OK, with all the shops I've done lately, I finally broke down and purchased a DVR for them. I know it will help.
My question is how or where do you where a mic so that it's not obvious to the associate??

I have an external mike which I loop over the center of the bra and there is enough looseness in the blouse that you will never see the bulge. The unit itself goes into the right pocket of my slacks and I wear my shirt tailout to cover any cord.

Prior to the external microphone I sometimes would put the DVR in my cleavage and the bra would hold it in place (just be aware that the light on the face of the unit may show through some blouses, so tape a slip of paper over it or an opaque piece of tape). I have also put it in a shirt pocket (again beware of the light showing). Back when smoking was allowed in restaurants I used to put it in a cigarette package that I could leave lying on the table. I have a zipper pocket on the outside end of my pocketbook and could put it in there, making sure that I pluncked my purse on the counter with the zipper pocket towards the associate.

But considering that most dialogue happens face to face, the bra or a shirt pocket are by far the best locations for the best sound quality.

I have been checking out the DVRs lately too. I have know idea what brand is the best one for the job. They have so many to choose from. They have digital or tape!, cheep or expensive. How did you pick? Any help.

Go digital. Magnetic tape has mostly been abandoned because they can stretch, be heat and moisture sensitive, and eventually the tapes wear out. Digital can be recorded over for years with no issue. Middle of the price range these days will have a way to upload your files to your computer. Some shops want you to send an audio file, so you need that capability so that you can just attach the file to an email. Replay I also find is much easier on the computer than on the DVR itself. For future use you probably will also want the equipment to have a jack to support an external microphone.

I upload all files to my computer prior to doing my reports. That way the DVR can be cleared and ready for the next round of shops while my old sound files are retained.

As a lawyer by day, I must insist that before you attempt to record any sound that you check your local laws. Many states (California is one of them) is a "two-party consent" state, and if you record somebody speaking when they have a legally "reasonable expectation of privacy", you may be breaking the law.

Now granted, in most shopping situations it's easy to argue that the employees don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy, but it depends on what the precedent for your state is. For example, some midwestern states actually require police officers to notify motorist that they stop when they're being recorded by dash cameras.

Nichtoliver,
The MSC is responsible for insuring that the client has had all employees sign the required consent form for the stale or locality. Some even go so far as to tell the employees what week or month to expect a recorded shop. As shoppers, we need to ask the MSC to verify that the the client has obtained the required permission in the 14 "two party states." Be sure to ASK; when, as happened to me, the MSC CEO tells you, "It's none of your business," cancel the job and run, screaming, from the room.

There are several sources of training for video shoppers (it's the audio that triggers the laws, BTW, not the video) and they all address this issue. I urge anyone contemplating doing these shops to use these resources. They include extensive discussions on threads here and at the volition forums. Searches on "video," "DVR", "recorder" and similar words will provide lively discussions and links to sites that provide state-by-state recording requirements/restrictions. Please note that it is NOT the phone tapping laws that apply; it is the recording of a conversation by one of the parties to the conversation.

You'd be surprised how clueless some companies can be regarding laws, though.

For example, company B supplies goods for company A to sell at discounted prices under the agreement that company A pushes for company B. Company B wants to audit company A to make sure that company A is advocating for company B. So, company B hires a secret shopper.

The secret shopper performs a covert assignment and video tapes it. Company B gets the footage and comes to the conclusion that company A isn't advocating for them. After heated arguments, company B are company A end up going to court. Company A questions the legality of the evidence obtained (the video).

The Secret Shopper company asserts that you are an independent contractor. Congratulations, YOU'RE the one who'll end up getting criminal charges pressed against you if the associate wants to be a dick. It doesn't matter that the Shop Company gave you instructions to record. It doesn't matter that "employee lack of expectation" only applied if Company A decided to do the audit (not company , you're responsible because you're an independent contractor. You have very limited legal protection.

I once represented a private investigator who installed a key logger on a client wife's computer. He was the one who was in trouble. It wasn't his client who requested it, it was him. The "independent contractor" working on behalf of the husband. Very similar situations. In this case you're client is the shop company, the "husband" if you will. It's ultimately your responsibility to ensure that the assignments you are executing are being executed legally. You can't hide behind "my client told me to do it".

Nichtoliver,
Obvously, you did not read my post. Did the shopper ask for and get written verification that the MSC had ascertained that the client had the required employee waivers on file? I am NOT relying on "my client told me to do it." I ask the MSC to verify that the required written waivers are on file.

BTW, you company A and company B scenario is so far from the reality of video shopping that you are clearly thinking about what detective agencies might be asked to do. Do you actually have experience doing mystery shops?

Also, the police officer issue is entirely seperate, due to court rulings having to do with the public nature of state employees pursuing their duties. Please see recent Maryland state cases as reference.

And a husband spying on a spouse regarding what could be assumed to be private behavior is also very different than an audio or video recording in a public place with an employee who has no grounds for believing that an interaction with a customer is private behavior.

I read your post. I wasn't arguing with you. Just saying be careful. I'm sure you do everything right; other people, I'm not so sure.

And I've done some shops identical to the example I provided. Of course, no lawsuits ever resulted from them, but it's not uncommon to have an outside company audit employees of a different company.

@Flash - while logically your thinking makes sense, the books aren't that logical "Two party" consent means both parties have to consent. And what a reasonable expectation of privacy is varies from state-by-state and changes alot.

Just recently that James O'Keef kid got in trouble for video taping ACORN employees. Under your thinking those employees wouldn't have a reasonable expectation of privacy, but in his jurisdiction they did.

Having a competitor shop involve audio recording (whether with video or not) is always a red flag in a two party state. I once posted that shoppers should NEVER accept such a reorded shop, since it seemed impossible that the client could insure that its competitor's employees had given consent to recording. I have since found an exception to that. A very, very large MSC does recorded shops for client A, all of whode employees have signed waivers to permit recordings. Client B hires the same MSC to do recorded competitor shops at Client A's sites. The MSC's contract with Client A allows the MSC to accept such a contract.

However, as shoppers, me cannot assume that this is the case. Ask, ask, ask! If you do any recorded shops, you must tatoo the list of the 14 "two party states on you arm and consult that ist often, lol. Don't be afraid to challenge a scheduler if you are asked to do a recorded competitor shop in a two party state. I once found that the MSC, new to recorded shops, had asked their attorney the wrong question. They asked if there was any bar to video taping the employee during a shop. The lawyers, taking the question literally told them that they were entirely safe with video. What the lawyers should have added was that if they turned on the audio recorder as well as the hidden camera, they would be in violation of the law in 14 states, unless they could verify that someone had waivers on file from all of its competitor's employees. That would be rare, indeed.

The MSC in question took my analysis of the problem to their lawyers, who confirmed that, of course, the audio was the legal problem, not the video. I was then offered the shop as a written report, with a large bonus, and an apology.