What major no-no's have you witnessed while mystery shopping?
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Doing a bar audit, the bartender decided to give me the second drink, saying no problem, it's on the house. I had to have two drinks and two receipts...what now? The scheduler was great and I got paid, and the bartender is still there, but maybe got a talking to.
Live consciously....
I always wish customers could inspect the kitchen in a restaurant before ordering anything, to see if it’s clean,.
I always think of the cable TV show, Bar Rescue with John taffer.
Only thing I’ ve noticed in bar shops is overt pouring.
I always think of the cable TV show, Bar Rescue with John taffer.
Only thing I’ ve noticed in bar shops is overt pouring.
I always wish customers could inspect the kitchen in a restaurant before ordering anything, to see if it’s clean,.
I always think of the cable TV show, Bar Rescue with John taffer.
Only thing I’ ve noticed in bar shops is overt pouring. This “exact same message” was NEVER posted before.
I always think of the cable TV show, Bar Rescue with John taffer.
Only thing I’ ve noticed in bar shops is overt pouring. This “exact same message” was NEVER posted before.
I did a shop where I had to pay cash for an item, and go back for my receipt if it was not offered to me during the initial transaction. It wasn't. I went back an hour later, and asked for my receipt. She couldn't find it. Reported. She was gone.
"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
@FrostyBubbles wrote:
Wow! Just WOW! The stories so far in this topic. I can add a few that have happened in just several of the last days: One luxury vehicle shop where the guy approached me and "pretended" to be a sales person (I found out later he was not). It took me pushing very hard to finally get to just sit in the vehicle. He could not tell me much about it - but he did push, over and over for me to go back to his private office. He finally confessed he was there to train sales people. Funny - because he couldn't tell me one thing about the features of the vehicle. Another luxury vehicle shop (owned by the same group that owns the above, but different brand) I specifically asked for a special vehicle (and I wrote down the VIN). Salesperson and sales manager told me the lease price was almost 200 more per month than what was on their own website. They would both pocket more in commission and the manufacturer finance unit would have made significantly more money, as would the dealership. This would be many thousands of dollars. One mom and pop store who sold very high end appliances: sales person is to never discount specific very expensive, high end brands (he did) but then he refused to give me a written estimate/bid. I had to scan in each piece of paper he wrote the discount price on (but it was supposed to be on his business card. Business card was covered with graphics, name, address, phone, etc and was the shiny kind you cannot write on; no place to write even if it was paper). I still did the report and have not heard if I will get paid for all that work. Sales man said he didn't have time to do the written estimate because he was going to be busy in the "back". When I left, he was in the back parking lot with another male employee, smoking. In this case the client was the appliance company, not the mom and pop store - so employees do not have to cooperate, really. I was supposed to get the written estimate or write it on the business card (impossible), and I was also supposed to get a picture of the front of the business that showed clearly the store, store name and address - sure, I can do that with 8 lanes of traffic going constantly - because I would have to stand across the street to get that photo.
The most disgusting: Restaurant, at the bar. I took the end seat which was right by where the garnish is for alcoholic beverages are and where the bartender puts the beverages for servers to pick up for guests. One server had brought her personal very large thermos water jug. Everytime a male employee was at this area, she ran over, took one sip and slammed the jug on the bartop (annoying as heck) to get his attention and try to flirt with him. The guys would walk away. Then another server brought homemade cookies in and put them in the same area - so employees are touching baggies that were in her purse and brought from home to eat cookies - no one washed hands or used sanitizer - and neither did the chick with the water jug. Then bartender got a salad, was eating it in the back part of the bar, then took it into the walk in cooler (at the bar) and ate in there, then left the open salad in there and went back a few times to get more bites. And to top it off, two managers were at this area off and on and saw it/heard it. We had a massive Hepatitis and E.Coli outbreak here in the restaurant industry just recently. So these actions just made me so nauseous. The thought of being contaminated with Hepatitis (any form of it), E. Coli, Salmonella, C. Diff, MRSA (the super bug) and respiratory ick.... I ended up throwing away what could have been an amazing meal. I know all these actions do not seem like much, but they are not minor infractions/violations...they are critical violations - who knows what these people are bringing in from home, their car, their purse and their dirty hands (child poo from changing diapers, animal droppings from cleaning up after them, their own poo from wiping and not cleansing hands) and that is just the E.Coli and could be combined with hepatitis. Most folks do not know that Hepatitis can live for over a week on surfaces and can contaminate during all that time. All of those bacteria can live for at least hours - some as long as 5 months outside the human body. I did not see one single person ever wash their hands or use sanitizer; nor did I see that part of the counter top cleaned. I could not get out of there soon enough. Had I been a health inspector - they would certainly be hurting with well over a dozen critical health violations.
Sadly, when I have reported behaviors like those above, I usually get down scored on my report - which is sad. We are there to be the eyes and ears of upper management of the client.
Two of these shops are still in limbo...don't know if I will get paid. I always get so anxious when things like this go wrong, because those who review our shops seem to not understand that upper management and executives want to know when something is amiss or unethical is happening. Every employee at every workplace is not perfect every second of every day.
These are my fun times mystery shopping just in just 4 days. I think I should take a vacation
And now you know how I wound up with some of my private clients. I have and will go to the local health department, law enforcement, heck, even federal agencies when appropriate. Once in a while I get contacted by someone and wind up providing more service. Like my favorite service, nailing the lying bastards that victimize their own clients! My clients appreciate having someone who serves their interest and will not whitewash nor look the other way nor plenty of other stuff. Bad apples come in many shapes and sized, MSC's, customers, vendors, employees, management, gov't whatever's, you name it, it happens. Untill it's stopped, anyway.... It's kinda fun butting heads with the owners of a MSC and reading the riot act to 'em. They typically don't have a clue that what really happened with their client involved hireing me or another MSC who subcontracted with me to help clean up the dirt! Think that's interesting? One of my clients had me on a project involving a report with pictures and video something "unhealthy" an employee was doing. This was reported by a shopper to the MSC. Needless to say, issue did not show up on the report, shopper got paid and never got any request for clarification from the MSC. I was happy to find 'em an honest, reliable MSC, of course.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2019 03:34AM by ap7isback.
I did a tuxedo shop several years ago during Prom Season and the employee was spending a lot of time, to the point of neglecting other customers, discussing in great detail with a teenage customer the type of action that he was likely to get on Prom Night as well as his own experiences. I was incredibly uncomfortable, the kid was uncomfortable, and several other customers were as well. I gave the scheduler extensive details and it was all reported to the client (I was thanked for the feedback).
Back when I used to do car dealerships it was recommended that I bring my child as I would be shopping for a minivan. At the time, she really, truly was not a distraction and was helpful as she could tell me how "user friendly" the passenger compartment was as she would be the one using it so that was information that would influence my buying decision. Interestingly enough, even though statistically women influence a majority of the purchase decisions, the salesman didn't want to give me the time of day. He then got condescending when answering technical questions and only wanted to show me the "pretty stuff". The salesman also made a comment about returning with my spouse. Little did he know that I am the daughter and sister of Chrysler employees and the spouse of an engineer. When asked on the report if I would return to this salesman again I honestly answered that since he apparently didn't find me qualified or intelligent enough to understand a vehicle due to my gender that I would not.
I also contacted a scheduler about a banker who, in trying to help a customer using a speaker phone, stated the customer's name, address, and social security number loudly enough that I could have written it down and been able to use their personal information.
Several times recently I have notified schedulers when female bankers have left their offices to grab collateral and left me sitting there, often for more than five minutes, with their purses and/or cell phones placed so that it would have been very easy for me to grab them and walk out.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2019 03:43AM by KarenMSW.
Back when I used to do car dealerships it was recommended that I bring my child as I would be shopping for a minivan. At the time, she really, truly was not a distraction and was helpful as she could tell me how "user friendly" the passenger compartment was as she would be the one using it so that was information that would influence my buying decision. Interestingly enough, even though statistically women influence a majority of the purchase decisions, the salesman didn't want to give me the time of day. He then got condescending when answering technical questions and only wanted to show me the "pretty stuff". The salesman also made a comment about returning with my spouse. Little did he know that I am the daughter and sister of Chrysler employees and the spouse of an engineer. When asked on the report if I would return to this salesman again I honestly answered that since he apparently didn't find me qualified or intelligent enough to understand a vehicle due to my gender that I would not.
I also contacted a scheduler about a banker who, in trying to help a customer using a speaker phone, stated the customer's name, address, and social security number loudly enough that I could have written it down and been able to use their personal information.
Several times recently I have notified schedulers when female bankers have left their offices to grab collateral and left me sitting there, often for more than five minutes, with their purses and/or cell phones placed so that it would have been very easy for me to grab them and walk out.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2019 03:43AM by KarenMSW.
Yes ! was doing a bar shop and one of the two bartenders was horsing around as it was a slow night. He took it a little to far and started kidding the other bartender a female in front of us asking if we thought she had a nice ass. She wasn't to upset about it but did walk away. Then he crossed the line taking pictures of her ass with his cell phone and saying he was going to post it on a website of nice asses She told him to cut it out but he didn't stop with it. We reported it in our report and later learned he was fired for it. I hope he's not planning on running for politics anytime soon. Maybe Joe Biden can hire him to keep the heat off of himself. Lol
Wow, that's crazy. Why would they tell you to just take the item when you were ready to pay? I'd like to find THAT store and go a shopping spree 
I did a dining shop a couple of years ago. The manager was drunk stupid and he reeked..I mean really reeked. He kept talking to women at the restaurant bar paying no attention to guests.
Some thing you should have asked for the manager and report it. Or said something loudly for other customers to hear. I would have said "I came in here to see if my 20 friends want to party here. This place not clean enough for me."
Forgetting the receipt. I've done this several times.
I was doing an open audit at a well known chain restaurant. I had an authorization letter. The manager told me to leave, he wasn't going to allow it. I told him the letter has a number he could call if there's any problems. He didn't care. He told me, if the company wants to do an audit, they have to clear it through me first. I left, wrote what he said, in the report. I'm sure the company will have a few words with him.
After spending the required 90 minutes at a bar with a friend and listening to the bartender's stories about her children and unpaid bills and other woes, it was time to leave. Most other customers had left and nothing unusual was noticed. Cash was entered into register, orders were promptly rung up. Then she took our cash and placed it in her shirt pocket. Now, we stayed an extra 30-40 minutes hoping to see her put the cash in the register, but nope. BTW, this was a targeted shop where they suspected her of stealing. I just reported what I saw and never found out what happened. I do hope she eventually put the cash in drawer, but don't think it happened. It was still in her pocket when we left. I was a bit surprised that she did it so openly. I admit to being not all that savvy when it comes to observing stealing as some on the forum are. I also don't do integrity shops too often anymore. I do not like the feeling that someone may have lost their job because of what I reported.
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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
Many times during shops employees my age say, "I'm not supposed to, but..." and end up giving me something for free/not charging. Usually I laugh it off but in my head I'm thinking, "yep, definitely writing this in the report."
I once went on a car wash shop on a real nasty night and I was running late because of the weather. I pulled into the entrance to the tunnel and no one was there to greet me. It was 40 minutes to close and plenty of time to run through the wash. After about 10 minutes I began to be concerned, maybe someone had robbed them and left them for dead?! I opened my car door and the lights on the building started flashing. I closed the door and decided that I should just back out and leave. As I started to roll backwards, sirens started to blare and the lights were flashing! Scared me to death. The manager ran from the side of the building to greet me and then 4-5 minutes later a young girl appeared from inside the mechanical area adjusting her clothes. Hmmm... I reported what I thought to be happening. I've been asked several times to return and do another shop for this same location but not quite sure I want to be involved in this kind of seedy mess.
Reading these stories jogged my memory about a story of my own. Years ago I did a dinner shop at a restaurant famous for their Cheesecake. I used a gift card to pay for the meal. I always wrap the last receipt around the gift card so I know the balance on my gift card. It was months later when I did that shop again at a different location. The server came back to the table and told me that the gift card I had given him was empty. I was confused and thought perhaps I had used it up without remembering. The server did not return my empty gift card. I paid for dinner and then went home and called and asked the scheduler if I could pursue the matter as I was out about $40. The scheduler gave the go ahead. I knew the date of the first dinner where I had used the gift card. That location closes around 11 PM and I had finished dinner around 9:30 PM. I had the receipt. Eventually I heard from the restaurant that they had restored my balance back to me. I asked what had happened. All they could tell me was that a staff member had run my gift card number through the system and taken a large tip at 2 AM the morning after i had had dinner. As I recall the dinner itself was under $40 so 100% tip. I am not such a big tipper!
We have experienced some terrible service. Last week, we went to a restaurant and the waitress forgot that we had ordered dessert. We waited almost a half hour and were sitting there doing nothing. She finally remembered we were there, came over, asked, "Check?" and then we reminded her about the dessert. She returned with it in less than a minute. We then had to wait another twenty minutes after we were done for the check. Eating dinner took over two hours. It normally takes less than an hour at this place. Then, at the bar, the bartender ignored us, was rude, did not say good night. Nobody said good night. We did not get home until much later than normal, I had to write the report that night, went to sleep after midnight, woke up at five for work. On top of it, the hostess was rude, the woman who sat us did not speak or look at us. It was truly terrible service. The food was good though, as always. The report was long and detailed. I was sure I would get a ton of questions. The only thing they wanted to know was the height and age of the woman at the desk. I was pretty surprised. There was only one required hostess name and description, but since I mentioned two hostesses, they wanted the description of both. That whole shop took double the time it shoukd have. I hope someone got talked to at least.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2019 07:58AM by Niner.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2019 07:58AM by Niner.
I am new to MS but I have noticed 2 no-no's in my first 50 shops. Both are at gas stations but different locations.
The first was an air rifle for sale on the wall behind the counter. It is not illegal to sell but I did not think it should be on display at a name brand gas station in Ontario Canada. The second was when I made a small purchase at the counter, the amount charged was different than the receipt issued. The cashier scanned the chocolate bar correctly, I paid $2.00 and the receipt I was given totaled $2.47. There is defiantly something going on at that location in my opinion.
The first was an air rifle for sale on the wall behind the counter. It is not illegal to sell but I did not think it should be on display at a name brand gas station in Ontario Canada. The second was when I made a small purchase at the counter, the amount charged was different than the receipt issued. The cashier scanned the chocolate bar correctly, I paid $2.00 and the receipt I was given totaled $2.47. There is defiantly something going on at that location in my opinion.
Today I was chatting with a sales associate and mentioned that getting out of my car I had knocked my head and my earring fell out.
Anywho along with the receipt for purchase I was handed a small card with a drawing of St. Anthony along with a prayer. I think he's the Saint of lost items and the associate was trying to be kind. Good thing I was speechless with shock and didn't make a snarky comment about how religion, sex, and politics should be kept out of the workplace.
Anywho along with the receipt for purchase I was handed a small card with a drawing of St. Anthony along with a prayer. I think he's the Saint of lost items and the associate was trying to be kind. Good thing I was speechless with shock and didn't make a snarky comment about how religion, sex, and politics should be kept out of the workplace.
Terrible, terrible service on picking up my $46 box of 12 cupcakes today. I was told nothing about the care and watering of these expensive cupcakes not even a plain thank you. Just pushed the box towards me. I was at the pre order pick up counter and was ignored there also. The same person came up asked me as an afterthought if I had arrived before the person in the regular walk in line. That was after she ignored me after finishing the person in front of me. The whole idea of pre order is to be able to just walk in and skip the line....long report to write up tonight unfortunately.
@sandyf wrote:
Terrible, terrible service on picking up my $46 box of 12 cupcakes today. I was told nothing about the care and watering of these expensive cupcakes not even a plain thank you. Just pushed the box towards me. I was at the pre order pick up counter and was ignored there also. The same person came up asked me as an afterthought if I had arrived before the person in the regular walk in line. That was after she ignored me after finishing the person in front of me. The whole idea of pre order is to be able to just walk in and skip the line....long report to write up tonight unfortunately.
Wait...care and watering of cupcakes?!?
Ah yes, at $46 for a dozen there are strict instructions on how to care for them.(cupcakes that is in case 15 other posts come between this one and the question)
Hopefully someone will explain. I would assume you take cupcakes home and eat them, the sooner the better. I would not expect baked good to stay fresh for long.
I was doing a video shop within a women's retail store a couple of weeks ago where the saleslady tried to upsell women's undergarments to me. In attempting to get the correct size for my wife, I got too comfortable with the saleslady (as she did with me), and described my wife's anatomy in somewhat graphic detail with her sizing.
I thought that the undergarments sale went pretty well, until I received a phone call from one of the MSC owners. She indicated that she had to mute my portion of the conversation for the client regarding my casual discussion with the saleslady. The MSC owner went on to add that this is a mystery shop, and not a "regular" type of conversation.
I completely understood. Sometimes the difference between regular shopping and mystery shopping is a bit blurred at times, yet I'll certainly keep my conversations more plain & brief in the future...particularly with women's clothing.
I thought that the undergarments sale went pretty well, until I received a phone call from one of the MSC owners. She indicated that she had to mute my portion of the conversation for the client regarding my casual discussion with the saleslady. The MSC owner went on to add that this is a mystery shop, and not a "regular" type of conversation.
I completely understood. Sometimes the difference between regular shopping and mystery shopping is a bit blurred at times, yet I'll certainly keep my conversations more plain & brief in the future...particularly with women's clothing.
While performing a pre-school-daycare shop, I noted a large size janitors bucket filled to capacity with Lysol solution left unattended in a hallway within close proximity to small children. A small child could have gone head first into this janitors bucket and drowned. Needless to say, I was shocked and horrified. I included this into the report.
@Niner wrote:
@sandyf wrote:
Terrible, terrible service on picking up my $46 box of 12 cupcakes today. I was told nothing about the care and watering of these expensive cupcakes
Wait...care and watering of cupcakes?!?
Properly cared for and watered, they will sprout new cupcake trees.
LOL, Eric!
I've been "shopping" for 10 years, and evidently I've been doing it wrong all this time! I was under the impression we were supposed to act like a real customer. Therefore, I have striven to have "normal" conversations!!!
I've been "shopping" for 10 years, and evidently I've been doing it wrong all this time! I was under the impression we were supposed to act like a real customer. Therefore, I have striven to have "normal" conversations!!!
@ceasesmith wrote:
LOL, Eric!
I've been "shopping" for 10 years, and evidently I've been doing it wrong all this time! I was under the impression we were supposed to act like a real customer. Therefore, I have striven to have "normal" conversations!!!
But perhaps it sounded like Eric was having a little too much fun and interest with the conversation.
I'll be honest ladies. After doing about 30 shops within women's clothing last month, its not that easy to remain fully in character. I admitted so much to the MSC owner, noting that I was being very realistic. It wasn't like I was nasty- I just gave the saleslady measurements for bust size and waistline. The saleslady went one step further in placing undergarments over her cleavage and waist, to which I indicated that I was looking for a size larger in one, and a size smaller and more revealing in the other. Apparently, both the MSC and the client kind of "clutched their pearls" when I made this statement during the saleslady's demonstration.
Either which way, I actually thought it was a good interaction with both of us. Not rated R or X, but slightly PG-13 in nature. I just learned the hard way that I can't exactly make even the slightest comment on a woman's bust size or waist size & style preference when it comes to this article of clothing.
Either which way, I actually thought it was a good interaction with both of us. Not rated R or X, but slightly PG-13 in nature. I just learned the hard way that I can't exactly make even the slightest comment on a woman's bust size or waist size & style preference when it comes to this article of clothing.
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