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No more Verizon stores for me.

August 24, 2024 10:35PM
Got spotted as the mystery shopper in a Verizon store, I was spotted because of the number of times I had been in the store. Even though I had spoken to different employees. It seems the manager owns 2 Verizon stores and spotted me in both stores. There are shops from the MSC that allows you to go to the same store twice a month, as long as it's not for the same phone. But they will not allow that.

I thought the shops were for testing the employees not testing the manager for identifying mystery shoppers. I will no longer do any Verizon shops. Their upper manager has set the rules.. At this rate, their shops will not get done. They will run out of shoppers. The questions you ask identify as a shopper anyway.

Verizon is the ONLY company doing this. Other companies and managers don't seem to care.

The manager of this store told me about another manager at another store who spotted me. The managers of stores talk to each other. Even if you have never been in that store, managers talk to each other to spot mystery shoppers. They will get you banned.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2024 11:21PM by johnb974.
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August 24, 2024 11:59PM
@Okie wrote:

@johnb974 I am sorry to hear. In some ways, I believe we think and act similarly. Some of these shops with little to no rotation period, I have instituted my own personal cool-off period. It's harder these days for me, but I also try to change the visits up as much as possible like different days of the week and time of day.

On another note, the selfie photos ... this is just me throwing it out there with no knowledge ... I have a feeling that if the client has suspicions and can ID a shopper, and the MSC can confirm, well damn.

Some of these Verizon shops require a selfie, so they know who you are even before you enter the store. It's a no win situation with them. The best thing is to stop doing any Verizon shop.
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August 25, 2024 01:04AM
@johnb974 wrote:



At this rate, their shops will not get done. They will run out of shoppers.

The shops will get done.
The MSC will never run out of shoppers. They heavily recruit anyone and everyone. I'm guessing they especially love the ones that are willing to PAY for their seminars and work for $0.
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August 25, 2024 01:06AM
@sestrahelena wrote:

@johnb974 wrote:



At this rate, their shops will not get done. They will run out of shoppers.

The shops will get done.
The MSC will never run out of shoppers. They heavily recruit anyone and everyone. I'm guessing they especially love the ones that are willing to PAY for their seminars and work for $0.

You may be right. They will get crappy reports and lies. They get what they pay for.
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August 25, 2024 01:51AM
And here come the insults. Hang in there John. Don't be bullied by the icky ones again.
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August 25, 2024 03:02AM
Do the store manager and employees see the selfies we take?
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August 25, 2024 03:12AM
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August 25, 2024 03:26AM
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August 25, 2024 06:01AM
On the verizon store, it's has always been the manager who outed me to their employees. I thought the shops were for rating the employee. The employee did not know I was the mystery shopper. The manager told them and than asked me not to come back for a couple of months. What good will that do, if the manager knows who I am? They defeated the purpose of the mystery shop.
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August 25, 2024 10:03AM
Prob bc the score reflects on the manager as well?

@johnb974 wrote:

On the verizon store, it's has always been the manager who outed me to their employees. I thought the shops were for rating the employee. The employee did not know I was the mystery shopper. The manager told them and than asked me not to come back for a couple of months. What good will that do, if the manager knows who I am? They defeated the purpose of the mystery shop.
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August 25, 2024 11:17AM
@LindaM wrote:

Prob bc the score reflects on the manager as well?

@johnb974 wrote:

On the verizon store, it's has always been the manager who outed me to their employees. I thought the shops were for rating the employee. The employee did not know I was the mystery shopper. The manager told them and than asked me not to come back for a couple of months. What good will that do, if the manager knows who I am? They defeated the purpose of the mystery shop.

If the score is reflecting on the manager, the manager is trying to get rid of the mystery shopper. I have never given them a bad score.
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August 25, 2024 03:42PM
Every company is making it harder and harder not to be discovered. They make you take pictures of the products, selfies, pictures of the food, and receipts for $0.69 items, making it almost impossible not to be spotted.
Then they send to the store that they will be shopped. Sometimes they know the actual days and other times it is generic. I think they can open the same app we use and see that the shop has been accepted and the date it will be shopped.
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August 25, 2024 04:17PM
That is true. It's possible a manager is managing several stores, they will not allow you to shop any of their stores if they spot you. This has only happened with Verizon stores. Your job is to test the employee NOT the manager.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2024 04:18PM by johnb974.
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August 28, 2024 08:20PM
yes, you're absolutely correct that the managers in an area talk to each other. They may also have district/regional meetings where they discuss things (not just ms but current promotions, new policies, etc.) so this is common.

As sestrahelena pointed out, the MSC's recruit a lot, it isn't always going to be shoppers hunting the boards that pick up the jobs. I've seen MSC's posting on craigslist and I'm sure if they post there, they are probably on other boards too.
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August 28, 2024 08:49PM
The manager of this shop said the Samsung rep did not want mystery shoppers coming in more than once. The problem with that, there are shops for just Apple or Google phones. They are preventing you from shopping other phones. Other shops are for tablets or ear buds. The rep wants to control when you can shop the store for any product or maker.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2024 08:54PM by johnb974.
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August 29, 2024 08:50PM
I'll just throw this here, it's as good a place as any:

Don't ya just love it when you get a salesperson who's been around a while and been shopped so many times that they know exactly what to do when you start your scenario? It sure makes everything easy for all of us! I swear, for a few stores that I did lately, all that was missing from the presentation was a knowing wink. So much better than pulling teeth.

Also, is it just me or does anyone else play with the phones when you have to wait your turn? I mean, like setting a reoccurring alarm for later in the day, volume up, "3:00 PM beat the children" or a random date, "Steak & BJ night!!!" or editing photos by drawing a mustache on someone?
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August 30, 2024 12:01AM
You are there to learn about the features, and to try to get the sales rep to demonstrate the phone. I look at them, but don't do much else while waiting.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
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August 30, 2024 12:03AM
There was one sales rep with a fantastic memory. Had her twice at the same store. She did the presentation. Then I went to one across town and who would you believe was there but her! Remembered everything about the previous two interactions. And this was over at least a year's time.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
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August 30, 2024 12:11AM
It seems like Verizon does not want anyone with experience to do these shops. They cut you off if the manager recognizes you.
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August 30, 2024 01:15AM
I went into Verizon as a vendor for Fitbit. We could only go in on certain days at certain times. I had set directives to accomplish at each store. The associates were leery of talking to a vendor. The manager at any of the stores that I went to basically did not want vendors coming into the stores. Very odd work environment. They did become friendlier when the manufacturer gave me one smartwatch per store to give out to the person who sold the most in the prior month. Best Buy had the same mindset about vendors.
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August 30, 2024 01:39AM
@Okie wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

Also, is it just me or does anyone else play with the phones when you have to wait your turn? I mean, like setting a reoccurring alarm for later in the day, volume up, "3:00 PM beat the children" or a random date, "Steak & BJ night!!!" or editing photos by drawing a mustache on someone?
Steak and BJ night ... I better not assume what BJ means. For the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, I did enjoy doodling with the pen. I was quite impressed that AI was able to transform my doodle into a selection of accurate images. I had an urge to leave a note that "Miss Terry S. Hopper" was here, but didn't want to bark up that tree.

Steak & BJ night is Valentines Day for men. About a month later. But I just schedule it for random days-on the phones.
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