The obvious to this question is no, and that there is no room for lying in a mystery shopping report. However, in practice, many mystery shoppers run into gray areas that may blur the lines on this. The fact is, there may be times when you are tempted to omit facts or tint the facts a bit because of various circumstances.
Be The Reporter. While you are completing your mystery shopping report, adopt the role of an unbiased reporter. Your job is to simply report the facts as they occurred, and answer only the questions that were asked. If you need help finding the right tone for your answers, read through a couple of online news articles to see what a reporting tone is like. If you are including your opinion in your answers, you may need to find a new tone.
Finding The Truth. If there is some gray area in some of the facts pertaining to your site visit, take a moment and think about your site visit in the larger picture. Overall, was the site visit positive or negative? As a shopper, did you enjoy your experience and your interaction with the staff? These may not be questions that are specifically asked for in the report, but they can lead you to the right way to formulate your answers to the questions in the report.
Keep in mind that, although you may be kind-hearted and don’t want to get someone fired, it is your job to report the facts. Your client is the venue’s owner, and by requesting the site to be “shopped”, they are trying to improve the overall customer experience. If there is a weak link in one of the store’s staff members, the owner needs to know what is happening. Also, simply because you file a negative report on a specific store or store’s staff does not mean that someone at the store will get fired. There are plenty of other alternatives that can take place, such as additional staff training, managerial training, and reprimand. By filing a report that is positive when your experience at the store was anything but positive, you are not helping anyone.
Use The Free Writing Section. As you are completing the report, specific questions may not leave room for you to explain any negative aspects of your site visit. However, the vast majority of reports include some type of free writing section that will allow you to explain anything else you feel is pertinent about your store visit. This is your chance to fully explain any gray areas. Before you complete this section of the report, look at the answers you have written so far in the report. Then address all of the questionable or gray areas at one time. What you type here can make a huge impact in a store’s decision between additional training, reprimand, and so forth. So use specific details here and again avoid the urge to fluff this section up with emotion.
Mystery shoppers know that all-out lying is a huge no-no in a report, but the gray areas as well as the ramifications of making negative comments can give a mystery shopper a moment’s pause in responding to report questions. When you report the facts and remove emotion or tinted facts from your report, you have done your job. What happens afterwards cannot be controlled or swayed by how you answer the report. So stick to the facts and you will be fine!
When I first became a Mystery Shopper six years ago, I found it difficult reporting the facts. I did, but felt horrible after completing the report. My fiancee would talk to to me and say, “you are doing your job.” I do feel bad when I have to submit a negative report but I do realize that this information will benefit the company/client.
In a note, I am always happy and upbeat when I submit a very positive report.
I did a restaurant shop and the food was cold, the meat full of gristle even the dessert was not placed right. Sent the report in with the negative comments and the scheduler sent me an email saying that very few mystery shoppers tell the truth when it comes to restaurants. She was very pleased with my negative comments. I felt like I was right in doing the right thing.
The truth should be told in reports. I shopped a cable company regularly and each time witnessed rude and loud employees, poor customer service. On one occasion an employee came over to the clerk assisting me and stated she thought a shopper was at another window. She stated to the clerk she didn’t care if it was a mystery shopper etc(her comments were sprinkled with expletives) right while I was at the counter! The clerk helping me agreed with her. I was shocked they carried on this exchange in my presence. By the time I visited that location a month or so later, all personnel had changed. It was unfortunate if they lost their jobs, but this was proof for me how seriously this company feels about customer service, their image and the role of mystery shopping.
Submitting a 100% positive report must be hard to find, performing a shop especially at a Restaurant is not a perfect 10 out there, I understand the way facts on a shops are very cold and shoppers has to write based on their experience; personally I don’t feel very good given a low rate positive report but that’s what get out there sometimes, that’s what I will be reporting. Thank you and have a good day
So many of the shops now make us decide between a yes or no answer, and sometimes it is difficult to say no. I actually like the shops with a short narrative, so that I can explain what happened. It’s all or nothing on the point scale, so I want to be fair if they have been a good service shop.
Truth be told by a Secret Shopper is absolutely imperative! That is the reason for the shop, to find out for the owners, bosses etc, if the staff is performing in the manner to which the company has hired them and trained them to.
I have one company who each time I submit a report with any negatives on it ask me to re report practically the whole report by questioning each negative answer even though there is a long and detailed narrative at the end of the report. Some times the truth hurts and if we don’t tell the truth who will. I sometimes resent that I have so much extra work to do but; if every report was filled out yes and everything excellent or good why would they need us?
Something to think about!
Some people just can’t handle the truth. Everyone has difficult day and noone is perefect. Some providiers feel their employees always give 100
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1. Please share the names of the companies that will allow honest, truthful reports to go through.
2. Please share the names of the companies that will NOT allow the truth to go through, if it’s negative.
When I write my reports, if an answer can go either way (negative or positive), then I try to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Lying on a report is never acceptable. However if you can give reasons behind slips in service it is always a good thing.
Working as a desk clerk at a hotel I took over for another clerk with no notice at all. My name tag was on a jacket at home when the shopper evaluated me (my husband brought it a few minutes later). As a result I scored 97% rather than 100%. In that particular hotel evaluation for there was no room for comments so eventhough the shopper was at the desk when I took over there was no way she could let the company know what happened.
I routinely send a follow up e-mail to my shedulers if there is anything that is not covered in the report form.