Do you consider the ethics of the companies you report on? Some shoppers would avoid a company with a bad business reputation. Other shoppers would think, "My report will help them improve." Other shoppers wouldn't even consider a company's reputation. Which type are you?

I ask because Wells Fargo and Herbalife shops are available. I won't argue their merits and evils here. But my ethical questions arose after reading these and similar news articles:
Is Herbalife a Pyramid Scheme? [www.theatlantic.com]
Herbalife review: [www.highya.com]
A history of Wells Fargo's transgressions, including the $1 billion fine: [www.cbsnews.com]

Both companies defenders' should have equal opportunity, i.e., short information, to respond.
But let's mainly focus on the ethics question in the first paragraph.

The Wells Fargo mystery shops are part of a voluntary settlement resulting from their past behavior, from what I've read in the news. The shops are meant to deter future behavior of the same type.

Either way, though, I do this to make ends meet, and the ethical part doesn't come into play any more than if I worked at a credit union that rips working people off with overdraft fees, or at a restaurant that serves chicken grown in tiny cages. I don't think those pratcies are ethical either, but I have to make compromises in life. Of course, there are some lines I won't cross, but I haven't seen any yet in the mystery shopping world - except maybe for the Arby's shops where I have to give an Oops certificate or something to a minimum wage worker, lol.

Yes, ethics come into play. There are many companies that I boycot for ethical reasons - i.e. Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Chick-Fil-A. For the same reason, I would never take an assignment to shop them.

I'm willing (doesn't mean I'll do their shop, but am willing to) to help support any organization that understands the value of mystery shopping and that you just can't evaluate customer service the same with an "in house program" or a survey on a receipt.

I wouldn't participate in Jimmy John's because of the game hunting, Chic-fil-a's because of it's religiosity.

I do not, and will not, shop certain companies due to ethical reasons. Yes, I shop for money, but there are more shops available to me than I can shop. So, it is really easy for me to stand on principles. I don't know whether I would change my mind if the circumstances were drastically different.

I won't shop for Cirrus due to their ignoring ethics and making a shopper wait 4 months for pay....same for other MSC's that don't care to pay within a month, and make interest through out the county on our money. I don't do banks over and over and would definitely not do jobs if they interfered with my ethics...many times it's not obvious as to underhanded ethics of a company, so, then, what I don't know won't hurt me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2018 01:56AM by Irene_L.A..

Oh, yea, I don't do the "borrow $$ for 350% interest rate" shops because they trap the poor, desperate and our military personnel into a financial spiral.

I don't know who does Chick Fil A and Jimmy Johns so it's easy for me to reject them although before I found out about the Big Game hunting and CFA's attitudes on certain subjects, I loved their food so it's tough for me to reject them in my non shopping life. I despise both Wells Fargo and B of A so I won't open accounts with either of them though I do some non-account work with B of A. Another one I won't do because of their politics is Papa John's. There are probably others out there that if I knew certain things about them, I wouldn't do them. But I'll worry about them when the time comes.

The places that I refuse, on ethical grounds, to patronize as a customer are, in general, the ones that I also refuse to shop. However, I will shop Wells Fargo any day as part of the way of growing the record for court and/or regulatory oversight of of its legal/ethical behavior.

I personally disagree that shoppers really help Wells Fargo at this point. They are in court for billions, and it probably makes them look good to have a shopping program in tact. Sometimes it's just too late, the harm to millions have been done.

I will not go to another mystery shoppers place of residence to get a picture nor will I allow another mystery shopper to come to my home to take my pik.

If I am ethically opposed to visiting a location as a customer, I will not shop it either.

Irene, I am not in this to help Wells. I am in it to kepp their feet to the fire, since the regulators/courts will see the results of the shop reports. And, what I have had to report,does not help Wells one bit, so far.

I would shop Wells Fargo... Whether or not I would trust them enough to open a real account there is a different question..... However, I have no ethical issues with opening savings or checking accounts. If somebody wants to pay me to verify that procedures are being followed, I have no problem with that. Whether or not my reports are used to better the company, is not my call. I'll provide the requested information, make my money and move on.

I didn't think CFA was shopped, in my area, anyway. Pretty sure.

I had my Mortgage with Wells Fargo and after the first :rumble" a year ago, I had done my first job for them opening a checking account, and not really knowing what was going on behind the scenes. They then sold my account to an unknown (to me) Mortgage company and I didn't have a choice. With all their lawsuits, it happens again, not sure our reports for opening an account shows any wrong doing...but what do I know, my Banker was above board and did exactly what he was supposed to do. Just not doing anymore and ended up closing account within 2 weeks. I say if it doesn't bother you, go for it, but don't think there trouble is due to bank workers on the outside, it's deep into the interior of the bank, with the big boys, and who knows if they keep the negative reports and turn them in, (do you trust them), just saying....I admit I am critical. Shopping them is one thing, ask yourself, would you personally open an account?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2018 07:16PM by Irene_L.A..

Wells Fargo got in big trouble for using customers' names to open new accounts without permission. There's no guarantee they won't do that or something similar again. So I hate to have my information in their database as a past customer.

I'm happy to see HerbaLife is back. We aren't shopping whether or not they are a pyramid scheme, but whether or not the owners are doing what they should be doing.

During a consultation, lady told me that I had high blood pressure after I held on to a video controller.

My thoughts on this are if I strongly disagreed or agreed with a companies ethical, moral, religious or political perspective and it would cause me to have a strong preconceived opinion, either negatively or positively, about the company and its policies I would decline the shop. In other words, if I was prejudiced going in I shouldn't be there. Fortunately, this dilemma has not been a part of any of the shops I have done.

@Rousseau wrote:

Yes, ethics come into play. There are many companies that I boycot for ethical reasons - i.e. Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Chick-Fil-A. For the same reason, I would never take an assignment to shop them.

We avoid some of the same companies. Probably for the same reasons.

I would avoid a company that I have ethical issues with. I dont think I could be truly impartial in my shop and I dont want their money, to me its tainted.

I do not do Western Union shops because trying to bribe someone to do something illegal is not something I feel comfortable with. I will do shops for most companies as long as I do not feel my perception of them will affect my report.

Ethically, I should not shop at about twenty places until next February or the year after that because I shop there too much and employees might out me at any moment. Sometimes, there is no one else who can do those shops, and I do some shops out of rotation. It would better for everyone if there were enough shoppers to fill longer rotations. I have tried to find other people who will complete these shops. But no one wants to do them!

@SassyShoppin: I feel like the dork of the day when I do bribes and other icky scenarios. But I try to remember that this is fake for me and 'real' for the agents. The agents need to demonstrate that they know how to deal with such situations.

@teriraia: Ditto. It also feels creepy to enter businesses and take pictures there, even during revealed audits. I did not like the extensive audit in which we photographed everything including an associate. ICK!

Very interesting to see different definitions of the term "ethics" being expressed. With so many people fixed on "acceptance" and "tolerance" as their moral basis, expressing intolerance and un-acceptance is hypocritical.

I thought the responses would have surrounded shopping locations someone works for, knows someone that works there, or otherwise would require lies about ones ability to provide unbiased observations. Maybe shoppers that just throw food out and never eat it; that steal other peoples receipts then make up timings, actual personal ethical decisions.

Judging others is different than actual morals or ethics.

Saying that someone's behavior is unethical because they are killing animals for sport is not judging. Saying that you will not shop for them because that person's behavior goes against your ethics goes to the very heart of the questions, actually. What is yours? Is it against your ethics to make a contributing comment and not judge others' comments?

It all depends. Ethics plays a part in my choice of what shop assignment to accept, yet sometimes, I like to hold the MSCs particular client accountable (even if I disagree with their ethics). I actually shopped a city municipality, including the mayor's office of a city 30 minutes away from me despite my own personal grievances with the mayor. And wow, was that an epic shop! I kept my objectivity throughout, which was amazing given my feelings going into the shop.

And the shop paid something very stupid to (something like $60 for the written interaction). I also had the four other departments that were $40 a piece. The mayor's office required an appointment, which was bonused.

When I look at the places that I won't shop for ethical reasons, it's because I would be doing something that I find ethically wrong - as opposed to me believing the business/ownership does wrong.... For instance, I won't smoke, use marijuana, go to strip clubs, or shop a church (differentiating from "attending church" ). Of course, as long as those businesses operate within the law, if somebody else wants to patronize them, that's their business.

However, I have no issues doing business with businesses whose ownership is blatantly Christian, Islamic, LGBTQ, Conservative, Liberal, etc. I might not want to be an employee of such companies as some have policies by which I would not wish to abide, but that is different from patronizing or shopping said businesses. Every day, I am thankful and proud to live in a nation in which we have the Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion. Punishing a business for expressing or acting upon their views (provided they operate within the law) undermines those essential freedoms. I would not want to live in a nation where a gay person could not own a successful business in a red state or where a conservative Christian could not operate professionally in a blue state. If we are serious about coexisting, we have to put up with our neighbors - however nutty their views might be.

For example, I would not work for Hobby Lobby as I want those for whom I provide may need certain medical needs such as birth control. Likewise, I would not work for a certain ice cream chain I visited last night because employees were encouraged to wear buttons that advertised their sexual orientation as I do not believe that my sexual preferences have any place in the work place. I would not particularly want to work in a store that specializes in selling Hindu religious artifacts as I would feel awkward specifically selling items for a faith to which I don't belong. However,I have no objection to patronizing any of these locations, nor would I hesitate to shop them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2018 04:37AM by MFJohnston.

I have no ethical problem with the Banks because I believe that in addition to a PR stunt, it is also an educational tool to the employees: you can read about policies in hand books all you want and attend classroom training about how to react, but what what really counts is how you react when faced in a real life situation.

I do not and will not shop betting shops for ethical reasons.

@spicy1 wrote:

Saying that someone's behavior is unethical because they are killing animals for sport is not judging. Saying that you will not shop for them because that person's behavior goes against your ethics goes to the very heart of the questions, actually. What is yours? Is it against your ethics to make a contributing comment and not judge others' comments?

Do you understand why the preserves in those poor countries allow the old animals to be part of a controlled hunt to raise the funds needed to protect the core animals? There are hundreds of controlled hunts conducted across America, which BTW are for profit of the land owners. Many animal rescue programs in the US move animals like deer to controlled hunting ranches, taking donations plus fees from the ranchers. Do we list everyone hunting there? Yes, you are judging as hunting it s ethical even if for sport.