We don't have secret shoppers

[Skandranon]

A very puzzled manager pulled me aside today to deal with a customer. Apparently this lady had come in with her kitty, had arranged for a vet checkup with all the bells and whistles, and now was claiming that she was a secret shopper and that we were supposed to not charge her anything.

This manager was confused because she had never encountered a secret shopper at our hospitals before. This is, dear friends, because we don't have secret shoppers. The very concept of a secret shopper visiting a hospital blew my mind for a moment, and I drifted in this mental half-reality where up was down and bread didn't get soggy in the microwave.

So I went to talk to the lady. She jabbered for a bit about being with blank company that provided secret shoppers, and she didn't have to pay. She finishes with a satisfied nod and says "I trust we have an understanding?"

Me : What company did you say?
Her : Blankety blank blank.
Me : Do you have their phone number? I'll have to call this in.

She gives me a number, and it's a voicemail with nothing but "this is number 555-1234, please leave a message".

Me : Ma'am, we have no way of verifying, you'll have to pay and have the company reimburse you.
Her : No, you're supposed to provide the services free.
Me : Sorry, you have to pay.
Her : No, you're supposed to pro-
Me : Look. *firm raised hand*
Her : No, you're-
Me : LADY. Okay, enough. One, you're a horrible secret shopper. Two, we don't HAVE secret shoppers. Three, you're either horribly confused or a lying scammer. Pay for services rendered.
Her : You can't talk to me like that!
Me : I can, I am. Take it up with your company.

I marched off then, so I don't know how it ended. If the manager gave it to her free, though, we're going to have words.

[iradney]

*sniff sniff*
What's that, BSsnifferdog? You smell something?
DING DING DING

I think you have a SCAMMER!
*bells and whistles and flashing lights*

[Boozy]

I used to do secret shopping. I took jobs with about half a dozen secret shopping companies. Every single one of them had you pay up front, and then they'd reimburse you afterwards. The biggest no-no was announcing at any point while you were in the store, even after the transaction was finished, that you were a secret shopper.

[batmoody]

Yeah secret shoppers are supposed to be SECRET. Duh!

At our store, if we figure out who the secret shopper is, they get fired/relocated or whatever. Sometimes, we will catch on and know who it is, but it is in our best interest to keep quiet about it so we can score high.

I wanted to report one once. We knew who she was and I went out of my way to be extra nice and accomodating to her. I did everything I was supposed to do. When the shop came back, she dinged me on something I KNOW I did.

When the manager called me in to the office to spank me, I told him I knew who she was and that she was full of krap. We all knew who she was, yet the whole store got a bad score..... I told him I was going to report her, that we knew who she was. We knew her name. He begged me not to, of course, cuz its in our best intered to know who it is..... whatever....At least I didn't get in trouble.

The point is, the secret shopper HAS to be secret and they know it. I just laugh at people who get all pissy and play the "I could be a secret shopper" card.

Hahaha......no you're not.

[Kara]

Total fraud.

My SO did mystery shopping last year. They either require you to pay and reimburse you, or they send you money and you use it for purchases (this is extremely rare). Some of them don't offer any reimbursement at all, just the $5 pay.

There are such things as "reveal shops" wherein you go to the location, introduce yourself to the manager and tell them what company you're representing and what'll be going on. But there's nothing where you take them by surprise and yeah, you don't ever throw a fit and say you're from such and such company. The stores and companies that get shopped have put out ads that they want companies doing so, even if they don't know the shoppers themselves or when they're coming in, they know what company is sponsering the job.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Ok, first of all secret shoppers are supposed to be just that...secret. Hence the name "Secret Shopper"

Secondly, in order to keep the shopping secret, they come with money and a shopping list so the company can return the item to the store and get the money back...sometimes while testing the level of customer service at the service counter.

Thirdly, Secret shoppers come from the company itself and not through a third party. Granted the secret shopper might be some person they got to come in and buy something and then fill out a survey form (was one for a store in Minneapolis once - they gave me a coupon for 25% off my next purchase), but it rarely if ever is a third party company.

My money's on scamming jackass myself.

M

[bean]

Thirdly, Secret shoppers come from the company itself and not through a third party.

Actually, I've done some secret shopping before, and every time I did it, it was through a third party company.

Since doing that, I have incredibly high expectations of customer service - good because I deliver such service myself, bad because I mentally take note of problems as a customer no matter how small they are.

Anyway, I've also never seen a secret shopper demand free services. Every company I've worked for reimbursed you for expenses after you submitted your report.

[blas]

I have a very bad view of secret shoppers because all the ones I encountered working at the grocery store and at the lady's clothing store were just out to give bad marks and get someone in trouble.

I know some people secret shop for the money and because they enjoy it, and they also truly enjoy giving good marks to good employees to show that they appreciate good customer service.......but none that I ever encountered.

Halfway through my gas station career, they started sending in the secret shoppers. I was the only one to get a 100%. I found it odd, because my coworkers had worked other jobs before, and secret shoppers are very easy to spot.

I knew it was a secret shopper because he asked the oddest questions about the store. Customers asked stupid questions, secret shoppers asked odd and factual type questions. And there I was, ready to blow away and impress.

[Kara]

I have a very bad view of secret shoppers because all the ones I encountered working at the grocery store and at the lady's clothing store were just out to give bad marks and get someone in trouble.

We were just in it for free stuff. Secret shopping Blockbuster rocks. They reimburse you for the rental AND pay you 8 bucks. But it wound up being more trouble than it was worth and we just kind of stopped.

[tollbaby]

I did secret shopping for a while as well, through a third-party company, but the company was always contracted by the corporate office of the store I was shopping.

The worst one was a clothing store where I could not get ANYONE to give me the time of day (it was a trendy "normal" person's store. I'm really overweight). It was one of the most humiliating experience of my life, and I quit secret shopping after that.

[Kara]

The worst one was a clothing store where I could not get ANYONE to give me the time of day (it was a trendy "normal" person's store. I'm really overweight). It was one of the most humiliating experience of my life, and I quit secret shopping after that.

We did an Abercrombie and Fitch shop once, except I'd hardly call it a "normal" person's store. We're "average" gals, but it was for teeny tiny stick figure boys and girls (and most of the girls in there who could fit into the clothes turned a lovely shade of purple as their ribs were too constricted to allow their lungs to fill with air). It was like watching kids try on Barbie's clothes.

"Mmmph! Wheeze! Look at this one Brittany! It's...*gasp* sooo cute!" And then she died. But she looked soo cute doing it

[rerant]

I've BEEN a secret shopper and the process has always been the same.
First the secret shopper pays, then the company reimburses them.

[CrazedClerk]

She may have been a lying scammer, but I will give her credit for setting up that voicemail, although if she were REALLY smart she would've programmed it with a message that sounded very corporate like "Hello and thank you for calling MJM marketing..."

[Delphae]

We haven't had a secret shopper in years. When I started I was told that the old secret shopper always came on the 23 of the month, so they would put their A game on then.

[vloglady]

I'm a shopper. There ARE some shops where you reveal yourself to the manager afterwards and your dinner is comped.