@Arch Stanton wrote:

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.

Why would they do that at Chrysler out of curiosity? Anyway, I do them once in awhile and they do always take forever, lol, but I just assumed they were terrible.

Can you call the day ahead and make an appointment for the Chrysler oil changes?

Chrysler has no way of knowing if you are a mystery shopper unless you tell them, or act a fool and ask stupid questions. My son does the shops because it's a perfectly acceptable way to get a regular oil change on my awful Jeep for free.

If they get weird about him taking pictures he shows them all of the views his pics get on Google maps, he tells them that he's a local guide on Google, he leaves pictures and honest reviews on Google for every business he visits. So no one is any wiser that he's also taking pictures for mystery shops. He even voluntarily shows them the pictures and reviews he's posted on Google. Lots of restaurants offer him free or discounted food after he shows them what he's done for them.

@wrosie wrote:

Can you call the day ahead and make an appointment for the Chrysler oil changes"?

"
The ones I do are so called "Express Lane" so no.

@Morledzep wrote:

Chrysler has no way of knowing if you are a mystery shopper unless you tell them, or act a fool and ask stupid questions. My son does the shops because it's a perfectly acceptable way to get a regular oil change on my awful Jeep for free.

If they get weird about him taking pictures he shows them all of the views his pics get on Google maps, he tells them that he's a local guide on Google, he leaves pictures and honest reviews on Google for every business he visits. So no one is any wiser that he's also taking pictures for mystery shops. He even voluntarily shows them the pictures and reviews he's posted on Google. Lots of restaurants offer him free or discounted food after he shows them what he's done for them.

Hmm...I have been doing the Chrysler oil changes for well over a decade and there has never been a photo of any kind. There must be more than one MSC that does them.

Brad,

The one my son does requires a picture of the drive up lane, and of course, the paperwork and receipt. I don't work for that company anymore..

Since Covid none of the Chryslers near me have offered an express lane, so I just get approval from the scheduler to make an appointment. I still have to wait for hours. Luckily they have wifi so I just bring my laptop and do reports or other non-MS work.

@Morledzep wrote:

Chrysler has no way of knowing if you are a mystery shopper unless you tell them, or act a fool and ask stupid questions. My son does the shops because it's a perfectly acceptable way to get a regular oil change on my awful Jeep for free.

I vaguely recall another post about a year ago that made a similar claim about Chrysler "flagging" shoppers. It didn't have any more substantiating evidence than the recent one, which is to say, none. I suspect it was the same poster but don't remember.

@NinS wrote:

Since Covid none of the Chryslers near me have offered an express lane, so I just get approval from the scheduler to make an appointment. I still have to wait for hours. Luckily they have wifi so I just bring my laptop and do reports or other non-MS work.

Actually you don't need scheduler approval anymore. The questionnaire asks if you had to make an appointment. If so, you explain why in the narrative.

@Morledzep wrote:

Brad,

The one my son does requires a picture of the drive up lane, and of course, the paperwork and receipt. I don't work for that company anymore..

Yes, they want a drive-up lane photo and up to 2 photos of the invoice.

Is there a reason you don't work with the MSC anymore? They've always been upfront and great with me, with the exception of one scheduler who can be a little wonky.

Koko, I'll tell you in private, not on the forum, if you're really curious.

Yes, a whopper. It was at a casino. A 2-person shop, stopping at a restaurant for a meal, drinks at the slots, and one of the card tables. The payout was $90 (2016) plus up to $100 in gambling money, and all meals and drinks reimbursed.

We got there, did all the things one by one. Spent about $90 gambling, another $75 on the meal, plus another $30-40 on drinks. Each time I had an interaction, I surreptitiously recorded it on my phone for later review. We were there for at least three hours. After one of the last interactions, someone behind us informed them that I was using my phone to record, and then she walked away. The person I was talking to told me that it was ILLEGAL to record anything inside of a casino (not only did I not know this, but the shop instructions specifically told me to record everything), and they made me delete all of the recordings one by one. Then they said they were getting the police to arrest me. Serious suspicion and worry on their part. I immediately said, "No, wait, I'm a mystery shopper! I have to record these interactions!" They were still suspicious, but thankfully let me go.

I did the evaluation anyway (doing my best to remember the details of the interactions that had been deleted), and submitted my receipts, noting that I'd had to reveal myself to one person due to not wanting to go to jail, but that no one else knew it. They immediately removed me from the project and banned me from ever doing casino shops again. Not only did I not get the $90, but I also lost the hundreds we had spent on food, drinks, and gambling.

You were definitely made lol.

Once after I checked the restroom at Five Guys. But then I adjusted my fly and all was good.

At my local Edo, I feel like they know. They are so welcoming and always come to my table.
They are very welcoming to everyone, but it seems excessive towards me. ???

Gosh, I sure hope not. I have a feeling I might be one of the only folks in my area (city of about 50k, MSA of 170k, so not huge) doing Five Guys. I have all sorts of tactics to avoid detection and use every single one of them when shopping Five Guys, lest I actually be the only shopper in a four county radius doing it.

One time I was doing a shop and I got a giant rip down the rear end side of my pants. But I was wearing boxers so I don't guess I was truly exposed.

@thunderdeacon
Were your boxers the same colour as your pants? (Like baseball umps)

I've done these types and repeat the same stores. I'm crafty when taking the cooler fountain drink photos. Just make sure the staff are busy with customers and try to have a display in the line of sight. I worried about it when I first did them because I was in the store longer.

Part of me wants to ask you how you know that! I think they were dark blue and my pants were brown.

@prince wrote:

@thunderdeacon
Were your boxers the same colour as your pants? (Like baseball umps)

During the Porsche Service video route, we were each loaned a Porsche to drive our routes. The mechanics were rumored to put a big note on the underside of the chassis that said “MYSTERY SHOPPER VEHICLE” to alert each other.

I busted them by asking nicely “Can I see my Panamera on the lift? I’d love to learn everything I can” and yes there was indeed a painted note on mine. I stood there glaring at the shop manager as he removed it. I notified the MSC and our Porsche liaison, who both said to continue the video route but to check the underside at every opportunity.

I suspect Texas Roadhouse has my phone number flagged as a shopper. When I have to call to get on the call-ahead seating list, they suddenly become much nicer once they enter my phone number. But then, I don't always get stellar service in the restaurant, so perhaps not.

I sometimes wonder about Wells Fargo because I'm sure they all think I'm Wendy Whiner for as many complaints as I seem to have. Same with the Samsung selfie shops - because, gee, turning your back to a cell phone store to take a selfie isn't suspicious at all. -eyeroll-

The only time I know for a fact I was made was at a storage place a couple of hours from home. The guy said, "Are you doing any other SHOPPING today?" It was one where I had to reveal myself after the fact, so I wasn't overly worried about it. I never figured out how he knew, though.

The shop company it's self outted me. There is no other possible explanation. The store employee called me and apologized for the poor service. How on earth would he have gotten my name or phone number. He didn't say he knew I was a shooter but they had to have given him my name and number and said I wasn't happy.

My grandson was told that at his umpire training.

@thunderdeacon wrote:

Part of me wants to ask you how you know that! I think they were dark blue and my pants were brown.

@prince wrote:

@thunderdeacon
Were your boxers the same colour as your pants? (Like baseball umps)

Ha Ha, I was waiting for someone to answer the question the OP raised. Thanks DRJ. I only have had recorder malfunctions, never a wardrobe malfunction on a mystery shop.

@DRJ wrote:

Once after I checked the restroom at Five Guys. But then I adjusted my fly and all was good.

@whosear wrote:

I've done these types and repeat the same stores. I'm crafty when taking the cooler fountain drink photos. Just make sure the staff are busy with customers and try to have a display in the line of sight. I worried about it when I first did them because I was in the store longer.

The first one I did, I made it take longer than it should have because I was nervous about those photos because there were so many customers around. Now, I duck down behind a display as if I am looking at a product or tying my shoe, then snap, snap, snap. Last time I even did it when an employee was restocking the coolers. I just waited til she stepped out of the way, bent down to "tie" my shoe, then snapped away. I'm actually heading out this evening to do one of these. I hope I've not just jinxed myself by talking about it. LOL