Panda's Gone

Hello and good morning.

Hopefully its just an overnight anomaly but there doesn't seem to be any Panda Express shops listed on the MSC's website....

Anyone heard anything?

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

@metro25782 wrote:

Hello and good morning.

Hopefully its just an overnight anomaly but there doesn't seem to be any Panda Express shops listed on the MSC's website....

Anyone heard anything?

I did two this week.

They were listed on my shop board for this week. They were quickly taken as usual.

There were shops here yesterday with a 6/19 due date and now it's 6/20 so they are "gone". They'll probably be listed again shortly with a new due date a couple days out. I don't think, based on what was there, that they were all taken this time but I have seen this pattern enough times that I have an idea of what to expect. Oh, and I will be pleased if the new listing has a bonus but not surprised if it doesn't yet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2025 02:23PM by Deedeezthoughts.

Looks like they're back. Or at least in my area

I still don't understand why they won't let you order a drink. It was much better when you could order a drink with your meal. Now I have to wait until they total the meal and give me a receipt and then I order a drink

Early this morning when I saw this thread I looked, and there were no Panda shops. But I checked again a few minutes ago, they are all back and they are all at base pay still.

I did two of them this week.

They’re back on the board. Crisis averted!!!

@johnb974 wrote:

I still don't understand why they won't let you order a drink. It was much better when you could order a drink with your meal. Now I have to wait until they total the meal and give me a receipt and then I order a drink

Yeah...as sensitive (allegedly) as they are about revealing yourself as a shopper...someone ordering a meal without a beverage sort of gives it away doesn’t it????

deleted

Moderator Note:

Inappropriate post removed. Name calling and personal insults are in violation of our guidelines.

@metro25782 wrote:

@johnb974 wrote:

I still don't understand why they won't let you order a drink. It was much better when you could order a drink with your meal. Now I have to wait until they total the meal and give me a receipt and then I order a drink

Yeah...as sensitive (allegedly) as they are about revealing yourself as a shopper...someone ordering a meal without a beverage sort of gives it away doesn’t it????

Not really. "Do you charge for water cups?" Ask after the transaction has been completed. Or, you pretend to change your mind.

Do you think you would be the first person to reconsider something? Or do you think the employees there know the requirements on the shops? If they do, it's only because they looked for that information and found it discussed in a shopper forum somewhere.

@metro25782 wrote:

..someone ordering a meal without a beverage sort of gives it away doesn’t it????

Not in my neck of the woods.

About half the population of Utah does not consume caffeine, and as most of them have a gaggle of offspring in tow, buying any sodas at all can get expensive, not to mention the negative health aspects.

Getting water for free is very common at fast food joints around here.

Have synthesizers, will travel...

saw one this morning that paid $5 and expense $5 lol not sure how that works. I just checked again and it's gone. Hoping that was an error and nobody picked that up.

@YorkieLight wrote:

deleted

Yeah, I wondered what that was about.

@Deedeezthoughts wrote:

@metro25782 wrote:

@johnb974 wrote:

I still don't understand why they won't let you order a drink. It was much better when you could order a drink with your meal. Now I have to wait until they total the meal and give me a receipt and then I order a drink

Yeah...as sensitive (allegedly) as they are about revealing yourself as a shopper...someone ordering a meal without a beverage sort of gives it away doesn’t it????
Not really. "Do you charge for water cups?" Ask after the transaction has been completed. Or, you pretend to change your mind.

Do you think you would be the first person to reconsider something? Or do you think the employees there know the requirements on the shops? If they do, it's only because they looked for that information and found it discussed in a shopper forum somewhere.

I don’t think its beyond the realm of possibility that people who go to work for Panda Express may have done mystery shopping at some point (or vice versa).... Not exactly a wildly divergent demographic between the two populations.

i’ve done the whole, “On second thought, let me get a ________” thing. But the entire cup of water thing or no beverage is a big ol’ neon sign saying “mystery shopper”.

@metro25782 wrote:

But the entire cup of water thing or no beverage is a big ol’ neon sign saying “mystery shopper”.

I know very few healthy people who order soda at all. I have never ordered a soda at Panda, even when I could.

I agree with @BayShopper22 that there are plenty that do not order soda. But I also think it's moronic to not be able to ask for a water cup. I would think most people have something to drink with their meal even if it is water. Gotta wash down all that sodium some how.

With fancy water bottles being so trendy these days, I don't think it odd that someone might drink whatever they brought when they get back to the car. Or right there at the table

Exactly!

@sestrahelena wrote:

With fancy water bottles being so trendy these days, I don't think it odd that someone might drink whatever they brought when they get back to the car. Or right there at the table

@hbbigdaddy wrote:

I agree with @BayShopper22 that there are plenty that do not order soda. But I also think it's moronic to not be able to ask for a water cup. I would think most people have something to drink with their meal even if it is water. Gotta wash down all that sodium some how.

I usually bring my hydro flask, but if I don't, I will take the receipt and then ask, "Can I have a cup for water please?" Pretty basic. Keep the cup out of the photo.

Why does Panda Express not allow you to buy a drink when you order? It seems not buying a drink marks you as a mystery shopper. No other fast food place does this.

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@metro25782 wrote:

But the entire cup of water thing or no beverage is a big ol’ neon sign saying “mystery shopper”.

I know very few healthy people who order soda at all. I have never ordered a soda at Panda, even when I could.

Same. I never order soda on my own dime and hate when it's a shop requirement.

@Jusa wrote:

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@metro25782 wrote:

But the entire cup of water thing or no beverage is a big ol’ neon sign saying “mystery shopper”.

I know very few healthy people who order soda at all. I have never ordered a soda at Panda, even when I could.

Same. I never order soda on my own dime and hate when it's a shop requirement.

I have no problem ordering a soda at my cost. I just wait until after ordering the food to order a soda. I'm 71. Drinking a soda doesn't matter to me. I whatever I feel like.

@johnb974 wrote:

Why does Panda Express not allow you to buy a drink when you order? It seems not buying a drink marks you as a mystery shopper. No other fast food place does this.

It is rather bizarre. I'm sure I'll get an argument on even this point because there seems to be a population that just likes to argue but the very essence of doing a covert mystery shop is to blend in with every other customer and do nothing that seems out of the ordinary. This puts you front and center as doing something that is anything but ordinary.

The only soda I drink is ginger ale, and only occasionally at that. I always have a water bottle with me. My son is finally learning the benefits of having reusable cups and bottles in the car for going into fast food places. Most are fine with you filling your bottle at the soda fountain if you buy something, some charge fifty cents or a dollar to fill your reusable cups, rather than the $2 - 4 to use one of their single use cups that are going to end up in a landfill somewhere for the next several thousand years. Bringing your own drink is some places is frowned upon, but Panda isn't one of them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2025 06:23AM by Morledzep.

i think the overall point some are making is, why prevent a water cup? Fine, they do not want you to buy a soda or to reimburse for the cost of it, but why specifically prohibit water cup? Many of us on here just do it AFTER the fact. But why is it prohibited to begin with? I agree it's a dumb rule that many shoppers just work around.

HB, the MSC said when they changed that rule, that they are concerned with timing, ordering extra things increases the amount of time it takes to fill your order. Which is very strange, because they don't ask for timings in the report. And there isn't really any prep to be done, unless they aren't keeping the serving table stocked, one order shouldn't take any longer than any other as long as you're only ordering the entrees on the list. And it was never a problem until Panda did that combo meal thing, I don't know why that was a problem either.

@Morledzep wrote:

HB, the MSC said when they changed that rule, that they are concerned with timing, ordering extra things increases the amount of time it takes to fill your order. Which is very strange, because they don't ask for timings in the report. And there isn't really any prep to be done, unless they aren't keeping the serving table stocked, one order shouldn't take any longer than any other as long as you're only ordering the entrees on the list. And it was never a problem until Panda did that combo meal thing, I don't know why that was a problem either.

I don't know for certain but every Panda Express I've ever been in has self-serve drinks. It remains unclear how their handing your a cup would drastically change the timing but I guess in a to-go scenario...it may?????

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Panda's Gone

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine