Today I had a retail oil mystery shop and reveal. One of the two cashiers said she had my pegged as a mystery shopper about 30 seconds after I was in the store. Her assistant manager had no idea what was going on. She explained that when she worked in Texas, she worked longer shifts and their stores would get mystery shopped all the time. It wasn't just monthly, but they did the three different shifts. She might have said something about getting shopped separately on the weekend as well. Since she worked all shifts, she would come across more mystery shoppers.

Based on customer traffic and the part of town I was in, I thought my skin color might have triggered her spidey senses. She went on to explain that all mystery shoppers go to the bathroom and they are usually cheap (LOL). I did go to the bathroom and wound up getting two packs of gum for $1.00 which was the reimbursement. I guess me buying gum was the final nail in her mind.

When I got home, I thought I should have asked her what I could've done to throw her off as being a mystery shopper in her mind. In my opinion, she is far more intuitive than most workers in her industry.

I was also curious if you guys mix things up when you do gas station mystery shops or do you pretty much follow the same routine on every shop? Have any gas station employees told you on your reveal portion that they knew you were the mystery shopper? I know it doesn't matter since you have to reveal yourself. I don't plan on changing my mystery shop routine based on one impressive employee.

A decent chunk of gas station employees with whom I interact are too busy on their phone to notice anything.

They say it to me a lot, but when I ask it is almost always because I asked for the receipt. By then it is too late and doesn't count in my book. Even those who said they knew before I asked for the receipt are probably just remembering retroactively that I did things like a mystery shopper, and didn't actually think it at the time. A couple of times they have said it was because I was courteous, which apparently was a rarity in their locale.

I don't change my routine. Restroom first, then walk around the store looking for the best thing to buy, scanning for infractions as I go, and then purchase. Any deviation I am likely to forget things.

Heywave, you definitely got an unusually observant cashier! As mentioned by others above, most are on their phones, chatting or figure it out at the end, when I ask for that dollar-item receipt. By that time, the mystery portion is over anyway. Either way, you both played your roles. Neither of you mentioned, before the right time, anything about mystery shoppers. I love it when they play along and then we all go about our business. Don't worry about changing routines or being recognized, unless it becomes a problem that will jeopardize the shop.

Not a gas station shop, but for a while I was doing quite a few MF mattress locations. At one shop I had the same associate that had been there three months before. As we chatted I saw the light bulb go on over her head, and as I walked out the door she winked and said "see you soon".

That made me realize that (1)I needed to not always use the same story and (2) no matter what the MSC said I needed to have a much longer rotation.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2022 09:24PM by KathyG.

I haven't had someone call it out but after asking for a receipt for my $1 item I sometimes get a over the top "thank you have a nice day." Prior to that, he/she was silent just staring at me like a deer in headlights. So I think asking for a receipt for a $1 cash purchase can trigger who we are sometimes.

Also if someone has been working at gas stations for a long time they know the routine. A good boss will share positive or negative comments from a report with their employee. One particular station I shop has had the same cashier for 7 years. Nothing is ever said, but it is obvious she knows why I am there.

Heck, some of these folks know me by name now since I've been doing the same ones for years. They know. They just don't know WHEN it will happen. That is the mystery.

A gas station by me almost always has deals in Fetch Rewards app, so I have had a few instances where they ask if I want the receipt and I say yes, I have a rebate on this item in Fetch Rewards and a few of the cashiers have told me that they just started using it too.

I pretty much always do the bathroom first, I won't go grab a product and then go to the bathroom. I don't want them to think I'm shoplifting and I don't want bathroom germs on my items. ick.

A USPS clerk recognized me. I am a doppelgänger for a famous morning show host and she always calls me by that name. She smiled, laughed real big and asked me if I was doing my side hustle today. After going through the entire spiel for the regular box shop, she said “see you in 18 days”. We laughed and parted ways. 18 days later we repeated the cycle. It’s sort of our inside thing. It works for both of us.

Howard Stern? He was a riot 25 years ago when I listened!

Getting "made" at a gas station is no big deal. There are some gas station owners here that greet me like an old friend evry time. Most of the others realize I'm a shopper when I ask for a receipt for a $1 or $2 item that i used cash to pay for. The ones that don't get it are new or temporary help.

As it has already been said, don't worry about whether or not they say they recognized you during the reveal because of the receipt. The shop was over at that point. One thing I do, if I don't recognize the clerk at the station, is to be sure to ask for the receipt when I know that they have said everything they would have said to a normal customer. Once you do the same station over and over, there will be those that recognize you, and you will be going through the motions with them. The way I see it, if that clerk was always good before, the fact that they "know" me now isn't really changing anything. The mystery is that they don't know when we're going to show up. They can't immediately clean the bathroom, put receipt tape in my gas pump when it didn't already give a receipt, take down the expired POP, and so on before I get to it. If they were awful before, then that's when to think about either not doing that location anymore, or try going at a different time of day, if possible. There's one station near me that I don't do anymore for that reason.

I have one location that as soon as I walk in the door, she turns on the outside lights.

@heywave wrote:

Today I had a retail oil mystery shop and reveal. One of the two cashiers said she had my pegged as a mystery shopper about 30 seconds after I was in the store. Her assistant manager had no idea what was going on. She explained that when she worked in Texas, she worked longer shifts and their stores would get mystery shopped all the time. It wasn't just monthly, but they did the three different shifts. She might have said something about getting shopped separately on the weekend as well. Since she worked all shifts, she would come across more mystery shoppers.

Based on customer traffic and the part of town I was in, I thought my skin color might have triggered her spidey senses. She went on to explain that all mystery shoppers go to the bathroom and they are usually cheap (LOL). I did go to the bathroom and wound up getting two packs of gum for $1.00 which was the reimbursement. I guess me buying gum was the final nail in her mind.

When I got home, I thought I should have asked her what I could've done to throw her off as being a mystery shopper in her mind. In my opinion, she is far more intuitive than most workers in her industry.

I was also curious if you guys mix things up when you do gas station mystery shops or do you pretty much follow the same routine on every shop? Have any gas station employees told you on your reveal portion that they knew you were the mystery shopper? I know it doesn't matter since you have to reveal yourself. I don't plan on changing my mystery shop routine based on one impressive employee.

Not sure about the gas station audits…

It’s a cardinal sin to do this but I often spend far more time in the store than I need to. I put shop notes onto my Notes app on my phone and double check them. This prolongs my stay in the store and perhaps throws them off my trail.

I don’t “mix it up”. I think most customers of the MSCs essentially set us up to fail more often than not…so I don’t sweat it. One apartment shop actually had an instruction to not take pictures of the model because it was a “dead giveaway”? WTF? If someone didn’t take pics it would tell me that they are not planning on renting.

@kathygry wrote:

I have one location that as soon as I walk in the door, she turns on the outside lights.

I have 2 that pull out the bathroom key as soon as I walk in.

@metro25782 wrote:

@heywave wrote:

I don’t “mix it up”. I think most customers of the MSCs essentially set us up to fail more often than not…so I don’t sweat it. One apartment shop actually had an instruction to not take pictures of the model because it was a “dead giveaway”? WTF? If someone didn’t take pics it would tell me that they are not planning on renting.

A restaurant shop I did once said not to take home leftovers as that was a "dead giveaway". I thought that was odd.

Frightening story years back posted on this group or maybe V-GOD (Volition). Shopper did an oil change shop resulting in the termination of an employee who then telephoned the mystery shopper. I think it occured out west in CA, TX, or Nevada and it still scares me that it occured.

@pegleg2000 wrote:

A restaurant shop I did once said not to take home leftovers as that was a "dead giveaway". I thought that was odd.

Not sure if this is peg's quote or not.

I never leave edible food behind at a restaurant. Doesn’t matter if I'm there as a shopper or not. I don’t think that means anything at all.

Can anyone throw light on this for me? I will be in line, 7th. For every single one of the 6 people in front of me, the cashier says "Would you like your receipt?". Every one says no. Then, I'm up. They NEVER, EVER, EVER ask if I want a receipt. I always must ask.

I'm not that stinkin' special!!!

Do I look too intimidating? What am I doing wrong? I always THINK I'm dressed like a normal customer (which out here, means jeans or sweats, lol).

Any suggestions? I'm tired of it, I tell ya.

Not only that, but they'll small-talk with the other 6...when it's my turn, zero, zilch, nada. I'm jealous! The other customers get asked how are they, is the weather impacting (right now, told "stay warm!", I get...nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

Makes me feel really awful. I'm a human being, too, and long for that connection!

So, what am I doing wrong?

Sometimes the report itself gives you away. How many people take pictures of store buildings or the inside of a store? I sometimes it's what we order. I know one fast food shop you can only order one main item, one side item and a drink. Any time a person ordered 3 items, the word went out "mystery shopper" I talked to a cell phone store manager who told me they know who the mystery shoppers are. They're the only ones asking so many questions.

Cease, I've had the same thing happen to me. Variations, as well. IE--the PO clerk tells everyone else about the survey, but not me. I always mark the appropriate response for their interaction with me, and add a note about other customers. Regarding the small purchase receipt--if I am not offered one I will say something like, "I need to go wash my hands, can I have the receipt and I'll just put this in my purse"

I have found that in very small towns the cashiers are often very friendly to the locals whom they know, but don't even acknowledge me.

For me part of my mystery shopper SOP is saying quiet and letting the clerk talk first. Maybe that is why? Of course not being a regular could contribute. It is also true clerks will often talk up single guys/gals in their age range. Maybe those 6 other people were just being flirted with, lol.

I have carried a fake Dave Ramsey type wallet filled with receipts so it looks like I get a receipt everywhere I go. Now, I also try to ask for a receipt everywhere I go so it seems more natural (and for Fetch) and I don't forget when I really need the receipt.

@MissChele wrote:

Now, I also try to ask for a receipt everywhere I go so it seems more natural (and for Fetch) and I don't forget when I really need the receipt.

That's what I do. If they look at me googly eyed I tell them it's because I'm old and we old folks like paper.

@Susan L. wrote:

That's what I do. If they look at me googly eyed I tell them it's because I'm old and we old folks like paper.

I say the Exact.Same.Thing!!!

I've also been told that mystery shoppers are more courteous and friendly than a typical customer.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Can anyone throw light on this for me? I will be in line, 7th. For every single one of the 6 people in front of me, the cashier says "Would you like your receipt?". Every one says no. Then, I'm up. They NEVER, EVER, EVER ask if I want a receipt. I always must ask.

I'm not that stinkin' special!!!

Do I look too intimidating? What am I doing wrong? I always THINK I'm dressed like a normal customer (which out here, means jeans or sweats, lol).

Any suggestions? I'm tired of it, I tell ya.

Not only that, but they'll small-talk with the other 6...when it's my turn, zero, zilch, nada. I'm jealous! The other customers get asked how are they, is the weather impacting (right now, told "stay warm!", I get...nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

Makes me feel really awful. I'm a human being, too, and long for that connection!

So, what am I doing wrong?

Are you one of those people who talk on their phones while checking out?? I have been in line and people are on their stupid phones and the cashiers will not say one word to them.

I bet the other 6 people do not have a cell phone up in the ears?