Mystery Shopper advice...from the retail end!

[EricKei]

A voice app could work well if you use codewords. ^_^ You might sound silly but, with luck, they'll just think yer weird and avoid you.

e.g. instead of "burger too dry" : "tumbleweeds (e.g. feels like a desert)" -- instead of "wrong dessert" : "unhappy ending"

[fireheart]

OK, anyone here work for/worked for the Golden Arches?

I'm currently doing a mountainload of checks for them at the moment and I've been told NOT to get a value meal. The employees keep looking at me funny. How the hell do I get them NOT to do this?!

[purple]

that is a hard one. have you been told to order a burger fries and drink separately? Or are you only ordering a burger?

[EricKei]

If they want you to order items a la carte, that's a really bad way of keeping you inconspicuous...which is kinda the point here x.x They're just used to 99.9999% of customers getting the cheapest possible option, so NOT doing that makes you stand out...

[fireheart]

that is a hard one. have you been told to order a burger fries and drink separately? Or are you only ordering a burger?

burger/chicken dish separately, fries and drink separately.

I might email my coordinator and explain the situation. As it stands, I didn't get identified as a shopper today and they took time in my order, so it wasn't like they were suddenly dropping everything to pander to me

[purple]

The only reason I could see them requesting you order separately is to check if the crew are offering/giving the cheaper option of a meal.

Is definitely strange.

[fireheart]

The only reason I could see them requesting you order separately is to check if the crew are offering/giving the cheaper option of a meal.

Is definitely strange.

Yeah, I believe this is the point. It's very weird though. I've asked the coordinator on how to deal with this one.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

It may be to have a receipt proving you went there. Enough people eating at a golden arches it would be easy to grab a receipt from anyone for a chicken or burger sandwich meal. It would be a lot harder to get a receipt for a chicken/burger, fries, drink which is not part of a meal.

[Teskeria]

Write it on a piece of paper. put a name beside each thing you have to order separately. Look at the paper. If they offer to combine them to save money, say something like ;(name from paper) will throw a hissy fit about subsidising me/others if we do that. Too much hassle."

[fireheart]

It may be to have a receipt proving you went there. Enough people eating at a golden arches it would be easy to grab a receipt from anyone for a chicken or burger sandwich meal. It would be a lot harder to get a receipt for a chicken/burger, fries, drink which is not part of a meal.

I did email my coordinator and asked this. She stated that it was OK for me to do a value meal. The Golden Arches DO have cameras that they can use to check this

[KatherineB]

Write it on a piece of paper. put a name beside each thing you have to order separately. Look at the paper. If they offer to combine them to save money, say something like ;(name from paper) will throw a hissy fit about subsidising me/others if we do that. Too much hassle."

Great idea!

[Lace Neil Singer]

I would say, pay attention. We once had a mystery shopper who criticised the fact that I was talking on the phone instead of serving customers; in actual fact, I was talking to the police and reporting a drive out. I had no choice but to use the shop phone as the office one was out of order. My colleague did explain to the queue but apparently the mystery shopper wasn't listening.