The Mystery Shopping thread - VIII

AndyInYorks

rachelja wrote: »

Yes I've done that visit and it was fine. Though the cashier was clueless and couldn't help :rolleyes:

Because we had a sudden flurry of calls a few months ago with people just calling to ask if they paid a cheque in, how long would it take to clear. Normally hardly anyone rings to ask us that. None of the people who called gave us their account numbers (when asked, they said it was a general enquiry...but most of the people ringing with general enquiries still give their account details at the start of the call).

I thought it was some kind of mystery shop but my boss didn't believe me.

We never got any feedback about it though.

MikeLB

TractorGirl327 wrote: »

Dear TNS

You ask me to ask the members of staff a specific question, yet nowhere on the questionnaire do I get the chance to report on their response.

You ask me to count how many home shopping trolleys in specific departments but there is nowhere to enter this data. And believe me, there were more than 6 in some departments, it was ridiculous!

You ask me to make a purchase in the petrol station yet dont ask for details of the receipt.

Still at least I know what "not" to do when I do my next supermarket job tomorrow!!

Regards
TG x

There is a comment box at the end of every department where you simply put if they answered the question correctly or not. Or if they did or didnt take you to the correct item.

If it is the home shopping trollies, you dont need to count them at all, just mark yes or no at the end of the questionairre and then there is an any other comments boxes. Just stick a one liner in there if you want to put in the numbers.

Petrol station - you send in the receipt or at least a copy of it, so that verifies that you went. If it's missing then they wont pay for that section.

MikeLB

AndyInYorks wrote: »

Because we had a sudden flurry of calls a few months ago with people just calling to ask if they paid a cheque in, how long would it take to clear. Normally hardly anyone rings to ask us that. None of the people who called gave us their account numbers (when asked, they said it was a general enquiry...but most of the people ringing with general enquiries still give their account details at the start of the call).

I thought it was some kind of mystery shop but my boss didn't believe me.

We never got any feedback about it though.

What you need to rememebr folks is that this wave of calls is one company checking out all of its rivals .........

jdan9

KSG1970 wrote: »

I do hope they get a lot of people cancelling as the whole scenario is ridiculous for many of us.

Especially as it isn't the scenario we all signed up to. I don't care if the assignment is ridiculous if I can read it and decide I'm happy with it, but when I'm asked to do it when I signed up for something substantially different I'm not impressed.

Tesco_points_addict

AndyInYorks wrote: »

I didn't mean to put anyone off, and of course not every bank will work the same way, and some call centre people will be too lazy to add the notes anyway.
However I do think the scenario is a bit silly, and personally I wouldn't be keen to do it either. Hopefully, enough people will cancel and they'll see the error of their ways.

Out of interest, has anyone ever had a bank mystery shop job asking how long cheques will take to clear when they're paid in?

Yep i did one of these last month, for GFK

NorthernBankie

Hollypear wrote: »

Mike I was once asked to fly to one of the islands go to the post office, enquire about premium bonds etc. Now coming from an island originally and having been back working in Tiree for a year a few years ago I told the MS'ing company not to be so daft. As soon as these planes leave Glasgow everyone on the island knows who is on the plane. They would obviously wonder why you had flown from Glasgow to Stornoway to go to a post office,

HP it's clear the MS companies have no idea of how quickly news/information travels in island/west highland communities - some areas would put GCHQ and CIA to shame - and the stupidity of trying to convince someone in a bank why you are there!!!

In my previous (local government) job, I covered Skye from Fort William. In the days before the bridge, the ferry crew worked as early warning system. For one of my regular trips I normally visited Armadale first (these were meant to be unannounced visits) - one time I went to Broadford first and Armadale next. When I arrived, I was told by the trader I was late.

cte1111

Has anyone done the new phone jobs on Abai? I'm finding the questionnaire almost as repetitive and long winded as some RE ones. Mind you the fee is 3 times as much so I musn't moan.

TractorGirl327

mysterious_girl wrote: »

Whatever you do - keep the receipt! For every single Abai job I have done - and there have been quite a few, I get a call a few weeks later asking me to download the receipt and email it to them. If I were you, I would buy the thing, go home, scan the receipt onto your computer and then return the thing the next day or another day. They put a big line through the item on the receipt and an "R" next to it for "Return". I wouldn't draw attention to the fact that you returned it, just in case.

I've never, ever been asked to send the receipt, but always keep them or a copy just in case!

TractorGirl327

AndyInYorks wrote: »

Out of interest, has anyone ever had a bank mystery shop job asking how long cheques will take to clear when they're paid in?

For GR? Yes, done this scenario several times!

cte1111

AndyInYorks wrote: »

Because we had a sudden flurry of calls a few months ago with people just calling to ask if they paid a cheque in, how long would it take to clear. Normally hardly anyone rings to ask us that. None of the people who called gave us their account numbers (when asked, they said it was a general enquiry...but most of the people ringing with general enquiries still give their account details at the start of the call).

I thought it was some kind of mystery shop but my boss didn't believe me.

We never got any feedback about it though.

I've done lots of in person jobs for a bank that ask about cheques clearing. Can't remember doing a phone one about this though.

Hmm I did do a few bank calls that had a choice of scenarios, that might have been one of them. It was a pilot project for the bank in question I think, testing their new 'being able to call your own branch' system. It was a bit patchy, and I often seemed to end up speaking to ansaphones or people in India, or the wrong branch. Good job they did a pilot I guess, and maybe that's why you didn't get any feedback, if they were testing the system rather than your call handling? It was quite a while ago, last year.