What is a God fearing shopper to do when faced with the dilema of posing as someone else. Essentially lying. Or is it just acting?


.

Jimmy,
It is just acting. End of story.

Is this a serious question?

Me thinks it must be in jest!

It is nothing more than acting. A fundamentalist Baptist can play one heck of a vampire on stage and be a total vegetarian in real life. I happen to be a minister in real life and there is nothing wrong with mystery shopping.

Well yes and no. I just sometimes feel like a Johnny Depp, looking these poor, under paid, sales associates in the eye, and handing them a line of bull.

If you wish to abstain from mystery shopping because of religion, then go right ahead. That leaves more shops for the rest of us.

Mystery Shopping is always a Moral Dilema. We are paid to misrepresent ourselves and our needs. I solved this by having a genuine interest in the items in the various scenarios. A good example is my shop today at Lowes. I was required to ask about a circular saw. Mine is 20+ years old and probably needs to be replaced. The information I gained today will help if a future purchase is needed...

A minister playing a vampire. Wtfudge. What was their role before that? Mz Lucy Fer?

jimmy. I hope you are not serious...

I love the one when you have to go into a bank pretending to have 750k to invest. If a had 750k to invest, I would open a chain of mystery shops all over the country. (We the shoppers make a small % of what is charged to the client)

As Cettie said, it is nothing more than acting. You will never get an Oscar or an Emmy for mystery shopping. I hardly think Tom Hanks has a low IQ, though he played Forrest Gump very well, nor was Helen Mirren adopted into the British Royal Family to play Queen Elizabeth in The Queen. You are playing a role that may or may not have been fully fleshed out for you. It often requires a certain amount of Improv skills to pull it off. Any role whether on stage or on the phone or in the store or office requires at least some preparation or planning to be believable, and mystery shopping is not comfortable for everyone. Morality does not enter the equation and if you are doing your role well and the associate does not respond the way they are supposed to be responding, they should not be in their role without further training.

There are often concerns or unhappiness about making returns after a commissioned sales person has 'been so helpful and worked so hard for the sale'. If these shops bother you, don't do them. But realize that the salesperson would have more to grumble about if their peers in the store were not working as hard and being as helpful as they were and thus giving the store a poor reputation such that real customers did not bother to visit.

ACTING! I am not a person to lie or use guile at all. I believe in honesty and integrity. But mystery shopping to me is all about acting, playing a role to test others and/or gain needed info by those with a vested interest. My hubby has a big issue and simply cannot pretend about anything. There are only certain shops I can have him along on because if he was questioned, he simply will give the truth as he sees it - in other words, the truth if he is not acting. There is a restaurant with a greeter who asks, "Have you been to _____ _____'s before?" If I were to NOT act, I'd say yes, and miss the whole schpiel about how they operate and the client would not ever know what is said to a brand new customer. So, I am doing them a favor by playing this role. It's legal lying, that's what I call it!

To add to what Flash said, our role playing with salespeople and reporting the interactions affords the salespeople an opportunity to see their performance objectively measured. If they take it to heart and strive to do better, they will directly benefit.

Something to keep in mind is to get in, do your shop, and get out. Don't waste the associate's time and keep him from other customers unnecessarily.

I try to be as close to my normal self/behavior as possible when doing scenarios. I feel like I am paid to do a job and play the part so that the companies can use the information to reward their workers, improve training and procedures and test the policies in place.

If I read the type of scenario and don't think I can pull it off I decline and find one more suitable to my personality and ability.
I don't feel bad about playing the scenarios as it is part of the job.

Try to remember that we are not the only ones playing this game. People who work industries that are mystery shopped are well aware it will happen so they are not being victimized in any way. In fact, some of the smarter ones also do their share of "acting" when they peg the shopper and sneak off to quickly put on their name tag before returning and offering a picture perfect presentation!

I think of it this way:

There have been times over my lifetime that I have been treated so unprofessionally as a customer that I just wanted to scream. Then there were times that I was treated absolutely wonderful. And then there were all the times in between where the treatment was not bad, but not good either. I wanted someone to complain to, to give a report of excellence to or to just give some pointers.

In the past, I have not had the opportunity to voice my opinion in a manner in which it would be worthwhile or useful to the company. I would voice my opinion, sometimes get an apology and a hush up reward or something to appease me for the moment and try to gain my return business. However, they really probably never went any further than to give the statement to the employee and it was then a he say, she say type thing.

However, with MSing, you have the opportunity to make a difference. You go into a business hoping that the employee is going to perform at their peak level. And I find most of the time, they do. However, I have performed over 500 shops and in all that time, I have had only about three employees who really were horrible.

I even then hated reporting the incident to the client. I knew this would be a problem for the person. I even had a target shop where the target stated she was friendly to me when she had been down right obnoxious and not friendly at all. But my report was there in Black and White and I had a witness to the incident in another employee who observed the targets actions.

So, when I feel that I might not be doing something that is morally right, I think of those employees who are there making the money but not doing the job when there are thousands of others out there looking for work and will do the job and do it exceptionally well until something that pays better comes along. I figure if they feel they are not being paid the right amount, then they should go elsewhere. Surely there are others who will appreciate the earnings.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2011 09:23PM by destiny1234.

Well, here's one for everyone. I was asked to do a graduate level test at a college and after the test they wanted me to try to bribe the tester. I was supposed to fail the test (graduate level test.... no problem...I can fail that for them) and see if they would take a bribe. My husband is a pastor and I'm in a small town so I declined for integrity reasons. I didn't want to meet this person in church and rememeber I tried to bribe them. The company understood and is allowing me to continue without the bribe.
But... role playing I have no problem with. It's just part of the job.

Hi Jimmy.....That old tree of Knowledge of GOOD and EVIL will try to raise its ugly head and condemn...When I starting mystery shopping...it felt very uncomfortable to lie...I prayed about it....and realized I was eating from the Tree of what I considered evil...and not the tree of life...did not know I could have so much pride about not lying....The older I get the more convinced I am that God does not look at things the way the Christian faith does...it is a lot of pride in doing everything right(self righteousness)...the experience showed me a side of myself....did not mean to preach...just my personal experience...Namaste....

-

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2011 11:19PM by vince.

I don't know that it is a moral dilema but I do feel bad when I take up a lot of a commissioned sales person's time. Some MSCs tell you to get in and out in 20 - 30 minutes because, as they say (and I am paraphrasing) it is not good mojo to waste their time. Other MSCs want you to take as long as needed. The other day I did a new car shop for an MSC. I was with the sales associate for over an hour. I feel bad because I have been on the other end: I have been that sales person who is losing commission (income) because I was being shopped. I don't know about the company I was shopping the other day, but I do know that the company I worked for did not adjust quota, no matter how many times in the month you were shopped. Associates were shopped at random (i.e, the shops weren't targeted to certain employees). Again, this is not a moral dilema. But I do feel bad. I think it goes back to when I was on the other side of the equation.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2011 11:59PM by jersey07032.

i felt bad when the sales associates would either cry or swear at me when i returned a $1000 diamond ring the next day. their commission went out the window. i had to do this at several locations.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2011 11:25PM by vince.

jimmyjamboree Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is a God fearing shopper to do when faced
> with the dilema of posing as someone else.
> Essentially lying. Or is it just acting?


It is not an issue. It is not telling a lie. You are not posing as someone else, you are just not telling them who you are, well, unless you stop and introduce yourself to every stranger that you pass on the street.

There is no moral issue here. If you do not want to do it don't. If you do want to do it, please, just do so to the best of your abilities. If you do it and do not want to then that is you. Deal with material issues and not the etho-sphere.

Don, in realistic las vegas....

I can't go as far as to say this is a moral issue...what if I catch a bartender putting the tip in his pocket, I am actually doing loss prevention, therefore the client a big service. I am a customer having a drink, perhaps if I saw this as a customer, I'd report it to the Manager. I look at myself 98% of the time as a customer, the Bank jobs where you do lie or exagarate don't hurt anyone, just getting information for your job. The return's and having an employee lose their commission is tough for me, and I did stop doing high end returns. Some that view this as a moral issue probably shouldn't be doing it. Many folks act in life, some do it with ease, I just don't see it as lying....play acting yes.

I was a Gen Manager for 11 years before getting sick and not able to work outside the home..........
I read these posts and I share some info:

A LOT of companies bonus HIGH if you are picked to be shoped.
If the sales rep uses what they are taught and do as they were requested--they are recognized.
Nothing more gratifying than informing an emp.and a reward and/or recognition will follow (if shopped enough--pay raises and sometimes, if consistently great, a promotion).
What we do is an invaluable tool. What we do is give praise and recognition to those who do great jobs and a second chance (while sometimes seriously not deserving) to others. Sometimes it is the last chance and for that?..... Perhaps it is that one shop that kicked the employee out the door for consistently getting poor shops that gave the emp. a kick in the pants who is now successful?
Don't ever feel bad for playing the role. The role leads to other things on the other side of the fence that we are not aware of.
As far as commissioned...who is not to say that we took an hour away from their time so upper management and/or the owner are aware of where their money is going? Have we a clue how much of time, effort, and money came out of their own pocket went into training each and every one "commissioned"? If they get a good review and work for a good company, isn't their a possibility they will be rewarded?
I can tell you this: 11 years on the other side and the companies I worked for always took care of the good apple who did great cs. Great customer service brings in cash. The one's who adamently refuse to perform company guidelines and score low belong in the line of unemp. until they change their attitude. Isn't it the attitude the overall reason of a poor score? I didn't give the employee a poor score, they did that on their own. I report what I saw with the scenario I am given to reward those who earn it...train those who want it...and dodge ball the ones who mock it. Training is a lot of work...and takes a lot of patience. And when I would read the shops and see a low score and why, it is infuriating! They don't care, I look like I didn't try, upper management ...so on and so on and so............
Think about it, please don't loose sleep. You are doing the person and boss a huge favor for your time and LOTS OF EFFORT ON THE LAPTOP!

sorry....really had to butt in on that....

btw...i was not writing a report so i see my gooofs...dont care...not here to be graded....

I recognize that I must pile it higher and deeper (PHD) to the point that I have a MBA (master bull award) I have built several businesses on feed back that I have received over the years. I am paying forward for the help I received. Mystery shopping is fun if you pick the right shops but it is serious to the owner who is expecting a evaluator to perform with integrity.

If the owner of the business uses the information to reward their employee both the employee and the employer receive a value. If the report results in training an employee to improve everyone wins if the employee performs better.

It is sad that some of my reports result in an employee being terminated. If the employee does not have integrity or does not wish to exchange a value (his or her effort) for the value (the employer’s payment for expected performance) the employee must understand that he or she must perform to receive a value.

An employee should be performing, the employee should be tested and trained. Integrity is what you do when the boss is not looking. It is sad when an editor keeps the truth from a client and the client looses their business because they thought someone was watching the kettle and it boiled over.

An evaluator does not lie, they do not cheat, and they test and evaluate using the scenario the client calls for. If we do it correctly the client does not lose their business because they neglected to have a "fly on the wall".

What part of that do you find a moral issue with? I often find a moral issue with the pay I receive and chose not to accept the assignment. The client does not get the performance of someone who understands the process. Three very successful businesses over 50+ years eliminate all arguments. I let time and success prove me right. Those who I mentored over the years chose to serve with integrity like I do and they win the game of life. Do it honestly, do it cheerfully. It is as simple as that.

I look at it this way. The client needs to know how their people are behaving with possible customers. That way they can rewward the good sales associates and discipline the bad ones. The client deserves to know what's what and who's who, and there is not really a good way to do so otherwise. Just a thought.

fhill10@satx.rr.com Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I look at it this way. The client needs to know
> how their people are behaving with possible
> customers. That way they can rewward the good
> sales associates and discipline the bad ones. The
> client deserves to know what's what and who's who,
> and there is not really a good way to do so
> otherwise. Just a thought.

mystery shoppers exist because corporate managers are not otherwise cognizant of what's going on with their own employees. employees may act differently around customers than around their managers.

IT IS CALLED ACTING....GET IT?