As mystery shoppers, we know that employees are expected to say certain things and ask certain questions when they interact with customers. For example, they may ask questions to lead to suggestive selling, such as, “Would you like to make that a combo?” or questions about preferences, such as the kind of bread you want in your sandwich.

One New York professor decided that a Starbucks employee asking if she wanted butter or cream cheese on her bagel was an outrage. According to a report in the New York Post,  Lynne Rosenthal ordered a toasted multigrain bagel — and became enraged when the barista followed up by asking, “Do you want butter or cheese?”Continue Reading