With many things in life, there are some gray areas. Mystery shopping is certainly no different, and many times mystery shoppers will be confronted with gray areas that force them to make a decision one way or another when there just isn’t any clear right or wrong. One of the most common times when this will come up is with the reports that are required with each assignment that you complete.
Some mystery shoppers have noticed that some of their providers prefer for reports to take a positive spin even when the site visit was a clearly negative experience. Other providers have asked their mystery shoppers to make smaller and yet still untruthful statements on their reports. Then there are other times when the mystery shopper must make a decision to report the straight facts of the assignment when it was obvious the employee was having a bad day, or when the mystery shopper experienced some negative things during the site visit but the report doesn’t ask to report on these events. With these events and other things that can pop up during a site visit, clearly there are some unique instances that create gray areas on the job. So just how should you handle these things?
Are You Spotting a Pattern? If a provider is consistently asking you to alter your reports to a point where you are uncomfortable, you should make an effort to put a stop to this pattern. If the changes are small enough that you don’t have an ethical dilemma making the changes requested (and you don’t mind constantly having to go back and adjust your reports), then there really is not an issue. However, if the changes are large enough that you are having conflicted emotions with it, you may want to consider ending your relationship with that provider. There are plenty of providers out there who you can work with and who will not ask you to make dishonest comments in your report.
Does One Answer Affect Another? Many reports that you complete as a mystery shopper have questions that tie into one another. To determine how it is best to answer one question often involves reading through all of the questions on the report. You likely can find a tactful and truthful way to answer the questions that represent your full experience during the site visit by providing small details about the event in various different sections of the report. Sometimes a provider may become overwhelmed by a particularly negative answer to one question, but if you give smaller amounts of detail spread across various questions on the report, you end providing a truthful account that even picky providers are more willing to accept.
Is Something Truly Relevant? If you witnessed something during a site visit that you feel is a one-time thing, you may be torn about reporting it. This is particularly true if the report doesn’t exactly call for details on that aspect of your site visit. Many mystery shoppers can find their way through such a gray area by first asking if as a consumer they would have been turned off, insulted, or had some other negative reaction to the event, or if they would have felt compassion or understanding. This can help you to determine if you should mention it. Further, if the report doesn’t specifically ask you to provide details on the event and you feel that the event will not be repeated, you can use your best judgment here. There are times when not everything needs to be reported if the provider isn’t asking for it, but this truly is a judgment call. If the report asks for such details, however, it is best to be truthful.
As mystery shoppers, our job is to go into a site location and make observations on certain specified things. We truly have to take our emotions out of the site visit in most cases and report the straight facts. While this sounds like it should be a black-and-white affair, the fact is that many times we do need to make a judgment call. Keep in mind during these times that your comments on the reports you write do have ramifications, and honesty does matter. Our reports are pretty much worthless to the client if they don’t represent actual and factual experiences and observations.
Once I did a mystery shop where the salemsman did a terrible job of determining my needs and making assumptions that he shoud not have been making of what I would want. He did not ask the type of questions that would help determine what I was looking for. My evaluation was negative. The company did not want to accept the report and asked me to do it over. I refused. I felt you hired me to give an objective bias as to what took place. We parted company over this. I will not work for a company to lie for them. The salesperson was also a manager for the store. But he just didn’t seem to know how to do his job.
I have found that reporting the facts very simply is the best way to go. It is tempting for me to expland on a negative experience but I try to keep it brief and specific.
So far that has worked.
I have, on occasion been asked to expand on a situation or explain my reasons for saying what I did but never have I been asked to change any part of a report from negative to positive. If a company were to require me to do this I would tell them point blank that they asked for my observations and I gave them as I saw them. If they insisted or refused to pay me, I would tell them there are other schedulers and I don’t need them.
These articles and opinions are very helpful;however,most of the time it’s very hard and rare for me to lie,especialy to someone I don’t know.I’d rather say very little or not say anything at all.
I truly believe a recent negative report was rejected because of the lack of any sales assistance. Don’t shoot the messenger because you don’t like the truth in the message. It’s now on my “never accept again” list.
I too had a recent negative experience at a home reno store. The associate kept disappearing during our interaction. The last time I found him two aisles over on his cell phone. The conversation I overheard was not related to my enquiry. I filled out the report as objectively as possible and immediate emailed my scheduler to tell her EXACTLY what transpired. I received an email from her thanking me for letting her know why the report was not the usual positive experience.
I did a cash advance shop where the teller asked me for a blank with my signature only. He said he would fill in the rest. According to the guidelines, he is only to fill in the amount. I filled out the check according to the guidelines and mentioned this in my report.
As a mystery shopper, I feel it is my duty to report exactly what happened during the shop. I have had a few very negative experiences and reported them exactly as they happened. If the associate is in a bad mood, having a bad day or is just plain rude in ineffective, he should not be coddled. He is there to give excellent customer service and we are the to REPORT the truth. I a company asked me to lie, I would quit on the spot. To me there is only black and white…because Grey is lying….Phoebe Lou …shopper for almost 13 years…………….
I enjoyed the insights above on how shoppers have handled negative experiences and I concur with everyone. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and give the scheduler the heave ho.
If it appears to be a one time thing, or you are obviously dealing with a new employee, I usually soft pedal it. For the employee that brags they have been on the job 20 years, they are the manager and I get bad service – I report the facts.
I had one experience at a fast food restaurant that was so bad that I had to report the offender with no holds barred. I got a bonus on the shop and the offender was fired.
On another occasion, I caught a cashier stealing but it was not part of the shop. I reported it anyway. I was asked if I was willing to go to court and testify. You bet!