Mystery Shopper's Manual

Bad Mystery Shopper Reports – What Is an Employer to Do?

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There are appropriate and inappropriate ways to handle a poor rating on a mystery shop report. Unfortunately, the manager of a Cape Coral, Florida post office chose an inappropriate way.

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.
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Do Employees Know They Get Mystery Shopped?

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mystery-shopperQuestion from a secret shopper:

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.Continue Reading

Do Mystery Shoppers Get People Fired?

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fired_man.jpgOne of the things many people believe about mystery shopping is that reports are often used to fire employees. In fact, employees may believe that secret shoppers have it as their goal to find bad things to put in their reports, and they arbitrarily add negative comments to mystery shop reports in order to “get” employees.

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?Continue Reading

How Waiters See Customers

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waiter.jpgAs mystery shoppers, we are in the business of evaluating the service provided by waiters and other service providers.

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.”Continue Reading

Mystery Shoppers Seen Through the Eyes of Employees

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tongue.jpgI spend a lot of time reading articles, blog posts and news stories about mystery shopping. Sometimes these are written by employees, many of whom believe that mystery shopping is unfair.

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.Continue Reading