@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

As soon as the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store, I would have looked around the store and asked, "Who's the mystery shopper?" Even if the employee and the manager both said I was a mystery shopper, I would never have agreed that I was!

@johnb974 wrote:

OH GOD...once again, the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store. That alone will cause her problems with upper management. She does not own the store. The shops are done to collect information and she is preventing that.

How do you think corporate will react to a store manager stopping all mystery shopping in their store?

Some mystery shopping is contractually obligated. A franchise or corporate store is part of a mystery shopping program that is mandated by the company. In this case the location has no choice but to accept the mystery shopping because it's part of their contract.

However, there is also mystery shopping that is not contractually obligated. I consider this clandestine business espionage. For example, the phone companies could be using this mystery shopping program to spy on the stores and see how they present their phones to customers. If this mystery shopping is not contractually obligated, then the store does not have to allow it. They have every right to say that they do not allow mystery shoppers. In this case, corporate might encourage the manager to kick out mystery shoppers because they don't want this going on in their stores. Therefore, if you don't know the exact setup of the mystery shopping program, there's no way to know if the manager is in the wrong or not.

We are just mystery shoppers. It's not our job to make that determination. It's certainly not our job to argue with the manager about it or make assumptions about whether the manager is doing the right thing or not. Especially when we really don't know all the details!

My suggestion in this case would have been to simply deny. To simply say that I don't know what a mystery shopper is and I'm just here to ask questions about phones. If they still insist that you leave or refuse to answer your questions, then report exactly what happened. Be honest, and never ever reveal yourself as a shopper.

@johnb974 wrote:

How do you think corporate will react to a store manager stopping all mystery shopping in their store?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2026 06:20PM by thunderdeacon.

Interesting: Video Review: In some corporate environments, managers reviewing security footage or register logs after the fact can identify shoppers if they paid with a card tied to their real name or matched the date and time of the submitted evaluation

So when you submit your report, the store will know the day and time you were there.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2026 07:28PM by johnb974.

I think there is a good chance that the manager gets a bonus for identifying and evicting the corporate spy sent by a competitor.

@johnb974 wrote:

How do you think corporate will react to a store manager stopping all mystery shopping in their store?

If it were a competitor's shop, probably happy. If it was an actual corporate-issued mystery shop, they will probably have a good talk with her.

@johnb974 wrote:

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

As soon as the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store, I would have looked around the store and asked, "Who's the mystery shopper?" Even if the employee and the manager both said I was a mystery shopper, I would never have agreed that I was!

@johnb974 wrote:

OH GOD...once again, the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store. That alone will cause her problems with upper management. She does not own the store. The shops are done to collect information and she is preventing that.

How do you think corporate will react to a store manager stopping all mystery shopping in their store?

It will be interesting if any mystery shoppers pick up this shop. I have noticed other cell phone shops in my area are picked up quickly. I've seen this shop stay online for months. If she keeps throwing out shoppers, it will come back to bite her. As I have said before, she has told me she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store. The shop can be completed as long as the manager is not there.

what will be interesting, if her store is shopped, when she is not there and she gets the report, the store was shopped....wonder what happens to the employee?

So now John has 2 names on this forum? I guess if they'll allow Captain Obvious, and all of Okie's alter egos, why not John too.. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the forum only allows us to have one screen name for this forum. I wonder why that rule isn't enforced?

We don't know for sure the nature of these mystery shops, but the evidence leads me to believe they are clandestine and do not contractually require the cooperation of the phone stores. The manager of this store could be completely in their right to refuse to entertain mystery shoppers. It's not our place to reveal ourselves and discuss it with the staff. It's our place to remain undercover and report exactly what happened without ever revealing ourself as a mystery shopper. That's the professional thing to do, and it follows the guidelines and follows the spirit and expectations of undercover mystery shopping.

@johnb974 wrote:

@thunderdeacon wrote:

We don't know for sure the nature of these mystery shops, but the evidence leads me to believe they are clandestine and do not contractually require the cooperation of the phone stores. The manager of this store could be completely in their right to refuse to entertain mystery shoppers. It's not our place to reveal ourselves and discuss it with the staff. It's our place to remain undercover and report exactly what happened without ever revealing ourself as a mystery shopper. That's the professional thing to do, and it follows the guidelines and follows the spirit and expectations of undercover mystery shopping.

Yes, major cell phone providers (such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) and their retail partners frequently use mystery shoppers in California. These programs are used to unannouncedly audit the genuine in-store customer experience, evaluate product knowledge, and ensure brand standards are being met.......the store manager is an EMPLOYEE. They don't own the store.

Compliance vs. Spying: While companies do send shoppers to spy on rivals, they also heavily use them on their own stores to ensure their own staff is following brand guidelines and procedures.

Even if the store manager or employees know you're the mystery shopper, they allow it. This is how they are graded. They want to pass.

Apparently it bears repeating.

BRB. Had to go get more popcorn.

Unless any of us are privy to inside information, there's no way for us to know if these phone shops, including the one in question, are contractually obligated or are clandestine spying. I think all of us understand the reason for mystery shopping and the importance of mystery shopping for companies that have a mystery shopping program.

We all understand that the employees in that case are required to submit to the mystery shopping. It is used to measure their performance. It's also used to measure brand and franchise compliance depending on the program. We all understand that.

However, it's not clear in the case originally discussed that this is a mandated mystery shopping program. It could very well be a clandestine spying operation, and in that case the staff has no obligation to submit to mystery shopping. Even in phone shops like this where the staff will go along with it, it's very rare that I haven't seen staff members that will talk enthusiastically about phones. Most employees don't want to talk about phones, and they just want to talk about service. This leads me to believe that talking about phones is not something that they are trained to do. Why would a company mystery shop something that isn't even important in employee training?

Therefore, I don't think it's right for us as mystery shoppers too assume that a particular program is important or not. It's up to the staff and management to make that determination. Again, the best course of action, and the expected course of action, is to never reveal ourselves as mystery shoppers. We should accurately report exactly what happened. That's what we are being paid to do.

@thunderdeacon wrote:

Unless any of us are privy to inside information, there's no way for us to know if these phone shops, including the one in question, are contractually obligated or are clandestine spying. I think all of us understand the reason for mystery shopping and the importance of mystery shopping for companies that have a mystery shopping program.

We all understand that the employees in that case are required to submit to the mystery shopping. It is used to measure their performance. It's also used to measure brand and franchise compliance depending on the program. We all understand that.

However, it's not clear in the case originally discussed that this is a mandated mystery shopping program. It could very well be a clandestine spying operation, and in that case the staff has no obligation to submit to mystery shopping. Even in phone shops like this where the staff will go along with it, it's very rare that I haven't seen staff members that will talk enthusiastically about phones. Most employees don't want to talk about phones, and they just want to talk about service. This leads me to believe that talking about phones is not something that they are trained to do. Why would a company mystery shop something that isn't even important in employee training?

Therefore, I don't think it's right for us as mystery shoppers too assume that a particular program is important or not. It's up to the staff and management to make that determination. Again, the best course of action, and the expected course of action, is to never reveal ourselves as mystery shoppers. We should accurately report exactly what happened. That's what we are being paid to do.

The store manager told me they do not allow any mystery shoppers in her store. She told me if the company wants to do a mystery shop, they have to clear it through her first. That is clearly against any company policy, She is an employee,

How do you know what the company policy is? For all you KNOW (not THINK. WISH, PRESUME), the store policy may be the equivalent of "throw out every mystery shopper since they are simply wasting our time."

What evidence do you have that proves that you know the company policy? You repeatedly state that the manager's behavior "is clearly against any company policy." Do you have a copy of their corporate policies or procedures? Of course you don't. So stop pretending to know what you can not possibly know.

@johnb974 wrote:

The store manager told me they do not allow any mystery shoppers in her store. She told me if the company wants to do a mystery shop, they have to clear it through her first. That is clearly against any company policy, She is an employee,

I don't understand the issue can you explain it again?

@myst4au wrote:

How do you know what the company policy is? For all you KNOW (not THINK. WISH, PRESUME), the store policy may be the equivalent of "throw out every mystery shopper since they are simply wasting our time."

What evidence do you have that proves that you know the company policy? You repeatedly state that the manager's behavior "is clearly against any company policy." Do you have a copy of their corporate policies or procedures? Of course you don't. So stop pretending to know what you can not possibly know.

@johnb974 wrote:

The store manager told me they do not allow any mystery shoppers in her store. She told me if the company wants to do a mystery shop, they have to clear it through her first. That is clearly against any company policy, She is an employee,

So you actually think the cell phone company PAYS mystery shopping companies to send out mystery shoppers than tells the managers of the stores to throw them out? HA HA HA you too funny.

The cell phone stores are owned and/or licensed by the service providers -- AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. These stores are not owned, operated, or managed by the phone companies. Samsung, Apple, Google, Motorola, etc do not own, operate, or manage these stores. That's why the staff tends to be much more interested in talking about service plans then they do about phones. The phone companies are not telling the managers anything because they don't have the right or the ability. The phone companies don't own the stores! The service providers on the stores!

If the phone companies are sending in mystery shoppers, and it's not contractually required to allow mystery shoppers to sell a particular phone, then the store has every right to say no mystery shoppers. We are not privy to their contracts. It's wrong for us to assume that the manager in question is in the wrong. If you told me I had to bet money right now, I would bet that she is in the right.

@johnb974 wrote:

So you actually think the cell phone company PAYS mystery shopping companies to send out mystery shoppers than tells the managers of the stores to throw them out? HA HA HA you too funny.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2026 03:12AM by thunderdeacon.

The People rest.

@CoolMusic wrote:

44 questions about a freaking phone?

As if I need to be reminded that I never do cellphone shops anymore...

That jumped out at me. How the hell do you remember 44 questions?

What is a mystery shopper?

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

As soon as the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store, I would have looked around the store and asked, "Who's the mystery shopper?" Even if the employee and the manager both said I was a mystery shopper, I would never have agreed that I was!

@johnb974 wrote:

OH GOD...once again, the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store. That alone will cause her problems with upper management. She does not own the store. The shops are done to collect information and she is preventing that.

I've used that one, too. I have even used "I'm not a mystery."

@87Supra wrote:

What is a mystery shopper?

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

As soon as the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store, I would have looked around the store and asked, "Who's the mystery shopper?" Even if the employee and the manager both said I was a mystery shopper, I would never have agreed that I was!

@johnb974 wrote:

OH GOD...once again, the store manager made it clear she does not allow mystery shoppers in her store. That alone will cause her problems with upper management. She does not own the store. The shops are done to collect information and she is preventing that.

You got stuck with a bad manager. Of course they know who the shoppers are. All the stupid questions they make you ask them is an easy tell. I said this before. It's a game. Good managers know how to use it to their advantage by hitting up all the points during the shopper's visit. This guy was an idiot.

"It has been 84 years..."

@hksh1 wrote:

You got stuck with a bad manager. Of course they know who the shoppers are. All the stupid questions they make you ask them is an easy tell. I said this before. It's a game. Good managers know how to use it to their advantage by hitting up all the points during the shopper's visit. This guy was an idiot.

One time I had an open audit for a restaurant. I showed them the Letter of Authorization and said there is a number to call if they had any questions. The manager refused the audit. They told me, "If the company wants to do an audit, they have to clear it through me first" The same attitude the manager of the cell phone shops has. Some people get into a position of power and think they own the company.
I did a gas station audit. The Letter of Authorization said to the manager "If you don't allow this audit, we will cut off your gas supply"

Where is this list of questions? 44 questions that you have to ask? I've done every version of electronics shop, and I've never had a list of questions that HAD to be answered.

Some of the things that the MSC wants in the questionaire can be learned by observation, most should be brought up naturally in conversation. You're NOT supposed to interrogate the CSR.

I do a LOT if has stations. Granted, there are many brands that are not in my area. Whether those are shopped I do not know. But out of most top tier brands I have never seen an LOA that says, "If you don't allow this audit, we will cut off your gas supply." Has anyone else? Besides johnb?

@Morledzep wrote:

Where is this list of questions? 44 questions that you have to ask? I've done every version of electronics shop, and I've never had a list of questions that HAD to be answered.

Some of the things that the MSC wants in the questionaire can be learned by observation, most should be brought up naturally in conversation. You're NOT supposed to interrogate the CSR.

The shops that pay $12.

@sestrahelena wrote:

I do a LOT if has stations. Granted, there are many brands that are not in my area. Whether those are shopped I do not know. But out of most top tier brands I have never seen an LOA that says, "If you don't allow this audit, we will cut off your gas supply." Has anyone else? Besides johnb?

This was a few years ago and I showed that to the station managers. They were surprised and no one refused the audit.

Ses, not cut off the gas supply, a few say they'll fail their audit:

1. If completion of the assessment is refused or and the Assessor is not
permitted to conduct this assessment for any reason, the assessment will be discontinued
and a score of zero (0%) will be recorded, resulting in a FAILED assessment.

2.If the shopper is not permitted to conduct the
site evaluation, a site will be considered non-compliant without the ability to cure or appeal.

None of the LOA's for any of the gas brands says that they won't be able to buy fuel anymore. But I do know, from experience, that at least one company will end the contracts of non-compliant stations. There are several stations who have either changed brands or are now completely unbranded, and one that doesn't even sell gasoline anymore because they were severely non-compliant too many times.