Mystery shop reports are supposed to give companies information they can use to identify where they are performing well, and where problems exist. Appropriate ways of responding to the problems identified in a mystery shop might include providing additional training to employees or changing staffing levels to avoid under- or overstaffing.

An inappropriate reaction? Presenting employees with a cake that looks like a pile of poop, in “honor” of their poopy report.

The postal service has, like many businesses, specific service standards that are measured through secret shopper visits. Even when they are busy or understaffed, postal employees are expected to meet time standards as well as ask each customer a series of (in my opinion, mostly annoying) questions.

When the Cape Coral post office scored 48 out of 100 possible points on a recent mystery shop, the manager had a cake made to commemorate the occasion. This was not a particularly attractive or appetizing cake, as it was made to look like a pile of excrement. (If you want to see the cake, you can go to this mystery shopper story.)

The reaction of the postal workers? It was as you might expect: they were angry and insulted.

What could the manager have done to handle this situation better? Well, almost anything, actually. But for starters:

One major problem was that there was a long line when the mystery shopper arrived. Could the manager take steps to reduce the wait time by changing staffing levels, or bringing other employees to the counter when there is a line? There are limits (someone may not be authorized to work a cash register, for example) but at my post office they often bring someone out to ask if anyone is there just to pick up a package, certified letter or other item that does not involve handling cash. That usually removes several people from the line, as that employee can get all of the needed items for customers.

Are employees taking longer to handle each customer because they do not have everything they need at their stations? The manager could assign someone to make sure each work station is properly stocked before the post office opens and throughout the day.

Are there employees who continually have to ask other employees for assistance because they do not know how to handle situations that come up? Make sure those employees get the training they need to do their jobs without interfering with other employees and slowing everyone down.

Many employees resent mystery shoppers because management uses the results of mystery shop reports as a club with which they beat employees over the head. Berating or insulting employees because of a poor showing on a mystery shop report is absolutely the wrong tack to take. Using the results to find a way to improve service will not only make customers happier, it can make employees happier, too. And it works better to inspire them than a poop cake.

Do businesses that we shop tell their employees that they will be mystery shopped? I have heard that they do, but that doesn’t make sense to me. If we are supposed to be checking up on them, why tell them that they will get shopped? Do they tell them what we will evaluate them on? And doesn’t that mean that we are more likely to be spotted if the employees know to look for mystery shoppers?

Most businesses that use secret shoppers tell their employees about the program, and there are some very good reasons to do so.

First of all, whenever you measure something you get better results. Mystery shopping is a good example of that. When employees know that they may be mystery shopped, but they do not know when or by whom, they will treat each customer as if he or she were the mystery shopper (at least in theory).

Companies usually let employees know what the evaluation criteria are. Mystery shopping programs are designed to verify that employees are following the policies and procedures established by the business. That means that all the mystery shoppers are doing is checking to see that employees are doing what they were already trained to do. For example, are they saying thank you? Upselling? Smiling? Serving customers promptly? I have been in businesses as a customer where I have seen memos and mystery shop report forms on the counter by the cash register. These businesses knew exactly what the mystery shopper would be evaluating them on.

Does that make it easier for employees to spot the mystery shopper? Not usually. In most cases, they know that they will be mystery shopped on a regular basis, and the shopper will be checking to see if they are upholding the standards established by the business. Employees are not told what scenario will be used, or exactly when the mystery shopper will visit.

The existence of a secret shopper program should not be a mystery. Educating employees about standards and expectations, and letting them know that mystery shoppers will be checking to see that they are living up to them, is a good way to make sure that customers receive top quality service—even when the mystery shopper isn’t looking.

Employees may fear or resent secret shoppers because they think that if the shopper is in a bad mood and gives them a poor report, they could lose their jobs. You can see these ideas and attitudes on many of the employee sites that discuss mystery shopping.

So are employees correct? Are shoppers out to get them, and could they lose their jobs as a result?
First of all, let’s do away with a couple of myths:

Mystery shoppers are not looking for the bad. We are there to provide an objective report of what happened. We do not look for negatives, but record the good and the bad. Most shoppers prefer writing positive reports for two reasons: we want employees to look good, and good reports are easier to write. (The more ‘no’ answers on the report, the more comments we have to write.)

Mystery shoppers do not decide what makes good or poor performance. We are simply evaluating whether employees meet the standards set by their employers. Secret shopping is not opinion research, it is the reporting of facts. And the types of facts we report are based on the questions asked by the client/employer.

Once clients receive our reports, they decide how to use the information. Does that mean they will fire employees who receive reports showing they performed poorly? Probably not. Although mystery shop reports may be used as one factor in employee evaluations, it is unlikely that one poor report would result in an employee being terminated. That would have to be one really bad report.

What is more typical is that the report would be used to counsel the employee to help them do a better job in the future. Most employers use some sort of progressive discipline, involving several steps before termination. If the employee has a history of poor performance, the mystery shop report would be one piece of documentation in the employee’s file, but it would not be the one thing that causes termination.

Most mystery shopping companies advise clients that mystery shopping should not be used as a stick with which they club employees. It is a tool to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of a business, and to determine the adjustments needed to improve as well as recognizing the people who are doing well

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip–Confessions of a Cynical Waiter, a new book by someone called “The Waiter,” (but since publication, identified as Steve Dublanica) tells the other side of the story: what happens behind the scenes at a restaurant and what waiters really think of the customers.

“Waiter Rant” is often wickedly funny, such as in the descriptions of the various types of tippers, or the 40 tips on how to be a good customer. Those tips include, “Do not snap your fingers to get the waiter’s attention. Remember, we have shears that cut through bone in the kitchen,” and “Never say, ‘I’m friends with the owner.’ Restaurant owners don’t have any friends.”

Some of the stories shared are touching or even sad, and others are a little scary. You will think twice before sending food back (especially multiple times) after reading this book.

Having a better understanding of the restaurant business can help us be better mystery shoppers, especially if you want to do fine dining shops. For example, did you know that asking for a different table can affect the service you receive? Restaurants try to balance the number of customers being handled by each server, and asking to sit at a table by the window or in a booth in the back instead of the table they had chosen for you can affect the timing of your service.

The guidelines for some restaurant mystery shops specify that you should not order off menu or request substitutions. These types of requests not only may affect the timing of your meal, the quality may also suffer. As Dublanica puts it, “In a restaurant kitchen, repetition is the key to consistency. You want your heart surgeon to have done ten thousand bypasses before he cracks open your chest, right? Same thing with a chef—if he makes the same entree ten thousand times a month, the odds are good that the dish will be a home run every time.”

“Waiter Rant” will also help you to learn more about ordering wine, tipping and other niceties involved in fine dining. It is an entertaining and engaging read, and it will help you to understand more about the fine dining experience from the other side of the table.

Many of these employees are under the impression that mystery shoppers are determined to turn in bad reports, even if we have to make things up. If only they knew . . . most of us would rather do a positive report. Not only because we want the employees to look good, but because it is easier to write a report on a good experience than a bad one. Of course, to do our jobs properly we have to report what actually happened, not what we want to report or what the employee would like us to report.

They also seem to think that we pick and choose what we report on. Aren’t their employers educating them about the mystery shopping program and how it works? Employees are (supposed to be) trained on the company standards and procedures. Secret shoppers are there to make sure employees are following the procedures and meeting the standards. It is not about what we think they should do, it is about what their employer expects from them.

There are a few lazy, bad mystery shoppers out there. They may not put in the effort to do an honest, quality report. You know, though, in those cases it is more likely that the employees will come off looking better than they deserve, rather than worse. That is because of what I said earlier: It is easier to write a report saying they were wonderful than pointing out problems.

There are times when the mystery shop report may seem unfair because the shop visit occurs at a time when the location is especially busy, or they are understaffed, or service and cleanliness are adversely affected by other factors outside of the employees’ control. However, those factors are also outside of the control of the secret shopper. Blaming the shopper is beside the point.

Hey, employees, want to get a great mystery shop report? Do your jobs. That is all we are looking for. Greet us. Suggest an upsell. Say thank you. Do what your employer has told you to do.

If you get mystery shopped and your employer has not explained the standards to which you will be held, ask. Tell them you want to do a great job, and need to understand exactly what is expected of you. Unless of course you really don’t give a damn. In that case, take the shop report you deserve.

Secret shoppers, take a look at these sites to see what employees and others are saying about us. You may have a laugh or your blood may boil, but you will have a better understanding of how some employees view mystery shopping and the people who do it.

Blockbuster employees complain about mystery shopping.

Starbucks employees complain about mystery shopping.

More Starbucks complaints.

Geez, don’t Starbucks employees have anything to do but complain about mystery shoppers?

A tutorial for employees on how to spot a mystery shopper. Hah!

Mystery shopper blamed for beer vendor losing his job.

Have you seen employees commenting about mystery shopping? Share what you find here.