I have been doing mystery shops from most of the MSC for the past year or so. I fell back on grabbing some of my favorite stores for a while as I was in a rhythm with another MSC, doing routes and such with them. Recently things slowed up so I decided to grab some of the local gas shops.

More than one of the store owners remembered me, which made me think I have blown my cover locally. I honestly don't like doing shops close to my place too much, unless it's completely a non revealed shop.
A few of the clerks and store owners here are friendly with me anyway. More than one of them told me that they know exactly who the mystery shoppers are and there are only two regulars, myself and another shopper.

All of the store workers that I have talked to about this person have had serious problems with them. This is not the first time that I was asked about "the other auditor" that does all the stores in my area, but since I started going out again, it surprised me to hear the same complaints.

They really don't like this auditor and the stories I have heard from these managers are kind of nuts.

The auditor has been known to not only stand behind the register while doing audits (which I can't imagine why this would even be necessary) but to harass the clerks in all kinds of off the script ways.

One manger told me they have sent several complaints to both their regional teams and local reps about this shopper, asking for them not to come back. This store manager also knew which companies were assigning the audits, calling one of them by name which surprised me. he said the auditor reveals themselves for non-reveal audits, (the small fee ones) He said it feels like the auditor has it out for one of the cashiers, as they have had numerous incidents.

It was said that this auditor asked the clerk for an explanation on items on sale, discount amounts for using gas card, and other questions that I have never seen on a report. Manager told me that auditor is known for hanging around the store for hours during an audit.

All the store workers gave me a detailed description on who this auditor is and one showed me a screenshot of the auditor. Another store manager said the auditor called the store one night, demanding the name of the person who was working the previous shift, which upset the manager.

Have any of you run into a similar situation? Should I be sending someone an email? Normally I stay all the way out of the way with this kind of stuff, but this is a lot. I got three complaints about this person in two days of work.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2023 05:06AM by canhead.

You don't know the other side of the story. If they truly are as bad as they say, they should go through the proper channels and complain to the MSC or their gas supplier. Personally I would not get involved at all, and would try to limit further conversations with the store personnel on this topic. For all we know, the ones who act friendly to us turn around and talk trash about us to other auditors.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2023 02:32AM by mystery2me.

Wow, that's pretty bad.

I remember some MS companies would hire shoppers to evaluate other shoppers, especially those doing non-shopping work like soliciting customer interviews outside stores. (Asking customers leaving a store if they'd be willing to answer some questions...)

The shopper doing the interviews would be quietly observed by another shopper, I guess to make sure they were actually present, or that they were approaching customers appropriately. That's the only example I'm aware of, and it's not even close to the situation you are describing.

You might want to ask the program supervisor how to handle it. That miscreant shopper may be doing more than just damaging the MS company's reputation.

I have had managers make comments about previous auditors to an extent, usually just griping about one or two mark offs. Have never heard it to the extent you experienced though. I do agree with mystery2me, though, that this station needs to file a compliant with the MSC or their supplier. If they really are going behind the counter, then it's on camera, and that should be good enough to support any such complaint.

I’ve had gas station employees at multiple stations in my area tell me that the “other regular auditor” hands them his tablet, then pours himself a coffee and goes outside to his vehicle smoke a cigarette - while the station employee fills out the entire survey, including the photos.

This has been going on for years. I tried contacting the project manager at the MSC, but never heard back. I honestly don’t think they would care.

Sounds like the shopper/auditor is on a power trip.

But I agree with the others, it's not your job to help the stations enter a dispute. And as mentioned above, what if what you're being told is incorrect? That would put you in a bad spot.

Playing devil's advocate here. There have been times I have checked out and asked why I had not been given the sale price. There is a particular shop where we are required to ask about cents off per gallon. There have been a few times where I have asked permission to go behind the counter to take a quick look at the brochure display. There have been times I have parked at a station in an out-of-the way place for a while after a shop to do reports, book a room, or schedule more shops. There have been times I have had clerks seemed annoyed at questions I am required to ask, questions which were temporary and may no longer be part of the requirements. There have been clerks who were hositile or dismissive to me despite my best efforts to be courteous. When I started there was a time or two I forgot to write down the clerk's name and called to politely ask. If a manger calls me or sees me taking photos on a non-revealed audit, have I really revealed myself?

@ColoKate63 wrote:

I’ve had gas station employees at multiple stations in my area tell me that the “other regular auditor” hands them his tablet, then pours himself a coffee and goes outside to his vehicle smoke a cigarette - while the station employee fills out the entire survey, including the photos.

This has been going on for years. I tried contacting the project manager at the MSC, but never heard back. I honestly don’t think they would care.

Wow. I mean....damn. If that's true and he is getting away with it, I kind of want to salute him! He is playing chess while we out here playing checkers.

Please be careful. Someone might want to catch you gossiping, get your sympathy for their store's issues, derail your work plan, or just vent. When this has happened to me, I never believed it or disbelieved it. I said something benign, such as that I did not know anything about other persons. Even if their story about that other person were true, you would need to focus on the current visit and let the client deal with the MSC if they identified a need to report the other representative. (Once, when I was refreshing materials during a merchandising gig, a person whom I felt was a spy remarked loudly enough for me to hear that I was messing with stuff. Messing? When did merchandising become messing? The kernel of truth is that sometimes a temporary mess is made when removing the old in order to place the new. But that is not the end of the job. The old materials are then cleared away and disposed of as per client instructions.) What is a possible kernel of truth in the tale that a location employee told to the OP regarding another representative? Could it be purchase of self-service beverage before returning to their vehicle and then, for some survey-specific reason, handing the device to the employee to obtain a verification or signature? (I have had employees print/sign their name on my device for some merchandising gigs. I do not know the specifics of the OP's gig.)

@Shop-et-al wrote:

"Even if their story about that other person were true, you would need to focus on the current visit and let the client deal with the MSC if they identified a need to report the other representative."

The only thing is...this happens alot. If it were just one store, I wouldn't think twice. But this happened at two different shop in one week and has happened several times before.

I wasn't even working one of the locations, I went in there as a customer and saw an employee that was working the day before, at another location that I audited. Like I said, I feel like I have blown my cover in my area. Soon as I walked in, he recognized me and thought I was auditing him. We started talking and he brought up the other auditor.

"Could it be purchase of self-service beverage before returning to their vehicle and then, for some survey-specific reason, handing the device to the employee to obtain a verification or signature?"

This could be true. I don't remember ever having to do this for a survey but anything is possible.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2023 05:03AM by canhead.

I've had owners of stations follow me around. I had one last week follow me into the restroom, and every step I took every time I took a picture he asked me if everything was okay.

There is another owner of a different station that remembers me every time I come in, and he lets me know what it is I need to complain about so that he can get it fixed, because the audits are the only thing that the company pays attention to to get repairs done. At least that's what he says, and every time I complain about the things that he wants fixed the next time I'm in the store they are fixed.

I think it really just depends on the stations, and the owners or the management of the stations. The owners and the managers of the stations know how to put an end to that type of abuse, they let it go on. That means that you are probably the only person who is hearing about the things that the other auditor is doing, the client isn't hearing it, and the MSC doesn't care if the client doesn't tell them about it.

I have also had gas station managers complain that the other auditor berates the staff for things that are missed, and comes in already wearing their vest and starts taking photos before completing the "mystery" shop portion. I would hope that the MSP would remove bad shoppers if multiple stations report this type of behavior. It makes the MSP look bad to have unprofessional auditors.

I have always thought of such situations as a test of us. If I were a betting person, I would bet that we are being tested. Are we tactful, on task, aware of our surroundings, etc.?

I did a new-to-me station last year, which requires a mystery portion and a reveal. I made the purchase and then presented the LOA. The clerk looked at me a little puzzled, saying he had worked there for years and the other shoppers had always finished the outside portion first before coming inside.

I would advise them to contact whoever is on the LOA in corporate and not get involved. Tell them we're all independent and that individual might not even work through the same contracting company, but reiterate that you have no connection to that other auditor.