I once had an editor put in my comments that my last three shops at a particular restaurant had a very high rating and she wondered if I was doing the job correctly. They did a great job and I could not write something bad if I did not see anything bad.

@Misanthrope wrote:

When I started shopping in 2014, when I was 21 years old, I did a few alcohol mystery shops to check if the server or bartender was carding people who looked young. A few of them, when you weren't carded, required you to print out a form and give it to the manager which says the employee must be terminated. While I know a restaurant or bar can lose a lot of money for serving liquor to someone who's underaged, no one actually broke the law since I was 21- but I still know that some people were directly fired for a failure to perform by then.

Yes, that's a safety and legal issue, a bartender not carding people who look young. So I can understand why a company might want to fire that bartender.

One thing occurred to me after my last post: Video surveillance cams with good resolution are everywhere. They were around in 2007, but not everywhere, and their output quality was iffy. They also tended to record over previously recorded surveillance material. Today the cameras are ubiquitous and yield recordings good enough to see and hear all (or read lips for soundless clips).

That lessens the likelihood of anyone going to court over being fired after a shopper report--the evidence is right there in full color. No need to haul a $5 or $10 shopper into depositions and court over an employee challenging a dismissal.

@SoCalMama wrote:

Hahahaha loser.

What the heck do you mean?

@CA senior wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

Hahahaha loser.

What the heck do you mean?

OP registered just to post this here. He/she/they are the mattress salesperson.

Just goes to show that some people are not very smart like that would not be pointed out by someone.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@CA senior wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

Hahahaha loser.

What the heck do you mean?

OP registered just to post this here. He/she/they are the mattress salesperson.

There was a convenience store chain that was put out of business for selling beer to an underage person, only because of a wreck that seriously injured a person. It was a large settlement that broke the company. So yes it can be important.

@Susan L. wrote:

@Misanthrope wrote:

When I started shopping in 2014, when I was 21 years old, I did a few alcohol mystery shops to check if the server or bartender was carding people who looked young. A few of them, when you weren't carded, required you to print out a form and give it to the manager which says the employee must be terminated. While I know a restaurant or bar can lose a lot of money for serving liquor to someone who's underaged, no one actually broke the law since I was 21- but I still know that some people were directly fired for a failure to perform by then.

Yes, that's a safety and legal issue, a bartender not carding people who look young. So I can understand why a company might want to fire that bartender.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2021 03:17PM by 2stepps.

@2stepps wrote:

There was a convenience store chain that was put out of business for selling beer to an underage person, only because of a wreck that seriously injured a person. It was a large settlement that broke the company. So yes it can be important.

@Susan L. wrote:

@Misanthrope wrote:

When I started shopping in 2014, when I was 21 years old, I did a few alcohol mystery shops to check if the server or bartender was carding people who looked young. A few of them, when you weren't carded, required you to print out a form and give it to the manager which says the employee must be terminated. While I know a restaurant or bar can lose a lot of money for serving liquor to someone who's underaged, no one actually broke the law since I was 21- but I still know that some people were directly fired for a failure to perform by then.

Yes, that's a safety and legal issue, a bartender not carding people who look young. So I can understand why a company might want to fire that bartender.

Yes, TGI Friday's used to have a mystery shop program where you had to print a form and after you ate and drank and were ready to leave, regardless of whether employee asked for ID or not, you had to ask for the manager and tell him PASS or FAIL and get the manager to sign to paperwork. If it was a FAIL, the employee was immediately fired. I did a lot of those shops for a couple years before I aged out and then took someone young enough a couple of times. The bartenders I shopped were all very blase about the mystery checks. They expected to be tested and they knew they would be fired if they were caught not checking an ID. Most shrugged and said "Part of the job."

MSF asked: "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?"

Most shop reports wend their way down a few levels, from district manager to store manager. Often the employee who was shopped will not see the report. However, if there is anything negative, the store manager and/or employee usually gets a chance to see the report and reply up the managerial line. If there are questions as to the validity of the shop, upper management will usually request a reshop. I was fortunate in that the company I worked for used the shop reports as intended, for rewards or retraining.

When I was in management, one of my employees got a very negative report because he would not give away product to a person who bought a larger-than-usual amount of items. This turned out to be the shopper, who somehow thought they should get a freebie simply because they purchased more than the required purchase. When the report was brought in by my immediate supervisor, I was shocked. It said the employee had used vulgar language and was hostile, as well as overcharging for some items. Well my store had excellent video with audio, so it was easy to disprove the shopper's story completely. This is the sort of shopper who throws the whole ms system into doubt with clients. I despite that!

Same store, another shop that was less than stellar. Photos of receipts on the ground around the store, dirty corners in the bathroom, harsh comments about employee behavior, etc. Turned out the shopper had not erroneously entered the report for another store as we originally suspected, but had used doctored photos for over 20 shops in a chain of stores. That time, all those shopper's reports were thrown out and the msc had to send in new shoppers on their dime. They came very close to losing the client, which would have been over 600 shops a month.

I also had a shopper come in who was Just So Obvious. She wanted the cashier to pose for her so she could "test her camera." She also wanted us to dig through the trash for a receipt that was for under $1 because she was "on a scavenger hunt." We declined to provide a receipt so she went through the dumpster and found one. Yeah, when that report came in, it got challenged and discarded. Shop was done two days after the date of the receipt!

I truly enjoy mystery shopping and have met many good shoppers with a great sense of integrity over the years. There are some real problem shoppers out there, too, but I don't think they are a high percentage. Just by the fact of their shoddy reports, they lose out on the opportunity for future shops and weed themselves out.

[

Yes, TGI Friday's used to have a mystery shop program where you had to print a form and after you ate and drank and were ready to leave, regardless of whether employee asked for ID or not, you had to ask for the manager and tell him PASS or FAIL and get the manager to sign to paperwork. If it was a FAIL, the employee was immediately fired. I did a lot of those shops for a couple years before I aged out and then took someone young enough a couple of times. The bartenders I shopped were all very blase about the mystery checks. They expected to be tested and they knew they would be fired if they were caught not checking an ID. Most shrugged and said "Part of the job."[/quote]

Used to do these too, at one point I think I had three or four fired from the airport location and one or two fired from another location in town.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

@Sandy Shopper wrote:

I wish there was a way to weed out these types of shoppers...

Video. Video does not lie about what has happened on a shop.

I did a shop where they said I didn't visit the restroom. I visited the restroom. They said I did not look at an area I reported on. I purchased items from that very area. The report was declined. They reviewed the video. They held I did not look at the area. I had a receipt for a purchase from that area. I lost the money I spent to buy the items, around $10, the shop fee, and all of my time. Don't be so sure how they use their "video."

This was one of my worst MS experiences. I went back and forth by email and phone with the MSC. They even reduced my shopper score. I fought it and finally the resolution was I lost my money and time but they did not reduce my shopper score. I lost faith in mystery shopping that day.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2021 09:44PM by Niner.

@Niner wrote:

@ColoKate63 wrote:

@Sandy Shopper wrote:

I wish there was a way to weed out these types of shoppers...

Video. Video does not lie about what has happened on a shop.

I did a shop where they said I didn't visit the restroom. I visited the restroom. They said I did not look at an area I reported on. I purchased items from that very area. The report was declined. They reviewed the video. They held I did not look at the area. I had a receipt for a purchase from that area. I lost the money I spent to buy the items, around $10, the shop fee, and all of my time. Don't be so sure how they use their "video."

This was one of my worst MS experiences. I went back and forth by email and phone with the MSC. They even reduced my shopper score. I fought it and finally the resolution was I lost my money and time but they did not reduce my shopper score. I lost faith in mystery shopping that day.

ColoKate63 does video shops. She's not asking to have the store video reviewed.

Yes, that’s what I meant: there’s very little ambiguity regarding whether a shopper did something or not when they’re wearing a body camera. You either did it or you didn’t; it’s clear to see. Video shops are very powerful in that way.

Thanks for clarifying, SCM.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@Niner wrote:

@ColoKate63 wrote:

@Sandy Shopper wrote:

I wish there was a way to weed out these types of shoppers...

Video. Video does not lie about what has happened on a shop.

I did a shop where they said I didn't visit the restroom. I visited the restroom. They said I did not look at an area I reported on. I purchased items from that very area. The report was declined. They reviewed the video. They held I did not look at the area. I had a receipt for a purchase from that area. I lost the money I spent to buy the items, around $10, the shop fee, and all of my time. Don't be so sure how they use their "video."

This was one of my worst MS experiences. I went back and forth by email and phone with the MSC. They even reduced my shopper score. I fought it and finally the resolution was I lost my money and time but they did not reduce my shopper score. I lost faith in mystery shopping that day.

ColoKate63 does video shops. She's not asking to have the store video reviewed.

I think Niner wants us to take a baby step in the direction of quantity andor quality, of store video. ?

Was there a technical or other unforeseen gap in the store video? But if there was a quality issue, what if the same video that would help Niner's cause (showing her visit to the restroom) would harm some other person's cause (showing something they should not do/not have done)?

So. Can store video be altered at will? What actually happens to store video? How reliable is store video?

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I think Niner wants us to take a baby step in the direction of quantity andor quality, of store video. ?

Was there a technical or other unforeseen gap in the store video? But if there was a quality issue, what if the same video that would help Niner's cause (showing her visit to the restroom) would harm some other person's cause (showing something they should not do/not have done)?

So. Can store video be altered at will? What actually happens to store video? How reliable is store video?

How about the manager's INTERPRETATION of the video. That's subjective. If the report was negative, discrediting the shopper would eliminate any negativity towards the store.

That, too.

@Susan L. wrote:

@Misanthrope wrote:

That lessens the likelihood of anyone going to court over being fired after a shopper report--the evidence is right there in full color. No need to haul a $5 or $10 shopper into depositions and court over an employee challenging a dismissal.

Somewhat off topic, but this statement has me wondering: has anyone been subpoenaed to court (or other hearings) as a result of a mystery shop? If so, did the MSC or client pay you for your time. I also work as a private investigator and when I am required to appear in court I am compensated for my time; how would this work for a shopper?

@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?

@ wrote:

I had a grocery store employee dispute his interaction with me. His store contacted the MSC, who then called me. Luckily I always record every shop that involves a conversation, so my behind was covered.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2021 05:08AM by chrisdd.

@russell.in.canada wrote:

@Susan L. wrote:

@Misanthrope wrote:

That lessens the likelihood of anyone going to court over being fired after a shopper report--the evidence is right there in full color. No need to haul a $5 or $10 shopper into depositions and court over an employee challenging a dismissal.

Somewhat off topic, but this statement has me wondering: has anyone been subpoenaed to court (or other hearings) as a result of a mystery shop? If so, did the MSC or client pay you for your time. I also work as a private investigator and when I am required to appear in court I am compensated for my time; how would this work for a shopper?

Yes, and yes, I was paid for my time. It wasn't over a $5 shop either. Casinos and hotels often have this happen because their employees belong to unions in many cases.

Sometimes the associate does a million things right, unfortunately, they miss the mark on whatever the shop was targeting. Then the report doesn't allow comments or the narrative is ridged and the editors won't allow the aditional feedback. This isn't an issue so much with mattress shops that I recall but I've had the problem with others. Many employees, I think, believe we are writing wide-ranging reports on our experiences not understanding that we are usually answering specific questions and following rigid guidelines.

I appreciate the additional information slots. This is where I can distinguish between how little some wee error bothered me-- if at all-- and everything else that was memorable and good. So another wonderment is: how do clients weight each factor? If I, the customer, have no issue with something that might send another customer into lawsuit or at least hissy fit mode, should this be considered? (I have worked at many places. I believe that it should be considered but not used to destroy a first-time offender or override repeated errors. That is just me.)