Pay when Meal is Comped?

I shopped a restaurant for a MSC that only pays reimbursement. That’s fine with me for this particular restaurant as we eat there even without shops.

On this shop, I had terrible, terrible service that resulted in my being at the restaurant an extra hour past typical shop times. The manager comped my meal without prompting on my part. Now the mystery shop company has $0.00 listed for my payout from the shop.

I can’t decide if this seems fair or not. I understand I would usually only get reimbursed, but since the restaurant took care of it, they don’t owe me… but I still did the work AND waited there for an extremely long time. What do you all think?

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That is one reason why I never do reimbursement-only restaurant shops.

It's not fair and you got jipped.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2021 08:03PM by thunderdeacon.

I have had this happen a couple of times over the years. I abort the shop, accept the comped meal, and contact the scheduler and say the shop was not successful and I had a meal that was comped and ask to reschedule so I can do a fair mystery shop. I've had it happen 4 times that I remember and the schedulers have always rescheduled me. I don't remember ever the scheduler refusing and insisting I do a report for the bad experience and comped meal. I figure reporting the shop would be a bad move because, if it was bad enough for the manager to comp the meal, it would be a bad report - and bad reports are very difficult and time-consuming to write. I'm willing to do a report with the meal as my pay but not willing to do a report when the meal has already been comped, especially when it's a really hard report. And the MS company probably wouldn't want a negative report when the shop can just be redone. And I'm willing to reschedule and eat there again, doing the report with the meal as my pay.

I think the key here is the definition, both legal and in the traditional understanding, of "reimbursement." A reimbursement's purpose is to make one whole by putting back into one's pocket that which was taken out of it. If nothing was out of pocket, then no reimbursement is due.

We've had this argument before here, and, no, it doesn't always seem fair to do the work, get a comped meal, and not get "paid." But a reimbursement is not a fee-for-service. It's just getting back what you spent. What roflwofl does is probably the best way to handle this, and I think other shoppers here have done the same thing.

In short, you can't get reimbursed for money you didn't spend. You can't expect a fee when none was part of the contractual agreement to do the shop. Well, I mean, you can ask, but you can't really expect it--just hope for it.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2021 09:15PM by BirdyC.

I have experienced this situation twice in my 18 years as a shopper. The first was for a long gone MSC that paid a flat fee for work; I scored a nice bonus as that particular job paid $42. For the second, it was another customer thanking me for having served in the Navy. The fee for that one was $5 + a reimbursement of $13; it was at least 10 years ago, because the MSC no longer has the account. The report was short, so I submitted and received $5. Had it, though, been a Coyle form, I would have scrubbed the shop.

@shopperbob wrote:

The fee for that one was $5 + a reimbursement of $13.... The report was short, so I submitted and received $5.

That seems to be EXACTLY what should have happened. You got the fee, but you couldn't get a reimbursement because you didn't spend anything.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2021 09:25PM by BirdyC.

I would have asked to reschedule the shop. 2 free meals.

Live and learn. I too would have rescheduled. As mentioned you were not out of pocket anything so there is nothing to be reimbursed.

Lady Marius
Canadian Mystery Shopper

This is pretty standard practice. It might feel a bit unfair -- you weren't satisfied with the meal and still had to do the work -- but the way they handled it is the established norm. Caveat emptor.

You agreed to do the job for no pay, and that is exactly what you got. You did not have to output any of your own money. What is the problem? I do not see any issue here. You agreed to do the job for no pay, and it cost you nothing to eat at a restaurant that you occasionally eat there anyway.

This is a fair question to ask here. While the OP may have no recourse, it serves as a warning to other shoppers: Sometimes when you do a dining shop, you may end up doing work in exchange for a meal service so bad that even the restaurant agrees it wasn't worth a dime, and the MSC won't compensate for it.

@AZwolfman wrote:

You agreed to do the job for no pay, and that is exactly what you got. You did not have to output any of your own money. What is the problem? I do not see any issue here. You agreed to do the job for no pay, and it cost you nothing to eat at a restaurant that you occasionally eat there anyway.

I didn’t say there was a problem. I said I couldn’t decide how I felt about it. I know I got what I agreed to. I’m not complaining.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2021 02:58AM by starryceleb13.

@roflwofl wrote:

I have had this happen a couple of times over the years. I abort the shop, accept the comped meal, and contact the scheduler and say the shop was not successful and I had a meal that was comped and ask to reschedule so I can do a fair mystery shop. I've had it happen 4 times that I remember and the schedulers have always rescheduled me. I don't remember ever the scheduler refusing and insisting I do a report for the bad experience and comped meal. I figure reporting the shop would be a bad move because, if it was bad enough for the manager to comp the meal, it would be a bad report - and bad reports are very difficult and time-consuming to write. I'm willing to do a report with the meal as my pay but not willing to do a report when the meal has already been comped, especially when it's a really hard report. And the MS company probably wouldn't want a negative report when the shop can just be redone. And I'm willing to reschedule and eat there again, doing the report with the meal as my pay.

This makes sense and it's really why I asked the question. I wanted to know what I should've done or if there was a better way to have gone about the entire situation. I am a little irritated because I did contact my scheduler mid-shop to inquire as to the best course of action given that other customers and I were being treated very rudely and she asked me to continue with the shop even when I said that the manager may be refunding the meal. Now I know of another option. I appreciate this feedback. Thank you.

Yes, indeed. Schedulers often don't know the best answer.

I would have rescheduled the shop and hoped for better service the next time.

The above poster was correct -- if you were willing to do the job for reimbursement only, you got a free meal; you are free to reschedule and get another meal, with reimbursement. I wouldn't even tell the scheduler, I would just reschedule. Or if it wasn't possible to reschedule without contacting the scheduler, I would just say "I failed the shop, and need to re-do it. Please reschedule for the next available day.. Thanks!"

@BirdyC wrote:

We've had this argument before here....

Are you thinking specifically of that thread where the OP ran into an acquaintance who then paid for the meal, and the OP completed the report, received a modest fee, and felt cheated because they were not reimbursed for the meal? That was probably one the best threads to ever grace this forum.

@BirdyC wrote:

What roflwofl does is probably the best way to handle this, and I think other shoppers here have done the same thing.

Completely agree.

You wanted a free meal. You got a free meal.The difference is the same. However, I might try to not do the evaluation for the shop, get it rescheduled, and get me another free meal (net 2 free meals and 1 evaluation). On the other hand, from the MSC perspective, they would probably be very interested with this dining experience.

@MSF wrote:

Are you thinking specifically of that thread where the OP ran into an acquaintance who then paid for the meal, and the OP completed the report, received a modest fee, and felt cheated because they were not reimbursed for the meal? That was probably one the best threads to ever grace this forum.

Yup. And I stand by the opinion of the most experienced of the three attorneys I asked. He said absolutely not--no "reimbursement" was due, because you can't be reimbursed for money you didn't spend.

It's so true that often the guidelines aren't clear enough or fail to address commonly encountered situations. Not just with dining shops!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2021 12:46PM by BirdyC.

You were reimbursed what you paid out. You want to reimbursed for something you didn't spent. Think about that. You were given something FREE, but you want the MSC to pay you what you would have paid IF you purchased it. That make no sense.

I would put all the details in the report. If the MSC Wanted you to return fine, your eat the often.

A Dad shopping the Ark-LA-Tex and beyond.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2021 09:59PM by ShoppingDad.

@ShoppingDad wrote:

You were reimbursed what you paid out. You want to reimbursed for something you didn't spent. Think about that. You were given something FREE, but you want the MSC to pay you what you would have paid IF you purchased it. That make no sense.

I would put all the details in the report. If the MSC Wanted you to return fine, your eat the often.

I didn’t say I wanted reimbursed for something I didn’t spend. I never once said that. Don’t assume.

You got a free meal, which is ALL you would have gotten anyway, plus you didn't have to worry about getting a reimbursement. Take the win.

A Dad shopping the Ark-LA-Tex and beyond.

That is why I rarely do reimbursemnt-only dining shops. I prefer to work for free money instead.

We had the same thing happen twice that I can remember. The service was terrible. We paid, but were given a certificate for a free meal. The experience was so awful that I would not go back, even if one of our meals was comped.

I had this happen once on a shop. I was praying, just let me pay. Did not happen. They were so gracious. Did my report and of course the MSC had questions. I would never try to reschedule in a situation like this.
Always be truthful is my mantra. I shopped this restaurant subsequently and often.

If you submit a shop where the meal was comped, won't the manager realize who the shopper was when he gets the report? After all, he would have approved comping the meal wouldn't he?

@Madetoshop wrote:

I had this happen once on a shop. I was praying, just let me pay. Did not happen. They were so gracious. Did my report and of course the MSC had questions. I would never try to reschedule in a situation like this.
Always be truthful is my mantra. I shopped this restaurant subsequently and often.

I don't think rescheduling is being untruthful.

@pegleg2000 wrote:

@Madetoshop wrote:

I had this happen once on a shop. I was praying, just let me pay. Did not happen. They were so gracious. Did my report and of course the MSC had questions. I would never try to reschedule in a situation like this.
Always be truthful is my mantra. I shopped this restaurant subsequently and often.

I don't think rescheduling is being untruthful.

I agree when you are telling them it is due to a comp'd meal.

@wrosie wrote:

If you submit a shop where the meal was comped, won't the manager realize who the shopper was when he gets the report? After all, he would have approved comping the meal wouldn't he?

Typically, I suppose that could be an issue, but in this instance, he comped meals for myself and 3 other customers just while I was standing there.

Also, in a “fun” bit of turnaround, he gave me a receipt showing my meal was comped, but it still hard charged to my credit card… so this all ended up being moot anyway.

It would not cross my mind to abort mid-shop, because of negatives. There can be tremendous value to the client in not just the good, but also the bad and ugly.

One shop that brought me much satisfaction was a truly dreadful dining experience. I spent more time on it than most. It was reimbursement only and no doubt I lost my shirt on it. After I submitted my report, I fully expected requests for clarification.

None came. I did get a note from the MSC thanking me for the level of detail provided and commiserating with my experience. Wasn’t necessary but was appreciated. Whether it had anything to do with my report, I’ll never know, but subsequently, that franchised location closed.

In my opinion, that’s why we’re here.

To me, rescheduling seems unethical. Mystery shopping is done to get a snapshot of a guest experience. They need to know the good, bad, and ugly. Not just glowing reviews every time. They want to know how poor situations are handled also..

@Madetoshop wrote:

I was praying, just let me pay. Did not happen..

Why if it was reimbursement only? You're only getting back what you would have paid.

A Dad shopping the Ark-LA-Tex and beyond.

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