the requirement is that they must overcome your objections on the mattress that you pick and ask you to buy. The salesperson can't ask you to buy because you haven't picked anything. So because they did not hit all the check points they get written up, put on a 90 day performance plan and are fired if it happens again. You go along happily with your 20 bucks while someone else's job is ruined over a simple shop that you could not take the time to do properly.