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I would never ever EVER let on to being a secret shopper. Even if asked point blank, I’d have a “play dumb” response 100%. Heck, if I’m following the proposed scenario, I can’t help it if people have figured it out. There’s no way I’m risking my time and effort for an unpaid shop.

@MS007 wrote:

I would never ever EVER let on to being a secret shopper. Even if asked point blank, I’d have a “play dumb” response 100%.

Agreed. About 6 months ago, an associate at the self-check register at a grocery shop that I do mystery shops at had gotten pretty friendly with me, as she'd see me about twice a month at least. One day, she walked up to me and whispered "They (nodding her head back towards the CS counter) say that you're the mystery shopper". I asked, dumbfoundedly, "Mystery shopper?? What's that? Someone who comes in and does interviews?" She went on to say that no, it was someone who comes in unannounced and checks on certain areas of the store. I continued to play real dumb...."What do you mean, check on the store? Who gives them permission to do that?" She dropped it, but.......I DO believe this store does know I am one of their MS'ers, because I am always greeted so pleasantly by everyone, although they are pleasant to all the customers. But I just think they know. But NO WAY was I going to let on in ANY way. At least I can still shop there!!
BTW.....that associate is no longer there!! I wonder if she told someone that she asked me and what I said, and if that was a no-no. But I haven't seen her there in months and months!!

@heywave wrote:

@cherubino3 sorry to hear that. I thought someone here said that it was against their policy to try to figure out who the secret shopper was.

Of course it could've been an employee or customer saw your stopwatch when you were fumbling with your phone.

LOL... a stopwatch app?
I actually texted myself to get my timings.
That's why I was saying I felt like I had plausible deniability. I was fumbling with my new larger phone, though, and it was more obvious that I was doing something. Anyway, there is nothing I can do about it now.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2023 12:48AM by cherubino3.

Isn't it kind of odd, though to visit the bar after a shop as well? After eating dinner, I want to head out. Either scenario, imo is odd. Just do one or the other, but not both. I guess it's hard to get shoppers.

I've had three occasions where I was identified. One was a Kroger that I had shopped frequently. A customer said the employees were talking about it. I stopped doing the shops there, but still shopped. A second one was a local mattress store whose locations I had shopped through 5 years. I was paid, but did not submit a report. I was excluded from shopping there, but still got emails from the scheduler. After two years, I asked if I could shop them again. I was given the same location but with a different employee. I did so successfully. I only shop a location every six months, and if I hear the name of that employee, I'll find out when he's not there and shop that day. (Has not happened yet.

The third one was a mobile phone store. The woman had a phenomenal memory and recited everything we had discussed. I ran into her at another location, so I self-excluded that brand until it merged.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

@guysmom wrote:

@MS007 wrote:

I would never ever EVER let on to being a secret shopper. Even if asked point blank, I’d have a “play dumb” response 100%.
Agreed. About 6 months ago, an associate at the self-check register at a grocery shop that I do mystery shops at had gotten pretty friendly with me, as she'd see me about twice a month at least. One day, she walked up to me and whispered "They (nodding her head back towards the CS counter) say that you're the mystery shopper". I asked, dumbfoundedly, "Mystery shopper?? What's that? Someone who comes in and does interviews?" She went on to say that no, it was someone who comes in unannounced and checks on certain areas of the store. I continued to play real dumb...."What do you mean, check on the store? Who gives them permission to do that?" She dropped it, but.......I DO believe this store does know I am one of their MS'ers, because I am always greeted so pleasantly by everyone, although they are pleasant to all the customers. But I just think they know. But NO WAY was I going to let on in ANY way. At least I can still shop there!!
BTW.....that associate is no longer there!! I wonder if she told someone that she asked me and what I said, and if that was a no-no. But I haven't seen her there in months and months!!

I also think one of my grocery stores knows who I am. I had two people follow me around the store and ask if I was finding everything alright. I'm going to have to get a disguise! lol

I wasn’t outed, but at the post office this week during a shop, one of the clerks randomly started talking about “a mystery shopper” who the post master just talked to them about. Apparently the clerk “forgot to ask if they wanted any stamps”.

To my surprise, the clerk I was working with didn’t ask me if I wanted any extra items either and failed to mention the survey. SMH.

I've been doing some appliance shops, and they want the associate's first and last name. Who normally asks an associate for their first and last name? I feel like that's a dead giveaway. (It also requires a pretty detailed description of the person, so, it would be pretty hard to identify the wrong person, if that's the concern. How many 40ish years old, black-haired Bobs (or whatever) are working the appliance department at this particular store at this particular time, on this particular date?)

Just a small-town girl in NY

@cherubino3 - Who was the "quick email" from? The MSC or USPS? If the MSC, they would tell you where you were outed.

Having worked restaurants all my life, I don’t think I would have worked anywhere that required me to give my last name to strangers. You get some real weirdos. When I first started at Howard Johnson's in 1978, some of the older ladies had "Mrs. (Last name)" on their name tags, even though it was no longer a requirement. Unsafe then but now, with internet, it would be way too easy for a digruntled customer to find Mrs. X's address and slay her because she forgot to refill their coffee.

Breaking News - "Another HoJo slaying. This time for only giving one pat of butter with the pancakes."

@sestrahelena I remember back in the 70s they recommended permanently imprinting your social security number on TVs and stereos so that if stolen, they would know who the stuff belonged to. Can you imagine?!

And the SSN was used as the driver's license number in some states.

Until maybe ten years ago, military ID cards had your name, social AND birthdate on them. My ex-h was military.

Just a small-town girl in NY

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2023 12:57PM by SarasMom.

I was told to put away your SS card and not carry it. I opened a new checking account and the bank required the original card. It took me awhile to remember where I put it.

My first TV after college had someone else's SSN engraved on it. -- this was the late 90s (although it was a used TV)

In my state it's legal to record a conversation. Before I enter a shop location I put my phone into airplane mode, turn off the 'raise to wake' feature, and start a voice memo. Although I could get all the timings I need by listening to the recording, I often do a screen shot of the elapsed time to make the reporting process go quicker.

@cherubino3 wrote:

I was told that they saw me "timing them."

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

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