Have any of you ever been exposed during the assignment?

I first realized the manager might recognize me as a shopper because she stopped by my table three times to ask about my experience. When I was on my way to the restroom, she was busy near the restroom, but as soon as she saw me, she rushed to the restroom, flushed all the toilets as I walked in, and said, 'Sometimes they don't flush properly.'

Then, on my way out, I tried to time it when she was away, but she still saw me and almost chased me to say goodbye as I was leaving.

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I feel like that sometimes, that they know I'm the shopper. But no mysteryshop company has said I've been outed.

Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching kids what counts is best.
Bob Talbert

@prince wrote:

I feel like that sometimes, that they know I'm the shopper. But no mysteryshop company has said I've been outed.

In what circumstances would they 'out' someone, I wonder? I suppose that whoever recognizes shoppers wouldn't be very upfront with the management. Otherwise, if the results were good, management might suspect they were faking it. On the other hand, if the results were bad, they might not have been so if they knew a shopper was present. Just wondering, haha.

Long before everyone carried cell phones I was in a restaurant and my handwritten guidelines fell on the floor. A waiter picked up the paper--looked at it, looked at me, looked back at the paper, and handed it over. I'm not sure with my poor handwriting if he was able to read what I had written.

@Rho* wrote:

Long before everyone carried cell phones I was in a restaurant and my handwritten guidelines fell on the floor. A waiter picked up the paper--looked at it, looked at me, looked back at the paper, and handed it over. I'm not sure with my poor handwriting if he was able to read what I had written.

haha wow, that sounds intense! did he try hard to impress you afterwards? lol

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2023 02:38AM by xynz.

Usually, if they suspect you might be a shopper, you get VERY good service. But I have been followed through grocery stores and called names by meat department associates in grocery stores because someone apparently gave them a bad review. It wasn't me.

Are you asking if I ever had a "wardrobe malfunction?" Nope. Never.

I know I've been ID'd at a gas station chain but no one has called me out. Buying a small amount of gas and a $2 drink and needing receipts for both is a dead giveaway. I am convinced that when I am in one particular small town they text each other and and send out the alert. We all play the game and everyone is happy. LOL

Another gas station chain I shop a lot has added the requirement to take photos of the fountain drink area and coolers. Yeah, no one will figure out I am MSing. *shrug*

There are many tactics businesses use to identify the shoppers, from printing out their pictures from the security camera footage and posting them for employees to see, to noting it in the computer system. There's nothing we can do about it.

Sometimes I get such good service I am CONVINCED they know I am the shopper. Then I remember I'm not on a shop and have never shopped that location before.

Many years ago when doing Applebees I am sure that the manager knew I was a shopper. He visited our table several times, even delivered our entrees and returned to check if the server was doing a good job. The food and service were always great.

I got busted at a Texas Roadhouse. My receipt had "Lee Shopper" as my name. Not sure what happened... maybe I stared at the name tag too long. The MSC accepted my report, but didn't allow me to return to the location for several years.

Have synthesizers, will travel...

Back in the day when Maritz had a certain bank client that you could visit over and over again with different scenarios, I went into one bank and was greeted by a banker yelling across the entire lobby, "Oh, it's you again! They really need to change it up. We know you as soon as you walk in the door." Everyone laughed and I had a very informative conversation with him. He was great. I stopped doing that location for a long time.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

Since they added the cooler requirement, its just another fake conversation with my spouse on the phone.

A couple times over the years. Most employees who figure it out and know the drill tend to milk the shoppers to ace the reports. That is fine with me, we all do our jobs, and I don't out them for clearly knowing either. I've only had a couple that seemed problematic over the years, in such cases, I contact the scheduler.

One was a favorite restaurant and I hated to see it go, but it hit a point where I knew that they knew who I was. The scheduler said that I was the only shopper they had in the area, so that was that on that one. A couple years later, I ran into one of the then former servers. Since it was now long gone for us both, she excitedly asked if I was the shopper. Yep, I confessed, and we both had a good laugh. I loved their restaurant and being as they knew who I was, they loved my glowing reports, and I always got the absolute best of food and service. At its most basic, a mystery shop is a QA assignment, and there is not a thing wrong with acing a QA. That one was good times for us all.

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
"Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln

Oh, I was doing a McDonalds shop 185 miles from home. When she brought my order out, it was wrong, and I had to have it corrected. I heard her telling another worker, in horrified tones: “Oh, no! I just messed up the mystery shopper’s order!”

Oh, yes!

It was one of those testing center shops. All was well and I almost finished. Then, the proctor-in-charge overheard me giving an excuse when another proctor discovered the piece of paper I sneaked into the testing room. The proctor-in-charge flew into a rage and told the other proctor -- in front of me! -- that I was the mystery shopper. He then refused to speak to me.

Let's just say I earned every penny of that fee!

A lot of times I might initially feel like they know, but then realize they don't after some misses on their part.

I used to do a lot of "Trendy" Applebee's shops a long time ago. One time I was with a large group of friends and it was decided to go to Applebee's for a night out. While I was sitting at a table with my friends, a server came over to me and asked, "Are you shopping me today?"

Yes, the funniest was at the House of the Mouse. At one point we had to ask these stupid questions and one of the old guys who drove maybe the Fire Truck, realized it immediately and ran around and whispered to some of the other old guys. I had to tell the scheduler so those had to be reshopped. I'm also pretty sure that one of the on floor assistants (when they had them) knew who I was, whenever I shopped her venue she would make a beeline for me. I think she knew that I knew that she knew....it worked out well for both of us.

I used to try to save the stupid question for the end of shop. One of the pin carts, the guy realized it only then, but we were already walking away. He practically chased us, trying to upsell a lanyard or something. LOL...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2023 02:46AM by melg.

@callinectes wrote:

I know I've been ID'd at a gas station chain but no one has called me out. Buying a small amount of gas and a $2 drink and needing receipts for both is a dead giveaway. I am convinced that when I am in one particular small town they text each other and and send out the alert. We all play the game and everyone is happy. LOL

Another gas station chain I shop a lot has added the requirement to take photos of the fountain drink area and coolers. Yeah, no one will figure out I am MSing. *shrug*

Yes, I hate that! It seems that every time I do one the store isn't busy and an employee is tidying in the drink/food area either in front of the drinks, and I am pointing my camera at them, or in back of me and are able to see my phone screen!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2023 12:21AM by bradkcrew.

I had a strange interaction recently. I was doing a bar sit and a dinner shop. One of the hot points is whether they ask for your loyalty card when you pay. I cashed out at the bar and was seated in the restaurant, which is a completely different area. After about 15 minutes the bartender came in and said he was closing out his tabs and realized he had not asked me if I had a loyalty card! It was just so weird, but I didn't change the report regardless.

I did a car shop where they needed to give you trade in on your car. Since I was waiting, I sat on a couch with a wall behind me, and started typing a report for another mystery shop on my phone. Some how, they came up to me later and told me I was a mystery shopper. I denied it. I'm not sure how they knew what I was typing or what gave it away.

I think the only time I ever really felt outed was the Blaze pizza shops and you had to take a picture of the box. Now, I'll take pictures of food all day every day just for fun, but the box? OUTED.
Yesterday, I had a recorded phone call for a sauna. I asked the difference in their saunas. They are infrared. I did not give her my name or any identifying info. When I played back the call for the report at the end, you hear her say something like, "If we hadn't had a mystery shopper, I would think that call was one." What the heck? I feel like it's a super valid question actually. She did hit EVERY SINGLE MARK.

I always look to see where the security cameras are, but some are hidden. One car dealership has signs that they are watching, even though I did not see any visible cameras.

@Niner wrote:

I did a car shop where they needed to give you trade in on your car. Since I was waiting, I sat on a couch with a wall behind me, and started typing a report for another mystery shop on my phone. Some how, they came up to me later and told me I was a mystery shopper. I denied it. I'm not sure how they knew what I was typing or what gave it away.

10. 23

Little Caesars, about 8 yrs ago.

2 states later, i might re start them.

I use a lot of my own abbreviations and a lot of medicalease i learned in nursing.

Tacky.

Should play dumb, but email corporate

@callinectes wrote:

Another gas station chain I shop a lot has added the requirement to take photos of the fountain drink area and coolers. Yeah, no one will figure out I am MSing. *shrug*

Ah yes, the chain that used to be Kangaroo Express. Did one today. Luckily they were super busy and I was able to get the photos without, I think, being noticed. Because at this one, the fountain area is right smack next to the counter.

I think a manager at an Arby's sussed me out once. It was with the old MSC and you had to ask a really ridiculous scripted question about the LTO sandwich. The manager was working the register and I had to ask him what kind of cheese was in the LTO. NOBODY asks that FFS but that was what was in the script. He virtually spat the right answer at me and stared daggers through me. He had been fine up to that point. Pretty sure he knew.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2023 03:19AM by KokoBWare.

There is a car wash assignment asking for the make and model of your car. The Chrysler oil change shops have shoppers flagged, so when you return, they will stall you with a three hour plus wait time while giving obvious bs excuses for the delay.

@Arch Stanton wrote:

The Chrysler oil change shops have shoppers flagged, so when you return, they will stall you with a three hour plus wait time while giving obvious bs excuses for the delay.

Flagged how? That hasn't been my experience at all. There was one place where I had a three-hour wait on my first visit. Against my better judgment, I went there again about 6 months later. Wait time was an hour, tops.

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