There's currently a shop where one has to walk into a bank and ask to set up a phone appointment with an investment banker. That's totally normal behavior and not at all obvious that one is doing a mystery shop. /s

My spouse always says all mystery shops are stupid. Sometimes shops such as this one prove that point.

I actually did one lol. Not difficult but yes, mega-awkward. They want you to ask for a paper appointment confirmation too. The banker looked at me like I had three heads.

And when you don't take the appointment they'll "follow up" unto eternity. Won't do another.

I've had some pretty odd ones along the way as well. Although sometimes I miss, I try to avoid the ones that have you ask something or behave in a way/do things that a normal customer just plain would not. My area is just not that large, and I would just as soon not be known as the local mystery shopper. Such as that is a sure way to get outed.

I too live in a fairly small area and want to stay under the radar, especially since I have a 9-5 job with some low-level local recognition. That's why I will never do a revealed audit. Anyway, I definitely won't be doing this one, With my luck someone I know would be working and they would no I have no need for an investment banker. LMAO

@GinnyLynn wrote:

I've had some pretty odd ones along the way as well. Although sometimes I miss, I try to avoid the ones that have you ask something or behave in a way/do things that a normal customer just plain would not. My area is just not that large, and I would just as soon not be known as the local mystery shopper. Such as that is a sure way to get outed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2023 06:10PM by callinectes.

I did an account opening shop at a local bank- I believe it is the one with the make an appt as listed above. In the course of opening the account, the banker saw that in the past my mother had a large account with my name on it. It was quite large in the 7 figures and apparently I was flagged on the bank records as high net worth. The banker asked me some questions and told me I had to see the investment specialist- I was not wanting to see this investment guru who was half my son's age who told me about all the great ideas he had for my investments as he graduated from college the month before and was so skilled in investing. . I wanted to scream and run out of the bank at the same time. It was SOOOO uncomfortable!. I am not doing any more account opening shops at this bank as I do not think they took my high net worth icon off their records. The assets were taken from the bank and invested elsewhere but they still think I am high net worth,

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2023 06:53PM by Fatlady.

It is funny but every time someone on the forum poses what seems to be a stupid question that they think will out them someone else says they do this all the time. I live in a large city so I do not need to worry about someone knowing my financial affairs. However over the past few years it has gotten harder and harder to even find a phone number to call somewhere for help. When I call a bank they always want to know my acct number and blood type before they will put me through. I often wonder how someone wanting to open a first acct there manages to even find out their hours without looking online. And generally if I call my branch the phone call gets put through to someone in another country at an 800 number. I have actually thought at times it would be easier to just go over to the xxx than try to get them on the phone.
So if you are doing this job you can say you keep calling and get a busy signal or the 800 number or your internet is out or you lost your phone or whatever that makes you feel comfortable. But to me walking in somewhere in my big city is sometimes much easier than contacting them on the phone or figuring out what the inconsistent info on their website
means.
I do "complaint" phone calls around the country for one bank with lots of shops. Last week I called a branch in a very small town in Montana. I felt like I was on the set of the old show "Cheers" where everyone knows your name. So refreshing. The person i spoke with told me xxxx (first name ) was out to lunch, but both xxx and the other banker yyy (first name) would both be there in the afternoon. I was transported back to 1970 big city USA where people actually answer the phone when it rings in companies vs 2023 where the faq's online only have 5 of the thousands of situations someone might have to ask about and they do not even share their phone number. I almost never think these scenarios are going to out me.

Oh I did some of those bank complaint shops. I really thought it was silly complaining about no computer for customers in the branch, or branch hours being too short or something else trivial then asking that
my complaint be escalated. I always felt weird doing those shops no matter where I was calling.

I did a jewelry store one and they wanted me to take pics of the sales woman inside. I did, but how do they not know? It just seems like I'm harassing/creepin' the poor person trying to work.

You need to think outside the box a bit and try to put yourself in someone else's shoes to come up with a scenario. In real life, not a shop, I found that my recently opened checking acct (for a shop) did not allow for me to have an online account and they were also not sending me paper statements. I had to keep calling to find out my balance. And I asked each person I spoke with if there was any way I could fix the issue. The issue for me is that I do not want to give out my cell phone number for double security as I do not use my cell often and it is a pain to go look for it and turn it on every time I want to sign in. My email is open and my home phone is 2 inches away. That is my real life issue in addition to my quest to make sure certain populations are not excluded from dealing with public companies. This and other companies I deal with have also had a cell number as the only method to verify who you are. I also like to exaggerate a bit when I call (not on a shop) to "complain" about these issues in order to make my point. And I so ask for escalation althou not using that word. So for these calls for personal reasons, not a shop I explain that only 85% of the population (I looked it up) has a cell phone so that leaves out 15% who might want an online account at their bank (or whatever type of company it is), also that many older people only know how to call their grandchildren on a cell and have trouble with anything else. I even threw in the notion that they may have criminals who use throw away phones so they do not have a consistent cell number but may still need a bank account but the cell number listed is no longer good as they threw that cell into a trash can or the ocean. Even you lost your charger and your phone does not always work. Sometimes I feel making an extreme case will not only lighten up the conversation but get the other person thinking. In any case if you think about challenges others may have with certain rules then you can walk in their shoes while using that scenario or you can say you were with your gram who has an account but cannot access it due to being non technological...but gram does have an email acct she knows how to use as email accts have been around since gram was much younger.
Anyway for those who feel squeamish about "silly" scenarios there is an out. In the grocery you can ask all sorts of questions about a veggie you never cooked before or about meat you are buying for a family member even tho you yourself do not eat meat. Granted this is hard in a small town where they may know you but to me those difficulties are counter balanced by small town opportunities to get large bonuses, something we do not usually have here.
If all else fails, thank you all for leaving me more opportunities to call the bank about failed systems.
By the way in the past month I have had three different large national companies add a choice of an email or home phone as the way to prove identity. Just by asking and explaining.

I also get frustrated when my bank wants to send me a verification code on my phone to use online banking. I use two banks, and have mostlky stopped using the one that wants the code. I don't have my phone attached to my hip, and it is annoting. My biggest beef is with Google, who pretty much decided if you lose your phone number for any reason you might also lose access to your account permanently.

Oh, don't even get me started on those verification codes! I'm so tired of that crap. Really. And even for the stupidest non-secure accounts like Panda Express or Canes. What, somebody's gonna steal my bonus points? I believe it is a money maker for some industry because it is completely unnecessary. Jeez, even my bank thinks I'm a fraud because I cleared my cache. They need to stop.

And I really do not think the cell phone is all that secure. One of my kids leaves it laying around in public places sometimes or at a friends house where there are other friends of friends she does not know. she may set it down on a table somewhere and then go to the other room. One of those strangers could just pick it up while it is still within the "live" period, click on on of her apps that are "open" and order get into her accounts or apps that are openable with just a click. Personally I think my email is more secure esp if I am at home and no one else is around.