The Mystery Shopping Thread - X

blondecaz

Don't think this is really worthy of an alert - but there's a job in Chichester just gone on MCE.

Matt567

Again, not worthy of an alert but I've had to release a supermarket in SE London for today or tomorrow....

Also a petrol visit on GAP

Daughters ill with chicken pox!

ISWMLE

Becles wrote: »

You're right in saying it's easy to remove, but I bet it's really irritating when you're proof reading reports and you have to sit cutting out irrelevant material which adds to the time taken to check the report.

Did the question ask for you to compare the pharmacy to Boots? If not, then it's irrelevant which goes back to point (a).

The client isn't looking for your opinion on things, they just want to know what happened on the visit. Have you come across subjective and objective reports before? Briefly a subjective comment is your personal opinion of something, and an objective comment is just stating the facts. When you're mystery shopping the whole report needs to be objective, unless the question specifically asks for your opinion on matters.

Your comment comparing the chemist to Boots was subjective as that is your personal opinion on the matter. To write it objectively you could have said: The shop was very small, with no aisles and just a few display shelves on the wall so customers cannot browse.

or another example:

Subjective: The meal was awful and I really couldn't eat it as it looked revolting.

Objective: The steak was overcooked, the chips were cold and the salad was limp and curling at the edges.

Hope this is helpful

No it's not. You examples are ridiculous and inaccurately described. "The meal was awful" is a subjective opinion, it's not fact.The salad was limp and curling at the edges is not a description because salad is a meal, not a salad ingredient (I assume you mean lettuce). Since when are tomatoes or beetroot or celery limp and curling at the edges?

Fact would be:

"The steak was mid brown in the middle, but very dark brown and with blackened edges in parts. The chips were approximately served at 15 degrees Farenheit (after I checked with my cooking thermometer). I have a photograph of the salad leaves, I'll leave that to you to decide whether these were served in the right way because salad leaves are very often curly, whether they are fresh or not."

The factual examples tells the client absolutely nothing of value and it's left to the client to deduce from my facts whether the meal was served in the right way. Facts are for court case witness reports, not for retailers attempting to deduce customer comments for training purposes. I work for strategic consultancies that compile research for clients in this field and at the end of the report, which underpins the report's entire value as well as evidencing the source information, are lists of customers' subjective opinions on their customer experience. Not objective, deduced facts. I should know, I used to proofread them and was explicitely briefed not to turn subjectivities into facts.

So don't be so ridiculous.

absolutelynomoney

ukmonkey wrote: »

They've still not reset my chicken test though!!

I had a guy once tell me he would do this as I had accepted a couple of jobs that were out of my way and very short notice. It didn't get done, so I emailed him to his personal company email that he gave me - no reply. Then about a week ago I got a call from another Gap person asking me to do a job that I really had no desire to do, he upped the fee and I told him about the chicken test and he promised to sort it out, saying it would take 24-48 hours to register the reset. Still not done!! argh!

Lil_Me wrote: »

I got one too! I think a win would be the icing on the cake

Anyone know the best way to contact GAP to ask for the pizza test to be reset? I did a competitor for them last month, but quite fancy pizza!

When they call you to offer a job, ask them to reset the pizza test as a sort of "I'll do it for you if you do this for me".

pinkprincess39 wrote: »

Gyp just rang (suprise suprise!!) asking me to do a burger job. He asked what time I could do it and I said 12-2, however though the time is ok on the job brief it says Breakfast Evaluation. He said it would not matter but in anyones experience will this go thru ok cos obviously I cant buy a breakfast meal at 12pm!!?

I had this the other day - I emailed them and they got back to me very quickly to say that it doesn't matter about what the title of the job says - if you agreed the time, then you do the scenario based on the timeframe, not the title. So in your case, do the lunchtime one.

Another thing - check whether it has the breakfast fee or the daytime fee, because if it has the breakfast fee then you need to point it out to them so they can add an extra £1 on.

ukmonkey

Whoohoo, just had a call from BARE - they've assigned me 6 phone calls to do. This week is going well so far!!

Yesterday, they gave me some van visits to do too.

pinkprincess39

Just completed my 1st coffee job for gyp. It didnt ask me to submit my receipt is that right!??
Had a real hard time getting the blinking scales to work, looked like a right numpty in the high street trying to weigh the cup!!

ukmonkey

ISWMLE wrote: »

No it's not. You examples are ridiculous and inaccurately described. "The meal was awful" is a subjective opinion, it's not fact.The salad was limp and curling at the edges is not a description because salad is a meal, not a salad ingredient (I assume you mean lettuce). Since when are tomatoes or beetroot or celery limp and curling at the edges?

Fact would be:

"The steak was mid brown in the middle, but very dark brown and with blackened edges in parts. The chips were approximately served at 15 degrees Farenheit (after I checked with my cooking thermometer). I have a photograph of the salad leaves, I'll leave that to you to decide whether these were served in the right way because salad leaves are very often curly, whether they are fresh or not."

The factual examples tells the client absolutely nothing of value and it's left to the client to deduce from my facts whether the meal was served in the right way. Facts are for court case witness reports, not for retailers attempting to deduce customer comments for training purposes. I work for strategic consultancies that compile research for clients in this field and at the end of the report, which underpins the report's entire value as well as evidencing the source information, are lists of customers' subjective opinions on their customer experience. Not objective, deduced facts. I should know, I used to proofread them and was explicitely briefed not to turn subjectivities into facts.

So don't be so ridiculous.

Errors have ocurred:

Please review your answer - replies must be 50-100 characters.


:p:p

squidgeum

I think you need to read Beccles post again ISWMLE.

It does not say that "The meal was awful" is fact. It clearly says it is subjective. And I think we all group salad ingredients together and call them "salad". Since when did you see a menu that said Steak &Chips served with a side of Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber & Celery? :rolleyes:

I think to call somebody ridiculous twice when they are just giving an opinion is very rude and totally uncalled for.

ISWMLE

Hollypear wrote: »

AndyInYorks wrote: »

Andy you make a lot of good points there. As the poster is new to MS'ing I hope your points help particularly the one about only answer what you are asked.

I did though think it a little ironic for someone with 2 months experince to dive in with an unhelpful comment.

I remember my early days and all the panic attacks when I made mistakes. Like forgetting left and right or forgetting to get a receipt at all. I always found honesty was the best policy. Or that horrible feeling filling in a report with a question and I am staring at the pc thinking...OMG I forgot to ask that question.

I think RE are shortsighted taking on so many new people at once. The quality of the reports must be questionable and vary a lot so their proofreaders must be tearing their hair out.

Proofreading is for checking grammar and spelling, not for assessing what the client should deduce from the answers. If RE are really that fussy about the quality of their reports, they should offer MS' training. Not use any small indiscrepancy as an excuse not to pay MS that have completed visits. Particularly when they ask for more questions to pad out the report, ask questions that weren't asked in the first place and then tell you that you've been removed from their account (as they did with me yesterday). They claim they aren't sending my report to the client - so why did they ask these questions in the first place? Why not phone me up just to say they've removed me from the account? The whole thing is a rip off.

prudenttadpole

The fees need abolishing