Have you ever been mystery shopped?

March 03, 2024 12:00AM

Every once in a while, I help out a local restaurant on the weekends. Well this weekend I was there working...

Around lunch time, I had this customer come up to the counter and order.. After he order, I asked him if he wanted to make it a combo meal.. I always ask this question.. He decided to make it a combo meal..

I made his meal very quickly.. He paid me and I gave him his change back.. I asked him if he needed his receipt.. I always ask this question.. He said yes... I gave him is receipt. I gave him his food and I thanked him for his visit and i told him Have a great day.

When he approached the counter, he had his cell phone out down by his side and I notice he had the camera app ready. He then started to take pictures.. (After he order) He was about to leave and he came back. Lucky, I was still at the counter and I asked him if he needed anything else and he remember he needed a few more pictures.

About 10 minutes later my GM came in and I told her that I think we were just mystery shopped.. Then about 10 minutes later, I texted my DM and I told her I think we were mystery shopped.. She asked me, how did it go. I told her that, I think it went very well. I asked her when we know how we did and she said in about a couple of days.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2024 12:07AM by Isaiah4031a.

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March 03, 2024 01:12AM

I can't know for sure, of course, but I don't think I've ever been mystery-shopped. That's largely because I never worked at a place that was likely to be shopped.

March 03, 2024 01:16AM

I've worked several places in the past that could have been shopped, but I don't think I ever was shopped.

Shopping Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi.

March 03, 2024 01:19AM

I should have asked him, "Are you one of those Mystery Shopper People"?

I know a-lot of employees get upset when people come in and start taking pictures and stuff. Other than taking his order and checking him out, I did not ask him what he was doing or anything like that. I just let him do his thing..

March 03, 2024 01:34AM

No, you should not have asked him that.

March 03, 2024 01:39AM

Sorry for the triple post.. My internet was acting funny.

Don't worry I didn't ask him that

March 03, 2024 03:16AM

Yes I was
First time I was filling in for a cashier at my Fathers Drug Store on a weekend. He was annoyed that a regular employee wasn't evaluated.
Next time I was at a part time job and someone asked me about a custom drapery rod display that had been gathering dust for years in a corner. I told person that no one had ever expressed interest let alone bought those rods and steered her to something decent instead. Manager went over report with me and I was reprimanded for not talking up a dusty product. These days I would be alerted to think "Mystery Shopper" if someone asked about something no one else ever was interested in.

March 03, 2024 05:23AM

I know I've been shopped, but I'm not sure if it was by a third party IC, or somebody who was an in-house mystery shopper. I worked at a Beall's clothing store from '89-'93, and I remember the manager going over results with me at least once. I never got canned, so I must not have flubbed it too badly.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown

March 03, 2024 05:29AM

When I worked at JIB there were rumors of mystery shoppers.. They said they go through the drive thru and order a jumbo jack, fries and a drink. and they take the temperatures of the food before they eat it. But that was in the 1970's. And I only worked there for 2 weeks.

March 04, 2024 01:29AM

@Morledzep wrote:

When I worked at JIB there were rumors of mystery shoppers.. They said they go through the drive thru and order a jumbo jack, fries and a drink. and they take the temperatures of the food before they eat it. But that was in the 1970's. And I only worked there for 2 weeks.

I know at one time Starbucks was mystery shopped.. If I remember right, you had to take the temperature of the drink?

March 05, 2024 03:59AM

I was mystery shopped at Best Buy twice. I got a score of 100 both times. My scores were even higer than the manager's score.

March 05, 2024 05:10AM

@Isaiah4031a wrote:

@Morledzep wrote:

When I worked at JIB there were rumors of mystery shoppers.. They said they go through the drive thru and order a jumbo jack, fries and a drink. and they take the temperatures of the food before they eat it. But that was in the 1970's. And I only worked there for 2 weeks.

I know at one time Starbucks was mystery shopped.. If I remember right, you had to take the temperature of the drink?

You also had to weigh the drink. I still have one of the two scales that they sent me. I got it around 2001-2003 I think?

March 05, 2024 02:28PM

Not mystery shopped per se, but when I worked at a mall Guest Services desk my boss sent one of his friends by to ask a question. The next time I saw him he complimented me on my customer skills.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

March 05, 2024 08:31PM

People taking pictures of food in the 1970s? So...they must have been using old style cameras....dead giveaway I would think right there.

March 06, 2024 01:40AM

I was an investment advisor in another life and was shopped. It was obvious, and the shopper was cagey and didn't want to give much detail about herself.

Fast forward a week or so. I'm picking up my husband from work and see her walking out of his office at the same time he left. Turns out, she worked for him! I mentioned to him that she had shopped me the week prior and the first name she had given me matched (she had made up a fake last name). He told her the next day that I had seen her when picking him up and recognized her. She was bummed that she would not be able to shop that client any longer since she had been clocked.

Doing assignments since the days when reports were handwritten and faxed to the MSC.

March 06, 2024 01:56AM

I was shopped while working the front counter of an A&W over 20 years ago. The only thing I was marked down for was not asking if they wanted to upsize their combo.
I had never heard of mystery shopping before that.

A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.

March 06, 2024 11:34AM

When I worked at Hardees in the 90's, we would be shopped. We figured out who it was because after the meal he would go through the drive thru for an ice cream cone.

March 06, 2024 12:52PM

taking temperatures, not pictures

March 10, 2024 01:17PM

i was mystery shopped at walgreens in 2008 when i was a stockboy there, and ended up winning employee of the month with a plaque and everything lol. i was trying to figure out why the heck i won employee of the month, and they told me it was due to that.

March 10, 2024 02:24PM

I don't think I've ever been mystery shopped,.

I do know that mystery shopping has made me more in tune with the service I am provided. Mystery shop or not. And it has made me more tolerant towards the service people I interact with. Good or bad.

Sometimes when I get shitty service I think. "I wish this was a shop".

March 10, 2024 09:03PM

We were shopped monthly at Charter/Spectrum Cable. We were given a "coaching" if we didn't score a 95 or better, and got nice rewards points (redeemable for retail gift cards) if we hit 100%, which never happened in our city. Even with cheat sheets that were reviewed regularly, we couldn't possibly cover all of the bullet points we were supposed to bring up during the customer interaction (because you'll never know which particular service upgrade they are supposed to listen for). People would run screaming if they had to listen to us pitch all the upsells that were available to them when all they wanted was to drop off a payment.
There was an orphan office in a town of 5,000 that was fifty miles from nowhere that routinely hit 100% and we suspected it was always the same shopper giving that one person office all the love.
However, our store always hit goals and looked clean and sparkly, so we didn't get yelled at.

March 10, 2024 10:22PM

I remember this one, too. So long ago!

March 11, 2024 11:58AM

I have never been mystery shopped, but recently my husband was. He is now retired and working at a hotel part time as a valet. I have never done a valet shop, but I have warned my husband that if anything ever seems a little off with a customer, it could be a mystery shopper. I have shopped for over 20 years and he has been with me on shops throughout the years. That all being said, my husband thought he had been shopped then later found out that he got a 100% on his scorecard and received a $50 bonus! Apparently he picked up on the shopper's "dumb" question.

March 11, 2024 12:37PM

@gigishopper wrote:

Apparently he picked up on the shopper's "dumb" question.

Disclaimer - I am not proud of this and I have not done this in over two decades.

When I first started shopping would skip the dumb questions and just give the employees perfect scores, making up answers that sounded legitimate and covered the company bases. I’m sure the employees were scratching their heads wondering who did the shop as my interactions with the employee were very brief and not memorable.

I also had a boss at a grocery store that signed up for the company that shopped us and would shop out store and rhe neighboring store. He would give us great scores and them low scores.

March 11, 2024 04:08PM

I am pretty sure that I have, but I was too busy doing my job that I did not notice

March 11, 2024 04:13PM

I feel if the employee is doing their job correctly, they should get high marks and not worry if they are getting shopped.

April 07, 2024 04:51AM

Years ago, I worked at McDonald's. I always worked customer service but this one day, my manager decided to start training me with the food. I failed our mystery shop who came through the drive thru because i made their big Mac wrong. Not just messing up the condiments (did that right)... I forgot a burger patty on it. Lol.

April 09, 2024 01:51AM

(I won't go more into detail as you all won't believe me lol). YES "back in the day" when I owned a business......yes we recognized a shopper. And obviously we tried to do a good job anyways BUT multiple times - she would NOT give us perfect scores which is what was required and this despite us going above and beyond- giving her extra perks. Finally we asked her - why not perfect???? She said "I dont believe anything is perfect so I can't give anyone a perfect". OK. well my managers told me literally "you dont know anything about this.....go to lunch next time she's here". Anyhow, we NEVER saw her again after one more visit.

Apparently, our RECEIPT wasn't able to be printed. She said she'd wait and we told her after 1 hour that "the darn computer guy" isn't coming for a few days. We offered a hand written receipt on a piece of loose-leaf paper

. Bottom line: Ya think she got paid OR reimbursed for that?

. Never saw her again. And FWIW - we had repeat customers up the wazoo - replete with Christmas food and gifts from customers every year so not like we were a crappy business. I admit, I love this story way more than I should :_) LOL now I shop. Geez.

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