@patman9760 wrote:
@foodluvr wrote:
I get it but keep in mind that most mystery shopping equates to lying.
I do not agree with this statement. I will not perform a shop that requires using a canned scenario (unless the scenario is true to [my] life). I shop, make observations, and write about them. Sneaky? Perhaps. Lying? Only if you choose. Several well-paying jobs are posted right now with ACL, but I will not perform them because I would have to use a situation that is not true to my life.
Agree.
Just the opposite is true in most cases....you are there to report the truth.
I went to IHOP last night on my own--no shop involved. As is my habit, I notice things like un-bussed tables, the time it takes to be served, the general atmosphere of the restaurant, the check out process, etc... It was a terrible experience....service that was more like passive resistance...they screwed up my order too. Had this been an evaluation, I would have said that:
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"There was an un-bussed table to my left that sat unattended for the entirety of my evaluation
My waitress refilled my coffee cup one time and did not offer to refill my water
I ordered blueberry pancakes from the menu that stated the pancakes themselves were "chocked full" of blueberries and had blueberry compote and whipped cream on top. The items I was served were regular pancakes with whipped cream and blueberries on top. The pancakes were cold enough to the point where butter placed between them did not melt. There was no customer satisfaction check made by the waitress whose only interaction after delivinging my food was to ask if I was ready for the check. "
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This isn't lying. It's the truth. Whether I identify myself as a mystery shopper or not is irrelevant...all customers should receive good service. So, like you, I disagree with the stance that we are lying when we do evaluations.
That being said, I will not take a job that, through the shop instructions, tells me to present an employee with an ethical dilemma. I am aware that one shop for a testing laboratory--where people go and take standardized exams--wants you to try to cheat or violate the rules. I wouldn't do that one. Not because I don't think it's valuable...because I, personally, don't want to give a guy or gal who is just there working a harder day than they already have. God bless those who do this though...it keeps them on their toes. I just don't want to be the one doing it. But even then, that isn't "lying"...that is testing the systems they have in place.