Mystery Shopper is an evil job, It should be illegal. amirite?

My Mum has been asked if she's a mystery shopper so many times in furniture shops because she asks so many questions about the furniture. She's never been one, just an upholsterer. I think mystery shoppers can have their place. Especially when they can also supply feedback on the cleanliness of establishments that are part of a chain.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

🤯the fact that we have health/food department inspection check? That sounds way more professional than a mystery shopper.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Those checks aren't always accurate. I know businesses who bribed the work safe people. Sometimes businesses know it's coming too. It's not always food businesses who have mystery shoppers. Retail have them. Those are probably more beneficial then the food ones.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Hm it could be so. Maybe some places just need a checklist that is not made by a psycho.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Probably

by Anonymous 1 year ago

They aren't checking for the same things.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I did it for a bit all the while being in a job that get's mystery shoppers (I got a prize for hitting a score once!). You can sign up anytime. I can't remember the website I used though, was years ago. It's not that complex and the kind of stuff they ask is fairly standard stuff. Did they offer you a drink and fries? Was the place clean? Was it well lit? If you have a freak control manager, you're going to get critised regardless. Doesn't mean mystery shoppers aren't a good thing. It allows them to see how actual customers get served as opposed to how customers get served when employee's know the company is watching them. Seems fair.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

its definitely possible to hit a high score

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yes, I pointed out that I did myself.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

good job

by Anonymous 1 year ago

thanks

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I used to do it while in college. Essentially got a free meal out of it at places I liked or wanted to try. I mainly stick to restaurants and it was sweet. Easy checklist of items most like you said. Sometimes it asked about name tags or other small things.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I never got anything but glowing mystery shopper reports. Management needs a way of ensuring their people are giving good customer service when they're not there. That's a good way to do it.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Management needs a shadow to watch closely from the dark? That sounds like some creepy activity🤯

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Very true. Fortunately there's no hiding in the shadows and it's not dark. While what you describe is creepy it isn't an accurate description of what is happening.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

if they are not hiding why they name themselves "mystery" or "secret"? 🤯 I am not saying it in the most literal sense.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

So you don't treat them better than a regular customer.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Nobody is trying to treat anyone better or worse. It's about running objective rather than treating at that point.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Why do you need to know who it is then?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I never said I needed to know who it is, im just saying the entire ideology of this concept is kind of extra. Low key servers would like to treat people the best regardless because in the end of the day, servers want tips, I dont see any reason for a server to be an asshole?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

That would makes sense if there weren't bad servers out there. But I've had some pretty bad service on occasion. Plus a lot of secret shoppers are you know, shopping, it's not just for restaurants.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

At the end of the day enough servers don't do this that they have mystery shoppers. If every server was a shining beacon of hospitality then they wouldn't do this.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Considering mystery shopping is usually carried out by someone who picked an assignment up from a website as a side hustle, they're usually not a professional mystery shopper and just a normal person A normal person who is judging you on the level of service your employer expects of you, and they'd expect of you If you're falling below that, then potentially the issue isn't the mystery shopper.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

a normal person who is judging by a piece of paper made by somebody else is just weird no? Why doesn't the normal person write a 200 word short document about their AUTHENTIC opinion? I think the action or grading is controlled and limited and showed nothing "normal" here, bc they dont actually have the absolute freedom to do it, they are PAID to do it in certain ways. In another word, the judgement is not 100% base on their full specturm of experience, rather than what the limited experience a company wants somebody to check on the checklists and i dont think that's honest experience. It's not even about the experience, its about the score.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Ignore the bit of paper If I went in and didn't receive the appropriate level of service, I'd have a right to complain. All the "paper" does is ask if you've had a basic level of service Were you greeted? Were you told about specials? Were you asked how the food was? Did you wait long? Was your server pleasant? Literally nothing there that is not a fundamental of good service. As for being paid. It'll like be a reimbursement for the meal and a few quid extra. Again, if you have issues meeting the fundamentals find another job. Because if you're not reaching those. Anyone you deal has the right to complain.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

a server can provide excellent service when there is only 1 customer dining in, and when a server is serving 6 tables at a time, it would be hard to provide the same service no? So the paper doesn't mean much because it doesnt contain small details?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Again. These are your problems As a customer, I don't care if I'm the only one seated, or part of a full house. What I receive shouldn't be worse then someone else because I picked a different time to eat. Usually. The shopper will be asked what time they went to perhaps add context. But it's irrelevant Would you expect to be tipped the same no matter how busy the restaurant?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I dont think a server expects to be tipped the same, because customers are humans just like the servers. I think a server has common senses to understand that different people tip differently :) And sometimes, I think customers tip from their heart, rather than the judgement of service. I think being able to be impacted by our very own emotion is what makes us human. All I am saying is, i think secret shopper whatsoever is somewhat dehumanlizing. But I can see that u disagree.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Some customers tip out of guilt. Some tip because they think the server deserved it. But, I as a customer, expect some the basics of service to be met when I come to eat in a restaurant

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Of course you should expect some basics of service. but u can provide a 70/100 with some basics of service. u can also provide a 80/100 with some basics of service. The mystery shopper can be decently happy about the experience but the score can be mediocre. Because, these two things are somewhat not strongly related (What the company thinks a customer wants doesn't always mean what a customer wants. Lets say first thing bring water to the table, some customers doesnt want water. Lets say repeating the order, some people hates hearing repetition if there is no confusion. The checklist is so stiff and old-fashioned?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

>The mystery shopper can be decently happy about the experience but the score can be mediocre Then they're not doing their job right. The score should reflect their experience. If they're happy with their experience they should give a score that matches Their job is to be honest. Not to catch anyone out. that's why companies who "employ" mystery shoppers do it as a gig economy role rather then have someone full time on their books that do it day in and day out. >Lets say first thing bring water to the table, some customers doesnt want water Whether the customer wants this or not. If the restaurant expects it. Then it's reasonable to be marked on it. They'll just say Yes when the question is "were you offered water" It's all objective stuff Not "did you want bread" but "were you offered bread" It's really not that difficult a concept. You're marked on the restaurants expectation, which as an employee you should know.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

how can u speak for somebody else that they are not honest? That's somewhat an assumption to make? They can't give scores that matches bc he may or may not need the attention that is on the checklist? Or there is possibly other priority on hand?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If I'm doing a job where I'm asked to be objective, then I'll be objective. Yes people can be dicks and lie, but you'd just assume they aren't Again, continues to not be a problem if you give the same level of service to everyone What seems to be happening here is you want to blame someone else for something that, really, is quite simple. Take some ownership.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

All that matters to mystery shoppers is, were you given an experience they matched the chains stated ideals and goals. If you're a mediocre server you'll get mediocre reports, and minimal tips. If you're not the server that will make a customer tip 20% or MORE you're just not doing your job well.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

im not doing my job well i heard u

by Anonymous 1 year ago

You seem to have a much creepier vision of what a mystery shopper is. It's basically just a customer that reports back on their experience. They aren't trying to catch you slipping, nor are they lurking in the shadows. Would it be evil if a regular shopper was surveyed with the same questions after they left the shop?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

well they sure are not angels💀

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Why? They are just sharing their customer experience, that's all it is.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Audits are important and blind audits gives an unbiased review. The problem I have is what is done with the audit. If your staff are properly trained AND supervised, this should only result in minor deficiencies that can be made up in recurring training. Failures from an undertrained or undersupervised staff is a management problem but we all know the pawns get the lashing 99/100 times. Don't take your angst out on the rando who was hired to make sure the operation is working as intended. There are plenty of shows giving example of lost business from one asshole (usually a supervisor) caught in a blind audit like a mystery shopper.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I am not hating the rando, i just feel weird about this entire job title of mystery shopper. I think its kinda disgusting, but i guess i should just take ownership bc its my score so its my fault🤯😩 Maybe just try for a better score next time😩 there is no more left to say.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

So if the title was different such as Public Auditor your opinion of the role would be different?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

>🤣🤣🤣 > 😩🤯 Opinion dismissed

by Anonymous 1 year ago

🤯🤯🤯if anyone who enjoys being watch by mystery shoppers 🤯🤯🤯 share ur opinion. It is possible that even some customers dislike that idea.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

> 🤯🤯🤯 >🤯🤯🤯 Reply ignored

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Hey OP I think you have stumbled upon a business opportunity! Mystery shopper busters! Combine that with union buster busters and you'd be America's sweetheart.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

My girlfriend was actually hired to be a mystery shopper last year during Covid to ensure safety practices were taken, good customer service, etc. they gave her a list of locations to check within a reasonable distance and offered pay based on the distance + what to look for. Her goal was to basically walk in and see if things are where they're supposed to be and if employees were doing their jobs as expected of them. She also wasn't the only mystery shopper doing this and I think she said there was 20 total. If one shopper had given bad marks across the board, the company would likely write it off. But if you have 15+ of your shoppers all saying the same place is consistently bad about something or another? Then there's a problem. I don't think you have an unpopular opinion, you have an uninformed opinion

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It isnt designed to catch you, the employee, screwing up. It is designed as incentive to keep you from doing so in the first place. Do you speed by a cop parked on the side of the road? Of course not. Same thing. What is does (support micromanagement) is not the intent, just the unfortunate by product. It isnt perfect, but it isn't the creepy, sketchy thing you're making it out to be either.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Plenty of I/o research available in regards to the effectiveness of mystery shoppers. You can decide to not use a mystery shopper once you own a retail store.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It defeats the purpose when companies tell their employees that there's gonna be a mystery shopper, no? It's supposed to be something you don't know about.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Is there a better way to judge customer opinion of a business than to have an actual customer report their perception of the service?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Mystery shopper good reviews often lead to the employee being rewarded.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Quality assurance brah. If you don't test you don't know.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Also those shows where the CEO pretends to be a regular worker of the company they run, and they purposely screw everything up to piss everyone off and gets people who aren't understanding of that fired. I've had to train so many morons in my days of working and I become a little less than friendly after a certain line of stupidity is crossed. And the CEO then fired whoever was being rude. YOU WERE SLOWING PRODUCTIVITY AND THE EMPLOYEE WAS JUST TRYING TO DO THEIR JOB.

by Anonymous 1 year ago