The latest post in my series about improving your mystery shopper report writing skills.
Restaurant mystery shops have a language of their own. Spell check software may not recognize a word and mark something spelled correctly as an error, or may lack suggestions for words you have misspelled. It is always a good idea to keep a dictionary handy for looking up those hard-to-spell words.
Do not rely on the spelling of a food item found on the itemized receipt. It may be wrong. Even menus can have errors and typos. If you are not sure how to spell something, look it up in your dictionary or through a reliable online resource. Often, just going to Google and entering a misspelled word will do the trick. Google often comes back with a response such as, “Did you mean . . .?”
To make writing my restaurant secret shopping reports easier, I created a list of words I found myself looking up time after time. Why is it that I have never learned to spell “broccoli”? I have added a number of words to my original list to create a more general list for anyone who mystery shops in restaurants.
Keeping this list near your computer, and referring to it often, will save you time and reduce your spelling errors when writing restaurant reports.
Get a handy printable version (PDF) of Spelling Tips for Restaurant Mystery Shop Reports here.
Note that this list is based on American spelling. There may be variations in the way these terms are spelled in other countries, although I believe that all are spelled the same way in other English-speaking countries.
appetizers
asparagus
barbecue
bisque
breakfast
broccoli
buffet
Caesar salad
calamari
cappuccino
carrots
chafing dish
cheeseburger
cheesecake
chocolate
coffee
crumb
dessert
diner (a person eating, or a type of small, informal restaurant)
dinner (the evening meal)
fajitas
filet
flambé or flambe
french fries
fried
Hollandaise sauce
hors d’oeuvres
iced tea
lettuce
mousse
mozzarella
mussels
omelet or omelette
Parmesan
pickle
pizza
potato / potatoes
prosciutto
raisins
raspberry
restaurant
rotisserie
salsa
sandwich
sorbet
spaghetti
spinach
squash
steak
sushi
tiramisu
tomato / tomatoes
whipped cream
vanilla
vegetables
vinaigrette
zucchini
Are there words you always have to look up when writing restaurant mystery shop reports?
I’ve always had difficulty with recommend and accommodate, but I’ve learned now…
Difference between advisor and adviser
Re: ‘advisor’ or ‘adviser’ – Everyone has an opinion on this, but they appear to be just that: opinions. Based on most references, they are equally correct. Some sources say that one spelling is American and one is British, but they disagree on which is which. Some say that it has to do with whether the person has given advice in the past vs. currently advising, or whether they are employed to provide advice.
Bottom line: Use whichever you prefer, but use it consistently. If you spell it ‘advisor” in the first paragraph, spell it that way throughout the document.
One more note: The spell checker in WordPress marks ‘advisor’ as incorrect. However, it also marks ‘WordPress’ as incorrect, so… ;o)