Without going into too much detail, I completed a shop at a restaurant today and was yelled at by an employee for pretty much nothing, then when I spoke to the manager she claimed I was at fault, even though she was not there when the employee yelled at me. I am a little concerned that after they see my report they will blame the situation on me and the company will not want to work with me again. I have done several shops for the company and I really like them, so I am very nervous. Has anyone run into a situation like this and if so, what was the outcome?

I've been seeing this more lately on shops. Not wishing to get in to detail, but I was backtalked several times during an interaction by a person for no reason and who was just angry/having a bad day. But it was upsetting to me. I kept my mouth shut at the time, but URG!

Well, one way you might consider reporting this is to report in the 3rd person...such as: "While eating here, I observed an interaction in which a customer and an employee appeared to be having a heated discussion out in the open". Don't say what it was about, and you'd have to make sure there were other customers there. If you were the only person eating there at the time, then this would not work. But if you wrote objectively, as though you were an observer and not the person in the interaction, you may get by with it without outing yourself. Just keep it free of emotion..."just the facts".

Yes, I do try and be factual, but I also did describe my experience. I was honest and factual and don't think I did anything remotely deserving of being shouted at. However, they obviously will give their side of the story which I do not think will be complimentary of me....

It's very frustrating. I do feel for these employees because I know they have difficult jobs and I try to be understanding. However, I also think as a customer I should be treated with professionalism and respect. I don't know whatever happened to the "customer is always right", but it doesn't seem to apply to the current environment.

I have never been yelled at by a server and I would guess that not many people on this forum have, so pray tell, what in the world did you do?

This was a first for me as well. I don't want to go into too much detail, but again, I think it was something rather minor. If you don't believe me that is fine, but this is exactly what I am worried about.

Also, I never said it was a server, it was an employee.

You're right! I obviously made an incorrect assumption based on when you said "employee". I apologize.

Anyway, I'm sure many members would like to help you, but unless we know what you said or did, it's rather difficult.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2023 05:59PM by stilllearning.

I understand that, but again I am already worried about this company not wanting to work with me again, so that is why I am not trying to go into too much detail. It did have to do with where I was standing and waiting as to why I was shouted at. I saw the same employee yell at another customer for something equally as minor. Just to be clear, I am not asking whether or not you agree or disagree I should have been shouted at, my question is how have people in this group handled rude treatment from employees. I hope this helps to clarify.

It really depends on the place and the report tbh.
If I can tell that an employee is working by themselves, or the place is short staffed, I tend to scrutinize the facility more than the employee and try to give them the benefit of the doubt.
If they don't seem to do a good job with the average customer, or like in your case, they've yelled at 2 different customers, I would report it as such. This person might just flat out need more training or they should not be in a customer facing role.

@HowardJuice23 wrote:

I understand that, but again I am already worried about this company not wanting to work with me again, so that is why I am not trying to go into too much detail. It did have to do with where I was standing and waiting as to why I was shouted at. I saw the same employee yell at another customer for something equally as minor. Just to be clear, I am not asking whether or not you agree or disagree I should have been shouted at, my question is how have people in this group handled rude treatment from employees. I hope this helps to clarify.

As with STILLLEARNING, I do not have any recollection of an employee of a business shouting/yelling at me.

I agree with @guysmom I would have written it from an observer standpoint instead of being with me. That way you can report what happened, but not be identified as the shopper. You witnessing this action is still the same thing as you being the one involved in the interaction.

Not sure why you won't say what the issue was about.

As a shopper you are supposed to remain invisible. Chances are they are going to recall this incident and probably will know who you are. It's unlikely you will be able to shop this particular location again. Whether the company drops you completely may depend on what you did (if anything) that contributed to the incident. Also were you supposed to speak to the manager as part of the shop instructions? That may be the final straw that gets you banned.

My answer would have been different, I would have discussed this with the scheduler or help desk and asked how to write it up. They may want the actual details in the report. I'm assuming the incident was related to a question on the shop. Maybe it wasn't, in which case is there any reason to describe it in the report?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2023 07:59PM by melg.

Wow, well all I can say is that it was not my intention to cause any issues and I have shopped many times for this company with no problems. Unfortunately, they want you to complete the report quickly so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. Yes it pertained to several questions. I was honest, factual and I don’t think I did anything wrong. If that gets me banned I guess I will just have to accept it. I appreciate the frank response

I haven't been yelled at, but I hate it when I get bad service- it makes the report harder! I want to tell them, "I want you to get a good report- it's easier on me!"

Exactly. I don't even like that when they are supposed to ask you follow up questions and they don't. I'd rather just give everyone good scores. But I also feel I need to be honest, which is why this is bothering me so much.

The thing that is hard with a situation like that being told as if it was something you observed instead of admitting it had to do with you, is that some MSC's will deduct and state that was not pertaining to your particular experience. And other MSC's will want to know that information. But, as @melg stated, it may affect your ability to do that location.

I would still contact a scheduler to let them know what happened and tell them that was how you reported it, so they can intervene with shopper status, if necessary, or provide advice for future situations like that.

I had a valet attendant once yell at me for no apparent reason besides the fact that I was stopping in the wrong parking area (which, btw, showed that the area was not properly signaled). He was pretty agressive and asked me to leave, claiming that there was no valet parking available (which was clearly not the case). I did not engage with him, and left as requested. I reported everything as it had happened, the MSC ended up approving the shop and paying me the full fee. I guess the best thing is to be honest about what happened, and then you'll see how the MSC reacts. Should they put the blame on you, well, it's up to you to decide if you want to continue working with them. I hope they won't - keep us posted when you hear back from them.

Maaaaybe the company will side with you the IC and not the employee. If the employee was seen hollering at a 2nd customer *I* would think this behaviour is something the employee does all day everyday.

I was deactivated by a mystery shopping company because I brought attention to myself during a shop. What I hadn't learned yet, as it was like the first month I had been mystery shopping, is it when you report an incident that people in the restaurant or the place that's being shopped will remember you always do it in the third person. You say that you witnessed an employee do something to a customer or say something and kind to a customer. You never identify that customer as yourself. That will get you deactivated in a heartbeat with some of these companies.

You might also look closely at the guidelines. Most of these kind of covert shops says specifically not to report anything about yourself that the people in the store will remember..

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2023 03:13AM by Morledzep.

I have seen an
Costco employee shout at a customer.
It wasn't on a shop, but if it were I would have included it in the report.

Whether you get dropped from this particular shop vs dropped by the entire mystery shop company will probably vary by whoever this comes to the attention of. It also is possible that nothing will happen to you. I have never been yelled at but have certainly reported many times about terrible service and never got cut for that. I once got dropped from all locations of a restaurant through no fault of my own. But I reported the situation and the manager told the msc he remembered me so they said I could not longer shop there as the manager knew who I was. In reality it was a pick up shop and the restaurant was backed up in the kitchen (I found out later) because a very large wedding party had decided to have lunch at this restaurant so a huge group of people were at lunch that day. I was in the parking lot waiting for my pick up to come out. I called in every 15 minutes or so to find out when it would be delivered to me. One of the times I called the manager happened to pick up the phone and I told him that I had been waiting almost an hour for my food. He never saw me, only heard my voice however when he read the report the mgr remembered the incident, so even tho he had no idea what I looked like they said I could no longer shop there or at other branches in my city. Eventually the job showed up at a different msc so I was able to shop there again. Based on my experience it becomes an issue when some person at the location says they can identify you.

I agree with Howard in not telling us details about incident. If he tells us, here on the forum, he also tells everyone else that reads the Forum and we well know that many MSC Representatives read these posts. And we are obligated to not share shop details and results with others. Confidentiality.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2023 04:32PM by sestrahelena.

I think Howard did the right thing. I also would have mentioned that I saw the same employee yell at another customer. I would NOT report in the third person because in this case he spoke to the manager, who probably will read the report. It's quite possible they have cameras and can verify a description of Howard.

I will be interested to see what the outcome is with the MSC.

PS often schedulers and help desks (if there is one) work 24/7 at home and are able to reply quickly. I would have shot them an email as soon as the incident happened, or used the contact feature on the website (if there is one), telling them in detail what happened and how you intend to write it up. It would have been better to do this right away and not after the report was submitted. Even the shortest turnaround is usually several hours.

Or they might have told you not to submit, or to reschedule.

Even if you can't contact them before submitting a report, they may be able to have the report edited if necessary. Some companies will send the report back to you for changes. Or you may have done everything correctly.

There should be instructions somewhere about what to do if you have a question about how to perform or enter the shop. When in doubt, ask the scheduler. They can find out, it may be a new issue or an easy answer.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2023 04:01PM by melg.

I had a bad experience at a shoe store shop. I tried on a few pairs if shoes as per guidelines and an employee who I later found out was a district manager told me not to make a mess, which I had not. I had my phone on record and asked her to repeat herself which she did. I apologized, finished my shop, submitted my shop, waited for it to be evaluated, and then called corporate to report this rude management person. I did nit mention this person in.my shop and I don't believe my complaint was connected to the shop as after the rotation period I was scheduled the shop again.

IMO, you should be banned for contacting the client directly.

@morocco77 wrote:

I had a bad experience at a shoe store shop. I tried on a few pairs if shoes as per guidelines and an employee who I later found out was a district manager told me not to make a mess, which I had not. I had my phone on record and asked her to repeat herself which she did. I apologized, finished my shop, submitted my shop, waited for it to be evaluated, and then called corporate to report this rude management person. I did nit mention this person in.my shop and I don't believe my complaint was connected to the shop as after the rotation period I was scheduled the shop again.

Although it can be hard to do when you have been treated rudely, I was advised years ago to leave my emotions at the door and just report what happened. It can take some doing to deadpan such, but it can be done. Don't harp on it. Just report it. Do it once, in the correct box, and in the same spirit you would report your sandwich missing a pickle, as in, it is reported, but no larger or smaller an issue than anything else on the report. Then, leave it behind, and move on to the next question.

I would have included it in the report, objectively, as it happened. Possibly with a side note to editor or scheduler that audio is available, which is legal in my state.

@HowardJuice23 wrote:

Without going into too much detail, I completed a shop at a restaurant today and was yelled at by an employee for pretty much nothing, then when I spoke to the manager she claimed I was at fault, even though she was not there when the employee yelled at me. I am a little concerned that after they see my report they will blame the situation on me and the company will not want to work with me again. I have done several shops for the company and I really like them, so I am very nervous. Has anyone run into a situation like this and if so, what was the outcome?

Just report what happened. That is what you're supposed to do.

That being said, I'm weary of doing the duck car wash shops because when I once reported argumentative behavior, I got a low grade after a few back and fourths with the person doing the grading. So yeah, I get it but I don't think my "job was on the line" with the MSC for reporting rude behavior.