Mystery Shopper's Manual

  • Blog
  • About
    • Privacy/Disclosures
  • The Mystery Shopper’s Manual
  • Mystery Shopping Companies
You are here: Home / Mystery Shopper Secrecy / Do Employees Read Mystery Shop Reports?

Do Employees Read Mystery Shop Reports?

July 27, 2010 by Cathy Stucker 1 Comment

Question from a mystery shopper:

Do the employees who are mystery shopped read the reports submitted by shoppers? I sometimes return to shop the same location again, and I am concerned that employees will be able to figure out that I am the secret shopper if they have read the reports I wrote about past visits.

If they do read them, why would clients allow that? Doesn’t it make mystery shopping less valuable if the employees know exactly what was reported?

Many client companies do share mystery shop reports with the staff who were shopped. There are good reasons to do so.

One way mystery shop report data is used is to provide feedback to employees. The shop report lets them know how they did—where they performed well and how they could improve. The specific data in a mystery shop report can help employees to improve their performance or get positive reinforcement for doing a great job.

If the mystery shopping company or the client is concerned about the shopper being identified, they may remove identifying data that would make it clear who the shopper was. However, most of the time there is probably enough information (such as the date and time of the shop visit) that the employees could possibly know who the shopper was—especially if they have access to video surveillance tapes and can identify the transaction.

Does this mean that if you return to a location the employees will spot you as the mystery shopper. Possibly, but probably not. If you are concerned about that possibility, consider changing your appearance slightly on future visits. Nothing extreme—just style your hair a little differently, wear glasses instead of contacts, or other minor tweaks.

We may think we have been “made” when in fact we haven’t. That is just a part of the paranoia that comes with secret shopping, especially when you are new. Something to keep in mind: If they know I am the shopper, why do they not get a perfect score?

Filed Under: Mystery Shopper Secrecy, Mystery Shopping Clients Tagged With: mystery shopper reports, Secret Shopping Confidentiality

« Be Quiet and Let Them Talk
Why Use Mystery Shopping? »

Comments

  1. Cyndi B says

    July 20, 2011 at 9:51 am

    I had to find the manager in the stockroom of a major discount retailer for his signature on a merchandising job. Posted on the bulletin board next to the employees’ time clock was a multi-page report entitled “Mystery Shopper Results” available for any employee to read. So I know somebody’s reading them.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Mystery Shopping Companies

Updated 4/20/18! Access my free curated list of more than 150 legitimate mystery shopping companies.

Scam Warning

If you received a check or money order with instructions to cash it and wire money to someone, DON'T DO IT! This is a scam.
Click here to learn more about
mystery shopper scams.

Get ‘The Mystery Shopper’s Manual’

NEW 7TH EDITION!

Get your personally autographed copy of The Mystery Shopper's Manual here.
mystery-shoppers-manual-3d

Connect with Cathy

Follow Me on FacebookFollow Me on Google+Follow Me on TwitterFollow Me on LinkedInFollow Me on YouTubeFollow Me on PinterestFollow Me on RSS

Recent Articles

  • Do Millionaires Mystery Shop?
  • Mystery Shopper Resolutions
  • Mystery Shopping for Mystery Shopper Pros
  • Keep the “Secret” in “Secret Shopper”
  • The McDonald’s Receipt Hack

Categories

Applying to Mystery Shopping Companies Customer Service Dealing with Mystery Shopping Companies Dealing with Shopping Emergencies Employees and Mystery Shopping Grammar and Spelling Green Mystery Shopping Hazards of Mystery Shopping Holiday Mystery Shopping How to Become a Mystery Shopper Identity Theft Independent Contractor Issues Industry News Make Money Online Memory Improvement Money and Mystery Shopping Mystery Shopper Certification Mystery Shopper Ethics Mystery Shopper Fun Mystery Shopper Jobs Mystery Shopper Scam Mystery Shopper Scheduling Companies Mystery Shopper Secrecy Mystery Shopper Taxes Mystery Shopper Tools Mystery Shopping Clients Mystery Shopping Company Mystery Shopping Pay Mystery Shopping Providers Association Mystery Shopping Recordkeeping Mystery Shopping Resources Online Security Opportunities for Mystery Shoppers Preparing for the Mystery Shop Profitable Mystery Shopping Secret Shopper How-To Secret Shopper Quick Tips Secret Shopping and the Law Secret Shopping Confidentiality Sticky Secret Shopper Situations Technology and Secret Shopping Types of Mystery Shops Video Mystery Shopping Working Online Writing Mystery Shopper Reports

Copyright © 2004 - 2022 · Cathy Stucker

Copyright © 2022 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in