Lighten up, Francis.

At my age a little role playing keeps the brain young. Just because my spouse wont play, my dog at least pretends to play fetch with me.

I definitely decline shops with scenarios that push me past a certain point, but I don't consider mystery shopping generally morally wrong. It's role playing.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2012 06:26PM by Jlyn.

I just consider it role playing, too.

The reason I do not think it is a moral issue or lying in any way is because the people that are shopped are told at some point they were shopped so it is not some sort of sneaky operation that they are not made aware of. When they agreed to work with the company, whether they read the fine print of all the documents they signed or not, there is probably a clause in their new hire paperwork that tells them this may happen....just like that they may be recorded by tore video cameras or the calls they make on company phone lines may be recorded. Companies have a right to make certain their policies are being followed and employees have to understand that. Remember, we don't know what happens with these reports. I have been told before that those that do well in some of they lengthier shops (especially for those working on commission) may get some sort of small bonus, be eligible for a promotion, or some other high-five from the company that we don't of. Then again, if the employee is not being honest, making promises the company would not keep, etc., the company needs to know so they can stop this practice. Ultimately, mystery shopping is for the benefit of the general public who legitimately shop there as we may have helped someone one not get scammed.

I recall a lengthy shop I did once of a financial institution in which I had to play the part of someone trying to get a loan not through a bank. It was several days of phone calls and then an in person meeting with the people and their closing lawyer. I believe the purpose of the shop was overall integrity although I'm not totally certain. The result was that this company being evaluated signed up the loan applicant for insurance and miscellaneous things the applicant never agreed to AND the target also took me aside into the back break room and told me to go ahead and sign up then she would get rid of the paperwork committing me to the additional things. That was a VERY interesting report to write up. I saw in our local newspaper a couple months later that they'd gotten busted for unscrupulous business practices.

Jimmy, I steer away from shops that require 'little black lies'. I'm not ready to purchase a new car. Mine is a 2011. Now if I was thinking of buying a new car, I would probably put it off a little longer and take advantage of some of the car shops. That is great. I'm not gonna call a funeral home and tell them I have someone who is near the end and I am checking around for prices....not me. I do evaluations where I can keep my mouth shut. I do shops where there is an evaluation and a purchase. I know 9 out of 10 will see it differently, so be it.

I'm backing off on tne car shops. Did two last week and one today. My age has me in the area of possibly having a mid-life crisis so for one shop I went looking for a sports car. Chevy dealer means either Corvette or Camaro. The saleman insisted I drive both. During the test drives, we talked about other high-performance cars--Ferrari, Maseratti, Bughati Veron.

I try to end the sale by saying I still want to look at a Mustang. The sales manager had joined us and said go ahead and look, but come back here. We can get you any domestic car you want. As I left, my brain is racing, trying to figure out how to get out of this.

When the salesman gave me a promised follow-up call, I just bailed and said that I'd ordered a DB-9 Volante from Aston Martin.

I didn't sleep well that night. I've done enough car shops for a while...at least when it comes to exotic cars.

SPAM^

Acting is my vote. for example I had to act like I wanted to move out to do an apartment shop. I chose to act out a lie and say I was going through a divorce. I went a little overboard, but got the assignment done.
For car shops acting like you have the money to pay for a $45,000 car could be required. Does that mean I lie to test the dealership on performance when I really could not pay for that luxury car?

Eh, I think my pastor is proud of me, he still gives me hugs even though I mystery shop.

Acting sounds reasonable to explain what we do. I once had to shop for an ultra luxury automobile. I had to dress the part [khakis, golf shirt, jacket--"preppy"]. I parked my 12 year old compact car in a nearby restaurant's parking lot and walked to the dealership. I'm at the age where inheritance sounds feasible, so I told the salesman I had received a "substantial inheritance" and I wanted to treat myself to a nice automobile.

Sometimes a bit of lying may be involved, but it's lying to create the environment necessary for the subject to properly do their job. Then it's simply a matter of reporting if they did their job or not.

Give me a dollar to lie and I'll tell athousand lies a day, every day!

holliscary Wrote:
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> Give me a dollar to lie and I'll tell athousand
> lies a day, every day!


Right about now I'd be happy to join you!

And I'll happily do the "flunk a test and try to bribe the test taker" scenario. (Are the testing centers still shopped? The MSC that had them appears to not have them anymore.)

Just did one of them a few weeks ago.

bgriffin Wrote:
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> Just did one of them a few weeks ago.

Okay, so they are still out there. I'll keep on looking...

Fibbing while mystery shops is no more immoral than "bending the truth" when one's wife asks that dreaded question for which there is NO CORRECT ANSWER: "Honey, does this dress make me look fat?" If only once I had the you-know-whats to reply, "No dear. It was the half-dozen doughnuts you just wolfed down."

PS: Hope my better half (actually 2/3) does not read this post. Otherwise, she'll have my you-know-whats in a vise!!!

The big thing to remember is that the people being shopped know that they may be shopped. They are trained to complete certain tasks as part of their job (upselling, checking ID, greeting in 15 seconds, handling money correctly, etc) A mystery shop is not a "gotcha" situation; it's an opportunity for the person being shopped to do their job and do it well. Most employers recognize that the employees won't always be on their game, so they know that 100% reports are not always going to happen. As a former employer whose store got mystery shopped often (we sold alcohol and tobacco amongst other things), I was always grateful for the unbiased information I received in a mystery shop report. Even though they weren't always something I wanted to hear, they were always something I needed to hear. It made for a better situation for my customers, and my employees knew what was expected of them.

IMTrashman Wrote:
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> PS: Hope my better half (actually 2/3) ... <snipped> ...


BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I love the '2/3' part. This sounds like something my Dad would say.

Even as a female, and a somewhat fat one (I go to Wal-Mart to feel like one of the skinny ones, sometimes) I find this hilarious. If I was married, I'd likely be the 'better 2/3' also... unless I married a fellow fattie.


But, on topic, I don't think there should be any moral issues with most scenarios. Thinking about it that way is just silly ~ no offense intended.

Even the notorious and oft-discussed 'BOB' scenarios, I'd do them as long as they give you that letter of authorization in case there's trouble. I've never actually seen a job like this in my area, so either the stores asking for those shops aren't in my area, or I'm not with the right MSCs. But, as I understand what I've read about them on this forum, sometimes you're supposed to point it out to the cashier after your total is announced, other times you're supposed to say nothing and just walk on out with it.

So you're heading out the door, and the alarm thing goes off or someone stops you. As long as you don't try to take off running at that point, I don't see how there'd be an issue. Just explain that you forgot. I've seen just that happening when I'm checking out at stores I shop ~ mystery and otherwise. Everything goes fine.

This BOB issue actually did happen this weekend. This is a legitimate practice designed to show the store manager how many dollars might be walking away under the carts. It's been a part of mystery shopping for at least 45 years. I worked when I was in high school as a cashier at a Kroger and the mystery shoppers always had an item on the bottom of the basket to see if the cashier caught it and charged for it. I was in awe of the mystery shoppers - and afraid of them - Kroger actually fired employees who "failed" twice - and I thought it would be a great job. (If only I had been smart enough to become a mystery shopper back then! I'd be so many dollars ahead!)

Well, this time I got caught. But not when I was checking out. The cashier did not see the BOB item in my cart. She rang up the order, gave a total, bagged, and completed the transaction. I put the sack into the basket, and, according to the MSC guidelines, pushed the basket toward the door to exit the store with the item still on the bottom of the basket. The cashier noticed the item just as I got to the door and called to me and pointed to the item on the bottom. I walked back, said I'd forgotten and now that I'd picked up so many other items, it was too much to carry so I declined it. I thanked her for noticing. No biggie, although that cashier may remember me. I'm out of rotation for 3 months on that location; I will definitely pick a different cashier on my next trip, someone who won't recognize me as a shopper who smuggles items on the bottom of the cart.

Years ago I worked at a major Canadian department store. (It's gone now... pity.) Anyway, every single sales associate in the store was shopped each and every month. We were trained to expect "Stephanie," the code name for a shopper, to be in the store at any given time. For those who received gold standard, or gold standard plus ratings there would be a star on the wall by the break room. We weren't victimized by the experience at all and the feedback was used for future training.

Regarding a commissioned salesperson's time - I worked for Bloomingdale's when I was in college, and was mystery shopped a couple of times. I had no idea who the shoppers were, though I believe I know which particular customer who gave me something like 108% out of 100% one time (though I would never have been able to ID her months later, my memory doesn't work like that! lol) -- but getting high scores is really really GOOD on your record with the company. The only time a commissioned sales person may mind is if they don't rock the shop - in which case, the feedback will theoretically help point out areas for improvement - which will improve their sales/commissions if they take the feedback and use it. So really, it's win-win for them.

I'm just thinking about what my thoughts would be if I were a manager, a mystery shopper gave an employee a bad score, and the employee's defensive reaction is: "I knew it was a mystery shopper!"

Thinking, but not saying: "So, it was an open-book test, not a closed-book test, and you still flunked?"

I steer away from 'I am looking to buy a new car', 'my name is Susie Que', ' I am looking for an apartment', etc . It is nothing less than lying. This one takes the cake, 'my mother is very sick and will pass away soon and I am checking on funeral expenses.' Never would I do that.

Oh, if it is questionable, most of the time it is wrong......just my simple opinion and how I live my life.

I will stick to the fast food, shoe strings or anywhere I purchase something.

What a bunch of soft ball fluff. I try to stay off this part of the forum because my advice is NOT for new mystery shoppers. But Dayum, people. It seems to me that the olde guarde are painting a black and white picture when 50 shades of gray (no not the poorly written mommy porn) are needed to make the picture make sense.

When you work as a mystery shopper, you don't always know who your are working for. The client is NOT necessarily the employer of the target. It may very well be a competitor who is using the shopper as a corporate spy. In this case, you are not acting or role playing. There is no training and there is no consent. The target, person or company have nothing to gain. You are creating fraud and misrepresentation. Good old fashioned lying and stealing. Your motive is now profit at the expense of the target.

If that is not bad enough, some mystery shopping companies will give you instructions that require you to break the law. Trespassing, entering secure areas under false pretense, secretly recording conversations in two party consent states. Then comes the phony social security numbers, opening bank accounts that you don't intend to use, light sabotage,and even alleging theft or damage that has not actually occurred.

The next piece of canned advice is, "if you have a moral problem with a scenario, don't do it." To quote George Will, "Well."
If we don't take care of our customers, some one else will. Right?