The moment that makes you smile

I did a gas station audit a while ago and they were required to have a "top tier" sticker on the window. They did not have it. I showed the manager what it looked like and where it was to be placed, according to the guidelines. He said he would get it. The next time I went they had it and the nanager said it was because of me.

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One of my 'smile to remember' moments came back in the early days of digital photography when there were not smart phones with built in cameras.

I had done reveal audits at a particular gas station several times, always with smiling, full cooperation. The manager of the station was always the one working, whether I was there on a shop or not.

One day when I was in he asked if I could take some digital pictures of him and his family to send to parents who were still in India. We set up a time when I would come by (not on a shop) with my camera. The family was there all spit & polish clean and in traditional garb for their 'photo session'. I tidied up the pictures with Photoshop and emailed them to him that night so that he could forward them to parents. Next time I saw him he mentioned that his wife's family was especially happy to see how well the wife and kids were doing.

Long before covid when we still had salad bars I commented on a shop about how cold the plates were. My fingers would stick to the plates they were so cold and had been since before that mystery shop. The next time I did a shop the plates were nice and cool but not frozen! A smile moment for me but unfortunately that shop has been gone for a while and the particular location closed March of 2020.

The bank I bank at and shop often moved to a new location a few years ago. Shortly after they opened, I did a teller shop and noticed that the big sign out front was positioned so that you couldn't read it if you were coming from one direction, but you could from the others (it's on a corner. with 3 angles of approach). One of the survey questions was about the sign visibility. I explained about the new sign, and the next time I went to the bank, it had been moved so it was easily visible from any direction. I smiled.

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

One new-to-me location stayed open throughout covid and is still there, inviting and welcoming, and [I like to imagine] just waiting for me to visit on my own dime and enjoy myself. This has nothing to do with me. It is the owners. They have a nice touch with their merchandise and their approach to customers. They should get a kudos here just for being themselves. They have earned their ongoing business status!

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

On the way to a shop in South Dakota, I ran into a long line of motorcyclists. There was one passenger who took me aback.....OMG, that is the HAIRIEST, BLACKEST motorcyclist I've ever seen!!!! They were in front of me, so I trailed them to their next stop -- my gas station assignment!

I still giggle every time I think of it! The "passenger", helmet and all, was a life-size black teddy bear!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2021 03:01PM by ceasesmith.

I visited a small town grocery store last year for the first time and the men's restroom was upstairs past the employee lounge area. I found the restroom to be bad, bad, bad... rusted stall dividers, peeling paint, dingy floor, foul odors, dim lights, only cold water, yada yada yada.
Even though this store is shopped twice a month, at least, as are others in the chain, I had no idea why they allowed this restroom to continue in this state of ugliness. I reported what I saw.
Two months later, I was bonused to go to this town again and do this location. The men's room was now bright, painted up, repaired and overall it was now quite presentable. I'd like to think that I apparently was the first shopper to make the effort to report this (or actually visit the men's room there, for all I know!)

JW - I have learned over the years that the vast majority of mystery shoppers are women. It is certainly conceivable that the men's room had not been visited, because you were the first male shopper to complete the shop.

I just asked Google what percentage of mystery shoppers are female, and it Google led me to this site: [www.zippia.com] I am not at all convinced that they have the real answer because 6949 total mystery shoppers seems ridiculously low to me, and I suspect that the 69.7% female may actually also be too low. However, an article from CBS News Austin quotes RBG as saying that 65% of all mystery shoppers are female: [cbsaustin.com] An old article from the New York Times quotes someone from Second-to-None as having 200,000 mystery shoppers in their own database (that sound believable) and that 70% are women: [www.nytimes.com]

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Did I mention the restroom door that did not fit or close properly? Well, the next time I was in that location, the door situation was appropriate. I was relieved (no pun intended) and must believe that absolutely everyone who wanted privacy in that stall said something and my wee notation in a report was just more of the same.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

But of the perhaps 30% of shoppers who are male, I suspect only a fragment complete grocery store shops.

I know many male shoppers who gladly attack gas stations, banks, some retail, and cars (cars, cars, cars!). Even dining, especially fine dining.

So the poster may be right -- he may be the first male shopper in that store in quite some time.

I used to shop a mid-range steak house. They always served the baked potatoes wrapped in foil. There was a subjective section on the report, so I mentioned how difficult it was to unwrap a hot baked potato. The next time I was there, no aluminum foil on the potato. I also suggested that the salad bar would benefit from having tomatoes as a topping. They added those, too. So nice to be heard!

@Candy Kane wrote:

I also suggested that the salad bar would benefit from having tomatoes as a topping. They added those, too. So nice to be heard!

No tomatoes on a salad bar? That's a sin. Glad they added them.

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

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The moment that makes you smile

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